MN and MI (09-05-12)

We are now on our way to a Mobile Suites Rally in Michigan. It’s quite a drive from where we are to where we’re going, so some of our days are spent in the truck for hours at a time, trying to put some serious miles behind us. Of course, everything is relative- we don’t like traveling more than 200 miles in a day, so 275 miles sure seems like a lot!  Just ask the cat! We did stop in Duluth for two nights, partly because we couldn't fathom when we would ever come back this way again, so we figured we'd better check it out now!  We actually thought the town was really nice and had a lot to offer, and we packed a lot of adventure into the one day we had there. We started by driving down to the waterfront. Situated on Lake Superior, Duluth is the most inland seaport in the U.S.   Many freighters still come through this way, picking up raw materials.
 

We enjoyed watching the lift bridge open for the sailboats and freighters to go underneath, and were impressed that as the freighter cruised through, someone over a PA system explained to the watching crowds how the lift bridge works and gave the history of the ship that was currently coming through. 

The crew of each vessel gives one long and two short blasts of their massive horn,  as a courtesy salute to the bridge tender.  The bridge tender then blasts his horn in response,  tooting the same message.  Paul grinned as he said that as impressive as they were, he didn't have horn envy (well, actually, we both thought the freighter horn sounded really cool!).

Along the waterfront there are the usual shops, hotels, boat excursions, and a museum of the Army Corp of Engineers.  We headed to that (free) museum to read about the local history of the COE.  This is where I love modern technology.  After the first 20 minutes, I started playing on my cell phone while Paul took his time exploring the exhibits.  


a walking boardwalk right next to the bike path!



Duluth also has several bike trails so we got out the bikes and realized it had been almost a year since we'd ridden them!  That will have to change, although to be fair, it was partly  because of my broken wrist.   After riding the 12 mile round trip trail that follows along Lake Superior for a while we decided that was enough for our first day back at it.

               

On the way back to the trailer, we drove up the local scenic drive, Skyline Drive which gave us a great view of the seaport, then stopped at Walmart to pick up some diesel oil.  Paul chatted with someone the other day who changes his own oil on his F350, so Paul has decided to change ours from now on too.  We'll save about $150-250 a year by doing it ourselves, plus he'll change  the fuel filter too, which will save us even more.

Keweenaw Peninsula- the U.P. of MI (9-14-10)

     When I was mentally composing my blog in my head this morning, my frustration was certainly evidenced in my thoughts. Every where around me, the word Eagle is incorporated into so many names- Eagle Point, Eagle Harbor, Eagle River, Eagles Rest Motel etc.- even the radio station is called Rockin Eagle. But there have been no eagles in sight anywhere! Then, this afternoon that changed. While on a bike ride, we were visited by a Bald Eagle while stopped in a small harbor to absorb the view. There was no way I could get a picture fast enough, especially since I wasn’t willing to take my eyes off him long enough to get the camera set up. Well, at least I got a good look at him this time. In fact, I saw him again later and he flew really close to me- I had the camera out, but when a bird is that close, its impossible to get the camera focused on him in time to snap. I did get a couple of pictures, but from a distance.

        We have been in Copper Harbor Michigan, at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula for the last few days (without cell phone and internet). I thought it would be a bigger town since I heard so much about it, but it’s a very small town. One of the ferries that goes to Isle Royale National Park leaves from here. Paul has been to Isle Royale before, and we were very interested in going there now, but seriously, when we priced it out, between the ferry, the hotel and meals, it would have cost us $1000 for 3 days. Not worth it this time around.

