Entry #73 – MICHIGAN – PART 1 – July 6 – 19, 2021

Our drive out of Wisconsin was scary as hell (for me, anyway) as we used the interstate roads leaving Milwaukee. That is to say, we drove on the interstate directly into the EXTREMELY congested metropolis & then transferred to a second interstate at the city’s center. I do NOT like cities of this size! But we made it without incident with me driving the car & Perry following in the motorcoach. The ride north was pretty uneventful through Green Bay & beyond. We did have to carefully navigate the downtown area, including turns, of one mid-size city just before hitting Michigan. No issues there, either.

Our destination was Pioneer Trails Campground, a county run park, between Escanaba & Graystone. GPS was telling us it was on the left side of the highway which forced us to make a u-turn, & then we promptly got frustrated because it wasn’t there. I finally went into a store & asked directions. It was on the other side of the highway so we got back on it & did another u-turn. Found it & drove in. But the park manager chased us down in his truck. Apparently, the ages old water pump broke the Friday before & no sites had water to them. AND the bathhouse was inoperable! The manager wanted to let us know before we parked & set up in case we needed to fill the fresh water tank at the main water pump. We were assured a company would be out the following day to fix the broken pump so we would have running water. In total, it took an entire week to get the water on & sanitized which put it into our 4th day at the park. No worries though – we have an 85 gallon fresh water tank that we had filled before leaving our last location, so we were good for a few days. We even had showers & no limitations on cooking or using the toilet for those days.

That evening we drove into the nearby city of Gladstone & had dinner at a nice waterside restaurant. It was a busy night but the hostess put us at a wonderful table overlooking the marsh & the water beyond. Dinner was delicious & the view was spectacular – rain & all!

On Wednesday, we went into Escanaba to discover the fun sites around the city. We came across a beautiful park with boat docks, a lighthouse & more. We also found a ship dry dock with a US Navy ship in port. We couldn’t tell if it was being worked on or being built but it was fun to see – US21. There was an adorable bronze statue set of children reading at the corner of the city’s library. And we photographed some of the gorgeous churches & the original city hall with beautiful stained glass windows. We also found a museum that wasn’t really set up for visitors but they let us come in anyway to view the art they were staging for a show. We didn’t take pictures of the show pieces but I had to take one of the colorful lion at the front desk & a couple oddities that were outside. The bench was awesome!

Dry dock of a Navy ship, perhaps?
Beautiful boats in the harbor.
Lake Michigan!
South Point Boathouse. Look up the story of the mysterious death.
Very nice bronze statues at the public library.
An art exhibition center!
I LOVED this brilliantly colored cloth covered lion!
This is one of two super neat benches.
An old Carnegie Library – not currently in use.
One of MANY beautiful churches around town.
Another gorgeous church!
The churches are very old but well maintained.
The old City Hall building. It’s currently used for offices & has been well kept up.
The stained glass windows & molding is in perfect condition, well over 100 years after being put in place.

Driving back to camp the sky was showing off a beautiful cloud with a silver lining! It was so pretty!

The next morning we got up & out pretty quick so we could drive up to Marquette in the northern part of the UP. Our Roadside America app was showing the neatest yard art place, open to the public. And it did not disappoint! The 38 acre complex was created by Tom Lakenen, a union metal worker who took up the hobby of creating yard art to wile away his spare time. The story goes … he made a metal “chain gang” band & put it in his yard. But the county officials said it was not allowed. So he bought the 38 acres nearby & set about filling it with even more yard art (most at least 5 ft tall or bigger) where friends & strangers could come & enjoy the day. The officials continued to oppose his plan but he stuck to his guns & won. There is a sign at the entrance touting the FREE entrance to the property … except for the planning & zoning officials of the local government. He has made over 100 yard art pieces & has them displayed along a winding drive through the woods. There is also a huge wooden pavillion & a few other small structures people can use – FREE OF CHARGE. Tom cuts up wood from the property as he clears a new display place & leaves it out for folks to throw on the fire as needed. He also leaves coffee & hot chocolate for visitors to enjoy. I say he “leaves it” because Tom is rather a recluse. He arrives on the property in the wee hours of the morning to do his work, clearing land, creating his art & making sure everything is in perfect condition. Then he leaves before people show up. What a generous soul, he is! Here are pictures of a LOT of the art pieces, but not all. We had the best time wandering around & discussing what we felt was his vision as he created all of these treasures!

