This was not a very nice day from a weather perspective, as it was cold, very windy still, and for much of the day still drizzled intermittently, only turning to (cold) sunshine at the end of the afternoon. After our usual hearty breakfast, we made our way out to the campground. For a while we sat and drank coffee and chatted, and then entered into a long debate over who wanted to do what, in what combination. Eventually it was decided that Carol & Jerry would stay with the campground, and that Marissa, John & (a reluctant) Bob would be driven by Rita to find the "has everything" store, eat lunch, and go on to Bond Falls & back.
John & Marissa had a ball in Winks Woods, as did to a lesser extent Rita. Bob sat in the car with Zoe. After much looking, and some debate & consultation, both J & M took their treasures to the counter, flashed plastic, and signed for three digit bills each! Bob was horrified & Rita only slightly less so, as they have forgotten how to shop for fun & nice things. As we were now into the witching hour we quickly found a Subway where more or less food, depending on the person, was eaten.
We headed on to Bond Falls, where the rain had stopped although everything was pretty wet still, and spent some time admiring and taking pictures from several widespread angles. We then drove up to the top, but access was limited, and it was cold, so we just visited the gift shop & only John bought a little something as a memento. We then embarked on the long drive back, but Rita made excellent time, accelerated in both John & Bob's case by a time out for a nap in the back seat! We sat in the RV and, as requested, did a "show & tell" of the various mementos and goodies we had acquired on our trip - which is actually quite a lot between us.
After regrouping & gathering up all the Hammonds we embarked in two vehicles for the ski jump area. Once we had arrived, Jerry suggested a quick run to the top of the hill/mountain to take in the view. Bob elected to stay & go in to the restaurant (as did Rita, after a communications failure) and the rest of us went up to look & take a picture or three, before heading back down & joining R & B. We then had a nice dinner (Bob's treat!!) before heading back to Summer Breeze to join Zoe who had been left behind.
After some more chatter, we gathered up our stuff, went through the ritual & tearful goodbyes with hugs all around & headed back for our last night in Iron Mountain for this trip. It was nice to get a break from driving for a couple of days, we only put 53 miles on the van since arriving, and embark on the long journey home with 1623.5 miles on the odometer.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Day #10 - Monday, September 28th, 2009
Although it did not rain a great deal, this day was gray, chilly and horrendously windy, all very unpleasant. The unusual morning activity was Zoe getting a bath to remove the Wisconsin mud and some of her tangles. Eventually we headed out and ran through town and then west on Route 2 for some 20 minutes, before concluding that John's memory was indeed playing tricks on him. We turned around and returned & then turned north up to the campground, where Rita & Bob were very pleased to see us. They were soon joined by Jerry and after a while we went over to the main building just as Carol had come downstairs (she had worked the night shift & then slept). Carol confirmed that the place John was seeking was even further away along the road, so we will probably go there tomorrow.
Rita took Marissa for a golf cart tour of the campground & in due course we all gathered in the RV for a very nice cold lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent chatting in various permutations and combinations, in the main building (the RV is now horribly uncomfortable), although at one point Marissa, John & Jerry took their moderately short hiking trail along with Zoe who had a lovely day being unleashed the whole day. Although still not totally finished Carol & Jerry have made really nice improvements to the dwelling portion of the building. Both Sean & Sam came home and joined us for a while, although Sean had to go to work later. Carol & Rita cooked up a lovely dinner for us all. Tentative plans were made for tomorrow & then we headed back to the hotel, where we both took in some warmer clothes from the van. After a while we went and warmed ourselves through in the hot tub but after we had each tried the toe-test on the main pool decided not to take the cold plunge!
