Settling into a couple of weeks in the U.P. is always delightful. The day seems to struggle to reached into the upper 70’s and the cool breeze, chilly shade and absence of humidity make it seem like a world apart from the brutal heat and muggy air of the south. Air so clean it seems to not exist and a sky so big and blue it seems to go on forever. We put our bikes back together, organized our living spaces and settled into a quite evening that would end so quickly and inconspicuously that I hadn’t noticed it was over until I awoke the next morning feeling wonderfully refreshed.
Our first day was a lazy one, a trip to the little village of Engadine and then on to the fish market and harbor of Naubinway. I snagged a beautiful lake trout and settled into my happy place in the little kitchen of our cabin. Dill and chive trout, thyme roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus. As dad began to fish in the afternoons and with the market close by fish so wonderfully fresh became the dinner of choice. Bass, whitefish and trout were the first victims of our Culinary explorations and I’m sure there would be many more wonderful local catches to taste. After our dinner of trout, potatoes and asparagus Maggie and I walked out on the dock in front of our cabin to catch the sun as it faded below the horizon. The next day was a full one so we retired early for another restful night of sleep.
As I awoke it was wonderfully cool, the nights were dipping into the low 50’s and it was just gorgeous weather. Perfect for a hoodie on the screen porch and a hot cup of coffee. Breakfast tended to be country ham and sausage biscuits, muffins and fruit. We got ourselves together for the day as dad headed out to catch dinner and the rest of us headed to see some of the local sights. Our first stop was Garlyn Zoo and wildlife park, which I had not visited in 15 years.
Garlyn Zoo
The entrance to the zoo was well done and upgraded since the last time I had been there. The main building had been remodeled as had most of the other facilities and it was a really fun place. We spoke to a few of the keepers and found that it was entirely family run. The Garlyn family established the zoo in 1994 making this their 25th year of operation. The original husband and wife currently run the zoo, but we were told plans were in place for the daughters and grandchildren to take over.
For such an isolated zoo its animals are quite impressive. Lemurs, marmosets, sloths, many species of exotic birds, alligators, wolves, alpacas, llamas, bison, reindeer, lions, tigers and yes bears. The rack on the reindeer was probably one of the more impressive things I saw, it was larger it appeared, than the reindeer itself. Most of the animals were rescues from the DNR or from homes that could no longer take care of them. All things considered it was well kept, the animals looked well taken care of, the family obviously had a strong bond with all of them and one of the granddaughters even took my phone into the habitats for some up close and personal photo ops. It comes highly recommended if you are ever in the area.
The Mystery Spot
After the zoo we headed over to the mystery spot. Now this is one I had not visited before though I had always seen the signs driving in the upper Peninsula and it had one of those roadside Route 66 airs to it even before we pulled into its drive. Supposedly discovered by two surveyors in the 1950’s it touts itself as a place where magnets go haywire, plumb bobs lean in strange ways and gravity seems to play by different rules. The property had a couple of zip lines over the forest near the shores of Lake Michigan, a fort style maze, mini golf and of course the guided tour through the 300 feet in diameter physics defying area known as the mystery spot. We purchased our tickets for the tour, maze and zip lines and waited for our guided tour.
As we went into the structure built on the mystery spot it did indeed cause a bit of equilibrium loss and a strange feeling as promised, but I felt something else was at work here. Yes the experiments they performed had water seemingly flowing up and balls that didn’t want to roll down. Maggie seemed to float off of the wall in a chair and two people who would swap sides of a bench seemed to change height. The structure was built rather strangely and I suppose it was more due to optical illusions than actual science. It was a neat gimmick and Maggie thought it was fun so I would have to say it was worth the visit.
After the spot tour we ran around the maze hit a few dead ends and had a few laughs. The zip line was more of what Maggie was excited about so we geared up and made our way up the mini mountain to the zip line tower. It had some height and a great view. We shot over the evergreens that towered in the forest below and of course it was a thrilling little run. After the zip line we headed back to the cabin just in time to meet dad with his catch from lower Manistique lake. Another wonderful dinner of incredibly fresh fish followed by the undeniable urge for ice cream.
Ice Cream
I don’t know what it is about ice cream in the Yooper, but it’s a daily event. Even the gas stations have fresh dipped delights and most evenings we would wander off in search of some frozen confections. There was the parlor at the station in Engadine, the scoop ice cream and sandwich shop in Newberry, but tonight we were headed to Naubinway’s newest establishment Moo Fin Fries. A beautiful little cabin style eatery complete with it’s own slogan, “It’s a great day to have a great day”, only in the U.P. Fresh fries, fresh burgers, homemade ice cream, what’s not to love. I had Mackinac island peanut butter fudge with chocolate chunks and Maggie had the classic Northern concoction of moose tracks. Ice cream in tow and the hour growing late It wasn’t long before night began to fall and I laid down to another peaceful night in the wonderfully cool northern forest.
