Things to Do with Kids in Marquette

My family visited Marquette at the end of August, and my two young daughters (age eight and four) loved everything about it. With its many parks and its location on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a great vacation destination for kids.

Shiras Park and Picnic Rocks Park

When we first arrived in Marquette, we immediately headed to the beach. Even though my daughters are used to the warmer waters of the inland lakes near Detroit, they bravely swam in Lake Superior's cool water at Shiras Park's beach. We practically had to drag them out of the water because they were having so much fun. After they swam, we let them play on the playground at Picnic Rocks Park, which overlooks Lake Superior and is directly next to Shiras Park.

Presque Isle Park

A view from Presque Isle

The highlight of our trip was Presque Isle Park. Presque Isle is a 323-acre city park on the north side of town with several foot trails through its forests. My daughters managed to walk the roughly 2 miles around the perimeter of Presque Isle. They loved the views of Lake Superior and frolicking in the water by the Black Rocks as my wife and I took turns jumping from the cliffs.

Marquette also has a lot of indoor activities for bad-weather days or days when parents don't feel like dragging young children around nature trails. 

Presque Isle: More than an Island

A view from Presque Isle

Presque Isle in Marquette is not an island. It's almost an island.

Or is it more than an island?

"Presque isle" means "almost an island" in French, and this peninsular park holds 323 acres of natural beauty. On a sunny Thursday morning, my family and I walked around the perimeter of the park. The park's road along the perimeter was closed to vehicular traffic, as it is for a few hours several times per week, so our daughters were safe to dart to and fro across the street without us worrying about cars.

Presque Isle's breakwater and lighthouse

We parked and began our walk near the Presque Isle breakwater and light, where we watched a couple of kayakers launch and a few people walk along the breakwater towards the lighthouse. The walk along the road is approximately two miles total, but we made frequent stops to appreciate the spectacular views of Lake Superior from the cliffs above the water.

The lighthouse in the distance

Running Marquette

Marquette Harbor Light

Sometimes the best way to see a city or new locale is to go for an early morning run. With only a few cars going by and almost no other pedestrians to get in your way, you can run through empty streets and paths absorbing your surroundings without distractions.

Sailboats in Marquette's harbor

Marquette is a great town to go for a run. It has multiple running paths in and near the city, including the Multi Use Path that follows Lake Superior's shoreline from Presque Isle through the city until it connects with the Iron Ore Heritage Trail.

I took two morning runs while in Marquette. The first morning, I left our rented house near Northern Michigan University and ran north on Presque Isle Avenue toward Presque Isle Park. It started pouring about two minutes into my run, but I continued on and the rain slowed to a drizzle for most of my eight-mile run. A right turn onto Hawley Street brought me to a beautiful view of Presque Isle's breakwater and lighthouse.

Presque Isle breakwater and light at dawn

Five Michigan Books for Summer

Summer is here. Even the upper reaches of the U.P. are seeing temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

It's time to take advantage of the glorious outdoors that Michigan blesses us with. Whether you are packing up beach towels and umbrellas or camping and fishing gear, don't forget a book.

Michigan has produced amazing writers, and it is the setting for many fantastic works of literature. The following books are set in Michigan and written by people who called Michigan home. They are perfect companions for you while you sip morning coffee on a cold morning overlooking a still lake, unwind during quiet evenings in the woods, or relax on a hot, sandy beach.

South of Superior

Ellen Airgood's debut novel tells the story of Madeline Stone, a woman who leaves a safe, yet unsatisfactory, life in Chicago for McAllaster, a small Upper Peninsula town on the shores of Lake Superior. Madeline struggles to adjust to life in the small town and its inhabitants. As an outsider in a new locale, her good intentions often backfire, but she ultimately adapts and learns to love the simple things in life. Airgood's writing captures the feel of the Grand Marais area, where she lives. Her description of the road leading to Lake Superior and Madeline's first view of the lake captured how I felt as I drove over that last hill on M-77 leading to Grand Marais.

The Feast of Love

Charles Baxter spent many years of his life in Southeast Michigan. He taught at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, though he now lives in his home state of Minnesota, where he teaches at the University of Minnesota. Several of his works are set in Michigan, including The Feast of Love. This novel takes place in Ann Arbor and follows several characters' interconnected tales of love. Baxter's writing superbly examines love in all of its forms. Love is not simple, and neither is The Feast of Love. It is a story full of anguish, yearning, ecstasy, and sweetness.

