Sunday, January 31, 2010

Upper Tahquamenon Falls

The “showcase” of Tahquamenon Falls is the Upper Falls, which is about four miles upstream from the Lower Falls. It is larger and more dramatic – it has a drop of 50 feet and is more than 200 feet wide.





But first, I had to slip this in...A “fact shack” has a nice display of information about the falls and an impressive display recognizing the comeback of the gray wolf. I was hypnotized by the stare of this fellow – stuffed and amazingly life-like.



Paved trails from the parking lot lead to the Upper Falls, so it is an easy walk. Several viewing areas along the way provide a good look at the falls.





At the end of the trail is a staircase with 94 (or maybe it was 84, whatever, it was a lot) steps that have to be taken down (and back up). But it's worth the effort to get a close-up view of the magnificent falls.











Returning to the top of the steps and following the path back, I noticed a second pathway that continued south and down to the gorge. At the end I was faced with another staircase - this one of 118 steps - that went down to the river. I hoped that the view would be worth the effort – the temperature was 80 degrees and the humidity was probably 98% - it had rained in the morning.



The views did indeed provide a different perspective of the falls...







It was awesome, in spite of the gloomy, gray, rainy day. Lucky for me, on this day the rain stopped mid-day. Photos were taken on Tuesday August 2nd.



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