Follow the dirt road. It’s only about 3/4 mile but it winds through the woods.
Tom couldn’t have a sign but the county officials couldn’t stop him from parking his semi trailer there.
This boat was in the bog.
And this was the back of the boat.
I’m guessing this was a worm?
So much of the art was HUGE!
The lumberjack?
The Olympic torch.
Tom’s rendition of a totem pole.
Happy Mother’s Day!
This guy was probably 7 ft tall sitting down.
This one was my favorite!
For all my Florida fans!
This boat with “things” stood over 12 ft tall.
Loved this!
And the band!
Tom must have been studying the stars.
Tom is a life member of the Union Iron Workers. This guy was over 12 ft tall.
Trolls!
This wasn’t big but it was very detailed.
More star gazing!
Tom got into the birds a bunch.
I loved Tom’s artistic touch on everything.
Fun flowers!
Perry had me pose with this one.
I have no idea what Tom’s vision was on this one but I liked all the parts.
Perry was channeling his Tasmanian Devil self.
Fun bugs.
Just a cute bird.
Frankinstein’s twin.
Fun chain art.
Tom’s got an imagination when it comes to bugs. This one was about 14 ft long.
I know this one had special meaning but I didn’t get it.
More “Olympians”.
The wheel actually turned when Perry pulled the handle.
Tom got a little political in some of his yard art.
Bowling balls only grow on the left side of the tree. Another political creation?
A monster combing it’s hair in the mirror. This one was particularly creative.
A nod to the wonderful nurse community.
Performing puppies!
The DNR even made it into Tom’s limitless imagination!
I loved this bicycle! With a pig on top!
Dog sled or race?
More of Tom’s wishing upon a star.
I have no idea what this is but I loved all the rusty treasures!
Lots of the pieces could be played on so Perry did just that!
A futuristic golf cart?
I posed on the big chair.
A nod to energy sources.
Perry HAD to play on the elephant.
All the cool rust!
One of Tom’s “smallest” sculptures. This bug was only maybe 3 ft long.
The motorcycle riding through fire.
In remembrance of 9-11.
That’s one big spider!
A lizard fishing. He was at least 12 ft tall.
Suicide was on Tom’s mind. He lost a friend named Daniel.
I love windmills!
This was a donation box. Loved the airtight door.
Tom made this very large pavilion for people to gather. There’s a wood burning fireplace in it & Tom leaves firewood for people to burn if they want – no charge.
I LOVE the roof supports!
And this is the back of the fireplace wall. Note the crane Tom created over the chimney.
There were a few other buildings scattered on the property. This one was the blacksmith shop.
Tom created this cute building to look like an old country store. There was a firepit in front of it with chairs &, of course, free firewood.

After we left the Junkyard, we were pretty tired. So we drove into the city of Marquette to have a late lunch. We found a cute restaurant that had covered outside seating so we could enjoy the cool breeze of the day & watch the pier & boats drift by on Lake Superior.

On the drive back to the campground we stopped at a stone structure on the side of the road to take a look. It was a Carp River Furnace – which we had never heard of before. Learning about “stuff” as we go.

A Carp River Furnace.

We also took some pictures of the beautiful lake! Beautiful colors!

Always on the lookout for the unusual, we found this giant mosquito art on top of a house that was nearly caving in.

And then we stopped for dinner at a wonderful restaraunt / bar called Log Cabin in Graystone. It had a lovely little gazebo near the outside dinning area & pretty stone planters with brilliantly colored flowers out front.

On another day we drove quite a way to find a remote lighthouse. It was down a mile long, one lane dirt road at the tip of a peninsula. This one was open, allowing visitors to climb to the top. The property surrounding it was well kept by the park service & there were several picnic benches & cast iron grills. So peaceful out at the point!

Perry was at the top to have a look around.
The stairs inside were very stable.
The beach at the lighthouse.
Previous visitors made a heart of rocks & there were several stacks of balanced rocks around.
That’s me way down there in the field.

And, as usual, we found fun things on the roadside as we traveled the countryside.

A big metal bird in an empty field.
And another giant mosquito atop an abandoned dumpster.

The next day we road back up to the north shore of Michigan along Lake Superior to see Munsing Falls & then Pictured Rock. It was pretty crowded so we were only there long enough to take a couple pictures. It was a beautiful day with a perfect temperature.

