Richard and Suzanne and Duncan's Big 2014 Road Trip
Stage 3 - Yooperpendence
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (mostly)

Day 11 - Monday, June 30, 2014
Rosemount, MN to L'Anse, MI
376 miles

We were up early, as the residents of the Carlisle household had places to be rather early on this Monday morning. We busied ourselves accumulating the items that were somehow strewn across two levels of the house and then trying to find places to stuff them in the Monte. Meanwhile, Duncan discovered the family a couple doors down was blowing some impressively-fun bubbles, and joined the kids in chasing and popping the shiny blobby globes. But all bubbly fun must come to an end, and we rolled out the driveway and north on the boulevards of the southeastern Twin Cities.

Bubble fun with the neighbors	Chasing the evanescent spheres	Flinching from a too-close "pop"

After a brief stop to give our Gulf fuel credit card some exercise in Saint Paul, we motored east on I-94 across the overflowing St. Croix River into Wisconsin. We stayed on the freeway for a while, as Duncan continued his marathon viewing of the Star Wars movie duo-trilogy on his iPad.

St. Paul looms over I-35E	Got good Gulf gas

Somewhere near Menomonie, Duncan declared that for the remainder of the day, "Talk with a Yoda voice I will."

Just a few miles later, the subsequent disclaimer: "A bad Yoda voice I have".

Let's get off this busy freeway and see rural Wisconsin. 25 led to 64, and then an impromptu veer onto Chippewa County route E led us on a rolling and scenic trip under a canopy of spreading trees, with wild turkeys darting in, out, and across our path.

So this is what a Wisconsin rustic road looks like.

A drive east on D and a few odd turns brought us into the small town of Sheldon, which seemed like a good place to take a short break. But as we rounded a corner on the edge of town, we were confronted by an unusual sight - a small army of scrap-metal robots and their buggy and birdy cohorts surrounding one of the homes in that town.

Why settle for a mailbox when you can have a fully-armed robot mailbox?	Happy metal bird keeping the robots company	The bugs are bigger here. And with metal exoskeletons, too.

We looped back to the Corner Store to get a snack, and asked the clerk offhand about the metallic creations. "Oh, my boyfriend built those," came the ready answer. "He was bored a couple winters ago, and..." By this time, Duncan's nose had discovered the fresh-baked pizza in the serving areas, and several cheesy slices made for a stringylicious lunch, plus a few cups of chocolate malt ice cream for dessert.

Sure, let the wild-eyed cow loose with the gasoline nozzle. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh deer. In this area of northern Wisconsin, the wildlife is numerous and frisky, and as we rounded a corner several deer bounded alongside the road right next to us. Having experienced the $3000+ unpleasantness of a deer implanted into our vehicle back on our 2006 trip, we applied the brakes and let the mama and her spotted fawn amble into the woods and away from our paint job.

Oh deer.	Very good, deer - high-tail it away from the bumper, please...

We then continued east by north on lightly-traveled roads, yielding to the Amish buggies and noting some of the "fixer-upper" properties dotting the roadside.

Horse-drawn buggy clops down the county roads of north-central Wisconsin	A little fixer-upper. Handyman's paradise. Interested?	The Precarious Flower Pots of Ogema

Some more motoring into the north woods environs brought us into the town of Tomahawk, which we'd encountered in our past travels but always bypassed. This time, the road we'd chosen brought us right into the landscaped streets of downtown, allowing us to finally see what we'd missed earlier. And on the west side of the street was the split-log facade of the Hometown Feed Mill, which seemed as good a place as any to look around and take a break. The lady behind the counter welcomed us to the shelves of cute decor, equine supplements, and stock supplies, and Suzanne found the perfect little birchbark canoe for our shelves back home, along with a bargain-priced clock that would look great with the other woodsy items by the entryway. But the welcoming wasn't finished - about this time, the barn cat assigned to protect the bags of animal chow took a break from her anti-vermin duty to give a whole bunch of rubby love to all of us, leaving much happy feelings and strewn fur.