       We’ve managed to keep ourselves busy in this small town. We are staying in Fort Wilkins State Park, and the Fort has been partially restored, so we spent half a day exploring it. It is very well done, with lots of tidbits of interesting information about the people who lived here, the history of the fort, and what daily life would have been like back in the mid 1800s, when the fort was built. My favorite display had buttons that you could push to play “calls”. All the tunes that were used for various purposes during the day such as Reveille, breakfast call, etc were represented. There was a drum pad there, with 2 drumsticks, so you could play along on the drums, although for some reason, Paul wasn’t thrilled when I did that.
     We have driven up to the top of Brockway Mountain several times. The first time we did it during the day, so we could see the incredible views from the top. As a bonus, I discovered that I have cell reception up there, so I called the kids to make sure there was no crisis going on in anyone’s life.
     I had seen on a Space Weather website that the Northern Lights might make an appearance, so we drove to the top of the mountain again that night, at sunset, to see what we could see. Well, we saw a beautiful sunset, but that’s about it. We waited a couple of hours, then left. After talking to several local people, we have learned that the aurora borealis is usually seen later in the night, so last night we trekked up there again, but later this time, and stayed until after midnight. That’s about all Paul could handle, so we left again, after having seen nothing but a sky full of stars and a very prominent Milky Way.
      Today we actually got the bikes out and went for a ride to a forest Sanctuary. I was not pleased with how out of shape I am- we only rode 4 miles there and my legs were like rubber. Once there, we walked a couple of miles or so around the woods, and then biked back to the trailer. On the way back I realized that I hardly had to touch the pedals, since it was all down hill, so it made me feel better to realize the trip there was all uphill.   This afternoon Paul rotated the tires on the truck, and relaxed while I took the bike back to the harbor where we had seen the eagle, but apparently he had caught all the fish he could eat, since he was gone.

       Before arriving in Copper Harbor, we spent several days in Houghton, home of Michigan Technical College. Nearby is Quincy Copper Mine, which opened in the 1800s and closed in the mid 1900s. We’ve been in a silver mine and a coal mine, and Paul wanted to check out a copper mine. This mine went down 9000 feet and had about 90 work levels. Most of it has flooded since then, so we only went down to the 7th level.



Cable hoist-powered by steam



    Communication between people at the surface, and those down in the mine was difficult at best so a phone system was put in place back when telephones were a new invention. Unfortunately, most of the miners were immigrants from many different countries and did not speak each others languages, so the phones were useless, and instead, lights and horns were used to communicate. Hauling copper out from those depths was not an easy task either, and this mine used the largest steam driven hoist ever built to haul the copper (and also the men) up to the surface.

 

        In later years the mine was used as a school room for mining majors at Michigan Tech. There is an actual underground classroom, and the students practiced their techniques on the walls of the mine. I’m glad I didn’t have a class in that mine. The air temperature was 43°.





Autumn arrives in the U.P.

Brrr......The leaves have started changing colors up here, and the  last few days the temperatures have been in the 40s at night and the 50s during the day.  Maybe that wouldn't be so bad if the wind wasn't whipping as well.  One perk is that we have a chance to use our "winter" recipes- meatloaf, soups, Chili, etc.  instead of cooking the same old things on the grill. 
        We have been in the town of Thompson,  in Indian Lake State Park, exploring this area of the U.P.

Our first stop was " Big Spring"  which is the biggest fresh water spring in Michigan.  10,000 gallons of water a minute gush out of this spring, and you can see the constant swirling of the sand on the bottom of the pond.  Access to the spring is really cool.  There is an operator powered raft- so I cranked a huge wheel and that propelled the raft along a cable, out into the pond.  There is an observation "hole" in the wooden raft where you can look down and watch the water bubble and swirl.  The water is 45 degrees and crystal clear but appears bright green...

