Michigan: Tahquamenon State Park

Tahquamenon Falls was our last camping stop on the Great Road Trip of 2022 and it turned out to be a great spot for us all to wind down from these last few busy weeks.

We might have tried to get out and do more adventurous activities, but the boys found a couple other boys right around their age and the four of them played from sun up to sundown most days. It was an unexpected and perfect pairing. Everett & Holden have been so patient and generally game for most everything we've done on this trip, so this felt like the perfect *ending to the trip for them. They road bikes, dug sandpiles, played Yahtzee, scammed s'mores & only stopped by our campsite long enough to inhale dinner or grab a snack. They were in little boy heaven.

We dragged them away from their buddies only 2 times. The first was during our first full day at the campsite. Holden was not happy, he understandably just wanted to stay put for a day. Unfortunately BIG thunderstorms we're forecasted to roll in the first half of the afternoon, and since we didn't want WrestleMania in the tiny camper, we loaded up and drove about an hour to Sault Ste. Marie, right along the Canadian border. Fun Fact: there's not much to do in Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced: "Soo Saint Marie"). We watched a boat go through the locks, which is spectacularly boring in my opinion, and meandered around a bit. And you know we grabbed some ice cream. We got back a little after the storms and the boys disappeared with friends.

Nate and I have been unaccustomed to kid-free time these last 7 weeks, but we managed just fine. I napped, he read in his hammock and we took a few walks by ourselves to the Lower Falls. As much as the boys needed to blow off steam with other kids, Nate and I were ready for a parental respite.

The other time we pulled the boys away was on Friday, our last full day. We'd been camping only half a mile from the Lower Falls and the boys hadn't been to see them yet. The Upper Falls are the largest in Michigan, so we had to see how it compares to some in Our neck of the woods. We spent a few hours checking out the Lower & Upper Falls, grabbing lunch and - you guessed it - eating more ice cream. After that outing the boys agreed the falls were worth seeing. And they immediately ditched us as soon as we returned to the campground.

Nate and I spent the last evening discussing our favorite moments of the trip, things that didn't work, re-entry plans as school starts again in a few weeks. We luxuriated in the 70° weather with little humidity and quietly whispered our dread about returning to suffocating heat next week.

The next morning we packed up and hit the road.

Next Stop: Indiana.

*We still have one more stop in Indiana to see Nate's family, but this is our last new destination.Read more