Syl's Café in Ontonagon

The restaurant of choice in Ontonagon in the western UP is Syl's Café where they serve a delicious breakfast all day. They are grilling ribs for Father's Day today and many people claim they serve the best pasties in the world. This month mark's their 40th year in business and we wish them continued success. Wishing all you dads a wonderful day filled with family and good food!

Henry's Inn in Rockland

My, oh my! If you are ever in Rockland, just east of Ontonagon in the UP, treat yourself to a delicious meal at Henry's Inn. The building's history goes back to 1890 (molded tin ceilings and unique architecture) and the pasty special on Thursday is outstanding.  It is served with some great homemade cole slaw and we washed it all down with a brand of root beer called 1919 which is pretty popular with the Yoopers and not available to trolls (those who live below the bridge). They actually brew this root beer the old-fashioned way and do not use high fructose corn syrup. Two thumbs up!

Ontonagon Sunset on Lake Superior

Unspoiled beauty and a sense of awesome wonder--that's why people like visiting the upper peninsula so much. Ontonagon is a little town on Lake Superior that is famous for its river of the same name in which was found a gigantic copper rock back in 1600's. This "Ontonagon Boulder" --a gigantic nugget of 1.5 tons of copper --is so phenomenal that the Smithsonian in Washington somehow laid claims on it and has it on display. But mostly we like the peacefulness, the deserted beaches and the fresh smell of pines and fir trees and the beautiful sunsets. It doesn't get any better than this.

Porcupine State Park Lake of the Clouds

Nestled on the shores of Lake Superior in the very western portion of the upper peninsula lies one of our most coveted jewels: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Michiganders call it the Porkies. Black bears are common in this huge park of 60,000 acres, so we did not venture too far in, but we did get this spectacular view of Lake in the Clouds. Just west of Silver City, this huge tract of virgin pines is part of the largest area of undeveloped wilderness in our entire state. With 87 miles of hiking rails and lots of backwoods cabins to hole up for the night, it's a backpacker's paradise.