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.
.
.
.
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.
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.
.
.
.
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.