Uh-oh, bad-bad-Bad! Tues, 7/12/16

The sky was clearing as we left saturated Ontonagon, Michigan.  We weren't in any hurry since we had less than 100 miles to get to the Bad River Casino in Odanah, Wisconsin where we'd meet our friends, Donna and Danny.  They're traveling east from Southern California as we're returning west to Northern California!  Odanah is a bit inland from Lake Superior, a few miles east of Ashland, Wisconsin.  We crossed into the Central Time Zone.

We noticed piles of junk in the above lake as we approached Wakefield, Michigan, located a few miles east of Wisconsin.  Then we noticed throngs of people.  Then we saw why.  Those severe storms that nailed us last night hit here and really hit hard.  Fairly benign-looking sky now!

Till last night, this very large warehouse had a roof on it.  Torn to shreds, it littered the land behind the building and parts were blown into the lake.  Jimmy and I parked Tergel at the street and joined the onlookers.  It was a mess.

Someone had to break out the back window to rescue the man trapped inside this overturned rig. Apparently he wasn't hurt, but I imagine he'd have nightmares for some time! How terrifying! At the street, we saw a sign that said, "Overnight visitors welcome." Thank God we didn't stop here!

We figured a brief twister touched down in this part of town, tho we saw more snapped limbs and downed trees as we traveled along Hwy 2.  Power was out in Wakefield.

The National Guard was on its way, so we left the scene and continued on to Wal-Mart in Ironwood for a few staples.  No hurries, no worries, right?

After first seeing the Wakefield damage, being detoured at the entrance into Wisconsin on Hwy 2 was our second indication that all was not well.  Just an officer and a detour sign, no information.  OK, maybe road work.  We didn't know.  We drove and drove, figuring we'd missed a sign somewhere. Apparently we were heading SW on Hwy 77, not the way we wanted to go, but every little road north toward Hwy 2 had a sign posted that said "road closed." 

25 miles later we hit the town of Mellen, passing over the Bad River that was so swollen it nearly engulfed the bridge we were crossing!  The approaches on both sides were flooded. Oh.  The light dawned then.  Last nights bad storms.  I finally tracked down a lady who told me that no way could we get north to Odanah via Hwy 13.  No way could we get to Odanah, period.  All the bridges were washed out and Odanah was isolated, basically an island. Good grief.  Nope, we'd have to drive all the way to Hayward just to get to Ashland! 

We were routed and rerouted.  Every time we thought we'd found a way north to Hwy 2, another detour sign or road closed sign greeted us.  Officers pointed and said, take Co Rd N to Co Rd GC, and ... on and on.  The roads got narrower, and they were not the kind you want to take a fully-loaded motor home, towing a car.  We ended up on a logging road, still bumping along ... maybe Co Rd XYZ or PDQ or WTF, I don't remember.  Water covered the road in spots; we saw partial road collapses.  

As frustrating for us as this was, we were still very grateful that we were upright in every sense of the word.  Meanwhile, Donna and I had been texting, so she knew our Bad River Casino reservation was a goner.  They, who had a much further drive than we did, arrived in Ashland and secured spaces for both rigs, while we wandered all over hell's half acre, trying to find a way north to Hwy 2 and Ashland.  Further south, we made it to Clam Lake, then west to Cable, and eventually to Hyw 2 at Iron River, 25 miles WEST of where we needed to be.  It was after 5 pm when we arrived at the campground and our friends.

"The Bad River near Odanah rose over 15 feet in six hours, to the third highest level ever, before the automated river level gauge stopped working."

The four of us marveled at the odds of this happening.  Two couples from California, one traveling east, the other heading west and out of all the towns in all of the states in this entire country, we would arrange a meet-up at the Bad River Casino in Odanah, on this date.  Go figure.

Flooding rivers turned Lake Superior shores a yucky blood-red.

The confluence.

We treated ourselves to a delicious dinner out at Deep Water Grille in Ashland,

a reward for perseverance.

Donna and I went for a walk, and it felt good to stretch our legs.  Above and below:  Big difference between one side of the breakwater and the other side!

Well, it was grand to see our fishing friends (we originally met in Livingston, Montana), although we allowed as next time maybe we'll get together in California.  Tomorrow, they'll have to do the grand detour to the east, and we'll continue west.  Oh, did I forget to mention that, to add injury to insult, we endured a 20-mph headwind, with gusts of 30 mph all day?  Maybe the wind will die down for tomorrow's drive.  Maybe pigs will fly.

