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