Rita took Marissa for a golf cart tour of the campground & in due course we all gathered in the RV for a very nice cold lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent chatting in various permutations and combinations, in the main building (the RV is now horribly uncomfortable), although at one point Marissa, John & Jerry took their moderately short hiking trail along with Zoe who had a lovely day being unleashed the whole day. Although still not totally finished Carol & Jerry have made really nice improvements to the dwelling portion of the building. Both Sean & Sam came home and joined us for a while, although Sean had to go to work later. Carol & Rita cooked up a lovely dinner for us all. Tentative plans were made for tomorrow & then we headed back to the hotel, where we both took in some warmer clothes from the van. After a while we went and warmed ourselves through in the hot tub but after we had each tried the toe-test on the main pool decided not to take the cold plunge!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Day #9 - Sunday, September 27th, 2009
In view of the cabin's small size, simultaneous stirring was more or less a given. We sat, drank lots of coffee, continued to chat and one-by-one cleaned up & dressed for the day. The morning weather was quite pleasant, although the wind was kicking up a bit. Well into the morning we piled into the Horan's van & drove to the marina & the adjacent restaurant for a large and delicious breakfast - practically a brunch.
Jay the took us for an extended tour of the area, including a look at the largely rebuilt house once owned by Lynn's mother and previously visited by Marissa. At one point we ran through a short sharp shower, but got back to a dry cabin & yard. After more chatting & more doggie romping we eventually realized we could see distant lightning & hear thunder, so we somewhat expeditiously repacked our stuff in the van, said our good-byes, and were able to get to the main highway before the rains began. Once again we ran through everything from mist to rain so hard even John had to slow down, coming & going seemingly at random.
We eventually got ahead of the weather front just a few miles before Iron Mountain, so were able to cruise through the town in the dry, get checked in to the motel, and start moving our immediate needs inside. As we reached the door on our last trip a few raindrops fell and 30 seconds later the heavens really opened up! Talk about good timing!
The rain came & went, but mostly came, and hard, so we called a local food place with a delivery service & had subs, cheesesticks, and big bottles of drink delivered right to our room. It was all delicious. Thereafter we took things easy for the evening.
Today's trip was only some 99 miles for a grand total of 1570.9 so far.
To see Marissa's pictures of the weekend, go here.
Jay the took us for an extended tour of the area, including a look at the largely rebuilt house once owned by Lynn's mother and previously visited by Marissa. At one point we ran through a short sharp shower, but got back to a dry cabin & yard. After more chatting & more doggie romping we eventually realized we could see distant lightning & hear thunder, so we somewhat expeditiously repacked our stuff in the van, said our good-byes, and were able to get to the main highway before the rains began. Once again we ran through everything from mist to rain so hard even John had to slow down, coming & going seemingly at random.
We eventually got ahead of the weather front just a few miles before Iron Mountain, so were able to cruise through the town in the dry, get checked in to the motel, and start moving our immediate needs inside. As we reached the door on our last trip a few raindrops fell and 30 seconds later the heavens really opened up! Talk about good timing!
The rain came & went, but mostly came, and hard, so we called a local food place with a delivery service & had subs, cheesesticks, and big bottles of drink delivered right to our room. It was all delicious. Thereafter we took things easy for the evening.
Today's trip was only some 99 miles for a grand total of 1570.9 so far.
To see Marissa's pictures of the weekend, go here.
Day #8 - Saturday, September 26th, 2009
We took our time getting going this morning, but after coffee & breakfast were ready to pack our stuff back into the van, check out &, for while, head across the ship canal to the upper side. We followed Road 203 all along the canal to its top end, along the coast for a while & then looped in to Calumet. We parked and went back to the shops to get something for a Christmas present and Marissa also bought some fudge for her library staff.
We headed down the main road & stopped at the big mine, although we only went in to the main museum/gift shop (John having "been there, done that" & Marissa having no desire to go underground or look at giant steam engines). After acquiring a few more trip mementos we headed back down through Hancock-Houghton and on down US41 as far as Baraga, where we stopped for a fill-up of tax-free (& hence cheaper) gas on this "Indian Reservation". We parked & John took Zoe for a good brisk walk of some distance. Having called Jay for the address of their cabin we loaded it into Portia & gave her the helm.
