Porkies – Lake of The Clouds
After a rough year and staying home during the COVID pandemic, we decided to venture out into the wilderness that is the Western U.P. We brought along the Pavel Datsyuk, face masks, hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes, along with many snacks and stuff for sandwiches. We were staying in Ontonagon which is about an eight hour drive. Pavel isn’t the greatest car rider so we decided to leave Wednesday night and at least make it to Saint Ignace. We booked a hotel and was the first time we stayed in a hotel with him. He had a hard time getting comfortable because he has OCD and his bedtime spot wasn’t there. He didn’t sleep much that night.
Porkies – Lake of The Clouds
The next morning we headed out and took the northern route. It was so pretty following along the Lake Superior coastline and passing through the little towns. The colors got more intense as we got to our destination. Without trying, we had managed to visit during peak colors in the Porcupine Mountains. We stayed at Scott’s Superior Inn which is right on Lake Superior. We took Datsyuk down to the lake and he actually waded in the water trying to drink it dry. The lake was at high tide and pretty rough so there were a few times he got splashed in the face and our shoes and socks got wet. We then headed up to Lake of The Clouds. Seeing the lake and the mountains covered with orange, yellow and red made it really incredible to see. We then stopped at the visitor center where we took a nature hike. The Eastern Hemlocks were so big! Being in the old growth forest reminded me of being in the Hoh Rainforest a bit with the big trees and moss everywhere.
Porkies – Presque Isle
Porkies – Lookout Trail
Our next day was Friday and our first stop was to the Lookout Tower. We each took turns going to the top of the tower and getting the panoramic views. We then headed to the edge of the park to Presque Isle. This was the busiest area of the park but wasn’t horrible. Here we saw three big waterfalls and many smaller ones. There were way more stairs here than the old dog could do so we each took turns looking and waiting with Pavel. He was so tired he actually laid down and tried to sleep. One of the best things about this area was an interesting set of sandstone rapids where you could walk out into the river. Pavel really loved going in the water here and it was fun to watch him.
Gabbro Falls
Next we continued on into Wakefield where we took some photos of Sunday Lake and then pressed on. We ended up finding a hidden waterfall named Gabbro Falls and it was so tall and cool looking! This was my second favorite waterfall of the trip. We had it all to ourselves which made it even better. I still can’t believe why there aren’t any signs for people to find it but I’m glad we did. At this point we were just wandering around without any particular destination. We ended up passing Copper Peak which is an old, large ski jump. They sell tickets to ride the ski lift up to the top. Maybe if we didn’t have the dog we would have done it but it wasn’t a big deal.
Potawatomi Falls
We then kept going and found ourselves on the Black River Scenic Trail. This was probably my most favorite part of the trip. The road was very pretty and there are several waterfalls to stop off and hike at. By this time Pavel was pretty wore out so one of us would sit with him in the truck while the other would go check it out. There was a storm coming in and we were losing daylight so we decided to head back to the hotel. We didn’t get to see everything on the road but we did see several of the waterfalls which were each very cool! On our way back there was a non-stop lightening show in the sky for us to watch. We made it back just in time before it started pouring.
Union Mine Trail
Our last day there was Saturday. It was a bit of a gloomy day compared to Friday but that was okay. It was interesting to see how many leaves were lost from the storm. The trees still had leaves but there were now bare spots in some areas making them not as full. Our first stop was to Union Mine Trail. This was probably my most favorite trail. It was supposed to be a mile long loop through the woods although with the scrambling around tree roots and detours to the river it felt way longer. The trail follows along the Union River and Pavel loved going into it. It was so fun to watch him just walk in the water like it was no big deal. There is a beautiful gorge that the river flows through which made it very scenic. Along the river there were many little waterfalls and huge moss covered boulders. It was supposed to be an easy hike but an easy hike in the mountains for a 13 year old dog is pretty tiresome.
Overlooked Falls Trail
We could tell Datsyuk was getting wore out. We gave him a rest for a little while and then moved on to our next hike which was to Overlooked and Greenstone Falls. This hike was quite wet and muddy. Pavel’s feet were covered in mud all the way to his knees. The hike was nice though and Pavel did pretty good but we knew he was tired and so we decided we wouldn’t hike anymore after this one. At this point we needed a break from sandwiches so drove to the Dairy Queen we had passed the day before. Their chicken strips and onion rings were delicious – way better than the PB&J and icky Cotto Salami we had left. We learned the Pavel likes onion rings. He hates French fries. We then headed back to the hotel and took a much needed nap and then just relaxed the rest of evening.
Bond Falls
For the drive back we decided to go the southern route. Pavel slept so much the previous evening and seemed to have some energy to burn off for the long car ride so we stopped at Bond Falls. This waterfall was super big and very cool! Our favorite one of the trip. We were surprised we hadn’t heard of it before and it was well worth the stop. The paved, flat path was also very nice. On our way driving out from the falls a bobcat ran right in front of our car! We had never seen one before and were pretty excited. It was so fast there was no way I would have been able to get a photo but was super cool to see! Our COVID mini-trip was very nice. We had a good time and would love to come back exploring more of this side of the U.P. and venture into Wisconsin. We also learned that staying in a motel would be better than a hotel that way you didn’t have a put on a mask each time you entered the lobby. We got to share some great memories with Pavel and I think he liked spending all the extra time with his mommy and daddy.
