Mmm Good

Meandering down Rte 77W we drive along the St Croix National Scenic Waterway and National Forest. Pretty scenery with lots of little lakes. There are many interesting small towns along our route. They are very "wild west" looking with saloons instead of bars (every town has one) and "mom and pop" restaurants. Winding our way through Minong, Wisconsin we passed a beautiful park in the center of town with a pond. The sign at the pond said "Kids Fishing Pond". It was really neat, but Ken said I was too big to fish there!

We crossed the Mississippi River this afternoon and into Minnesota. We are now back in the city environment. The campground is ok and is fairly empty. We cooked baby back ribs tonight and as you can see Ken really enjoyed them! It's still cold but we ate outside anyway.

Tomorrow we go to the big city of Bloomington.

It's Not All Perfect

Not much going on today. Rainy, cold, and windy so we went to look for a place to have breakfast. We found the "Robbins Nest" and it was really good. Very cute place with lots of local crafts and photos on the walls. After breakfast we went to check out Hayward. Normally in a town that is a "hot fishing spot" the fly shops are easy to find.... not here. Didn't see one. So we got groceries and went back to camp. This campground is really dismal. The site is small and all dirt and with this rain it is all mud. Not a place we would recommend.

We decided to go back to the casino and sit in the parking lot where we could get wifi and work on the blog. Naturally we had to play a little (and give some back....).

Wisconsin was only a pass through state and we really haven't been impressed so far with what we've seen. I think it is truly a sportman's state and you need to really spend time here (atleast a week if not more) to enjoy it.

You Need a Rainbow...

Well we knew we would have to leave Michigan eventually, but we loved it! Now weeks of wilderness will come to an end. I can't believe we spent almost a month here. Driving along Rte 28 W out of Michigan and into northern Wisconsin on Rte 77 a beautiful Monarch butterfly came through my window and landed in my lap. Unfortunately it didn't survive. We crossed into the Central Time Zone today, this is our 9th state. We saw 5 deer in the first hour in Wisconsin. We are driving on the Great Divide National Scenic Highway. It runs through the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. We stopped for lunch at a roadside park that was located on the Great Divide. This is one of the points in North America where the water coming from the northern rivers flow to the Atlantic and southern rivers flow to the Gulf. It is 950 ' above Lake Superior and 1550' above sea level. There is a wonderful diversity of plant and animal life in this area. The byway passes through forests harboring black bear, timber wolves and white-tailed deer. It crosses lakes, swamps and bogs alive with beaver, loons and bald eagles. We have seen several large beaver houses and can hear the loons on the waterways. Along the road we saw several signs warning of Elk on the side of the road with blinking lights and we also saw strange purple triangle boxes hanging in the trees. We are wondering what they are for.

We had a terrible time trying to find the Lake Chippewa Campground today. "Adora" our GPS took us the wrong way and had a very bad day. We had a very close call today driving down the back road. It seems drivers like to pass over double yellow lines in Wisconsin. This guy passed a tractor coming in the opposite direction on a two lane road, over the double yellow, right for us. Ken hit the brakes and manuvered the coach so the "clown" could go between the two vehicles. It was very scary!

We came to Hayward specifically to fish, but you can only get a 4 day license here and we won't be here that long. There were several articles in our fly fishing magazine about this area, but it is mostly lakes. It is rainy and kind of dreary.

Finally we found the campground, got set up, and then went to dinner. We had a great waitress at "The Ranch" who answered our questions: The elk here are tagged and when they are within a mile of the lighted signs they blink to warn drivers. The purple boxes are researching insect infestation in the woods.

We found the Lac Courte Orielle Casino so we decided to stop after dinner. As we got out of the car there was a nice rainbow right over the casino. We knew it would be lucky and it was.... we both won $$$ - Yeah!

Do deer talk?

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park was established in 1945 to protect the last large stand of uncut hardwood - hemlock forest remaining in the Midwest. It is a wonderful recreation area for all seasons.

There are 3 key things to see here in the "Porkies". The first is the Presque Isle River area at the far side of the park, so off we went.

On our way to the river area we took a side road that lead to Summit Peak Scenic area. Now I should know when it says "summit" it means climb... but we got out and headed up the trail for a "short" hike (ha). The sign said it was a 3/4 mile hike each way, it didn't say it was all stairways! The stairs led to a tower with lots more stairs, so Ken climbed to the topof the tower to take pictures, while I waited at the halfway point (for those of you who don't know - I don't do heights!). It was a pretty view at 1,958 feet above sea level.

Back on the road to Presque Isle again. This area runs along the Presque Isle River and is loaded with hiking trails. We strapped on our hiking boots and took the east/west trail that runs along the river. We followed the boardwalks and came to the first set of stairs that led down into the 1st gorge to see Manido Falls. The falls were pretty but were smaller than expected. Continuing down the trail it became very steep and was washed out in places so we turned back and followed another route to the next falls. The path lead along the river and the air was much cooler as we came to the next set of stairs and went down again to the Manabezho Falls. From here we followed the trail back to the parking lot.

