Destination Twin Lakes State Park, Twin Lakes, Michigan - July 9, 2023

Last night we decided to get a jump on packing up for the day, we removed the tarp which provides a little bit of rain protection in the event of nighttime trips to the porta-potty. When we woke this morning, it had rained during the night and our shoes were wet. Hmmmm, sounds like a lesson learned.

We headed toward the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with no specific destination in mind but we did have plans to visit some waterfalls along the way. 

We stopped at Copper Falls State Park and it was well worth the cost of a day-use fee to the park. 

Copper Falls


We thought the falls got its name from the color of the water. As it turns out, it actually came from the fact that in the early 1900s, miners explored the area expecting to find copper. They dug several mines and came up with nothing. The color does not come from copper but comes from tannin which is formed by decaying trees upriver. 




Lots of stairs made from slate locally quarried and built by the CCC and WPA.


And more stairs


After we finished Copper Falls, we went on to Potato River Falls outside the town of Gurney, Wisconsin. These falls were supposed to be higher and we assumed more spectacular. When we arrived, we had the choice of Upper Falls and Lower Falls. We chose the Upper Falls first.


MORE stairs

On the way back up, Rob counted 128 steps. Another hiker told us that the Lower Falls had many more steps. We decided we had probably seen enough waterfalls for the day.

We drove on to Twin Lakes, Michigan, just west of Ontonagon. Since it was almost 6 pm on a Sunday evening, we were pleased to find that we could check in at the State Park campground without reservations and we got a nice spot with no one on either side of us. 

We still find it hard to get used to the long days this far north. At 10 pm, it was still light enough to walk around the campground without a flashlight even though the sun had set some time ago and the skies are partly cloudy.

This campground even had HOT showers without timers on the water. Pleasant temperatures, very few mosquitos, and relatively low humidity. We think we are in heaven!





Lessons learned:
1. Expect the unexpected when it comes to weather and stay prepared.

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