Ride 'em wooden cowboy	Even a hard-workin' barn kitty can look pretty	Always time for kittycat love on a road trip

After leaving the Hometown, we continued our exploration of Tomahawk, noting that the resort motels and enticing mini-golf courses might make for some interesting future Big Road Trip chapters. But not today - we're behind schedule, and need to keep moving. Stopped briefly in Eagle River for Holiday rocket-gas and helpful advice from the station's friendly staff, and then a turn on route 17 to try a quieter drive than the usual zoom up US 45. And in the tiny lakeside town of Phelps, our travel was briefly halted by the bright yellow view of Sweets, Treats, and More, a fun little candy shack chock-full of colorful delights. The Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream was first-rate, and Duncan burned off a calorie or two on the hopscotch pattern on the polished tile floor.

Exceptionally delicious.	Sweet stop in Phelps	Creatively-designed tile with a built-in hopscotch pattern

Back into the car as the sun descended lower to the northwest as highway 17 became smaller and narrower, and imperceptibly entered Michigan under an unbroken span of bright green leaves as Monte's odometer rolled 66,666.6 miles (we hope this isn't an omen).

This backroad is brought to you by the color "green".	No, we're not superstitious. Really. Honest.

From here, we were on forest roads, and we used the map, GPS, and Suzanne's ancestral memory of the area to navigate the guidance-deprived roadways. But faith and seat-of-the-pants reckoning succeeded again, and we popped out in Kenton and turned east on M-28 for the final few miles. Left on US 41 and toward the north, and just as the sun was disappearing over the tip of Keweenaw Bay, we rolled into the driveway of our motel in L'Anse just before 10 PM Eastern time. The darkened windows of the motel's office had us most concerned for a minute or two, but the note on the lobby door with our (slightly-misspelled) name and our room key was a welcome sight. Then a mosquito-evading unpack and a thunk into the beds, and some good quiet rest to welcome us to the U.P.

Red rays over Keweenaw Bay and US 41	Perfect balance of travel and fun - arriving at the motel right at sunset	Very personalized service? Abandoning us to our fate? We'll take it in a good way.

Day 12 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014
in L'Anse, MI
4 miles

We're halfway through the trip, almost two weeks out of Phoenix, and today was the very first day that none of us had to be somewhere or do something by a certain time. The sun arced high above the harbor town of L'Anse with no sign of activity from inside the room, and even the maids gave up on trying to service or even enter the room.

That long rest felt very gooooood. :) I

n the later afternoon, we were contacted by Suzanne's sister who lives in town, and we made the short drive to their home on the rugged shores of Lake Superior. Yogi the wacky puppydog greeted us, along with Vicki and Pete. Later on, their daughter Lindsey dropped by with a fine young man she knew, and heaping plates of homemade meaty cheesy lasagna were devoured as the local deer cautiously wandered down from the cliffs to the back yard (you're cute, but stay out of the garden, hey?)

The happy Martinac home	Everyone loves Yogi! And Vicki, too.	Duncan shows Brandon all his computer games (this could take a while).

Bunny ears for everyone!	Lindsey gives Duncan another big lovin' hug

Keweenaw Bay at twilight - not a bad view from the front porch	After-dinner visitors

The socializing extended into the evening, but eventually it was time to bid farewell and return to the room, thinking about tomorrow's adventures.

Day 13 - Wednesday, July 2, 2014
L'Anse to Copper Harbor, MI and return
181 miles

Today, one of our "roadtrips within a roadtrip" - a sojourn up the Keweenaw Peninsula to its very Superior-intruding tip.

The drive north toward Houghton was uneventful, and in less than an hour we were traversing the campus of Michigan Technological University, Suzanne's alma mater and the place that awarded her a degree in computer-type-stuff 28 years ago, in the days when mainframes and minicomputers battled for dominance. Suz noted where things looked almost exactly the same and places that had been greatly changed, and we yielded to the Husky students (how'd they get so young?) as they scurried to and fro.

Visiting Suzanne's alma mater	A view of MTU

Let's stop for a history and geology lesson here. Nearly a billion years ago, the North American continent began to think about cracking up, and metal-rich volcanic rock spewed forth from the planet's interior in the area from about upper Michigan down to the Plains states. And although North America decided to stay stuck together, and much of the igneous rock was covered by later formations, the Keweenaw Peninsula is where the ridges from that semi-continental-splitting event are still visible. Through nearly the entire time of its human habitation, the Keweenaw has been noted for its abundance of readily accessible minerals, including large outcroppings of nearly-pure metallic copper. In the second half of the 19th century, mining companies arrived to extract this wealth, and a canal was built across the peninsula for improved access to the mines and towns such as Houghton.

