Last month when our son, Scott, was here, Sylvia said to him that she had never seen the Tahquamenon Falls.  She went on to add that she had never been to Michigan’s upper peninsula.  I asked if she’d like to go.  Her response?  “Do you really mean it?”

The question is understandable.  My perfect day is one where I get no farther from the house than our mail box.  (Yes, I have a lot of imperfect days.  Don’t you?)

I assured her that I was serious.  Then we began to plan our excursion.  There were several major activities that required our presence in the neighborhood, but we found four days that fit into the schedule.  Sylvia’s cousin lent us the hardware to feed and water Midnight in our absence.

We packed our bags.  Fortunately, Sylvia is well organized.  It was mid morning when we left the house.  A couple of quick errands in the neighborhood and ten minutes later we were on the expressway.

A rest stop to stretch our muscles preceded a stop for lunch.  Then we were back on the road headed north.

North-bound on US-127

The weather was very cool and cloudy for most of our trip.  At 2:30 PM, we pulled into a rest stop for another stretch.  We had traveled 241 miles by this time.  After a pit stop, we came out and spotted a sign that pointed to “Hiking trail to scenic overlook.”  It didn’t take a second thought for us to aim our feet in that direction.  It was lung-taxing uphill walk, but we enjoyed every step of it.  (Didn’t we?)

Sylvia at the first stop

We found a nice view and decided it was worth the effort.

Chuck at the second lookout position

As you can see we were early for a color tour and, I assure you, we were late for the pleasant summer weather.  Neither Sylvia nor I cared about that.

On the safety railing next to where I was standing we saw this:

Isn’t that sweet

Woe be to Alan if he ever forgets that anniversary date.  Good for Julie, she may have used an indelible marker, but it will soon fade–or be painted over.  (I hope their marriage outlasts the marker.)  The first thing we noticed was that it was 50 years and one day after our wedding.

Sylvia had moved on when I turned away from that railing.  I saw her on the other side of the roadway (we could have driven up the hill, but were glad we hadn’t) where she was examining a rock.

Sylvia also wears a John Deere cap, but her’s is pink

I can see why that rock caught her eye.  I don’t think I ever saw anything like that before.  After walking around for a while, we started back down the hill toward our parked car.

An early bit of color lay beneath the maple tree

On the way down, Sylvia spotted a maple leaf beside the trail.  We both liked the color pattern in that leaf.  However, by now we were ready to get back on the road.  After taking the picture, we returned the leaf to where it had been and went directly to the car.  Ten minutes later we were crossing the bridge to the upper peninsula.  More about that next time.