August, The Great Lakes(Teri’s turn)

This month’s blog is brought to you by Teri. John’s notes will be in italics.

We spent most all of August in part of the Western Great Lakes region of the US. A Michigander (Michigan native) Marie Colvin, couldn’t say enough about all the great things Michigan has to offer so that’s where we headed after our visit with the Colvins in Georgia. The thing that stood out everywhere we went in this region is it’s all about the iron. Iron is mined and shipped across the Great Lakes from the area since about before time and everything is named for Iron. You’ll see what I mean when you read this months blog. We were in both Iron River and Iron Mountain and there were Iron River, Lake and Stream. There was Iron Café and all kinds of Iron namesakes from Michigan to the other side of Minnesota. Nowhere else did we see more reverence for the mining industry and union activity. For people we talked to, it tended to be no more than two degrees of separation between someone who mined, manufactured, or depended on iron. It’s part of everyone’s culture here.

Pine Ridge Birch Run, MI 8.2-8.7

We began the month in Birch Run, at the Pine Ridge RV Park. We were excited to see the town of Frankenmuth for all of it’s German themed sights and activites. Yeah, I know, we just did a Bavarian village last month. Frankenmuth is more stunning in my opinion. I was less intrigued with the town of Helen because the shops were more tourist driven without a lot of content beyond souvenirs. The town of Helen was beautiful and the flower gardens were outrageous but I didn’t care for the shopping of all the dozens of trinkets in every store. Still, I enjoyed the Grist Mill near town and the river where we caught several trout.

Day one, we decided we needed a day to burn calories. We got up early and explored,-John on his bike into Frankenmuch and me on a hike into Birch Run. The rest of the day was walking WAY too much through the Outlet stores which weren’t very exciting. So we went to Frankenmuth next.

Entering Frankenmuth you get a winter wonderland experience right off the bat. They have a whole village on this theme named Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland so if you like Christmas, you’ll find your mecca here. We didn’t stop there because we wanted to begin at the best guide locale first, the Visitors Center. As Visitors Centers go, this one was classy and SO helpful. We first heard all about the river tour where we’d learn about the town history, what to see and do and have a nice respite from all the tourist traffic. We got right to it.

It was a short stroll across a covered bridge and we got there just in time to board. We learned about the ship itself and what to do should we sink. Then sure enough, the narrator told us all about the origin and growth of this charming town. I’m sparing the details so you can hear all about it on your river tour when you get there. Hint: Ice Cream shops are EVERYwhere! We toured a few shops and had some excellent treats and even had dinner at a German style restaurant.

Frankenmuth was founded by German settlers in the 1800’s who were bringing Christianity to the Indians. Today the buildings sport a Bavarian facade. It is similar to Helen, GA as it caters to tourists with souvenir stores, restaurants, hotels, pubs, fudge and ice cream shops galore. The Michigan Heroes Museum is a tribute to the service men and women from MI who have served gallantly since the Spanish-American war. It was interesting to note that many of the soldiers who were highlighted returned home from the early wars but not so from Viet Nam forward. Too many of the stories told of the soldiers heroic fights but eventually lost their lives in battle. It was very sobering.

8.31 Twin Bears Indian River, MI 8.7-8.21

Indian River, MI is a jumping off point for our exploration of Cheboygan, Mackinaw city and Mackinac Island. We’d hoped to be closer to the area but everything was booked weeks out. Apparently, it’s a bit popular. As it turned out, the location was perfect for the other places we also ended up visiting.

We were craving some trout fishing, so we headed to the Fly Shop in Boyne, MI on the Western shore of Lake Michigan. We met Drew who’s a wonderful guide/storekeeper who shared a lot of information about several local trout streams. Of course we had to buy some more flys too. He told us about a great little spot near the Dept of Natural Resources office on the Pigeon River. The Pigeon River also flows about a mile from our campground. At any rate, we headed out to a couple places near the DNR that seemed promising. We also fished near the campground and on the Boyne River which was a beautiful spot. None of the gorgeous places were yielding any fish for us. John often told me, there’s no fish in these rivers. Throughout our travels this year, water levels are low and fish aren’t easy to find with the hot summer. So we decided we would book a charter for our last day. But first we had some fun activities to experience.

We went back to Boyne City because we had noticed a really cool feature when we were there before, and we wanted to check it out. They have an enormous suspension bridge that spans across the ski area called Skywalk. It’s a little wobbly but a nice stroll after the ski lift you take to get to it. I cannot begin to describe the views from up there. Pictures just don’t do it justice. The volunteers who were admitting people on and off were advising folks (children) not to jump while crossing. On our return crossing, we stopped for ice cream before heading down again.

We drove to Mackinaw city. This is the town you go to to get to Mackinac Island because that’s where all the really big attractions are. But for this particular day, we focused on Mackinaw. We took a tour of the USCGC Mackinaw which is a 290-foot former Coast Guard icebreaker on exhibit as a museum ship at the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum. She was built during World War II to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months across The Great Lakes and decommissioned in 2006. Imagine, a lake as big as Lake Huron frozen solid all winter!

