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When
I was planning my summer of 2011 in Michigan, one of the most
frequent "must-sees" I was told about was Tahquamenon
Falls. But it wasn't the "dry" stats of it being
the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi and second in
size to Niagara that sold me - I wanted to see the tannin
tinted water for myself and see why these falls are also called
"Root Beer Falls."
Per
the DNR website, "the amber color of the water is caused
by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the
swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned
by the action of the falls causes the large amounts of foam,
which has been the trademark of the Tahquamenon since the
days of the voyager."
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The
Upper Falls are about 4 miles upstream from the Lower Falls.
There is no campground at the Upper Falls.
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Nice
paved trails start the walk... |
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...but
to get to the end of the Falls Brink viewing area, it takes
94 steps to get to the platform at the end. In the other direction,
to get to the Falls Gorge viewing area, it takes 116 steps
to see it from the bottom. My knees were none too happy with
my decision to do all those steps, but my eyes sure were!
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This
is where I saw the falls from the top... |
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...and watched the foaming water continue its journey downstream. |
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This
is the bottom view of the Falls from the Gorge. I enjoyed sitting
here a while and soaking it all in. |
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Zooming
in to the falls, here to the right you can also see people on
the Falls Brink viewing platform. |
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Back
at the beginning of the trail, you can relax on the large
deck with a snack or check out the gift shops and restaurant.
This
area was originally a logging camp, so the building is a replica
of the original camp.
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I
opted for a micro brew of Harvest Wheat Ale and beer battered
fries at The
Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub - a perfect end to
a perfect day at Tahquamenon Falls! At the beginning of the
trail, the info shack had a sign to let people know that "Tahquamenon"
rhymes with "phenomenon" - so appropriate in every
way!
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