Back In Grand Rpids, Mi After 1845 Miles

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MIFJR

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My wife, Heidi, and I took off on July 1 for a trip around the great lake. We stopped in Pellston, MI to see my folks overnight and then pressed on into the U.P. (Michigan's Upper Peninsula)

Day2:

We followed M-2 across the lower shore line until we met up with US-41 that runs into Marquette. From Marquette we took off for L'Anse and followed the shore line up to Houghton for the second night.

Day3:

Leaving Houghton, we crossed the bridge into Hancock and went up into Copper Country. We took 41 all the way up until it ended and then rode Brockway Mountain Drive and M-26 on the way back down. Once back through Houghton we pressed on to Ontonagon for lunch... where I promptly left my credit card in the restaurant (downer #1 for the week).

From Ontonagon we headed west toward the Porcupine Mountains and got lost in there for a few minutes... then turned around to find M-64 that would hook up with 28 and take us to Ironwood and then Ashland. We were enjoying the ride so much that when we stopped for a rest in Ashland we decided to ride into Superior... or Duluth before stopping for the night.

Well, Superior was nice, but no motels had openings... at least that we could see at 75 mph. ;)

So we pressed on to Duluth... big mistake. What a metropolis - in the middle of nowhere. We raced through town and hit 61 as soon as we could see it... then we continued up to Two Harbors, MN for the night.

We ran into a couple of Canadians that were running the circle tour in the reverse direction. They were heading through the U.P. the next day and back into Canada via the Blue Water Bridge. They had mapped out 23 along the Lake Huron shoreline... sounded like an excellent ride they were on.

Day4:

Two Harbors, MN to Thunder Bay, ON for lunch! I can recommend Montana's for a decent meal... the weather was another thing. This was the only day we hit "real" rain. While in the restaurant, the skies opened up and let loose! It was pouring rain and finally let up a little after an hour. We donned our rain gear and pressed on.

From Thunder Bay to Rossport was fantastic. Great views, wonderful roads... and no bugs!

But we met our first A-hole of a Canadian in Rossport. Let's just say that I will never spend a penny at the Rossport Inn after our poor treatment there. :bleh:

So we rode on to Schreiber and stayed at the Barrel Inn Motel. What a name! But it was awesome. It had a huge barrel shaped sauna out front with a hot tub sitting off to the side. The rooms only came configured with 2 queen beds, cable TV, and a full bathroom (no standing room only showers in this place). You got to choose smoking or non-smoking for your room and since the owner saw us on a bike she placed us into room 3 so we could park right outside our window. How nice!

Day5:

We rode from Schreiber to Marathon before stopping for rest at a scenic overlook... also once of Canada's few welcome stations (150 miles from the border?). We found all the fliers of things we should have done - besides ride - over the last few days. :)

Ah well, we pressed on to White River before a gas and gift shop stop... then onto Wawa for lunch. From Wawa we made it around to Sault Ste Mmarie and then back into Pellston to finish out our trip around the big lake.

Days6-7:

Were spent resting and relaxing at my folks house and enjoying their hospitality.

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We're home now and I need a new rear tire. The yard really needs mowing and we're both dreading going back to work on Monday.

What else is new?

Oh yeah... Life just wouldn't be right without pictures!

Enjoy! We sure did.

 
:good:

Just one thing...

You need more artsy-fartsy shots of the Feej... you know, like it sillouetted against a glowing orange sunset.... :D

 
"you know, like it sillouetted against a glowing orange sunset.... "

Dude, in moose country I'm not riding until the sun sets. :blink:

My wife kept on hoping to see a moose... I was thankful we only saw a few deer and a small bunny along side the roads.

Coming out of Copper Harbor there was a small deer drinking from a stream that ran within 5 feet of the road. He never even lifted his head as we drove by. If I was working for a post card company I would have stopped to take a picture.

I gotta teach my wife to take photos from the back seat while we're moving.

 
That's a nice ride around Superior. Done it a couple of times, but never on the FJR. Lots of your pics reminded me of old times! :) Funny thing is, while you were up there, I was riding around Lake Michigan's Eastern shore. Had a great time, met lots of REALLY cool MI bikers, all very friendly, even some Harley guys who told us about some great roads. Gonna go back and do the Huron side next time.

 
We just got back from a week tour of the UP. We stayed at Wausau, Wi, Copper Harbor, MI, Newberry, MI, St. Ignace, MI, Big Rapids, MI, Fort Wayne, IN, Peoria, IL.

My favorite rides were 26 west of Copper Harbor, the "Tunnel of Trees" northwest of Petoskey (sp?), and the ride from Paradise to Whitefish point.

We never saw a single animal alongside of the road. We were very fortunate as far as I'm concerned.

We also like the Shipwreck museum, Taquanamon Falls and the Mackinac Bridge.

Tom

 
Gonna go back and do the Huron side next time.
My buddies and I did this 4 years ago. It sucked.

That might be because it rained EVERY day. ALL day. Oh, and was 40 °F. In September. Wet and cold for 4 days. :thumbdown:

The day we re-entered the US at Port Huron: 10 Sep 01. Yikes.

 
dusty1300,

I think you hit just about every nice road in this state. :D

Windjammer,

23 along Lake Huron is nice, but once you get into the thumb area (picture the lower peninsula as a mitton) there's not much there.

I get so frustrated cause almost the whole way around Superior's north edge has roads right up to the water. Michigan? They've got a few nice stretches, but not one solid road all along the lake shore. It bums me out a bit.

Ah well, that just means I gotta go find those superstar roads on my own.

 
You mentioned something that I've noticed, especially riding the Mississippi. The roads that are closest to the water aren't that good. I like to get off the River about 1/2 mile or so. That is where the really nice sweeping corners and such seem to be. The closer I am to the river, the slower the traffic, the flatter the roads. I like it when I can see the river or lake from a hilltop rather than by the edge.

Tom

 
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