    Yesterday we headed to the ghost town of Fayette.  (Several pictures of it and of "Big Spring" are in my "Recent Pictures".) Fayette was a thriving Iron smelting town,  in the late 1800s. Unfortunately it only thrived for about 24 years, after which the company who built the town decided that it wasn't cost effective to remove the iron, so they closed up shop, abandoning the town.  In the late 1950s the state bought the land and have been slowly restoring some of the buildings.  So many of the buildings are still standing that it really gives a snapshot of what a small town would have looked like back then.  We enjoyed poking around and learning about the people who had lived there. The town has a small harbor, and the weather was so lousy, there were several boats tied to the dock waiting for the wind to die down.  We talked to one of the owners, who was anxious to leave, but not anxious to brave the waves out on the lake.  Eventually he did leave and we watched him bounce around for a bit- but he made it fine, as far as we could see.
  I also saw my first Bald Eagle yesterday but of course I didn't have my camera with me.  He was flying around our campground, which is right on a lake.  As soon as I saw him, I knew he was an Eagle, not an Osprey.  I looked for him later, and several times today, but no luck. I'll look again tomorrow before we leave, but we are headed to Copper Harbor, MI so maybe I'll have better luck there.
    Last night we looked at our schedule for the next few weeks and since we only have 3 weeks before we need to be back in MI for my surgery, we are unfortunately going to skip Voyageurs National Park in MN- its even further north than here, and will probably be pretty cold, especially since most of the park consists of  lakes.   Instead we are going to head to Wisconsin once we leave the U.P.
   Today we went to Seney National Wildlife Preserve.  They have a visitors center that was very well done and informative about the various wildlife.  However, we learned we were 2 days too late to see the loons, who have apparently all just left  due to the cold weather.  Ugh.  We did the 7 mile drive through the park, but elected not to hike or bike because the wind was still whipping and its just raw outside.  From there we drove through the small town of Curtis and then just headed back home after doing a little food shopping.
  We have no TV stations at this park, so we rented movies for the past two nights.  Not tonight though, so Paul is prowling around looking for things to do.  He just managed to fix our favorite pair of binoculars.  We have no idea how the eyepieces got out of alignment, but they are fixed now!

The U.P (9-6-10)

     Once we made our way back to St. Ignace, our first destination was Sault (pronounced Soo) Sainte Marie- home of the Soo Locks.  The Soo locks were first put into place back in the 1800s.  Prior to that, any ships that wanted to travel from Lake Superior to Lake Huron had to be portaged because Sault Ste Marie is also home to some major rapids.  In fact, the name Sault Ste Marie means "Rapids of St. Mary" in French. The water level of  Lake Huron is about 20 feet lower than the level of Lake Superior.

Two freighters approaching the locks- the docked freighter
a museum.

     In the 1800s, no one was too concerned that boats had to go around the rapids.  People in the lower peninsula of Michigan didn't really feel that the upper peninsula had anything of value that they needed, and it was mostly wilderness at that point.  Aha, but then Iron ore was discovered in the U.P, in large quantities, which made the building of the locks worthwhile.  All through the 1900s, "Lakers" carried iron ore, limestone and coal through the Locks.  Lakers are freighters that mostly stay on lakes, and "Salties" are larger, taller and heavier freighters that frequent the ocean.   In recent years the number  of freighters here has diminished considerably. 

      We started the afternoon at the Tower of History.  It turned out to have a great view of the city, including the locks, so it was worth the investment.  It also doubled as our exercise for the day since I insisted on walking up the 296 steps to the top.  That gave us a great overview, and from there we headed to Valley Camp, a museum that is actually inside a freighter.  That had interesting information about the area, the freighters and the people who have lived here through the years. Since it is an actual freighter, we also got to peak into the cabins where the crew would have lived and the engine room.  All in all it was very well done.   
    The locks themselves have an observation deck and museum, so we headed there next to see if we could watch a freighter come through, but they move so slowly we gave it up.  There were 3 or 4 waiting to go through the locks but we found out afterwards that only one of the locks is large enough for most freighters,  so Poe Lock handles 79% of all the lock traffic.  We elected to eat dinner instead, choosing a restaurant with a view of the locks.

