TRAVELS IN THE MIDWEST

Leaving Iowa behind, we crossed the Mississippi River and entered Wisconsin at La Crosse, but there were SERIOUS and damaging thunderstorms lurking about so we hurried on through the area toward our next destination - the rustic and beautiful Door Peninsula.

Crossing the Mississippi at La Crosse

The Door Peninsula of Wisconsin juts into Lake Michigan for about 70 miles, forming Green Bay on the west side of it. It's apparently a very popular vacation spot, and it's easy to see why - the towns are colorful and bustling, with absolutely zero chain stores or restaurants. . . pretty hard to find these days. The peninsula got it's name from the Indian reference "Door of Death", for the 6 mile passage between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, where vicious currents and high winds have cost the lives of many sailors. Understandably, the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce omitted the "death" part - hence Door Peninsula . . . I didn't make this up!

Our Rustic Campground

Bob and Mark at the Local Candy Store

Sunset Over Green Bay

Gull at Sunset

Just After Sunset

One day we rode the tiny ferry across Death's Door, as the passage is now known, and rented bikes on Washington Island. There was no wind - a very smooth sailing! We spent several hours exploring the charming island by bike, stopping at a busy marina, a lovely beach, and a local restaurant for lunch. The pace of life is slow here - no traffic or hustle-bustle - my kind of place!

Arriving at Washington Island by Ferry

Ready to Bike!

Relaxing is the Favorite Pastime Here

Even the Beaches are Quiet!

Two Bumps on a Log

The Store in Ellison Bay, Door Peninsula

Ever Onward! We travelled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan via the Menominee Indian Reservation to try to find some of Bob's long-lost relatives. Sadly, no luck . . . .but we did see the new cultural center they built there, and spent an hour or so with a couple of Bob's no-doubt distant cousins going over some fascinating handwritten records from the 1800's, trying to find a record of Bob's great great grandfather Louis Beauprey. No Louis, but plenty of other Beaupreys . . .

Menominee Seal

On the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or "UP" as they call it, we stayed near the town of Marquette at a one-of-a-kind campground called Gitchee Gummee after the famous poem "Hiawatha" by Longfellow. It was run by a unique character named Jeff, who built most of the buildings himself, and is also a stone carver. Our first night there we were under a tornado watch, which was exciting - as it turned out there were no tornados near us, but there was crashing thunder, high wind, constant lightning flashes, and torrential rain . . . .quite exciting! By morning it had blown itself out, and it was nice the rest of our stay . . .

Poem Carved in Stone by Jeff

The campground was right across the street from a great beach on Lake Superior - very clean, and few people around.

Bob and Mark Walking the Beach

Roasted Hot Dog Dinner

We spent some time exploring Marquette - tried the local delicacy called "pasties" (rhymes with sassy), a sort of meat pie . . .very tasty! We learned that the Marquette area is rich with iron ore, and in fact provided 85% of the iron needed to build weapons and vehicles in WWII. We even watched a giant ore ship being loaded - quite interesting. I'm calling this trip Everywhere University . . . . .

Kibo and Moshi liked the Gitchee Gummee campground - lots of bugs and birds to watch, and not too hot! They weren't keen on the thunder, though . . . .

Kibo Taking a Catnap While on Watch Duty

The kittens are starting to really like the new motorhome, thank heavens . . . they especially like the fact that we haven't filled up all the storage space yet, leaving little cubby holes and cupboards for them to nap in . . .

Moshi in the Upper Compartment

From Marquette we drove 25 miles to the town of Munising, MI, where we took a boat ride out on Lake Superior to see the amazing rock formations of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was spectacular!!

Our Boat, the North Portal

A "Picture Rock" Wall





Caves in the Wall

Arch in the Rock

Erosion has caused most of the rock formations, and as we cruised along the rock walls we could see where piles of rock and dirt had sluffed off the wall, leaving different colored rock and sandstone behind.  Then, all of a sudden, we saw this erosion with our own eyes as a giant slab of rock broke loose from the cliff and plunged into the lake, causing a huge wave!  Our captain said he'd never actually seen a slide of that magnitude before. . . .

Huge Splash From Slab of Rock Breaking Off Wall

Back in the motorhome, we drove southeast to the town of St. Ignace on the Straits of Mackinac separating Lake Michigan from Lake Huron. Another ferry ride, this time to famous Mackinac Island, where in 1898 the residents decided not to allow motor vehicles on the island. And they still don't!! So there are thousands of bikes and 400 horses, really! The island is small, only eight miles in circumference, so biking or riding a horse are practical ways of getting around, even for the 500 people who live there year around. We took a carriage ride around the island at Bob's request - I think he'd had enough bike riding on Washington Island! The carriage ride was fun and educational, and the horses were beautiful and very well treated. There are many historic buildings on the island - Fort Mackinac dates back to the 1812 War, and there are a few homes even older. . . . . lots of gardens and lovingly preserved Victorian-style houses acting as inns. And tons of shopping!

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, a 5-Star Hotel

The View from Fort Mackinac

A Lovely Inn and Garden

One of Many Carriages on the Island

The Five Mile Suspension Bridge Over Mackinac Straight

There are many lighthouses all around the Great Lakes, as the weather can be beastly and shipping traffic is heavy. At the Maritime Museum in Marquette we learned details about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 - a huge freighter that went down in a howling gale with all hands lost. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about it in 1976 that became a big hit . . . .it turns out there have been many shipwrecks in the Great Lakes over the years - there are whole museums dedicated to shipwrecks around here! Each lighthouse is unique, with its own personality, and very photogenic!

St. Ignace Lighthouse

Lighthouse at Mackinac Straits

Back on the road, we stopped at Sault Ste. Marie, MI to check out the Soo Locks connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron.  We waited for a while so we could see a huge freighter approach from the Lake Superior side, then enter the locks at a VERY slow speed since he was nearly as big as the lock!  While he was on his approach a small cruise boat entered the small locks closest to us, showing clearly how gigantic the freighter was.  The whole process took the better part of an hour to get the ship through the locks . . .
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A Thousand-Foot Ore Freighter Approaches the Locks

A Tour Boat In the Small Lock

At Sault Ste. Marie we crossed the border into Ontario, Canada - Canada at last!! Now on to the Canadian portion of our trip . . .we'll be in Canada for nearly two months, exploring Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island.

Canadian Flag