Aug 5, 2025 – Say Ya to Da UP, eh!

I grew up in northern Michigan, about 30 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. To the north is Michigan’s upper peninsula. The Upper Peninsula, although not that far away was an exotic place in my mind – a wild and remote land where deer and bear outnumbered humans 10 to 1. The only good reason to go there was to hunt or fish, or ride a snowmobile over miles of snow-covered forests uninterrupted by pavement.  Its a winter wonderland buried in many feet of snow half the time and a haven for biting flies the other half.

And besides, they talk funny up there – the humans, not the animals. Fact is, a large number of Finns arrived in the UP after the Civil War when a copper mining company recruited them. In the 1880s, there were 1500 Finns in the UP, and by 1930, there were 75,000 Finns and their descendants. More Swedish-speaking Finns came to Michigan than any other state.

So, the upper peninsula has its own dialect, some Scandinavian mixed with a little French-Canadian, and its own identity separate from the lower peninsula. The people there are quite proud of it. We always referred to them as ‘Yoopers’ and with time, they wore that name proudly. To be fair, they call people from the lower peninsula ‘trolls’ – as in living under the bridge.

Years ago when I was still living in Michigan, I took the Yooper identity one step further by displaying a bumper sticker that said ‘Say ya to da UP, eh!’ a take on ‘Say yes to Michigan’. I never lived in the UP, but I love an underdog that takes pride in their identity!

The UP always seemed like another state, and in fact it attempted to become its own state. That didn’t go over too well, partly because the population of the UP is only 3% of Michigan’s total population, despite being 29% of the state’s land mass. It would have been the least populated state at 300,000, not even close to the current least populated (Wyoming) coming in just under 600,000.

But, wow, it is beautiful. Now that I am older and haven’t lived in Michigan for 40 years, I come back to the north country with a deeper appreciation for its wilderness. Although the great lakes were always a big deal, my recent fondness for the upper peninsula is from the fact it is surrounded by three great lakes (not to mention Canada and Wisconsin).

Vivian and I have been to the UP several times since RV traveling and each time we discover new things. This year, we confined our UP travels to the eastern portion of the state by staying at five different locations, no more than 70 miles (and a ferry ride) between any two of them. We meandered from one great lake to another.

Enjoy these photos from the few weeks we spent in the U.P.

If you haven’t yet, check out our previous blog about our time at Aune Osborne campground spent watching the lake freighters.

We have also written about past visits to the U.P., you can check those out too!

The Mackinac Bridge

Lake Superior

Pictured Rocks and More