The UP shares many characteristics with the lower peninsula, but also has an atmosphere and ethos all its own. The upper peninsula, aka The UP (usually pronounced “Da Yu-Pee”), is a rugged spike connected to the lower peninsula by the Mackinac Bridge (the 5 th-longest suspension bridge in the world) and to Wisconsin by land. The lower peninsula is the “mitten” most people picture when they think of Michigan. No matter where you are standing in Michigan, you’re on a peninsula. If you don’t happen to read Latin, the English translation is, “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.” And a more apt state motto you will not find. “Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circum spice” is Michigan’s state motto.