The geology of the Keweenaw - some very valuable rocks squeezed in the middle

Back to our trip. Houghton and its sister city Hancock are separated by this wide and deep canal, and we stopped briefly on the shore to take in the view. Richard chanced to meet up with a counterpart of his with Michigan DOT, and they discussed highway stuff while Suzanne and Duncan found more-fun things to do. Now the only non-boat method of crossing the canal is over the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge, and as its name implies, this bridge is constructed in a way that the center span can rise nearly 100 feet in the air to allow large vessels in the canal to pass beneath.

Houghton waterfront	Portage Canal splits the peninsula

Care for a lift?	The lift bridge carries US 41 across the canal	"OK, son, bring it up just a little bit more..."

Impressive structure from below	The lower level once carried busy rail tracks, but now only snowmobilers	Chatting with the Michigan DOT counterparts

We rumbled over the span and entered the curving streets of Hancock, and saw the welcoming signs of the Kaleva Cafe. Suzanne remembers this place well, and the rotating display of fresh-cooked pasties convinced us that a couple of those meat-and-veggie pies would make for a satisfying lunch.

A favorite place in downtown Hancock	Mmmmm. Pasties.	And they make good road trip food, too.

Several miles north of Hancock is the town of Calumet, where the National Park Service has converted the old Masonic Temple into a visitor information center for the Keweenaw National Historical Park. This park is comprised of many separate small areas preserving and commemorating the mining heritage of the region, and the multi-level visitor center provides an "ore" lot of information on the technology, culture, and society of this area during the mining boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while also preserving much of the Masonic Temple's interior.

Learning about the lode-laden history of the Keweenaw	Most of the town is a National Park

Adding another National Parks Passport stamp to the well-traveled book	Seems to be a pattern here.

Describing the (other) "Copper Country" to the museum visitors	Goofing around on the Masonic stage	"Without drugs or poison." That's reassuring.

After departing the cool interior of the building into the just-as-cool upper Michigan afternoon air (why can't it be like this in the Arizona desert in the summer?), we drove around Calumet's historic downtown, following US and state route signs that looked like they'd been installed in the 1930s and left untouched for the ensuing 80+ years.

The historic streets of Calumet	Sure don't see too many US 41 signs like this anymore...

Another distinguishing feature of this area is that it receives some of the highest totals of snowfall in the entire United States, with an average of over 20 feet (yes, feet) of snow accumulation each year - an almost unheard-of amount for any place that doesn't have "ski resort" in its name. And several miles north of Calumet, the "Snow-ometer" commemorates this wonder of weather, with its display denoting average, annual, and record snowfall stretching nearly 35 feet into the air. The snow season that just wrapped up a few short weeks ago may have been one of the longest in duration, but the accumulation arrow peaked out just below the 30-foot level, short of the 1978-79 record - could be that when Lake Superior completely froze over that it might have cut into the snow production a bit.

The infamous "Snow-O-Meter" shows just how deep it really gets	That's a lot of white stuff	The recently-wrapped bitter winter didn't quite break the record

So while we're thinking chilly thoughts on this summer day, let's continue right into downtown Phoenix. Phoenix, you say? Yes, Phoenix... Michigan, which boasts the advantage of being able to get from one end of town to the other in under three minutes. :)

Sure doesn't seem this close most of the time	Welcome to Phoenix! But this one has a slightly-easier crosstown commute.

The highway continues through the resort and port town of Copper Harbor, and a few miles out of town ends in a nondescript cul-de-sac, but with a large sign denoting the remarkable significance of this particular road. For what highway are we at the end of? It's know by many names as it rolls nearly 2,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean beach in Miami, Florida to the Lake Superior shore in Copper Harbor - the Tamiami Trail, Dixie Highway, Murfreesboro Road, Lake Shore Drive, and others - traversing swamps, prairies, tumbledown slums, and glittering high-rises - all linked together by the unifying shield of US Highway 41.

US 41 - where it all begins (or ends)	Milwaukee, Chicago, Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami - all just a drive down this very road

But here's the end.	Only 1990 miles to Miami Beach!

Returning to Copper Harbor, we spent some relaxing time on the stony shore, as Duncan created "gravel castles" to withstand the Great Lake's waves. He then drafted a few comely pebbles to serve as his minions in a dramatic one-act play as the parents looked out on the blue waves rolling to the horizon.

