Paradise UP North

Where literature abounds

Wild blueberries, whitefish, lighthouses, shipwrecks, and deep blue waters with colorful agates, best describe the land on the shore of Lake Superior.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with its natural beauty and lore has attracted authors, artists and tourists for hundreds of years.

Perhaps it’s the wilderness and remoteness that people seek as they venture what is lovingly called UP North as soon as you pass Cadillac, and leave behind civilization as we know it.

The towns become smaller and traffic is less dense. The fields give way to woods and streams. Due to harsh weather, the trees are not as tall. Even if you were blindfolded and then threw away your bandana, you would immediately know that you’re UP North.

It’s a different feeling and atmosphere all together. The roads are narrow sometimes without shoulders. You feel like you’ve escaped it all. You leave behind old feelings, old landscapes and old habits.

You find yourself anew, refreshed as you ease into a slower pace, and immerse yourself in nature and the UP culture. The weather is unpredictable as are the waters of the lake.

You dive in to the cold water and look for water’s gems that come in all shapes and colors. You usually swim alone. The only strange encounters may be with a floating piece of wood. The bottom of the lake can be shallow far into Whitefish Bay, so you just walk in water.

The sky can be heavy with clouds or as light as a feather. The colors blend or contrast like a painter’s palette.

Simplicity is the slogan. You go back to basics to discover something you didn’t know you had in you. The artists and artisans reflect that; from the flintknapper shaping arrowheads to Yoopers Sisters Jam at the Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise starting tomorrow Aug. 18 through Aug. 20.