Marquette and Then Laughing Whitefish Falls Hike

I am so very far behind!  I do have things to share, including a quick peek at some architecture from downtown Marquette.  Marquette, like a lot of other cities, tore down a lot of old buildings in the 1970's, but luckily the old City Hall which was built in 1894 was saved and is now an office building.

Not many of the Lake Superior sandstone buildings are left, their dark stone was left behind for lighter colored material after the turn of the century.  The Savings Bank Building on Front Street is a beauty, and it made me wonder what the area looked like when more of them lined the streets.

Lots of interesting shops line the streets of the old downtown district, including Boomerang Retro & Relics where I was tempted by a one of a kind brooch.  The price was fair, I just don't know if I'm a brooch gal or not.  Maybe next time I drop in I will cave in and buy it.  They also carry a lot of retro fashions that are cut to fit a lady with curves, and I'm thinking next time I will try a few on.

The U.S. Post Office in Marquette houses a New Deal WPA mural, I think the first I've come across in Michigan!  It was painted in oil on canvas by  Dewey Albinson in 1938.

And of course the iron ore dock is a great piece of history, here's the scoop from the City of Marquette website: once a cornerstone of the regional economy, was constructed in 1931-1932 for the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad at a cost of $1.32 million. Iron extracted from mines in western Marquette County was transported via rail to the top of the dock, emptied into the structure’s pocket chutes and loaded onto vessels docked below. From the dock’s first day of service on June 3, 1932 until its closure in 1971, nearly 24 million tons of ore left Marquette through the Lower Harbor.

After my appointments in Marquette I drove towards Munising to check out Laughing Whitefish Falls, one of the many falls in Alger County that I hadn't seen yet because it is about 30 miles from Munising.

The short hike to the falls was easy and the woods were full of birds including a soaring bald eagle and a pair of woodpeckers chattering to each other.

Also spotted was one of whatever this guy is.

It's a bit on the early side for wildflowers that far north, but I spotted a handful of Bloodroot.

At a height of 100 feet it is pretty impressive for the Midwest.  Those of you from Oregon will be unimpressed, but I'll forgive you for it!  If you're in the area and want to see the falls from the bottom there are exactly 150 stair steps to descend and then climb back up.  I was grateful for the workout after my long winter of absolutely zero exercise.

Not far from the car I spooked up a grouse, and then a few feet farther along I caught sight of another one who was trying to fool me by holding absolutely still.

Great camoflage and check out that beautiful design on its back!

I was so pleased with my adventure I took a selfie, and just look at how happy and relaxed I was!

I spent the night in Manistique, where the day turned from warm and sunny to cloudy and then rainy.

Manistique Light

I came into town from a direction I wouldn't normally travel and so I came across the 200 foot tall water tower which is listed on the National Historic Register.   That's twice as high as the waterfall!  It was pretty massive.

There was a museum on site so it may be open to the public during the summer, I'll have to look into it next time I go through on business which will probably be in early August.

I started the day with a view of Lake Michigan from my campsite at Kleinke Park just outside of Menominee.  For $15.00 I didn't mind sleeping in my car, making it my first "camping" outing of the season.  It should be warm enough at night to sleep outside soon, I can't wait!