    Today was the reason we came back to this area.  The annual Labor Day Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Bridge Walk.  The bridge is 5 miles long, and for many years it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.  Walkers can start at 7 am, but must start walking by 11 am at the latest.  We wanted to get there early to make sure we could park our beast of a truck.  When we woke up, it was in the 50s outside, so we weren't thrilled, but we layered up and headed out.  It turns out the weather was actually perfect, especially since the wind behaved itself today, and the rain held off.    It took us about an hour and a half to walk the bridge, which ended in Mackinaw City.  Some people walk it twice in the same day, but we felt no need to do that.  Once on the other side, we did some shopping.  Mackinaw City is the jumping off spot for the ferries to Mackinac Island, so it has a lot of tourist shopping and restaurants.  I bought a new sweatshirt that advertises the fact that I "walked the bridge in 2010."   For $5 per person you can catch a trolley or bus back to St. Ignace and we caught the trolley..  This event is very well organized! 

  It was a fun time and I am glad we came back to do it.  Tomorrow we head out, but we aren't sure exactly what town we'll land in. 

---SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT---

..STRONG WIND GUSTS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR CONTINUE THIS MORNING-

USE CAUTION...ESPECIALLY IF NEAR THE LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE THIS MORNING.

Lake Superior-notice the start of the rainbow

That was our weather yesterday, last night, and this morning.  Wind gusts were up to 65 mph, with a steady wind between 40 and 50 mph. The seas on Lake Superior went from calm to 20 feet, in a matter of hours.   It was a new and different experience for us, feeling a wind, inside the trailer, at 60 mph.  Usually when we have a wind of 60 mph we are on the highway.  This wind was never ending.   Trees were swaying and the trailer was rocking.  All night.  Paul insists that it's similar to sleeping in the bed of a pick up truck while driving down an old country road.   I can tell you that we did not sleep well last night.  Several campers up and left, some in the middle of the night.  The tenters were first to bail, then the pop up campers, but even some people in 5th wheels left during the night.  We didn't leave, but, we did think about it, and we did pull our two largest slides in,  to protect the awning material, and to keep the rocking to a minimum.  We thought for sure the antenna was toast, but apparently it survived.   .  

       In the morning, there were branches all over the place, the wind was still blowing, and the rain was still falling.  We are really used to that kind of wind when a storm front, or squall line comes through, not for an extended period of 20 hours.   We drove around in the morning looking at waves and beaches before leaving for our next destination- St. Ignace, which is on Lake Michigan, not Lake Superior.  When we got here, we found out that they had a hell of a night too, and the campground lost 3 trees (one of which landed on a trailer).

        Last night really reminded us both of boating- sitting on a mooring, waiting for a storm to pass.  We both remembered one of our worst storms on the boat.  We were in a small cove, tied to a mooring ball, when a major thunderstorm came through.  Lightning was everywhere, and the sailboat next to us was hit.  Waves went from non-existent to 3-4 feet in minutes- even inside the cove.  Other boats lost control and started to crash into each other.  We rode it out, with the kids, watching and listening to the mess all around us.  We heard 4 Maydays on our radio that night- one was from a child, whose dad had fallen in the water  trying to get their boat off some rocks,  and one Mayday was from a woman who had no idea where she was, but had lost all power on the boat.  The Harbormaster called her on the radio, and we watched lightening strike near his boat as he tried to reach her.   We thought about leaving the safety of our mooring to go help, but we knew that  once we left, we could have easily been one of the ones seeking help.  After that night, Paul bought a  new marine radio  that could send out an automatic Mayday in conjunction with our GPS that would automatically give the position of the boat.

       So, we are tired tonight, and hope to sleep well.

from Salad to Soup weather in one day....brrrr......(Munising, MI)

Today felt really cold.  It was in the 60s, but the wind was whipping and the rain was falling, which was a very cold combination.  The day started out OK, but the forecast called for rain by 2 pm.  We were planning on  biking on Grand Island for the day but made a last minute decision to take the bus tour instead.  Good Idea.