Can you tell I don’t care to have my picture taken?
Here’s Perry – had to do the photos quick before we got pushed out of the way.
A very sweet gentleman took our picture together with Pictured Rock below.
The water color was gorgeous & so very clear.
This is Pictured Rock from a lower vantage point.
We stopped at a roadside Bar & Grill (that seems to be the thing in the area) & found they offered Pasties which were a favorite of Perry’s (& his brothers) growing up. Their mother made them often. Perry said it was good but not quite like his mums. Sweet memories.
A meat pastie with gravy.
We also noted that the roadside eateries often have an abundnance of taxidermy animals. LOTS. I mean LOTS & LOTS. Makes one wonder exactly what they are serving!
I must say, the taxidermy was extremely well done.
This guy was over 6 ft standing up.
This one was maybe 4 ft long.
Another thing we took note of was the abundance of ice cream shops – everywhere! The cities have one on every street corner it seems & the back roads have them every few miles. I wonder if they are as popular in the winter (with 6 ft or more of snow) as they are in the summer. Hummmmm

We drove over to Ishpeming in search of Big Gus Tourist Trap. And it definitely lived up to its name. I took pictures of some of the yard decor which serves the purpose to draw travelers in. The store was filled to the brim with tourist junk, as expected, so we got a few post cards & a lapel pin for our collection.

Cool sign.
Big Gus Tourist Trap.
Yard art at Big Gus Tourist Trap.
A wonderfully rusted old truck.
More yard art.
That was some shotgun!
Cool train.
And the giant wheel barrow.

Another day we went to Vulcan, Michigan to tour Iron Mountain Iron Mine. It was an abandoned mine from the very early 1900s, rediscovered in 1956. The fella that happened upon the vine covered opening bought the mountain & set about fixing up the shafts as a tourist destination. He did a great job in laying tracks & making it an educational tour. The owner is now in his 80s & still works there most days. Big John, the giant cut out by the road definitely serves the purpose of drawing visitors in.

Big John, the 30 ft tall miner by the road.
A fun photo op prop.
This pole has shovels & axes imbedded in it, supposedly for every life lost in this mine. There are 93 tools in all.
We road a train car into the mine & then walked a good half mile to see some areas. The lighting was stable … until the guide turned out the lights to demonstrate the depth of the darkness. YIKES! Then a bat flew all around us. A real one, not a prop. I did NOT like that one bit! It was cold all through the tunnels & we were being dripped on. Let’s just say I’m glad we had the opportunity to experience the tour but it will not be repeated.
Further up the road we came across the city of Norway. At both ends of the city limits on the highway we were traveling were Viking ships. Pretty cool way of advertising.
This Sasquatch was the attention grabber for a little bar & grill we stopped at for lunch just outside Ishpening.
And we had some cheese curds – a favorite appetizer in the area.
Back on the road we found this log dog in front of a house.
We were on the hunt for a brass Indian sculpture in downtown Ishpening (never did locate it) when we happened upon this huge structure. It’s an iron ore mineshaft head post, made of concrete. There were actually two of them. The museum at it’s base was closed so we weren’t able to see any other artifacts related to this. But we did take a good many pictures of the signage nearby. Maybe someday we can visit again when the museum is open. So many neat things to see & learn about on the roads less traveled!

On the way back to the park we had to stop for a minute to allow a gaggle of turkey to cross the road.

Also, it was most interesting to see the MANY “firewood for sale” bins & such at the end of people’s driveways. The honor system at it’s finest! Sometimes we would even spot bins with net bundles of onions for sale or pastries & pies. How enterprising & what a testament to the honesty of the people!

That was it for our stay in Pioneer Trails Park. Onward to a new adventure even further north on the upper peninsula …

Traveling northeast to the top corner of Michigan was an easy ride. Since our two way radios stopped working mid-way through the drive, that was a blessing. Perry just followed me in my turns & there were no complicated maneuvers. Apparently, Spice unplugged the charger for the radios during one of her frequent dance sessions on the dash. She loves to jump up there & talk to folks going by or to greet us as we return to the RV. She must have stepped on the cord. I’ve added “check the two way radio charge” to my list of chores before we leave on future trips.

We choose Sunrise View RV Park (across the street from Bay Mill Casino) as our stop for a few days because of it’s location near the waterfalls we wanted to see & the city of Sault Ste Marie, a city full of history.

The casino management actually runs the RV park so we crossed the road to have dinner in one of their restaurants on the first night we were there. Their pizza was wonderful! And we secretly picked up the tab of an elderly gentleman who came in alone – just because.

The following day we drove into the little city of Brimley. On the Roadside America app I use, it showed their city museum was housed in an old train car & caboose. It looked like the train station was also part of the museum, as well. So cute & the grounds were well kept. Unfortunately, the museum was not open – not sure if it was because of COVID or a lack of volunteers. I hope it rebounds someday soon.

We drove over to Tahquamemon Falls to see the shoals. It was so pretty! However, it was a bit more peopley than I prefer so we only stayed to take pictures for a few minutes.

This was a state park & the boats were owned by the park. I found it rather scary that people were paddling them from one shore to another without a guide or life vests. One fella was even paddling backwards & not going very fast.

