26 in 2026: Visit a New Indie Bookstore -- Honest Dog Books

One of my newer bucket list goals is to visit an indie bookstore in every state as well as every county in Wisconsin. I saw that Bayfield had a bookstore but didn't really have it on the itinerary. When we literally parked in front of the bookstore when we went to dinner, I took it as a sign that I must visit. 

Honest Dog Books is an indie bookstore that is dog friendly in Bayfield. It is open daily 9-7. There is plenty of free street parking around the bookstore. 

Honest Dog Books is not large but it is crammed full of books. There is a huge selection of indie authors both signed and unsigned copies. They also have many bestseller authors. 

My rule to buy a book that I'm going to keep, it must be a signed copy. I am running out of space in my bookcases. The hubby grumbles about my books but he did help pick some out. 

The hubby was really good at spotting signed copies and I left with 2 books. I really only expected to buy one but The Moon Tavern sounded really good. 

The person working wasn't overly friendly but then again the hubby was probably giving her the death stare that I was buying books. I won't hold that against her but a few pleasantries would be nice. 

I would definitely go back to Honest Dog Books and if you are in need of a good book while visiting the  Apostle Islands, check out Honest Dog Books. 

26 in 2026: Try One New Pizza Place -- Manypenny Bistro

 Not sure if we'd ever be back to Bayfield County, I wanted to have pizza in Bayfield. The options were limited. The best option looked to be Manypenny Bistro. 

Manypenny Bistro is located downtown Bayfield on the corner of Manypenny Ave and Second St. It is open daily 7-9 during the summer. Street parking is available. We got lucky and parked across the street. 

There is something for everyone. From burger and pizza to entrees and salads. You could go upscale or keep it simple. We went with pizza and mozzarella sticks. 

Honestly the mozzarella sticks were disappointing. They were no better than the box stuff I can get in the freezer section. I understand if you don't want to make them homemade but if you are going to go the frozen route, get some decent quality ones not ones that taste frozen. 

The pizza on the other hand was good. It is wood stone oven pizza which is not the same as wood fired pizza. I was hoping for a little bit of char. The crust was more of traditional style crust that we would find at Luigi's. The sausage was actually very good. 

Overall it wasn't a bad experience. I would go back and probably try a sandwich or entree. If you are in Bayfield, I would definitely recommend trying Manypenny Bistro. Everything looked good.

5744. Go to Copper Falls State Park near Mellen

 Mom gave a newspaper article on the best waterfalls in Wisconsin. I already had plans to visit 2 on our trip. I initially nixed the idea of going to Copper Falls because I thought it was too far out of the way. However that newspaper article made me rethink that idea. I figured if we skipped the sculpture garden, we could go to Copper Falls and the hubby would probably prefer the waterfall. 

Copper Falls State Park is about 30 southeast of Ashland. It is open daily 6 am - 11 pm unless you are camping. It does require a state park pass or daily admission. If you are a Wisconsin resident, get the park pass because two visits to any state park in a rolling calendar year pretty much pays for the pass. Daily rate is $13 while the yearly pass is $28. 

We parked at the nature center and walked the short flagstone path to Copper Falls. Due to lack of rain, it was not as spectacular as it would be in spring. It still had a decent drop. The hubby said it wasn't that impressive. 

We were going to check out the other waterfall but it required several sets of stairs. The hubby wasn't in the mood to climb stairs. From the map it is also accessible by the Disabled Access Road which has handicap parking and some parking for compact vehicles. There's always next trip.

Was Copper Falls as spectacular as I hoped. No not really but I also know it is the height of summer in a pretty dry summer so I wasn't expecting a lot. The hubby isn't much of a hiker so we didn't explore too much else of the park. I need to work on getting him to hike more. 

If you are up by Ashland or Bayfield, definitely go check out Copper Falls State Park. Always chase the waterfalls. 

Checking Out the Da Yoopers Tourist Trap

 Anything with "Yooper" in the name is worth checking out. Since we were going right by Da Yooper Tourist Trap Museum and Rock Shop, I figured we might as well stop. 

Da Yooper Tourist Trap Museum and Rock Shop is located in Ishpeming. It is right off of US 41. It is open daily and has plenty of parking.

Da Yooper Tourist Trap Museum is part outdoor museum, gift shop, and rock shop. 

I was excited to check out the museum of unique Yooper-isms. The hubby was less than enthused. Everything is cleverly labeled and more or less a history of living in the U.P. 

Some of it was historical.

Some of it was hilarious. 

Of course the nod to St. Vince was my favorite.

Inside you could find more artifacts.

We did not spend much time in the gift shop. It was crowded and hard to browse. If I was with Stacy or Heather (or my cousins or mom) would have had a blast. It is just that kind of store. 

We did however spend some quality time in the small rock shop next store. They had various rocks from Michigan. The hubby was excited to get some real copper. The shopkeeper was very friendly too.