Ontonagon, Michigan (?) - Monday, 7/11/16

This is another one of those We are where? places.  I can tell you for sure that it's in the Eastern Time Zone.  Michigan's Upper Peninsula, "The U.P."  On Lake Superior, and not far from Wisconsin.  OK?  That's about the best I can do.

It's also gray.  Clouds come and go, mostly they're here.  They billow over the lake and thunder growls.  Jimmy and I signed up for a night at the township park on the lake.  It was wet everywhere from the morning's storms and heavy rains.  Muggy, too.  Skeeters are hungry, starving obviously, and we have the bites to prove it.  Open the door and they invite themselves in!

We thought the town might have cool activities or places to see, but really, it was basically the lighthouse museum and the lighthouse.  So, we did both.  We were lucky to get to the museum a half hour before the actual lighthouse tour.  Our tour guide, John, was excellent, full of information. 

Looking out from the lighthouse tower.  Ontonagon County is red clay country.  With the recent rains, the boat channel water is RED.  Lake Superior water is properly blue.

Above me is the lighthouse cornerstone:  1866. 

I like this old-fashioned coffee grinder.

 Original oil lamp for Ontonagon Lighthouse Fresnel lens.

The museum was chock-a-block full of artifacts of every description.

A maritime letter in a bottle.  Inside the cork-lined canister would be the ship's cargo manifest and the names of each person on board.  The canister was slipped into a holder on the deck.  If the ship sunk, it would float to the surface and hopefully be found. All this is according to John.  We can't find any more info on it.  The name atop the lid reads The Upson-Walton Co.

Ironic -- Jimmy hails from Mobile AL, and here we are 1300 miles away!

After the tour, we walked Ontonagon's main street and ended up at an ice cream shop. Eyeing the sky, we checked radar.  To our southwest, all we could see was red/yellow/green, and lots of it.  We made for home.  As severe storms approached the lake, we saw them funnel over the water, mainly missing Ontonagon, but they sure had to be creating havoc below.  Sitting comfortably in Tergel, raindrops peppered us off and on, but nothing to write home about.  That came later.

Come bedtime, from the window at the head of our bed, we watched continual lightning flash in the clouds above the trees out over the lake.  We fell asleep with the window open, listening to soft rain fall. Lightning flared and thunder rumbled. Then the storm moved inland and I closed the window.  I likened it to baking cookies, lots of cookies.  Every 12 minutes or so, a tray of cookies comes out of the oven and a new batch goes in.  That's how the night went.  Wave and wave of pounding rain with brighter lightning and louder thunder kept me awake much of the night.  The lightning never stopped, and a couple of bolts were close.  I've never experienced anything like it.

Well, next morning, dodging mosquitoes and black flies, we got ready to leave soggy Ontonagon, still heading west.  Our friends, Donna and Danny from Ventura in SoCal, are heading east, and we made reservations at Bad River Casino in Odanah, Wisconsin (about 90 miles away from us) for a friendly get-together tomorrow night.  Oh boy, looking forward to that!

Schlepping along! Sunday, 7-10/11, 2016

We're schlepping along Lake Superior on our way west.  If a person wanted to travel and stop along the entire shoreline, it would take a couple of lifetimes, the lake is that big.  On this trip, Jimmy and I have been privileged to spend time near four of the Great Lakes (Ontario, Huron, Michigan and now Superior). The water is cold and crystal clear, really, clear like you could drink it, especially Lake Superior.  We've eyed the water change color as clouds obscured the sun, from eye-catching aquamarine to liquid pewter in a of minutes.  Amazing. But seldom does it work the other way. Fascinating to observe.

So, we're in L'Anse, Michigan for the night, at L'Anse Township Park, a hidden gem at the end of Keweenaw Bay.  Our site overlooks the water, and we can see the beginning of Keweenaw Peninsula across the water.  This, of course, is one of the many bays on Lake Superior.  (L'Anse means "cove" in French.)  We passed a sign for Canyon Falls on our way to the c/g, and once settled in, we returned to explore.

A golden yellow and very pretty.

A scenic one-mile trail leads along the Sturgeon River to a series of rapids and small waterfalls before reaching Canyon Falls. Further down, the river is called the "Grand Canyon of the U.P."  The flat rock, layer upon layer, was striking.

Why is the Sturgeon River this strange shade of rusty brown? I can't find any info on it.

The river slides nearly 30' over a large chute of smooth black rock into a box canyon. The falls itself is an impressive 15-foot drop (approx), colorful and noisy!

Peering into the box canyon.