Grand Island "ferry"

   Grand Island is a National Recreation area just off the coast of Munising Michigan.  Come to find out, there isn't really much of interest on the island, but as I said to Paul, we wouldn't have known that if we hadn't gone there! It would have served a better purpose if we could have gotten some exercise while touring it, but driving around in a bus (in the rain), there wasn't much that was worth seeing.  The island was sold to the Government in the 1980s, but several families still have summer cottages on the island.  They are still private and inaccessible.  There was only one building we could get into, a small  one room cottage built in the 1800s.  About halfway through the 2.5 hour tour, the rain started and didn't really let up until the tour was over.  We still got out to look at the "views" but really, there wasn't much there.

Miserably wet on the ferry ride

    The only way to get to the island is by private boat or "ferry".  The real ferry isn't functioning, so we were carted over on a small pontoon boat  that holds 6 passengers.  That was fine on the way there, but after the tour, there were 12 of us waiting in the rain for the "ferry" to arrive to get us.  By now, the waves were kicking up, and by the time the ferry got there, the operator said the seas were so rough, he would only take 4 people at a time.  The first 4 went, and the rest of us went back and waited in the bus (until the bus driver had to leave with the bus.). Along came 10 more people, 6 of them extremely wet and muddy bike riders, who also needed the ferry. 6 of them grabbed the next ferry before any of "our people" could get out there.  It was really comical.  It felt like a "survivor" game where the lucky people got voted off the island first. In the end, Paul and I were in the last batch to go, because we weren't as wet as some as the others, and I was enjoying watching the ferry struggle to get across the bay.  Plus, most people were jumping over everyone to get onto the ferry.  We were so chilled by the time we made it home, we made Tortilla Soup for dinner.

   Yesterday we weren't sure what the weather would be and we were still tired from hiking, so we drove to the nearby town of Marquette and through Presque Isle Park.  Marquette is a lakeside town, but more just a regular town that happens to be lakeside.  We had lunch at a great restaurant, and afterwards watched a freighter leave the dock and turn around.  Not very exciting, but not every day has to have something  fabulous to do! 

On the way home we stopped at a cool park.  Its a park with 66 sculptures made of welded scrap iron, all made by the same man.  Its free to drive through and look at all of his artwork.  The park is called Larkenenland,  after the owner Tom Larkenen.  The town has given him a lot of grief over zoning and permit issues, so at the entrance of the park, he has 

custom  No Trespassing signs addressed to the town Board Members.  There is a well traveled snow mobile path across his property and he maintains a fire pit and supplies firewood for all of the snowmobilers to use if they want to take a break.  Pretty cool.

The U.P.( 8/27/10)

the  view from our campsite

The first few days of our U.P. adventure were spent in St. Ignace, on Lake Michigan. That's pronounced Ig-niss, not Ig-nayss or Ig-nah-see. I also learned that for some reason the word Pastie is pronounced Pass-tee, and its not a pastry, nor a pastie. Its basically an individual meat pot pie.Paul and I tried one on the way home the other day and ended up not eating dinner because it was pretty filling. Also tasty. In keeping with our idea of slowing down a bit, we just spent two days hanging out- fixing things around the place (Paul always has ideas on improvements that can be made), and watching the water.

Our campsite has a great view of lake Michigan and I never tire of looking at beautiful water. Every night its been another beautiful sunset. 

We extended our stay in St. Ignace by one day because on Saturday there was a Chippewa Pow Wow scheduled and the public was invited.  I've never been to a Pow Wow, so I thought it would be interesting.  The field was set up with a center circle for dancers surrounded by the audience (should have brought chairs). The day  started with the Grand Entrance, and several flags were carried around the inner circle.  Once that was done, they began the dancing. A different "tribe" beat their drum for each dance and the indians sang as they danced around in the circle.  One dance was to honor Veterans and all veterans were invited to dance in the circle.  There were vendors all around but nothing we felt like we had to have.