Copper Harbor view	Playing on the pebbly Superior shore	Building a little fortress against the raging Great Lakes waves

In this town there are several souvenir, shirt, and mineral shops. One that caught our eye was Shea's, proclaiming a "retirement blow-out sale." We ogled the copper and agate specimens (all half price or less!), while the extraordinarily nice lady running the shop was very attentive to our son as he retold the tale of our travels so far.

Great little gift shop	"I'm a jackalope!"	Son spinning stories to the Shea's staff

Let's start heading back - but this time on M-26. Didn't get far before the attractive exterior of the Berry Patch Ice Cream shop came into view, and more Jilbert's frozen happiness was consumed (partly to soothe a conked Duncan head that got bonked on the fun play truck outside).

Yummy stop at the Berry Patch	Friendly folks serving up chilly treats

M-26 runs along the far north shore of the Keweenaw, offering a curvy ride through woodsy wonder. We passed over Eagle River Falls on the new timber arch bridge after taking photos from the century-old steel truss bridge.

Falls of the Eagle River	Newer timber arch bridge spans the river to carry M-26

Returned to Phoenix (the little one) to rejoin US 41 south for the scoot into Calumet and a side trip to the IGA and Shopko for pop, massive meatiness in the form of Vollwerth's ring bologna (and unlike last year, this will make it all the way home with us, dangit), and more assorted colorful yarn.

Every IGA store needs an inflatable turkey. Even if Thanksgiving is months away.	Processed Meat Nirvana

M-203 veers to to the west from here, following the aforementioned Portage Canal for a sunny scenic drive. At the park near Hancock, the sandy beach looked irresistible to a 9-year-old kid, and we played as the late-day sun shone on the green and red buoys standing steadfastly in the channel to guide the maritime traffic.

Green and red navigation buoys stand sentry duty	Late-day travel break at a scenic spot	Pleasant park along the Portage Canal

Afternoon sun on the green lawn and blue water	Our son reshapes the sand	New canals dug into old canals

Over the lift bridge and back to L'Anse we drove in the twilight, exploring some very old alignments of highway 41 as we went. Then back to the motel and into the room for one more evening's rest by the Gitchee Gumee shoreline.

Raising a bottle of purple Martian Soda to another fun Big Road Trip day

Day 14 - Thursday, July 3, 2014
L'Anse, MI to Watersmeet, MI
67 miles

Woke up one more time at the L'Anse Motel and began the process of prying our items out of the room and back into our vehicle. We drove down to the waterfront park, where Duncan took a brisk dip in the chilly waters on the scenic shoreline. The park also had a brand-new splash area with many fun sprayers, and water even colder than the lake. But on a sunny day with other kids to play with, it was all good.

L'Anse welcomes you! But bring money.

Rockin' the rocks	More sand-structure engineering	Not cold at all. Ignore the fact there was ice just last month.

New splash pad at the park!	The Boy in the Chilly Bubble	Dare you!

Controlling the Fish of Spouting	Gotcha!	Targeting the convenient parent holding the camera

While all this was happening, Suzanne was crocheting some red, white and blue stars befitting the impending Independence Day holiday. While on this trip, she had produced many flowery bookmarks as gifts for those we'd visit, and the stars were the latest addition to the yarn-hooked collection.

Suz's stars

After all the sand and stuff was wiped up, we turned south on US 41. Several miles south of L'Anse is the settlement of Alberta, which some years ago was a small "company town" for the Ford Motor conglomerate, commemorated by an enormous head of Henry himself in the lobby area. Here the pine and maple trees from the surrounding forests were sawn and processed into many parts for motor vehicles, including the stylish sides of the "woody" station wagons of the 40s and 50s (they really were made of Michigan wood back in the day). Several of the houses are now available as vacation rentals, and we noted that they might be nice for a stay during future Road Trips. The on-site store was selling some remarkably well-crafted birdseye maple items such as furniture and home decor. We couldn't quite afford the copper and agate-inlaid table, but a small birdhouse was perfect for our budget and storage space.

Bridge depicted approximately to scale.	That's quite the big Ford you have there.

