I love returning to Michigan's Upper Peninsula! While this mission wasn't totally dedicated to photography, I did "stumble" upon a few keepers. Starting with 3 drive-throughs of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, catching a few Loon pairs and some incredible landscape and floral beauty, then on up to Copper Harbor for foggy smoky views with little wildlife worth shooting.
Just nearby is Lac La Belle and a couple points of interest, including the Mendota Lighthouse and Haven Falls. From there, an overnight stop in a Walmart parking lot, testing out my new lithium / inverter / solar installation on the trailer, which worked great!
I next camped at Tahquamenon Lower Falls Campground and hiked down through the woods to those beautiful falls you see above and in the gallery below. These are not the Upper Falls you see in all the usual pictures (which I've visited many times), but it's the same water further down the river. Still very interesting viewing! At its peak flow rate in the Spring, 50,000 gallons per second are flowing down those falls! This time of year, probably 24,000 with a yearly average of approximately 7,000 gallons per second. The tawny color of the water is caused by the tannins that leach from the cedar swamp at the start of the Tahquamenon River.
The day I arrived at the State Park, there was time to drive up to Whitefish Point, a favorite for migrating raptors and interesting shore birds. There were none to see after walking the entire point! And, it was foggy, so I just took a beach shot which you will see below.
The final stage of this journey took me to Cedarville and Loons Point Campground. While that was more of a social visit with friends who live on Marquette Island, I did catch a few critters, including Sandhill Cranes, Hooded Mergansers, and on my last day there, a couple Pied-billed Grebes. Their call is so distinctive, I am including a link for you to hear it: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/sounds
Thanks for viewing and please connect with comments and shared experiences!
Steve
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