Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, we did a drive about around what is considered by the locals as America’s playground on the coast of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. We stopped at a neat little town there and, of course, visited the marina. Ken and a husband and wife tourist team went aboard a small catamaran listed for sale. The couple vacation in the area with their children every year and were interested in the boat as a possible vacation toy for future family visits. Ken, always interested in anything that floats, climbed aboard, peeked in the windows and offered comments and suggestions that he thought worth considering in their evaluation process. I reminded him later that "he that knoweth everything should also know when to keep his mouth shut". After our stop in Munising and its Pictured Rocks and in Ontagon with its surrounding countryside from Lake of the Clouds, Houghton, Eagle River and Eagle Harbor, our Wisconsin visit to the shores of Lake Superior was anti climatic. Perhaps we were developing an immunity to beauty for that week? We completed our circle tour and proceeded on our way though were we not beginning to feel anxious to "hotfoot" it home, we would have considered a recommended Apostle Islands lighthouse tour that departs from Bayfield. We intended to spend the night in the Superior/Duluth area but alas, we missed our turn off and upon discovering our error, proceeded on for an overnight stop in Hill City Minnesota.
Wednesday, we completed our travel through Minnesota into North Dakota and spent Wednesday night in Jamestown, North Dakota. We visited the Buffalo Museum there and became acquainted with the winds of the Dakotas.
Thursday we moved into South Dakota, choosing secondary roads as opposed to the interstate highways which offered us beautiful views and less traffic. For the most part the roads were surprisingly good and untraveled. Ken almost committed himself to my wrath when he inadvertently acted on a sign without reading it thoroughly and we ended up on 43 miles of untraveled road through an Indian reservation. Once we were committed to the road, there was no place to turn around. For the approximately two hours that it took us to get to a likely stop for the night I sat in silent and controlled rage wondering why I allow myself to be so abused in this travel and adventure period of my life. My treat at the end of the 43 mile by way was early dinner/late lunch at the Indian Casino whose sign had created our confusion and caused us an unplanned excursion through isolated Indian country. After our long days drive and travel, we spent the night in the capital of South Dakota, Pierre. Earlier in the week Ken had noticed that one of the wheels appeared to be leaking lubricant and Thursday morning we took the coach into Freightliner to have the wheels checked. It turned out that both front wheels needed to be repacked and in the process, the mechanic suggested that we should replace the two front tires that were wearing unevenly as a result of the front end apparently being out of alignment. We decided to hold off on getting that work done until we arrived Rapid City where we had planned to spend three days visiting the sights of Mount Rushmore and surrounding areas.
We spent labor day weekend in the Rapid City South Dakota area, visiting Mount Rushmore, Custer Mountain, the Sitting Bull mountain sculpture which is in progress, Mammoth caverns, Thunderhead Mine, Cave of the Winds and enjoyed the beautiful wide open spaces of that scenic and serene countryside.
Ken decided to have the tires rotated and try to get home without purchase of new tires to give us more time to evaluate the problem with the wheels. Tuesday morning we had the work done and by noon we were out and away en route home in earnest.. We spent Thursday night in Casper Wyoming where we enjoyed dinner with our friend Helen Holzaepfel. Helen spent a week with us in Key West Florida and has since relocated to Casper from Orlando Florida. After dinner, we visited with Helen and her daughter, Lisa before biding them goodbye in preparation for an early departure Wednesday.
Wednesday we overnighted in Evanston, Wyoming and Thursday, St George Utah. Friday afternoon we did a brief stop over in Las Vegas before trekking on into Barstow for the night. We arrived home in Glendale before noon on Saturday thus concluding twenty weeks of adventure and road travel. We are ready for a long visit to our domicile of record, enjoying our children and grandchildren but most of all just being home! During the upcoming weeks I plan to do an in depth revisitation of our trip which I will post for what I hope will be entertainment.
Our arrival in Mackinaw City on Monday was without event. The park located on the shores of Lake Huron offered a beautiful view of the Mackinac Bridge which connects Mackinaw City with the Upper Peninsula and Canada. The rally got off to a bang up start with a tasty dinner on Monday night. Tuesday was a day of seminars designed to update or review operating procedures for the Allegro amenities provided in our coaches. Factory technicians and Allegro vendor representatives were available to address any problems that the attendees might be experiencing with their coaches.
Wednesday was "Mackinac day". Breakfast at 7AM with shuttles departing for the ferry to Mackinac at 8. After guided carriage tours of the island, a buffet lunch was provided at the majestic old Grand Hotel which sits on a hill overlooking the island as icing on a beautiful cake. The hotel has been completely redecorated and painted since we were last there in 1997 or 1998. It’s decor s reflects the high price of admission. A visit to Mackinac Island and the village that bears its name is a step back in town, a reminder of the days of yore when the best part of the good life was the tax rate.