We left the Presque Isle area and took the scenic loop down Rte 5A to Rte 28, to Rte 107 and back to camp. We stopped on the way to shop at Nordines Foodmart. Part of the fun on this trip has been grocery shopping in all of the little markets and adjusting our menus to use what is available. Tonight Shrimp Fra Diavolo for dinner.

After dinner we took a scenic ride to the Lake in the Clouds. This is one of the most pristine places I have ever seen. The lake is set along the escarpment in the middle of the mountains. There is nothing around it (human wise). We walked the short trail (no stairs!) to the overlook and it was breathtaking. The lake is probably about 1800 feet above sea level.

It was dusk as we started back and a deer ran across the road in front of us, there was a second deer that stopped at the edge of the road. We stopped and watched. As we sat in the car we heard a noise like a crow from the trees where the first deer had gone. It was the 1st deer communicating with the 2nd one that was standing in the trees near the road. The 2nd deer turned and ran away. We waited for a while and then we heard the noise again. Neither of us had ever heard a deer make a noise, and it felt strange to hear them.

Back at camp we got ready to leave in the morning.

Note: We loved the UP and almost hate to leave the area. If you have a chance, you definitely need to spend time appreciating a the real wilderness.

Pristine Mountain Wilderness

Started out early this morning as we have a good distance to go. Naturally we stopped at the General Store for homemade cinnamon muffins and coffee. Rolling down Rte 26 out of Copper Harbor along shimmering Lake Superior we saw a Bald Eagle sitting on a rock just off the shore. They are so beautiful, I'm sure he was fishing for breakfast, but we decided he came out to say good-bye to us.

This was a travel day that took us back down the Keweenaw Penninsular and then along a forested road that eventually opened up and ran along Lake Superior again. Across the bay we could see the Porcupine Mountains starting to rise before us. We began driving through a pristine dense forest area and found the Union Bay Campground. Our site is up on a rise with a partial view of the lake. We can't believe what beautiful country and varied landscapes we are seeing as we travel across the UP. Every day is different. This area is truly wilderness and other than the state park office there is no sign of civilization. It's fantastic!

We settled in, put out the camp chairs, planned for tomorrow and enjoyed the view.

Hikers Paradise

This morning was spent cleaning the coach and then to reward ourselves we went back to the Harbor Haus for lunch. Ken says it has all 3 ingredients - great view, great food, reasonable prices. The panoramic windows over look Lake Superior and looking out the window you can see a buoy that markes a shipwreck. We watched divers go out to the wreck while we had lunch.

Copper Harbor is a very eclectic little town. There are several little motels, a gift shop which sells ice cream, fudge and T-shirts, and a general store where the guys in town sit on the porch and watch the world slide by. It is also a hikers paradise. We decided to take the Hunter's Point Trail. Hunter's Point is a narrow finger of land extending from the west and protecting Copper Harbor from the winds of Lake Superior. The north trail first winds along the bay with varying terrain and great views of the town and lighthouse. We came to the point where the north trail and south trail intersect. We followed the path and found ourselves on a beach with interesting rock formations. Instead of sand the beach was all stones. The stones were warm from the sun and you could get really comfy. We walked along the edge of the water looking for agates and then sat and watched the waves. Back on the trail the path worked it's way for about 2 miles over rocks and tree roots, but it was beautiful.

Later this afternoon we talked with Bill & Donna, the camphosts. They told us about the Union Bay Campground on Lake Superior in the Porcupine Mountains. The "Porkies" were going to be our next stop and the campground sounded great so that will be our next campsite.

For those who are counting - we have fished in 6 states now and the score is Fish -6 and Us - 0! It's about the fishing not catching....hmmm.

Ft Wilkins Historic State Park

Wandering down the Lake Superior Trail sounded like a good idea this morning. The path ran right in front of our campsite and along the rugged shores of the lake. Walking through the pine trees we found ourselves in the restored 1800 Ft Wilkins. Once an active U.S. Army post the fort complex was built in 1844 to keep peace in Michigan's Copper Country. There are 19 restored buildings, 12 of which are original, that represent an example of a nineteenth century military post. It is the last remaining original wooden for east of the Mississippi River. There are costumed interpreters there to explain about the different buildings and how life was during the forts existence. An old copper mine was found on the grounds of the fort, but it wasn't very successful. You can still see the shaft today. Leaving the fort through the wooden post gateway we continued through the forest area and took a side path to a spot overlooking the harbor and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse built in 1866. The lighthouse is only accessible by boat tour from Copper Harbor.We sat on the rocks and watched the waves break against the rocky shore and just enjoyed the sounds. After a while we headed back down the trail that led us back to camp.

Back at camp we talked with our neighbors from Minnesota who come to Copper Harbor often. By now you've all gathered we like to try new restaurants. Our neighbors told us about a German place that overlooks Lake Superior and offers the same menu for lunch at half price as it does for dinner. Naturally we got in the car and headed for the Harbor Haus. It was great! Ken had marinated Lake Trout that was awesome.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and then back up to Brockway Mountain. The drive runs along a cliff on the Keweenaw Fault and climbs to a height of 1,328 feet above sea level, 726 feet above the surface of Lake Superior. It has a great overlook of the lake and Copper Harbor. We worked on the Blog and watched the sunset. It was a nice day.