She dutifully guided us along "roads wide & narrow" (also roads straight and twisty), some with numbers, some without, and eventually spat us out right by the cabin. It was lovely to see Lynn & Jay in person again. Zoe was initially skittish around two much bigger dogs, but the elder soon just ignored her and the younger realized she had found a playmate & soon they were "burning rubber" in big circles around the yard! Unfortunately, some of the circles included the edge of the lake, but unlike Superior with its sandy beaches this lake is lined with black mud! By the time Zoe more or less collapsed from exhaustion she was a far from pretty sight and much later and more or less dry had to submit to a brushing to make herself bearable for close contact.
The humans, meanwhile sat and chatted, for a long time out on the deck, and eventually in the rather warmer inside, stopping to eat excellent carry out broasted chicken Lynn had slipped out to fetch. Eventually we all retired, John to a pretty good firm bed, Marissa to a rather softer one also occupied by the now inseparable canine playmates, so her night was less than ideal.
Our travel this day was 165 miles for a running total of 1471.7.
We headed down the main road & stopped at the big mine, although we only went in to the main museum/gift shop (John having "been there, done that" & Marissa having no desire to go underground or look at giant steam engines). After acquiring a few more trip mementos we headed back down through Hancock-Houghton and on down US41 as far as Baraga, where we stopped for a fill-up of tax-free (& hence cheaper) gas on this "Indian Reservation". We parked & John took Zoe for a good brisk walk of some distance. Having called Jay for the address of their cabin we loaded it into Portia & gave her the helm.
She dutifully guided us along "roads wide & narrow" (also roads straight and twisty), some with numbers, some without, and eventually spat us out right by the cabin. It was lovely to see Lynn & Jay in person again. Zoe was initially skittish around two much bigger dogs, but the elder soon just ignored her and the younger realized she had found a playmate & soon they were "burning rubber" in big circles around the yard! Unfortunately, some of the circles included the edge of the lake, but unlike Superior with its sandy beaches this lake is lined with black mud! By the time Zoe more or less collapsed from exhaustion she was a far from pretty sight and much later and more or less dry had to submit to a brushing to make herself bearable for close contact.
The humans, meanwhile sat and chatted, for a long time out on the deck, and eventually in the rather warmer inside, stopping to eat excellent carry out broasted chicken Lynn had slipped out to fetch. Eventually we all retired, John to a pretty good firm bed, Marissa to a rather softer one also occupied by the now inseparable canine playmates, so her night was less than ideal.
Our travel this day was 165 miles for a running total of 1471.7.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Day #7 - Friday, September 25th, 2009
The early morning weather was a bit dull, but once we were on the road the whole day became as before, bright sunshine & breezy - lovely! After the exertions of yesterday we all slept like logs and woke somewhat later than usual, but were still on the road before 10:00AM.
This was a 2-purpose day, one being the "tourists and their money are soon parted" aspect, and the other seeing the rest of the upper Keweenaw. We cruised up to Calumet, parked and checked a few shops. Zoe having expressed her displeasure at being left we then took her and strolled around a couple of blocks, but found nothing to beat the original row of shops. However, since John hadn't realized that a parking meter 10 feet behind the van applied to him we returned to a ticket, and had to put a whopping $3 into the envelope & then into the fine box, conveniently located on the 2-headed meter post! We each in turn revisited the Copper World shop & each came out with more stuff and less cash.
We then cruised on up to Copper Harbor on US 41, most of which we had bypassed yesterday and the last 20 miles of which were truly lovely, fully justifying the "scenic" designation on the map. First we toured all of C.H. by van (about 10 minutes of driving!) then we parked & started cruising the shops, a long foot slog minded least of all by Zoe. Naturally we did our buying in almost the last store we visited, although among the "tourist tacky" we saw some truly lovely, if horrendously pricey, arty stuff. We made our way back to the van & John went to the nearby restaurant and ordered 2 "pastie lunches", but had to settle for the bigger dinner size since we were a bit late. We took them down to the waterfront & sat in a mini-park to eat them, watching the undersized motor boat chug along taking tourists to the lighthouse.
