While this is technically part eight or nine of my "Traveling the UP" series, it was only the second full day of our vacation, so that is what I am going with for the title.
We woke up on Monday morning to much cooler weather than we had experienced on Sunday. We had some breakfast and then I started plotting out our plans for the day. Many state parks give you a brochure when you check in that has local attractions and maps of the park and hiking trails.
The brochure for Baraga State Park prominently displayed some really fantastic pictures of waterfalls that 
We hopped in the truck and headed out along the coast of L'Anse Bay. I took the long scenic way to our first destination and it really made me realize just how vast the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is. You can literally drive for hours just to get from one location to the next and still be in the same relative geographic area.
I am talking miles and miles of seemingly untouched forest. It makes you wonder how long it has been since people walked through some sections of it. I read a news story a while ago about where they found a plane wreck in the middle of the forest in the UP. It had been there for years but it was just recently that someone was actually hiking in the area and came across it. It definitely gives you a sense of awe as well as a little bit of the creeps.
The first stop on our list was Agate Falls and I have to say I was pretty unimpressed with it. The picture we saw in the brochure was very misleading. You can kind of see in the bottom right corner of the picture above what the falls are supposed to look like.
Instead we got photos like you see above. There was so much tree coverage that you couldn't really get a good view of the falls at all. The only thing I can figure is either the photo in the brochure was taken via drone, or someone walked down to the river bank farther downriver and worked their way up to get the photo.
There was evidence that people had jumped the rail on the walkway and made their way down the slope to the river bed. Even in my younger years, I am not sure I would have attempted it. Getting down may have not been too hard, but getting up would have been another story. The slope was pretty significant and I had no desire to be stuck at the bottom of the hill.
We took a few quick pictures and then headed back to the truck to check out the next waterfall. We had our fingers crossed that it was going to be more impressive than Agate Falls.
I guess I kind of ruined the surprise with the opening photo, but Bond Falls was absolutely stunning. Totally worth the drive and the short hike to access it. They have a nice wooden walkway that takes you out in front of the falls to get the shot that you see above.
They also have some hiking trails and a path alone each side of the falls that take you farther up stream.
The hiking path on the right side of the falls gets you so close that you can actually reach out and touch the water as it comes crashing over the rocks.
The upper part of the falls offers some stunning views as well. While not as big of a drop they are spread out giving a nice "rapids" feel.
This just gives you an idea of what the terrain is like on the trails. This part of Michigan has quite a number of trails carved into the landscape. These huge boulders are quite a common sight.
There you go, this is the first part of day two. I will bring you the second part of day two tomorrow. Then we will be moving on to Day 3 and the Porcupine Mountains. Be sure to check back!
Previous posts in this series can be found here
@bozz/bozzlife-the-beginning-of-a-grand-adventure
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-1
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-2
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-3
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-4
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-5
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-6
@bozz/bozzlife-traveling-the-up-part-7-and-the-close-of-day-one
All pictures taken by
