June 12, 2013. Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.

 

 

 

 

 

June 12, 2013.  Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.  TFSP is reputed to be the crown jewel of the Michigan state park system.  It is nice in many respects.  The showers are new and clean.  It offers two different water falls.  The lower falls are a series of five 3-10 foot drops which appear to my eye more of a cascade than a falls.  The upper falls is unmistakably a water fall, with a 48-foot vertical drop.  The water is tinged brown from the tannins carried by the Tahquamenon River.  Tannins are organic matter which drains from the swamps and low-lying areas which feed the river.  The various placards placed around the falls say that the water is not unsafe, that fish taken from the river may be safely eaten. 

I took a series of pictures utilizing slow to fast shutter speeds.  The faster speeds were 1/1000^th of a second.  That speed freezes the water droplets as they plummet to the rocks below.  I also shot at 1/200th of a second and then at the slowest shutter speed of 1/15^th of a second.  At the slowest speed, the rushing water looks white, like ice.  I had fun playing with the camera. 

It was a struggle to get Annie here.  For several reasons she didn’t want to come.  First, this is the black bear capital of Michigan, or so the signs say.  I don’t need to remind you of Annie’s fear of bears.  The sight of a 25-pound cub would send her screeching and screaming to the nearest tree.  Can’t you just imagine Annie being chased up a tree by a cute little bear cub.  Second, she imagined that this was a primitive area, with dirt roads and winding dirt trails through dark and scary woods inhabited by flesh-eating creatures.  The only undesirable creatures we’ve encountered are the mosquitoes.  There are a gazillion of them and, while they don’t eat flesh, they will suck the blood out of you. 

But, TFSP is a lovely park of tall pines, sugar maples and beech trees.  The roads are paved and, away from the falls, it is serenely quiet.  TFSP is just ten miles down the road from the aptly named Paradise, Michigan, just a few miles from Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. 

Two years ago, Angie made a CD of great music for us to listen to as we drove to Alaska.  One of the songs on the CD is Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffet.  I was playing the CD as we reached the city limits of Paradise.  The Buffet song began playing just as we entered town.  We spent ten minutes looking for a cheeseburger place.  There are no cheeseburgers in Paradise, Michigan.  Jimmy must have been singing about a different paradise. 

There is no Internet signal here.  I am typing this on the 12^th of June, but it won’t be published until tomorrow.  Those of you who arise ten minutes early to rush to your computers will be disappointed.  It is not my fault.  And, I am probably the only person who arises ten minutes early to read what I wrote the night before.  At my age, I only need one newspaper per week.  By the next morning, I will have forgotten yesterday's news and I can just read it over again.  Besides, the news never changes.  All that changes is the location of the robberies, fires and collisions.  By buying only one paper per week, I save money.  Clever, huh?