Thursday was a free day and we, like many others, used it as a day to explore the surrounding area. We drove to the Soo locks at Sault Ste Marie and planned to take a two hour boat tour through the locks. Instead, as we were arriving two large freighters were preparing to pass through the locks and we were able to catch them as they maneuvered through the locks from Lake Superior into Lake Huron. To see those two large ships move into the lock, see the great doors of the lock close and the water drain 20 foot for the ships to move into the lower lake was awesome. Our neighbor at the rally reported that they were still in town when a thousand foot freighter maneuvered through the locks. We were envious of their good fortune. We had to settle for 500 footers. Our day Thursday closed with dinner and entertainment provided by local entertainment that was good enough to keep us reasonably attentive until the end.
Friday was another free day which prompted us to consider an early getaway inasmuch as rain was forecast for Saturday. We decided to strike out mid morning and travel to Tahquamanon Falls with the thought that we would take the combination 8 gauge tooner trolley and boat trip up the river to view the falls on Saturday. However, we arrived early enough on Friday to explore the falls on our own. Saturday morning we were awakened by heavy rainfall that ruled out the morning train/boat trip. While the falls were interesting, we’ve seen lots of falls on this trip. Thus, we were not disappointed to make do with a pleasant hike through the woods and some nice photos from our Friday visit.
We stayed in the Michigan State Park at Tahquanomon Falls and were grateful for our comfortable camping style as we left the park where traditional "tent" campers were seeking shelter under "make shift" canopies. We thought that we should have invited our neighbors for breakfast in the shelter of our comfortable abode but we didn’t think about it until we were on the way out.
Our decision to forego the train and boat trip was a good one. The early morning showers escalated into heavy showers as we drove from the Tahquamenon Falls area to Munising where we hoped the weather might clear enough for a boat trip viewing of the Pictured Rocks Coastline along the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline of Lake Superior. A rally acquaintance recommended the Pictured Rocks as a side trip worth taking as we traveled through the Michigan Upper Peninsula. It was a great recommendation. We arrived at Munising just at noon and to our amazement, the sky had cleared, the sun was out and our three hour trip on Lake Superior turned out spectacular in both beauty and enjoyment.
A fellow passenger dutifully made notes of the ad lib of our Tour Captain and thanks to her, I will provide you with some of the details that he shared with us. The rocks were formed 500 million years ago and they are truly stunning examples of Mother Nature’s masterful sculpturing. The seashore extends 37 miles along the South Shoreline of Lake Superior from Munising to Grand Marais. The shoreline consists of 15 miles of multicolored sandstone cliffs, 12 miles of sandy beaches and 5 square miles of sand dunes, accessible only by boat or foot. The Captain pointed out the locations of several ships that have gone down in the lake during heavy storms, most of which were in October as early winter storms caught ships captains by surprise. Lake Superior has a reputation for never giving up its dead. The cold water does not permit bodies lost to its depths to float and thus, Lake Superior claims forever its victims. Grand Island an island larger than Mackinac Island, protects the Coast of Munising from the harsh winter storms that the Lake produces. The Island has a few "hearty" inhabitants (mostly summer I think). It is primarily rugged and unspoiled, accessible only by boat except during the winter when the ice provides a "cool" navigational resource for transiting the bay as well as a temporary sturdy platform from which ice fishermen may seek their prey.
Our visit to Lake Superior was the last of our visits to all five of the Great Lakes during this trip and it is, I believe, the most beautiful of these great wonders of nature.. Until this visit, I was not aware that Lake Superior is the coldest, the deepest and the cleanest of the five great lakes. Four of the five Great Lakes border the State of Michigan and we could not help but think that the Great Lakes are a vastly under utilized resource of our great country.
On Sunday, we concluded what was to be our Mackinaw week that had become a Michigan upper peninsula week with a visit to Ontonagon and the beautiful Lake of the Clouds, located in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, another superb recommendation from a fellow traveler. After our trip through the "Porkies" (as they are referred to by the locals) and our visit to the Lake of the Clouds we drove up the Lake Superior coastline to Houghton, Eagle Harbor and the village of Eagle River, where we had dinner at Fitzgeralds, a lovely German restaurant overlooking the bay. While we enjoyed "authentic" German "vittles", we watched as a large cargo ship made its way up the Coast in the distance. On our drive back from our Coast safari, a black bear crossed the road ahead of us, which provided a nice end to our sightseeing day.
We concluded our visit to Michigan’s beautiful and scenic upper peninsula with an overnight at Marquette Monday night, August 29. From there, we commenced our long journey home that will conclude with a visit to Mount Rushmore and the Rapid City area of South Dakota. We understand outstanding adventures of visual beauty and natures bounty of a different type await our visit there.