After 24 hours of contemplation Marissa decided to buy her own pair of moccasins on sale, and after that we started back along the lovely part of US41. We found the turning to the "other side" of the peninsula, cruised on down, turned along the road to Bete Grise Bay, found the public beach and stopped. "Surf's up" once again found Zoe having a ball. Once exhaustion started setting in (for the humans, anyway) we re-embarked and began our long cruise down the other coast, some of which was lovely and all of which we had almost exclusively to ourselves.
Naturally we stopped to photograph the "Gay Bar" (the only hostelry in the village of Gay) before carrying on to Lake Linden (town of). John's original plan had been a substantial side trip down to a beach for more Zoe romping, but in view of the time & Zoe's apparent state of exhaustion we wisely elected to forego that, and just cruised on around Highway 26 back to Hancock and across the bridge to Houghton & our hotel.
Following a little tidying & reorganization John made the trip to Wal-Mart (every bit of a 3-wood shot away from the hotel) for some ice for the cooler & two dinner salads for the evening. We have now hit the high spots on the left, the right, and the middle of the upper Keweenaw, all in lovely weather & are feeling quite satisfied.
We covered a few more miles than yesterday, 128, & now stand at a total of 1306.5.
Less pictures than usual today, but Marissa's blog is here.
This was a 2-purpose day, one being the "tourists and their money are soon parted" aspect, and the other seeing the rest of the upper Keweenaw. We cruised up to Calumet, parked and checked a few shops. Zoe having expressed her displeasure at being left we then took her and strolled around a couple of blocks, but found nothing to beat the original row of shops. However, since John hadn't realized that a parking meter 10 feet behind the van applied to him we returned to a ticket, and had to put a whopping $3 into the envelope & then into the fine box, conveniently located on the 2-headed meter post! We each in turn revisited the Copper World shop & each came out with more stuff and less cash.
We then cruised on up to Copper Harbor on US 41, most of which we had bypassed yesterday and the last 20 miles of which were truly lovely, fully justifying the "scenic" designation on the map. First we toured all of C.H. by van (about 10 minutes of driving!) then we parked & started cruising the shops, a long foot slog minded least of all by Zoe. Naturally we did our buying in almost the last store we visited, although among the "tourist tacky" we saw some truly lovely, if horrendously pricey, arty stuff. We made our way back to the van & John went to the nearby restaurant and ordered 2 "pastie lunches", but had to settle for the bigger dinner size since we were a bit late. We took them down to the waterfront & sat in a mini-park to eat them, watching the undersized motor boat chug along taking tourists to the lighthouse.
After 24 hours of contemplation Marissa decided to buy her own pair of moccasins on sale, and after that we started back along the lovely part of US41. We found the turning to the "other side" of the peninsula, cruised on down, turned along the road to Bete Grise Bay, found the public beach and stopped. "Surf's up" once again found Zoe having a ball. Once exhaustion started setting in (for the humans, anyway) we re-embarked and began our long cruise down the other coast, some of which was lovely and all of which we had almost exclusively to ourselves.
Naturally we stopped to photograph the "Gay Bar" (the only hostelry in the village of Gay) before carrying on to Lake Linden (town of). John's original plan had been a substantial side trip down to a beach for more Zoe romping, but in view of the time & Zoe's apparent state of exhaustion we wisely elected to forego that, and just cruised on around Highway 26 back to Hancock and across the bridge to Houghton & our hotel.
Following a little tidying & reorganization John made the trip to Wal-Mart (every bit of a 3-wood shot away from the hotel) for some ice for the cooler & two dinner salads for the evening. We have now hit the high spots on the left, the right, and the middle of the upper Keweenaw, all in lovely weather & are feeling quite satisfied.
We covered a few more miles than yesterday, 128, & now stand at a total of 1306.5.