Upon leaving the ship, we saw the Ironworkers parade go by so stopped to watch. The International Ironworkers Festival is held every year to recognize the men and women who constructed the Mackinaw Bridge.

We toured the Mackinaw Bridge Museum which is in the upstairs area of a restaurant amongst souvenir shops. It felt like a museum garage sale but it was literally packed with mementos and relics related to the iron industry and the construction of the bridge. There were videos running both in the downstairs shop window and on an old tv in one of the museum rooms. It was so cool! After that, we ordered a sign for our RV and headed to Cheboygan.

We found the fishing charter we wanted that was recommended by the marina manager there who gave us a business card. We would call them later to schedule. Then we went to the Cheboygan Lock and Dam. Now this little place was cool because I had only seen a big lock in the Seattle area. This was a mini lock for river traffic. We watched as party boats and fishing groups moved in and out of the locks. The two older gentlemen let us get close enough for the best views for pictures. The 2 men were the lock handlers and allowed us into the Employee’s Only area to watch and take photos.

We finally decided to visit Mackinac Island since the weather was fine and we had a whole day to goof off. We boarded the ferry to cross to the island and enjoyed the captain making jokes. When we got to the island, we wanted to find our friend Nick Hedrick. When John first started bike riding, Nick worked in the bike shop he went to and since has shared some of his adventures bike packing around the country. Now Nick works on the island in the summers and then has winters off to do what he wants. Anyway, we found him and he told us a few things about the island. John and he arranged for a bike ride before we left the island. Then we hit the tours. Nick was the mechanic at Performance Bicycles in Peoria when Teri persuaded me to start riding. He left the store before it closed and moved to Mackinac Island. Now he is the manager of the largest bicycle rental shop on the Island. The shop does about 1,000 rentals per day. Nick has the responsibility of keeping them all in sound working order.

After a quick breakfast we boarded a two horse drawn carriage that took us to a few attractions with stops for as long as we needed. Of course the drivers were full of interesting stories and humor but the first driver we had was really funny. We rode through downtown first and saw many quaint boutiques and shops. Then we went up hill into a more wooded section where we stopped at the Surrey Hills Museum. There are several beautiful carriages from the turn of the century that were used when the wealthy families traveled the island. There is a butterfly conservatory there on the same grounds. The tour continued to Arch Rock. Arch Rock is a beautiful natural limestone formation and one of the most photographed spots on Mackinac Island. Finally, we got off at Fort Mackinaw to end our carriage ride. We were met at the gate by a boy scout who welcomed us politely. The boy scouts stay in barracks during the summer at the fort and are assigned to various duties. We walked back to town and found our ferry berth almost ready to depart for the return trip to Mackinaw City. Once we pulled into port, we stopped by the shop we ordered our sign from and picked it up.

Before we left the area Nick and I rode at the Boyne Highlands Bike Park. This is a ski area in the winter and bike trails in the summer. We rode the ski lift up the mountain numerous times and rolled down the trails. Nick was much more of a daredevil than I was as he was taking jumps that I won’t do even in my dreams. A 5 minute lift ride and a 10 minute ride down and repeat. This was not my favorite style of riding. I much prefer the cross country style.

On another day, Teri and I had stopped off at the Bod B Banwell Family Nature Preserve. There are trails cut through the Preserve suitable for hiking and biking. She hiked, I biked. The west end of the trails overlook the Pigeon River which we had tried fishing. I bumped into a young couple with their dog. Arron is testing for the Michigan State Police. He and his wife Alex were very friendly and their 8 mo old German Shepherd just wanted to play. It was interesting that the pup wanted attention from me but when another couple had come walking up the trail she barked non-stop at them in a warning bark which Alex called her ‘big girl bark’. She didn’t hurt anyone but never barked at me.

On John’s previous bike day, I had opted for a walk through the town of Petoskey. Man, that is one cute harbor town! It has a ferry dock, lots of historic buildings, lovely boutiques and a bike path running between Bay Harbor, Petoskey and Harbor Springs. And it just so happens so does the ferry. So I thought it would be cool to take the ferry from one town, John would ride the bike trail there and then we’d both ferry back. I could walk around Harbor Springs while John rides before I took the ferry.

The only problem was that when we arrived in Harbor Springs to board, we couldn’t get a booking because it was fully booked. So we did some sightseeing. Harbor Springs is smaller than Petoskey but they had a nice farmers market that morning and the stroll around was nice. John took the bike trail over to Petoskey and I drove the car when I was done with shopping. Then we drove back to Harbor Springs because we found out about the Tunnel of Trees.