If you like corny roadside attractions, this is a must stop. If you are like the hubby and don't appreciate a little corniness on vacation, you may want to keep going. 

302. Take a glass bottom boat ride

 When we went to Pictured Rocks a few years ago, I really wanted to do the Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour but it closed for the season on September 30 and we were there October 1. I kept it on the bucket list especially after Heather said how cool it was.

Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tours operates out of Munising, MI. It is open daily Memorial Day weekend to September 30th. There are at least 2 tours a day, up to 5 during peak season. Cost is $41/adult and children 6-12 $15 and $1 for kids under 5. There is parking across the street from the dock. Reservations are highly encouraged especially in summer. The tour lasts about 2 hours.

We sat upstairs on the port side of the boat. Everyone gets a chance to view the two shipwrecks regardless of where you sit. There are four viewing wells on the lower deck and when we got to a shipwreck, the passengers on the lower deck would be able to view the shipwreck while the captain explained about it. Then they would take their seats and the passengers on the upper deck would make their way down to the viewing wells and the captain would tell more information about the shipwreck while navigating over the entire shipwreck both times. 

Unlike the Pictured Rock Boat Cruises, you actually don't get to close to Pictured Rock National Lakeshore but will still see similar landforms. It takes you around Grand Island. 

Our first stop was the Shipwreck Bermuda which went down in the waters of Lake Superior in September 1870. It was moved to the Murray Bay location in 1873, full intact. We were able to see the entire ship including the mast from the viewing wells on the lower deck. 

We then cruised past the East Channel Lighthouse. 

This is where we saw several bald eagles.

We made our way our the island and saw some sea caves. 

Before heading back to shore, we checked out the Herman H. Hettler shipwreck. She went down in November 1926 while trying to seek shelter from a storm. This wreck is actual visible from the surface as the water is pretty shallow. 

The wreck of the Herman H. Hettler is scattered across a half mile of lake bottom. The anchor is nearby. 

This tour was well worth it. The captain tells corny jokes and is very knowledgeable. Jimmy Buffet is playing on the way back to shore. 

Even if you have the Pictured Rock Boat Tour, do this one as well. It gives you a different and you get to see shipwrecks. Who doesn't like shipwrecks.. especially when I don't have to paddle a kayak on Lake Michigan (and back) again. 

6548. Dip my toes in all the Great Lakes -- Lake Huron

 I want to dip my toes in all the Great Lakes. I realized I could accomplish thee of them on this trip to the U.P. I didn't realize I could do it in one day. I dipped my toes into Lake Superior in the morning at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.. we found a rest stop with a view of the Mighty Mac and easy access to Lake Michigan. That just left Lake Huron and I knew where I could do this.

In my planning, I saw American Legion Memorial Park was not that far from our hotel and had a beach. Last night after we checked out the Wawatam Lighthouse, I made sure that it was too far to walk to with the hubby. He confirmed it was too far for him to walk. So we planned on driving over to it today.

American Legion Memorial Park in St. Ignace has a rocky beach along the shores of Lake Huron along with pavilions, a playground, and picnic tables. 

I did not realize the beach was rocky. I was expecting a sand beach like back home. The rocky beach made it slightly painful to get to the water in bare feet.

Let me tell you, Lake Huron was FREEZING! It was as cold as I would have expected Lake Superior to be. I'm glad I only dipped my toes in. 

There were some swimmers doing laps in the open water.

A few kids playing in the waves.

I was satisfied with just dipping my toes in and then going to sit and watch the waves crash every time the ferry came in. 

I wonder when and I will get to dip my toes in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. 

Checking out Cut River Bridge

Going up on the shores of Lake Michigan I have spent plenty of time in and around Lake Michigan but I wanted to dip my toes in three Great Lakes on the same day. This lead us trying to find an easy spot for me to dip my toes in Lake Michigan. The hubby's spot didn't pan out. I knew we should have checked out the northern most point of Lake Michigan. However on this mission, he pulls into Roadside Park thinking we might be able to walk down to the lake. 

Roadside Park is where one parks if they want to see the Cut River Bridge and Gorge. It's a bridge the hubby has no issue driving over. The Cut River Bridge is a cantilevered deck truss bridge... one of two in Michigan. 

You can walk under the bridge to cross the road. From there you can take a set of stairs down to the gorge, hiking trails, and possibly Lake Michigan. We did not do this as the hubby claims he walked enough that day and who knows if we would have made it back up. Maybe one day we will explore the gorge.

I'll be honest I didn't know this was a roadside attraction. If I did it probably would have gone on the list of things to see in the U.P. 

It was kind of cool to see the cantilevered trussells supporting the bridge and seeing it (kinda) from underneath. 

There were some wild raspberries in the park. I has have tempted to pick some but I didn't feel like climbing through weeds to get to them. One day I will pick wild berries. 

If you like bridges and things, definitely check out the Cut River Bridge the next time you are in the U.P. It is right on Hwy 2 as you are heading towards St. Ignace.