Chippewa Pow Wow

    In addition to adding a night, we have decided to come back to St. Ignace for Labor Day weekend.  Once a year, on Labor Day, they close half of the Mackinac bridge to vehicle traffic and open it up to pedestrians. It's 5 miles long  and anyone can walk the length of it as long as they start walking by 11 am.  Once we get to the other side, buses will transport us back to St. Ignace. 

   In the meantime, we are in Munising Michigan, and today the view from our window is of Lake Superior, which is almost as beautiful as Lake Michigan.  We went swimming in the lake this afternoon since the weather here is in the mid to high 80s and perfect.

Mackinac Bridge

The Edmund Fitzgerald

   I was a teenager in 1976 when Gordon Lightfoot's ballad became a hit song.  I still choke up every time I hear it, as I did so many years ago.  Being, perhaps, a typical, self absorbed teenager, I didn't understand the song, I just really liked it, but was ignorant of two important facts.  First, living in Boston, I had heard of the Great Lakes (H.O.M.E.S was the only way I could remember them), but growing up along side the Atlantic Ocean, it never occurred to me that a lake could possibly compare to the ocean, and so I didn't see the magnitude or significance of  these lakes.  Secondly, although I loved the words to the song, I hate to admit that I thought it was written about a shipwreck that took place a hundred years or so ago.  I had no idea that the shipwreck took place on November 10, 1975. That fact hit me pretty hard when I discovered it months later and I listened with even more interest and sadness to the words. 
     Being in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan for the first time, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum was one of the first places I wanted to go.  There have been over 300 boating accidents in the Whitefish Point area, resulting in the nickname "Graveyard of the Great Lakes."  This area is a heavily traveled shipping lane and with a 200 mile fetch, during a storm the waves can reach 20-30 feet high, as they did on the night of November 10th, 1975.
    The Edmund Fitzgerald was being followed by the Arthur Anderson, and the two captains were in contact with each other regarding the weather and the safety of both vessels.  The captain of "The Fitz" radioed that his ship seemed to be listing and taking on water but he wasn't sure why. He thought it was possibly a stress crack, or that it had bottomed out.  He had both pumps working and thought he would be OK.  He had already lost both Radars and was relying to an extent on the Anderson for help determining his position.  The seas were at 30 feet, with winds gusting to 96 mph.   At 7:10 pm, during his last radio contact with the Anderson, Captain McSorley said that he thought they were "holding their own".   Soon after, the captain of the Anderson realized that he could no longer see the Fitzgerald's lights, and they were no long showing on his radar.
All 29 men on board that night died.  The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last freighter to sink on Lake Superior.
In 1995 divers retrieved the ship's bell  and replaced it with a new one that lists the names of all the men lost that night.  The original bell is on display in the Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum.
Coming to this area, seeing the "Gitche Gumee" and Whitefish Point and the sheer size of this lake has given me an even better understanding of the song and the tragedy.









Lake Superior/Gitche Gumee

 The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down

Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead

When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more

Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed

When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side

Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin

As the big freighters go it was bigger than most

With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Freighter on Lake Superior

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms

When they left fully loaded for Cleveland

And later that night when the ships bell rang

Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound

And a wave broke over the railing

And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,

T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait

When the gales of November came slashing.

When afternoon came it was freezing rain





In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck

Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya

At 7PM a main hatchway caved in

He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in

And the good ship and crew was in peril

And later that night when his lights went out of sight

Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.



The original Bell



Does anyone know where the love of God goes

When the waves turn the minutes to hours

The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay

If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized

They may have broke deep and took water

And all that remains is the faces and the names

Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings

In the ruins of her ice water mansion

Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,

The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario

Takes in what Lake Erie can send her.

And the iron boats go as the mariners all know

With the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed

In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral

The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times

For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down

Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee

Superior, they say, never gives up her dead

When the gales of November come early.