Day 5 - Petoskey, MI to Newberry, MI

Rain fell intermittently through the night but stopped in time for us to get hitched-up and on the road. 

The Route
The 144 mile drive followed US-31N from Petoskey to I-75N near Mackinaw City, I-75 across the Straits of Mackinac to MI-123, then MI-123 to Paradise and on to Newberry. 

Along the Way
The US-31 surface was rough in places as we neared Mackinaw City.

We passed through Pellston. Its motto is "Icebox of the Nation" because it recorded Michigan's lowest temperature (-53°F in 1933) and is regularly recognized as one of the coldest spots in the nation.

Views from the Mackinac Bridge are spectacular, but are difficult to capture from a moving vehicle. The bridge is A.K.A. Mighty Mac or Big Mac

"Big Mac" really is
(26,372 ft long - 552 ft high)

Straits of Mackinac

Tolls are collected on the Upper Peninsula side

The Upper Peninsula becomes more rugged and sparsely populated very quickly. Most of the drive on MI-123 to Paradise was through the Superior State Forest, the Hiawatha National Forest and the Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

Paradise is on the western shore of Whitefish Bay. The community is small and is in serious need of maintenance. We passed through here five years ago and discovered The Fish House. We returned to see if we could repeat the experience ... and did!

The Fish House only serves the fresh catch of the day. They bring in the nets in the morning, clean the fish behind the restaurant, and open at noon. They don't open if there's no catch. The place isn't fancy, but the meals are delicious. The place was packed 15 minutes after opening.

The Fish House opens at noon - come early

The Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River ... the upper and lower falls. They are a popular tourist destination during all seasons. The Tahquamenon is noted as being the land of Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha". We stopped by the Upper Tahquamenon Falls on the way to Newberry. 

Upper Falls from above

Upper Falls from downstream

The Campground
We ended the day at Newberry KOA. It's OK, but a far cry from the Petoskey KOA we stayed in last night.

Tomorrow
We explored much of the Upper Peninsula in 2010 during our Northwest Trip and aren't planning a do-over. 

We'll head west on MI-28 and probably make it into Wisconsin.