Alpena, Michigan sits on Thunder Bay in Lake Huron and is home to the National Marine Sanctuary and Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center . Because of the sporadic weather seen in this area, this area is infamous for its shipwrecks. Thunder Bay is nicknamed “Shipwreck Alley” due to its number of wrecks, many of which are in shallow waters and able to be seen from kayak or by snorkeling.

Our week in Alpena, Michigan was great, in spite of the rain the first couple days. The fairgrounds is a great place to stay - super quiet, and very close to town. It’s not perfect for our big rig (especially since our site flooded- the photo shows what it looked like after having a day to dry out!)

While at Kitch-iti-kipi , we decided to travel a few extra miles over to Manistique for an afternoon walk along the shore of Lake Michigan and visit Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse .

Yep it’s that time of year for us. Gotta get this task done before we’re back on the road for the next year! Made it halfway today.

Video from Kitch-iti-kipi where you can see the spring and fish.

Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring) is near Manistique, MI on the southern side of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Coming in at Michigan’s largest spring, it is over 40 feet deep and 200 feet across and the water is so clear that you can see all the way to the bottom.

A really cool part of the Pictured Rocks Cruise we took was going into Shallow Cove. The cove is only about 15 feet deep and is just barely big enough for the tour boat we were in. The water is so clear you can see to the bottom and see the fish swimming in it! Checkout the video:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was absolutely incredible! The rock formations in this park are the work of centuries of weather, wind and water.

❓Did you know that the colors come from different minerals in the groundwater that are deposited on the rock as the groundwater seeps out and travels on the surface of the rock?

Michigan is surrounded by great lakes sharing borders with 4 out of 5. There are approximately 130 lighthouses that cover various points along Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and Lake Huron on the shores of Michigan. While in Munising, we visited the Grand Island East Channel lighthouse . This beautiful and weathered looking lighthouse has been featured on numerous TV shows and is photographed by thousands of visitors annually.