100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, 2nd Edition

Book excerpt: Touring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) is like taking a two-week trip by station wagon. Not in terms of time—you can sample plenty if four days is all you have. It’s about stepping back and appreciating a place of raw scenic beauty dotted with roadside attractions, blinker-light towns, rustic cabins, and hand-painted signs advertising smoked fish and homemade jam. With the second edition of 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, discover a land mostly surrounded by the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, linked to the state’s mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula by a five-mile suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac. The UP surprises with Victorian-era and car-free Mackinac Island, millions of acres of forests, waterfalls, wildlife, remnants of the prosperous copper mining era, and 1,700 miles of spectacular shoreline. It’s home to about 311,000 hardy Yoopers (UP-ers), just 3 percent of Michigan’s population across a third of the state’s territory. Cell phone service can be spotty and the top speed along two-lane highways is 55 mph—all the better to slow down and embrace the UP, whether you’re in search of extreme sports experiences, soft adventure, or a simple slice of solitude.