The tunnel is a tree canopied driving route through nature parks and rustic towns. It was a little hard to find the point of origin. So as we wandered several wrong directions, we found a really old church with the neatest signage. Then we discovered there was a public beach lookout a short path behind the church. We discovered one more gem along our route that was a pleasant surprise. In the nature preserve area there was a small event and farm stand venue like no other. Pond Hill Farm, at first sight, is just stunning with flowers everywhere and acres of gardens and green houses. It also offers some wonderful pizza, wine and some great hiking spaces. There are curious animals to visit and wonderful quirky things to see. We took the tunnel of trees back to town and then called it a day.

We saved the best for last on our last day in Upper Michigan. We got up in the dark and watching vigilantly for deer in the headlights, made the hour drive to Cheboygan to charter our fishing boat. Our objective, to catch REALLY big fish. Of course, we’d have to find room in the freezer so maybe not too big. Our captain Jack and his first mate, also Jack, met us at the dock and took no time getting on the water. They spent some time rigging the poles and then just so quick, the first salmon hit the line. By noon we each had our limit in both salmon and lake trout. Clearly the crew, not us, were doing all the work and had all the skills. I decided, I want to learn how to catch a salmon on my own on one of our future river fishing trips in Montana or even Alaska. Hey, a girl has to have a dream.

Top O the Morn, Iron River, WI 8.22-8.29

After a pitstop in Iron Mountain, MI, Summer Breeze Campground, we arrived in Iron River, WI at Top O’ the Morning RV and Campground. Ever optimistic, we were going to try fishing again on a highly regarded river, the Bois Brule. Fly casting practice on the river provided other points of interest for us though. We drove out to where Lake Superior receives the Bois Brule and it was a very windy day. The water on the lake was choppy but the mouth of the river was smooth as glass. John discovered an antique water spigot and played with it for a while. Then we saw a quirky war memorial that someone had constructed. Since it’s a sportsmans paradise and the park was fully booked, we had to agree to move the coach twice because of other reservations coming and going.

What a great park! It has beautiful quiet roads for hiking which I did often and a lovely lake with lots of places for Sarge to explore. John found terrific bike trails in the area and Sarge got lost every time he had the chance. We didn’t catch any fish but boy we tried every spot DNR told us about. Still, in such gorgeous country, it was worth the effort.

We drove into Duluth, MN for a train ride. Duluth is an industrial city but they managed to carve out a pretty decent route to offer a slow train for tourists. We listened to a recorded history and praise of all things Duluth along the way. The hosts made conversation with guests to encourage enthusiasm and it was an enjoyable trip.

Our final excursion in the area was to Ashland. Our energy was a little low but we made the best of it. After a quick breakfast, we started at the visitor’s center which was an incredibly well-designed facility. It featured a gift shop and a museum of the natural and physical features of the area on two levels of the building. It also has a rooftop lookout to view the surrounding nature preserve. You can look down on the pond and see the fish at the water’s edge. Then we drove into Ashland to see the 21 murals throughout the city. The community began in the 1950’s contracting with local artists to design images that reflected community values, industry and commercial interests. The downtown historic buildings were a neat addition to the journey through.

Here are some interesting things I have noted while traveling. Folks in the south (GA, TN, AR) tended to be more friendly. In the park, people would walk by and say high and strike up a conversation. As we moved north, there was less and less of that. At one park, there was a family camped next to us. As I was setting up, the dad/husband was sitting in his chair on the patio with his head in his phone. I said Hi and he looked up, said hi and buried his head again. We never spoke again for the several days we were there. One morning, they were all sitting at the picnic table on their patio. I looked to them several times trying to make eye contact and they completely ignored me. This is not what I’m used to in campgrounds. If you own a vehicle more than about 10 years old, it has rust damage to the rocker panels, the wheel wells and fenders. And lastly, there are so many cities in this country with duplicate names: Superior, AZ/WI. Cleveland OH/GA. Iron River MI/WI. Phoenix AZ/OR. Grand Rapids MI, MN. That is just a short list that I can recall. As we drove through Michigan we were rarely on an Interstate. Usually we were on a US or state highway. There are no truck stops such as Loves, Pilot, Flying J as you would see on the interstate. However many of the gas stations had truck diesel bays separate from the car gas pumps as you would see in a typical truck stop.

Blueberry Hills, Deer River, MN 8.29-8.31

Our final stop for the month was to visit friends from John’s past, Rob and Bridget Marble. As it turns out, it’s now Rob, Bridget and four adopted kids. As if they don’t already have their hands full. They have a nice little homestead in Deer River, MN with lots of projects to keep Rob busy. The man has so many irons in the fire and lots of property to play with on 60 or so acres. He’s living his dream. I met Rob and Bridget around 2007 when we were both members of the AZXJ Association. An XJ is the old school Jeep Cherokee. We had many a fun 4×4 trip together with lots of other folks. Years later, Rob came to work for me at GateWay Community College before he and Bridget moved to MN. They are doing well for themselves. Teri fell in love with the vegetable gardens as she can’t wait to start growing her own when we settle down.

We managed to get in some sightseeing in the town and a hike/bike day that was invigorating. We shared a nice dinner in town with the Marble’s on our second day there then said our goodbyes to the them and to our August adventures.