True North

Confession: I never read a single book by Jim Harrison until this past month. I was turned off by the film Legends of the Fall, and Brad Pitt's Hollywood pretty boy looks on the film's movie posters. The film, which I have not seen, is based on a Jim Harrison story.

When Jim Harrison died in March, I read so many beautiful tributes to his poetry and literature that I decided to cast aside my ridiculous prejudice and read one of his works. I chose True North. I read it quickly, thoroughly, and passionately. The novel follows David Burkett, a descendant of Upper Peninsula logging barons, from his teenage years in the 1960s to the 1980s. David struggles to understand his place in the world in light of his family's destruction of the U.P.'s forests and his own father's wicked crimes. Harrison's writing exposes the beauty of the U.P. and the pain and emptiness in David's heart.

Returning to Earth

After finishing True North, I wanted more Jim Harrison, so I immediately purchased True North's sequel, Returning to Earth. Returning to Earth is set several years after True North, and it follows the lives of David Burkett's family members. Several family members, including David, take turns as narrator of the novel, and it is interesting to see their different perspectives on their family, especially when his half-Chippewa brother-in-law Donald or his sister Cynthia narrates.

Like True North, much of the action in the novel occurs in the woods of the U.P. as the family tries to understand and cope with the death of one of their own. It is clear through Harrison's writing that he loved the woods and lakes of the Upper Peninsula, and it is the land perhaps more than anything that ties the family together.

Here: Women Writing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Here is a collection of poems and short stories by women about the Upper Peninsula. This collection begins with the poem Here in My Native Inland Sea by Bame-wa-wa-ge-zhik-aquay (a.k.a. Jane Johnston Schoolcraft), and each subsequent story and poem weaves together a larger tapestry that brings the U.P. to life. In addition to Here in My Native Inland Sea, my favorite stories and poems in the anthology are North Country by Roxane Gay, Imprinting by Janeen Russell, Censors by Stellanova Osborn, Incomer by Gloria Whelan, and Mad Dog Queen by Sharon Dilworth.

Superior: A Cinematic Journey Through the U.P.

Director Edd Benda's first feature film, Superior, opens in Calumet, Michigan, in 1969. With two weeks left in the summer, Charlie and Derek face certain futures. Charlie (Thatcher Robinson) will attend Michigan Tech University and study engineering, while Derek (Paul Stanko) will end up in Vietnam.

Although adulthood should be near, it is as far away and foreign as a distant shore. Charlie and Derek face a choice: They can stand still in their hometown awaiting their fates, or they can have one last adventure and determine their own destinies.

SUPERIOR - Official Teaser from Beyond the Porch on Vimeo.

Charlie and Derek choose the latter and embark on a 1,300-mile bike ride around Lake Superior with little more than a few dollars, sleeping bags, one copy of Jules Verne's The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, the shirts on their backs, and shorts that were not made for biking 5 miles.

Although the film is set in 1969, it, like any good period piece, depicts characters whose emotions and desires are timeless. Except for Vietnam casting its shadow over Derek's future, the relationship between Charlie and Derek could happen at any point in history. Like any longtime friends, they measure themselves against each other and challenge each other. They ultimately need to accept that, although close friends, they face different futures.

While traveling through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, and Canada, Charlie and Derek encounter a few interesting characters (including a few overly stereotypical Minnesotans). Although a funeral director and crazy recluse add comedy to the duo's adventure, the best moments in the film are when Charlie and Derek are alone on screen. Their dialogue uncovers their hopes and fears, and the friendship feels real through the film's unspoken moments, such as the creative way they share Verne's novel or goof off on a beach.

Although Superior is a coming-of-age story and a buddy film, it is also Benda's homage to the U.P. and the largest of the Great Lakes. Benda grew up in several places but spent a good amount of his childhood, including his high school years, in Michigan. He filmed the movie in the U.P.'s Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost part of the U.P. that juts into Lake Superior. The story is inspired by his Uncle Karl's own trip around Lake Superior with a friend in 1971. The bikes used in the film are the same ones that his uncle and his uncle's friend rode.

Superior's cinematography (courtesy of director of photography Alex Bell) captures the beauty of Lake Superior and the U.P. A scene of Charlie and Derek skipping rocks over the lake's crystal-clear waters will feel familiar to anyone who has stood on a Lake Superior beach and marveled at the vast expanse of water. When Charlie and Derek are riding quietly on tree-lined roads and paths, the magnificent silence of the U.P. comes to life. The land is populated by majestic trees. Civilization is absent, but wilderness abounds. It is the perfect place to escape from the world and to find oneself in the process.

