With the rains over, we were greeted with a cool but sunny day. It was not a day to go swimming or canoeing but it was a good day for exploration. We headed west to look at campgrounds along Highway 2 and north almost to the Porcupine Mountains. The fall colors are just beginning. The sumac is red, the oak leaves almost brown. The maples are touched with yellow, orange and red. In about ten days the fall show will be at its height.
Gary had found moose calls on the Internet and at every campground he gave his best imitation of a female moose in the throes of passion, on the theory it would bring in males. I told him he was playing a dangerous game that could prove very painful. We stopped at Imp Lake and Marion Lake campgrounds. The roads were sometimes bumpy so we made notes of places he would rather not pull a camper.
At Watersmeet we stopped at the forest service visitor's center. The Upper Peninsula's Ottawa National Forest rangers were having a meeting with Wisconsin's Nicolet-Chequamagon National Forest rangers. We wondered what that was about. I mentioned to the clerk that the Ottawa forest could sure use some decent trail maps. I stopped to look at a map of Watersmeet and learned that three water systems meet at this point. Some rivers flow into Lake Superior, some into the Wisconsin River and the third group go to Lake Michigan. We know many of the rivers but I never knew where they began and where they went.
We had lunch at Big Mama's Grill at Watersmeet. I had pot roast soup which was perfectly lovely on a cool day. I am going to try to replicate that at home.
At Marenesco, we turned north to take a look at Lake Gogebic, one of the biggest lakes in the Upper Peninsula. We took the loop to the east that wound around through forests. These were deciduous forests so we were getting more color.We stopped at a boat landing to look at the huge lake. Too large for a canoe, Gary thought.
Right after the boat landing, we surprised a coyote. He quickly disappeared into the brush. At Bergland we were going west again on Highway 28 until we came to Wakefield and then on to Bessemer where we stopped at the St. Vincent de Paul.
When I came north from Seymour the last time, I left a load of clothes in the dryer that included my blue jeans. I've been making do with summer slacks but that it is getting colder, I needed to buy jeans. No point in spending a lot of money, I found what I needed for $2. Gary found a Bubba cup that keeps hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold. He had two of them already but this one fits in the car's cup holder. His total was 50 cents.
On we went to Ironwood on Highway 2 to the Michigan- Wisconsin border. I stopped at the Michigan visitor's center to ask where one could procure hand dipped ice cream. The woman at the desk said she knew just what was needed. She told me to go to the Northland General Store in Wakefield on our way back to Lake Ottawa. I would find Michigan's finest ice cream there: Jillberts. We began to talk about our favorite flavors. Mackinac Island Fudge, she said. Zanzibar, said I. Turtle, she said. Amaretto, said I. We were salivating. She reached under the counter and handed me a buy one, get one free coupon for the Northland General Store. Gary said I was lucky to find someone who could speak fluent ice cream.
We got our ice cream then backtracked north on Highway 28 until we reach Highway 64 south so that we could see the other side of Lake Gogebic. This time we stopped at two state parks and one county park, but we came to the conclusion that they would be too expensive and too busy in the summer.
And so we came on home on Highway 2 seeing dozens of wild turkeys and many deer. We made it back to the camper as the sun came down.
Tonight, I will sprawl out on the bed in this office, doing sudoku puzzles as I slowly drift to sleep
I still have not seen a moose.
Gary had found moose calls on the Internet and at every campground he gave his best imitation of a female moose in the throes of passion, on the theory it would bring in males. I told him he was playing a dangerous game that could prove very painful. We stopped at Imp Lake and Marion Lake campgrounds. The roads were sometimes bumpy so we made notes of places he would rather not pull a camper.
At Watersmeet we stopped at the forest service visitor's center. The Upper Peninsula's Ottawa National Forest rangers were having a meeting with Wisconsin's Nicolet-Chequamagon National Forest rangers. We wondered what that was about. I mentioned to the clerk that the Ottawa forest could sure use some decent trail maps. I stopped to look at a map of Watersmeet and learned that three water systems meet at this point. Some rivers flow into Lake Superior, some into the Wisconsin River and the third group go to Lake Michigan. We know many of the rivers but I never knew where they began and where they went.
We had lunch at Big Mama's Grill at Watersmeet. I had pot roast soup which was perfectly lovely on a cool day. I am going to try to replicate that at home.
At Marenesco, we turned north to take a look at Lake Gogebic, one of the biggest lakes in the Upper Peninsula. We took the loop to the east that wound around through forests. These were deciduous forests so we were getting more color.We stopped at a boat landing to look at the huge lake. Too large for a canoe, Gary thought.Right after the boat landing, we surprised a coyote. He quickly disappeared into the brush. At Bergland we were going west again on Highway 28 until we came to Wakefield and then on to Bessemer where we stopped at the St. Vincent de Paul.
When I came north from Seymour the last time, I left a load of clothes in the dryer that included my blue jeans. I've been making do with summer slacks but that it is getting colder, I needed to buy jeans. No point in spending a lot of money, I found what I needed for $2. Gary found a Bubba cup that keeps hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold. He had two of them already but this one fits in the car's cup holder. His total was 50 cents.
On we went to Ironwood on Highway 2 to the Michigan- Wisconsin border. I stopped at the Michigan visitor's center to ask where one could procure hand dipped ice cream. The woman at the desk said she knew just what was needed. She told me to go to the Northland General Store in Wakefield on our way back to Lake Ottawa. I would find Michigan's finest ice cream there: Jillberts. We began to talk about our favorite flavors. Mackinac Island Fudge, she said. Zanzibar, said I. Turtle, she said. Amaretto, said I. We were salivating. She reached under the counter and handed me a buy one, get one free coupon for the Northland General Store. Gary said I was lucky to find someone who could speak fluent ice cream.
We got our ice cream then backtracked north on Highway 28 until we reach Highway 64 south so that we could see the other side of Lake Gogebic. This time we stopped at two state parks and one county park, but we came to the conclusion that they would be too expensive and too busy in the summer.
And so we came on home on Highway 2 seeing dozens of wild turkeys and many deer. We made it back to the camper as the sun came down.
Tonight, I will sprawl out on the bed in this office, doing sudoku puzzles as I slowly drift to sleep
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