UP! Adventure: Day One Porcupine Mountains

Gil and I got back recently from a few days in the Upper Peninsula and it was so fun!  I can't get over how beautiful Michigan is. Seriously, why would you live anywhere else!?

We stopped right after we crossed the bridge to snap some shots of Mighty Mac.

Laila really enjoyed sticking her head out the window. So funny.

We stayed in Marquette (cute town) and did a couple of day trips while we were up there.  I was a little worried about bringing our dog. It took us about 7 hours in the car to make it up there and Laila was a champ! We thought about camping, but since this trip was planned last minute (surprise, surprise), we opted for staying in a pet-friendly hotel.

Our first night, we grabbed takeout and brought it down by the old ore dock to eat. Nice scenery!

The first day, we went to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. I really wanted to see the Lake of the Clouds and just hike around. If you think an endless sea of trees would be beautiful, go here!

Lake of the Clouds

Three things:

1. When traveling with a Newf, be prepared to smile. Everyone will smile fondly at you and your dog.

2. EVERYONE in the UP either knows someone who has a Newfoundland or once had one of their own. They will remark on the fact that it was the best dog they ever had. 

3. Laila had bows in her hair for this trip. She had just gotten groomed, we did not put them in her hair. I would say we aren't "those" people, but we did not attempt to take the bows out. And we thought they were adorable. So we are in fact, "those" people. 

 After leaving Lake of the Clouds, we headed to Summit Peak to have a look around. Again, beautiful spot!

After Lake of the Clouds and Summit Peak, we wanted to hike around. We (Gil) wished we had had a better map of the hiking trails that described the level of difficulty, because we had no idea how strenuous the trails would be or what type of incline we'd be dealing with. We (He) wanted to make sure we wouldn't end up with an exhausted Newfoundland dog who couldn't go any further. As my usual impulsive self, I wanted to just get going and figure it out as we went, but Gil decided to ask for suggestions from the park ranger. I'm so glad he thought that through because Laila really did not have a lot of endurance.  At all. The poor dog was so tired by the end of the day. 

We ended up hiking the East and West river trails along Presque Isle River. It ended up being a really cool hike. It followed closely along the river bank. For the amount of times I tripped over tree routes, I'm pretty surprised I didn't topple into the river.

Manabezho Falls 

The shale rock beds were awesome!

Swimming in Lake Superior

Passed out on the drive back to the hotel!