While we were staying in Eagle River (which I have thus far failed to mention is the snowmobile capital of the world--seriously, it's where the world championships are held), we decided to drive up to into Michigan one evening in search of the mysterious Paulding Light.
So we climbed into the car and said a brief good-bye to Wisconsin.
This was our first venture into Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and, while it was but a teensy tiny taste, I think we got the flavor of the UP--remote and isolated! Definitely a place to go if you want to get away--because you feel very away indeed.
(It's kind of embarrassing how jittery and nervous Greg and I felt without cellphone service. I was convinced we were going to hit a deer--they were everywhere in and along the roads!--and what's a person to do with car troubles and no cell phone?!! Sheesh. You'd think we'd never been in the wilderness before. To be honest, we didn't have mobile service in Eagle River, but compared to this part of Michigan, Eagle River felt like Manhattan. On top of that, I have a feeling the part of the UP we were in is pretty darn well-populated compared to areas even farther north.)
We stumbled upon the headwaters of the Wisconsin River, which felt very exciting for some reason. (Perhaps because we'd crossed the Wisconsin about 200 times on our drive up to Eagle River.)
Farther north, on a whim, we followed a sign to "Bond Falls," having no idea what we would find at the end of the twisty, winding road. We found a parking lot and a path, which we followed to this beautiful falls...
It was such a surprise! I didn't expect anything so big and grand. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. The picture only shows about half of the falls, and it's difficult to see how high the falls actually is. (I was surprised by the elevation change--I didn't know it was possible to have a water fall that high in such a seemingly-flat Midwestern area.)
David and Mary were pretty unimpressed. Mostly they were cold and scared of the impending dark.
Speaking of the dark...
After dusk we managed to find Robbins Pond Road (thanks to a friendly local) and the crowd of people gathered to watch the mysterious Paulding Light. The kids were not excited to get out of the car, but we bribed them with Twizzlers. And there it was, plain as day...
(The two other lights are from the cellphones of other onlookers.) The light comes and goes every night, hovering above the ground, changing from red to greenish to amber, increasing and decreasing in intensity. It was discovered in 1966 by a group of teenagers, and a dozen legends have sprung up surrounding it, most involving ghosts. We waaaay downplayed the ghost thing with David and Mary--I think I've already established that my kids are fearful. But it was fun to be out in the woods at night with a group of people all gathered together for the same weird reason. And the light is pretty cool (and easy to see--it's definitely there), though the most plausible explanation, discovered two years ago, is a bit anti-climatic, of course (but still interesting!).
Then we returned back to Wisconsin, successfully avoiding the deer. So my kids might only have spent two hours in Michigan, but, one day, when they're staring at a map of the U.S. and counting how many states they've been to, they'll thank us. Also, they'll be able to say they've seen a ghost.