Less pictures than usual today, but Marissa's blog is here.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day #6 - Thursday, September 24th, 2009
This was a day of deja vu for John. It was also a long day, since we left the hotel at 9:00AM and returned at 7:00PM. However, it was great weather, breezy enough to kick up the lake a bit, but sunny & quite warm. We dropped down to the water, crossed the bridge, zig-zagged our way up through Hancock, past the old mine buildings & on up the peninsula as far as Calumet, where we took a quick side trip but decided to postpone any potential shopping until later, or the next day.
With just a couple of extra turns John remembered how to find the "back road" (mostly lakeside) and we made our gentle way on to Eagle River. First we dropped down to the condo complex, were remembered by Helen (Maria's "Crazy Texas Lady") from upstairs, who wanted to chat, and walked down to the rocky beach. The Eagle River is neither dry, nor flowing, just a series of pools. We then went up, over, and down again to the Inn and parked nearby. The sandy beach this side was wide and firm and we all went for a long walk, one dry-shod and two paddling! We hiked as far as the house we had reserved to go with Maria last year, then plodded all the way back. Zoe had a blast!
Before leaving, we stopped by the only store in town, the gift & craft one that is still run by the same nice lady (Bonnie) as for years past. She was sorry to learn about Maria & had wondered why she hadn't seen us last year. Some of her stuff she needleworks herself. Needless to say we didn't leave empty handed (that's what vacations are for, aren't they?)
We took "Linda's lane" out of town, made a turn and reached the lake right at Eagle Harbor, where we parked at the lighthouse and took the self-guided tour of the little complex. We then made three sides of a square around the harbor area to one of Maria's favorite picnic spots, which was the windiest place we were to find all day, so we ate the actual picnic sitting in the van before venturing out for more pictures. Zoe's furry face, head on to a very stiff breeze, defies description!
Heading on, we took the fork for the long way up to the crest of Brockway Mountain, parked, looked at the views, took in the little gift shop in the only building (apart from loos) up there, and then started down the shorter steeper side, marveling at assorted lunatic cyclists as we passed them. We stopped at the overlook to see/photo Copper Harbor from above, then carried on down & through the town, heading for the dead end of the road, Highway 41, a mere 1990 miles from its other end in Miami, Florida!
Returning a little bit we entered Fort Wilkins, paid our fee, and parked. We toured the well-restored complex fairly comprehensively, much to Zoe's disgust, as she clearly would have preferred some snooze time! We found it interesting. Leaving with ice creams in hand we popped into a lakeside piece of the overall park, and ate them looking across the water to the lighthouse & watching the idiotically small boat that takes visitors to it. For this day, we made just one stop in Copper Harbor itself, for John to buy a pair of moccasins in the end of season sale from the same place as his last several pairs!
We followed the lakeshore road back, with John pointing out assorted favorite spots of Maria's but not making a significant stop at any of them. After Eagle Harbor we stayed with the coast road & came to the ornate monastery &, more or less across the road, it's fund-raising Jampot store, in which we both spent extravagantly on jams, cakes, cookies & muffins. Having concluded that we hadn't seen anything to compare to this morning's beach for dog exercise, we returned to park in the same place.
Being gluttons for punishment, we again essayed a long walk &, once suitably distant from civilization, or anything else, cut Zoe loose to depart at warp speed for the middle distance, and back again similarly. However, two more of these bursts took their toll and each excursion became shorter than the one before & she was quite amenable to being "caught" & re-leashed before we got the van. We then carried picnic basket and cooler down to a picnic table on the beach and enjoyed an early supper that our dieticians would probably decry!
Finally back at the hotel, the van was tidied up inside & much rubbish disposed of. We confirmed that we will leave here a day earlier than planned & spend Saturday night with Lynn & Jay, and Zoe, after one last leap up on to the bed, displayed about as much animation as one of her stuffed animals! Some of the days kinks were eased by immersion in both hot and cool water & we expect to sleep well tonight!
Although it took all day, we only covered 115 miles today, for a trip total of 1178.4.
To see Marissa's pictorial essay, go here.