Superior is a solid first film for Benda. It feels like the start of a great adventure, and here's to hoping Benda takes us along for the ride.

For more information about Superior and Benda and Bell's production company, Beyond the Porch Productions, visit superiorthemovie.com.

A Visit to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Pictured Rocks

Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior stretches from Grand Marais in the east to Munising in the west. My family and I spent two nights in the beautiful town of Grand Marais and used the town as our home base to explore the area. Since we have two young children, my wife and I knew we would not be able to cover as much ground as we would've liked. We realized we wouldn't be able to hike or kayak, but our goal was to see the Pictured Rocks, the Grand Sable Dunes, and at least one waterfall.

When we first arrived in Grand Marais, we spent some time in town and on the beach before venturing into the national lakeshore. We drove on Alger County Highway 58. H-58 is a meandering road that runs along the lakeshore. It leads to parking lots along the park's hiking trail, allowing people without the time or luxury to hike the whole lakeshore to stop and see its highlights.

Since we were weary from a long drive from Metro Detroit, we only stopped at Sable Falls and the Log Slide Overlook on our first foray into the national lakeshore. We picked these spots because they are the two closest landmarks to Grand Marais, and they both have fairly short trails that we could handle with two tired girls.

Sable Falls

The falls were easily accessible for us, but reaching them requires descending a long set of steps built into the side of a steep hill. Our three-year-old could handle the steps, though we did carry her a little bit to speed things up.

Grand Marais: A Superior Vacation Spot

Grand Marais beach with the giant dunes on the horizon

During my recent visit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I repeatedly asked myself, "Why did it take you so long to come back here?" and "Why don't more people visit this place?" I try to live my life without regret, but I found myself regretting my failure to visit the U.P. since the last time I visited as a boy. I suppose I thought that I eventually would visit because the U.P. would always be there.

Fortunately, it was there, and it was better than I remembered. And I will be returning as soon as I possibly can.

My family and I stayed in only two places in the U.P. Our first two nights were in Grand Marais, a small but beautiful coastal town on the eastern end of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The Mackinac Bridge

The only way to reach Grand Marais and the U.P. from the Lower Peninsula by car is across the majestic Mackinac Bridge. Crossing the Mighty Mac was always one of my favorite parts of my childhood U.P. trips, but I did not remember how breathtaking the view from the bridge was. We were surrounded by beautiful blue water spotted with green, tree-covered islands as we soared 200 feet above the straits. I turned to my wife and said, "I keep telling myself, 'This is so beautiful!' over and over again." As a kid, I was more impressed by the bridge. Now, I still appreciated the bridge, but I was most impressed by the view of the straits the bridge provides.

Driving along Lake Michigan on US-2

After crossing the bridge, we headed west along US-2 instead of heading east, as my family always did. The highway runs along the Lake Michigan coast and provides gorgeous views of Lake Michigan. We stopped at a couple of scenic overlooks and marveled at the tremendous body of water before us. We thought of stopping to swim, but I had the opportunity on the way back from Grand Marais toward Lake Huron to take a dip in Lake Michigan from a rest area on US-2 (so I could swim in all of the U.P.'s Great Lakes during our trip). We eventually turned inland and headed north along M-77, which took us over rolling hills through forests and farmland.

As we approached Grand Marais, we reached the crest of large hill and saw miles of blue water ahead of us. Lake Superior!

An Apology Letter to the Great Lakes

Dear Great Lakes, 

I underestimated you.

Lake Superior

I grew up loving the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I lived in a little beach town in Massachusetts for part of my childhood, and my family spent a lot of time at and in the water. No matter how cold the water was or how huge the waves were, my brother and I loved bodysurfing. The waves could slam us down onto the sand and drag us, and we’d go right back in. I loved everything about the beach: the salty smell, the sound of the waves, and the feel of the sand, the rocks, and floating in the water. I loved exploring and swimming but could also just sit there and let all my senses take it in. I have always been in love with the beach.

So when I moved to Michigan in high school and people said lake beaches were great beaches, I scoffed. A lake can’t be a beach beach, I said. A few years later, I saw the Chicago side of Lake Michigan, and the lake itself was beautiful, with the shiny city skyline perched alongside it. But the beach area I saw—just a stretch of sand and water--was unimpressive. So I still wasn’t convinced. I didn’t doubt that the Great Lakes were gorgeous, but I doubted that lake beaches could have the feel of beach beaches.