We drove through the big campground (it was part of a state park) to see how camping was arranged. What a shock to see each campsite had only electricity – no water or sewer hook-ups! My guess is that water is not on each site because of the extreme freeze the area gets in the winter? I’m pretty spoiled – this was not my type of camping.

On our way to the lighthouse we wanted to tour, I took pictures of the trees that draped over the country road. Soooo green & lush! Surprisingly, the heavily wooded areas were interspersed with large areas of dead trees. We saw a LOT of the dead tree forests throughout the state – no idea of what caused the total devastation of trees or why they hadn’t been cleared for new growth to flourish. A mystery.

We found the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum & Lighthouse at the end of a very long road outside Paradise, Michigan. It’s beautifully preserved with wonderful displays of the history on shipwrecks. The most famous shipwreck was that of the Edmond Fitzgerald’s in 1976. The cause of it’s demise was heavily investigated but was never clearly determined. More questions came out of the investigation than answers. All of the crew was lost. I took a good many pictures in the main museum.

A HUGE light from the lighthouse.
Lots of displays & stories about shipwrecks on Lake Superior.
The actual brass bell that was on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Some of the artifacts found in the wreckage.
Wonderful displays with the stories.

Our next stop in the complex was the lighthouse keeper’s home. The furnishings & decor was so well thought out to represent the period of time in which the families lived there.

I loved the perfume atomizer.
This is a boot puller. It’s an original from the era but replicas are common.

Outside we found the tiller of one of the ships lost in the lake & I got Perry’s picture with it.

The last building we stopped in was the life boat shed. A perfect replica of the lifeboats used in the early 1900s was on display along with lots of other memorabilia. The picture displays were some of the best I’ve ever seen so I took pictures of them as they told the stories of the rescues & more.

Some of the memorabilia off a sunken ship.
The Coast Guard served the lake well over the years.
Perry with one of the rolling equipment pieces used in the early 1900s.

Going onto the boardwalk with a viewing deck over the beach we spotted this memorial to the Edmund Fitzgerald.

On the beach was lots of driftwood from dead trees but there was also a good bit of ship wood scattered around.

This piece of driftwood looked to have hair on the stumps. It wasn’t hair, just shredded wood.

We found the lighthouse museum was a bit sad. It was well thought out & historically perfect but the stories touched our hearts for those who’s loved ones perished.

On the way back to the campground we stumbled upon another lighthouse museum. We missed going inside by just a few minutes but we did enjoy the grounds & a moment of peace as we rested on a bench overlooking the lake. We have since learned there are nearly 130 lighthouses in Michigan alone. No wonder we have found so many!

These people were waist deep in the freezing water (they are clothed, by the way). I told Perry I was going to scream “SHARK” to get them to get out of the water before they froze.

This particular lighthouse had beautiful gardens surrounding it so I took some pictures of the gorgeous flowers. Michiganders love their gardens!

On our last “sight-seeing” day in the UP, we drove over to Sault Ste Marie to see the Soo Locks. Perry thought watching the locks fill with water & slowly raise the boats or ships up multiple times was fascinating. I found it interesting for maybe the first 15 minutes. I offered to go down into the park below so I could people watch on the bench while he continued to enjoy the show. But he just laughed & came with me.

We stepped into the information building for a look around & had a wonderful chat with a woman who plans to sell her home (her husband of nearly 50+ years passed away last year) to become a traveler like us. She was almost giddy with excitement over the possibilities. She may have been over 70 but was definitely capable of the lifestyle change she wanted to begin. Her children live in the south which is a motivating factor. I directed her to “Sisters on the Fly” for some informed advice & camaraderie of like minded women campers.

It was interesting that the Soo Locks were operated in a very similar fashion as far back as 1798.
This is a scale model of the original locks.

We had lunch in town & Perry had yet another pastie. He still says it wasn’t up to his mum’s standards. A walk around town & a quick peek into the many shops was fun & we got to see the abundance of banners put up by the city honoring military members who have served or are still serving our country.

EV ERY lightpole through the downtown area had banners honoring our country’s military members.
An interesting fella, riding his e-bike with is patriotic helmet & rubber boots. I love the characters we see along the way.
The area had lots of Amish people on buggies so these signs were in abundance.
4 wheelers were allowed to drive on the roads from May 1 – Nov 20. Then the snowmobiles come out. We saw signs for them eventually but I missed getting a picture of one.

That was it for our trip of the UP. Off to the lower part of the state! I will be writing a separate blog entry for the rest of our Michigan tour – too many photos make for a very long entry!

Not all who wander are lost! #whereswaldocamping