Both of us hiked down to the water level.  The canyon was beautiful.

From the falls, we drove up to Baraga, across Keweenaw Bay from L'Anse.  With binocs, we could spot our campground, just barely and only because we knew where to look.  We wanted to take a gander at Sand Point Lighthouse.  Not too impressive and not open to visitors.  On the short drive there, we saw unleaded gas priced at $1.92/gal.  Too bad we didn't need a fill-up!

Aw heck, we still had lots of daylight left, and our host at the campground mentioned Lakeshore Drive as being bike-friendly (as in fairly level), so we hopped on our bikes and made for "downtown" L'Anse, with lake views all the way.  It was a quick, Sunday afternoon pedal, maybe five miles altogether, and nothing much was going on, so we "went home."

Spotted Mom'n'm offshore.

Common Merganser.  Lots of kids!

A light rain fell at dusk, and as the sun set over Keweenaw Peninsula, this was our view from Tergel's big ol' windshield.  My picture window!  Just one night at this very nice c/g (w/ electric hookup) and we move on west tomorrow.  Nice place to visit.

Being flexible? Thurs-Sat, 7/7-7/9

The last place on my wish list for this trip was Pictured Rocks Nat'l Lakeshore, on Lake Superior's coastline near Munising, Michigan.  Because our MO is to operate without definite plans most of the time, we didn't know when we might get to the area.  So, we didn't have a reservation at any campground.  We hoped to get in Munising Tourist Park Campground, also on the lake.  Alas, all they had was one night next to the road and nothing for Friday/Saturday.  Time to formulate Plan B.  A visit to the USFS sent us south a few miles to Island Lake c/g in Hiawatha Nat'l Forest.  Not easy to find and even harder to leave when the time came (we got lost), but for nine bucks, we had a lovely, quiet site.

Weather went haywire on us the next day (Friday), as the day dawned overcast with strong winds ... not an ideal day for a boat tour on Lake Superior!  We decided to move on west and skip Pictured Rocks, saving it for a different time!  As the day progressed, besides clouds and winds, we encountered fog, rain, hail, and sun.  Early afternoon, we stopped at a nice Elks Lodge (with electric hookup) in Ishpeming, Michigan.

What's doing on Saturday in nearby Negaunee?  A Pioneer Days Parade, of course!  Can you believe another parade?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been to lots of parades, but this one offered the most candy throws I've ever seen (inc Baton Rouge Mardi Gras); hence, people came prepared with large bags or pails to carry home their haul.  Big crowd, too.  Jimmy and I were standing on the sidewalk, and all the really good candy was thrown to kids on the street.  Phooey.  I didn't get a single piece. 

Pièce de résistance!

* * * * * * * * * *

I talked to my brother, Rus, before the parade.  He was released from the hospital yesterday and is at a rehab place in Boston, mainly to regain strength.  He's doing all right, although he'll have to take it easy from now on, not something our family is known for or good at.  I'm sure it can be done, however. 

After the big parade doings, Jimmy drove us into Marquette.  We wanted to walk around Presque Isle which juts into Lake Superior, but were held spellbound by the gianorous ore dock loading the Hon. James L. Oberstar (below).  

We had to be a quarter mile away, but as we watched, one chute after another opened and spilled a noisy amount of (I assume) iron ore into the ship's bays.  There are train tracks atop the ore dock, though you can't see them in the photo.  Engines pulled a long stream of ore cars away to the right. 

Workers don't need computers to do these tasks ... they've been doing it for such a long time that they know which chute to open and empty into which cargo hold, so all the ore didn't just dump, say, aft or forward.  At least that's our take on it.  Above you see three chutes dumping and one chute opening.  I hope the workers wore both ear plugs and face masks, as the noise was deafening and dust filled the air as the ore was spilled into the cargo holds.

We tore ourselves away from the loading and made our way to the breakwater and the Presque Isle Harbor Lighthouse.  Presque Isle is French for "almost an island."  We also saw the name when we were north of Alpena, MI. 

The wind off Lake Superior made the air feel quite chilly.

If people see rocks, they have to make cairns.

It was trying to hide from the camera, which didn't work.

323 acres makes for a wonderful park, but Jimmy only has eyes for the ship loading!  We spent Fri/Sat nights at the Elks and enjoyed our stay there very much.  While we were drifting off to sleep Saturday night, we heard the telltale booms of fireworks!  Again!  We heard 'em, but didn't see them, and that's okay!  

Like I said, if you travel willy-nilly like we do, it's better to be flexible, and we are.  All is good.