With just a couple of extra turns John remembered how to find the "back road" (mostly lakeside) and we made our gentle way on to Eagle River. First we dropped down to the condo complex, were remembered by Helen (Maria's "Crazy Texas Lady") from upstairs, who wanted to chat, and walked down to the rocky beach. The Eagle River is neither dry, nor flowing, just a series of pools. We then went up, over, and down again to the Inn and parked nearby. The sandy beach this side was wide and firm and we all went for a long walk, one dry-shod and two paddling! We hiked as far as the house we had reserved to go with Maria last year, then plodded all the way back. Zoe had a blast!
Before leaving, we stopped by the only store in town, the gift & craft one that is still run by the same nice lady (Bonnie) as for years past. She was sorry to learn about Maria & had wondered why she hadn't seen us last year. Some of her stuff she needleworks herself. Needless to say we didn't leave empty handed (that's what vacations are for, aren't they?)
We took "Linda's lane" out of town, made a turn and reached the lake right at Eagle Harbor, where we parked at the lighthouse and took the self-guided tour of the little complex. We then made three sides of a square around the harbor area to one of Maria's favorite picnic spots, which was the windiest place we were to find all day, so we ate the actual picnic sitting in the van before venturing out for more pictures. Zoe's furry face, head on to a very stiff breeze, defies description!
Heading on, we took the fork for the long way up to the crest of Brockway Mountain, parked, looked at the views, took in the little gift shop in the only building (apart from loos) up there, and then started down the shorter steeper side, marveling at assorted lunatic cyclists as we passed them. We stopped at the overlook to see/photo Copper Harbor from above, then carried on down & through the town, heading for the dead end of the road, Highway 41, a mere 1990 miles from its other end in Miami, Florida!
Returning a little bit we entered Fort Wilkins, paid our fee, and parked. We toured the well-restored complex fairly comprehensively, much to Zoe's disgust, as she clearly would have preferred some snooze time! We found it interesting. Leaving with ice creams in hand we popped into a lakeside piece of the overall park, and ate them looking across the water to the lighthouse & watching the idiotically small boat that takes visitors to it. For this day, we made just one stop in Copper Harbor itself, for John to buy a pair of moccasins in the end of season sale from the same place as his last several pairs!
We followed the lakeshore road back, with John pointing out assorted favorite spots of Maria's but not making a significant stop at any of them. After Eagle Harbor we stayed with the coast road & came to the ornate monastery &, more or less across the road, it's fund-raising Jampot store, in which we both spent extravagantly on jams, cakes, cookies & muffins. Having concluded that we hadn't seen anything to compare to this morning's beach for dog exercise, we returned to park in the same place.
Being gluttons for punishment, we again essayed a long walk &, once suitably distant from civilization, or anything else, cut Zoe loose to depart at warp speed for the middle distance, and back again similarly. However, two more of these bursts took their toll and each excursion became shorter than the one before & she was quite amenable to being "caught" & re-leashed before we got the van. We then carried picnic basket and cooler down to a picnic table on the beach and enjoyed an early supper that our dieticians would probably decry!
Finally back at the hotel, the van was tidied up inside & much rubbish disposed of. We confirmed that we will leave here a day earlier than planned & spend Saturday night with Lynn & Jay, and Zoe, after one last leap up on to the bed, displayed about as much animation as one of her stuffed animals! Some of the days kinks were eased by immersion in both hot and cool water & we expect to sleep well tonight!
Although it took all day, we only covered 115 miles today, for a trip total of 1178.4.
To see Marissa's pictorial essay, go here.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Day #5 - Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
There was no sunrise this morning, just a big black cloud with a bright silver edge. However, by the time we had drunk our coffees and got organized to go to breakfast the sun was shining brightly out of a clear blue sky, which lasted all day. Even at breakfast time the temperature was pleasant enough for us to eat the excellent meal outside on the dining room's patio.
With nothing to hold us back we packed up the van, checked out and hit the road heading west. Today the lake was much rougher, so at the third beachside rest area we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sound of the waves. Then it was smoothly on to Marquette and down along the lake shore there to Presque Isle. John was very disappointed that over the years rules have changed. The drivable road around is only open a few hours/week and Wednesdays weren't on the list, PLUS all pets must be kept "inside a closed vehicle", which effectively removed any reason for being there.
