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.