Leaving the Upper Peninsula, we were struck by the emptiness. Not just the lack of tourists that we had avoided by coming so early. But the lack of residents. Beautiful wilderness. Though some say the UP is dying. Just over 300,000 live in the UP, barely 3% of Michigan’s population. The UP population peaked in 1920. Lack of industry is the major driver. No jobs. Waves of retirees would love to move to there, but lack of quality healthcare holds them back.
Of course many Yoopers love the lack of development and want it to stay that way. Living can still be cheap here. In some counties $600 an acre land can be purchased. Add a modest cabin. Hunting and fishing opportunities abound.
But for much hardier souls than us.
We stopped by the Wawatam Lighthouse in St Ignace before recrossing the bridge. This lighthouse has the rather bizarre history of originally being built as a roadside attraction at a Michigan welcome center near the Ohio border in 1998. It was eventually disassembled and moved to St Ignace where it now serves as an official United States Coast Guard aid to navigation… a functional lighthouse.