We quickly formulated "Plan B", which was to make a run for the UP's west coast. The road was good, relatively peaceful and quite pretty. We are seeing flashes of color, but mostly the shades of red rather than the normally predominant yellows and oranges. After a good while we stopped at a typically delightful Michigan Rest Area to stretch our eight legs, and even followed a pleasant little trail market "waterfall", which must be a spring thaw attraction rather than a fall drought one!
Considerably later we reached the entrance to Porcupine Mountains State Park, stopped on the roadside, carried blanket & picnic basket 20 feet to the beach and had a light, very late lunch and then Zoe did her daily battle with Lake Superior. We went to the Visitor's Center for guidance and then carried on in and up the park, with a brief delay to stop & pay the Out-of-Stater's $8 entry fee, before arriving at the escarpment above Lake of the Clouds. The trail to the viewing points was steeply uphill but mercifully short & the view was lovely.
When we had looked and photographed our fill we returned to the van, set Portia for instructions to the motel in Houghton and, with John still the only driver of the day, embarked on the last leg. The motel room is very nice and only three doors from the "pet exercise area", but after being spoiled with four days of our own patio door, a minor let-down. Since we felt half starved we headed for the nearest fast food place, only about 100 yards away, bought stomach-filling food and took it to the room to eat before we even thought about unpacking anything from the van!
Later we checked out the aquatic facilities, which we had all to ourselves. A very nice hot-tub/spa, a small but adequate swimming pool, and a kiddy pool with a giant mushroom fountain under which (once we'd figured out how to turn it on) we played, as the song says, "just like a couple of kids"!
All in all we covered 265 1/2 miles today, for a trip total of 1063.5.
To see Marissa's pictorial blog of the day, click here.
With nothing to hold us back we packed up the van, checked out and hit the road heading west. Today the lake was much rougher, so at the third beachside rest area we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sound of the waves. Then it was smoothly on to Marquette and down along the lake shore there to Presque Isle. John was very disappointed that over the years rules have changed. The drivable road around is only open a few hours/week and Wednesdays weren't on the list, PLUS all pets must be kept "inside a closed vehicle", which effectively removed any reason for being there.
We quickly formulated "Plan B", which was to make a run for the UP's west coast. The road was good, relatively peaceful and quite pretty. We are seeing flashes of color, but mostly the shades of red rather than the normally predominant yellows and oranges. After a good while we stopped at a typically delightful Michigan Rest Area to stretch our eight legs, and even followed a pleasant little trail market "waterfall", which must be a spring thaw attraction rather than a fall drought one!
Considerably later we reached the entrance to Porcupine Mountains State Park, stopped on the roadside, carried blanket & picnic basket 20 feet to the beach and had a light, very late lunch and then Zoe did her daily battle with Lake Superior. We went to the Visitor's Center for guidance and then carried on in and up the park, with a brief delay to stop & pay the Out-of-Stater's $8 entry fee, before arriving at the escarpment above Lake of the Clouds. The trail to the viewing points was steeply uphill but mercifully short & the view was lovely.
When we had looked and photographed our fill we returned to the van, set Portia for instructions to the motel in Houghton and, with John still the only driver of the day, embarked on the last leg. The motel room is very nice and only three doors from the "pet exercise area", but after being spoiled with four days of our own patio door, a minor let-down. Since we felt half starved we headed for the nearest fast food place, only about 100 yards away, bought stomach-filling food and took it to the room to eat before we even thought about unpacking anything from the van!
Later we checked out the aquatic facilities, which we had all to ourselves. A very nice hot-tub/spa, a small but adequate swimming pool, and a kiddy pool with a giant mushroom fountain under which (once we'd figured out how to turn it on) we played, as the song says, "just like a couple of kids"!
All in all we covered 265 1/2 miles today, for a trip total of 1063.5.
To see Marissa's pictorial blog of the day, click here.
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