About half an hour's drive west is the small town of Trout Creek, where Suzanne was raised from birth until college. We stopped the car by the brand-new improvements at the town park, and admired the new fishing platform over the old mill pond. But Duncan wanted to play on the swings, monkey bars, and steel slide that he'd enjoyed so many times before, and was horrified to see them piled and wrecked haphazardly in the weeds behind the storage building. Apparently, the old playground items were deemed obsolete and dangerous by some regulation or busybody, and the township might be buying new play equipment in the future, but this was no solace for a boy who wanted to play on a nice day like today.

New plaque telling the old Trout Creek pond's history	The mill pond is quiet today.	Wonder if the baby bird is on Twitter yet.

Filling up on clear well water	The beloved old-school steel playground equipment is twisted and tossed aside

About this time, a familiar face appeared, as Aunt Iris and her faithful dog appeared from across the street, greeting us loudly and with much happiness. We learned of all the recent local happenings and told her how our past year had unfolded, and had a pleasant afternoon in shared company.

Another big hug from Aunt Iris

Not far from here is the very nice home of our Cousin Pam and her husband Andy, and today they were also hosting some other far-flung relatives - the Perttula family, whose roots may be in the UP but are currently residing in Maryland. Sunni was sunny indeed as she greeted us, and their adorable daughter Lily became Duncan's New Very Best Friend as we savored home-cooked kebabs and pleasant conversation. Pam even took the kids out for a spin in the 4-wheeler ATV, and they enjoyed a romp over meadows, roads, and woods.

And a hug from Cousin Pam, too!

Little Lily is someone's New Very Best Friend	But sometimes Lily can be a cute lil' pest

Socializing with the family, 2014-style	Say cheese!	Capturing another victim

Off for a spin in the 4-wheeler	A Perttula and his daughter - a beautiful thing

Perky Perttulas	The godparents and their far-flung minions	And one Moeur picture.

The sun had set over the pond, which meant the high-latitude Eastern Daylight time was getting rather late - and we still had another town to travel to (and another hotel check-in to endure). So after hugs and promises to stay in touch (now much easier with global social media), we motored cautiously down a very dark and winding Calderwood Road, stopping frequently to yield to deer and other carelessly-crossing critters. And then late in the evening the bright lights of the Lac Vieux Desert Hotel and Casino came into view, and we halted under the portico and entered to see if our room (and maybe a bell cart) was still available. Not only were they waiting up late for us, they'd saved a room near the indoor swimming pool, which made Dunc very happy with the place, even if he's a decade too young for the slots and table games. And after Richard again got in touch with his inner sherpa and delivered the items to the room, we settled to bed as a light rain shower cleaned a bit of the gunk off our red car patiently parked outside.

Day 15 - Friday, July 4, 2014
Watersmeet, MI to Trout Creek, MI and return
54 miles

Our third week of travel began on this national holiday, and we performed our patriotic duty by... sleeping in for a while.

Happy 4th of July!	Flags a-flutterin' in the Yooper breeze

But once we were rested and ready, we returned north up US 45 to the town of Bruce Crossing and a luncheon meal at Char's Cafe, a local favorite. Duncan devoured his cheeseburger in a lickety-split fashion, and his dad pronounced the big bowl of chili most satisfying.

Trout Creek is only a few miles east on M-28, and we returned to the town to engage in more relativistic behavior. Stopped by Cousin Margie's place to stop in for a while, and Duncan remembered why he liked this place so much - the fully-stocked play room for visiting grandkids and cousins, complete with a Japanese slot machine entirely legal for our nine-year-old to play (even if he couldn't quite understand the kanji-kana instructions and exclamations).

The bulbous tower of Suzanne's home town	Visiting the Voigts	Spinning the slots - and getting a lesson in Japanese too

Once Duncan had exhausted his samu-winnings and we'd said bye for now to the Voigt clan, we visited the tree-lined town cemetery holding the earthly remains of so many of Suzanne's ancestors and acquaintances. We paused respectfully at the graves of her parents and noted some recent additions, including new stones to better mark older burials.

Paying our respects at the centuries-old town cemetery	The Plot of the Carlisles	Recognizing the sacrifices of the World Wars - and explaining to Duncan the significance of the poppies

After this, another visit to brighten Iris' day. Richard noticed an odd-shaped tool on a shelf, and Iris explained that it was a cut-down and custom-welded stubby wrench used by her husband Freddy to adjust the conveyor belts in the tight confines of the old White Pine copper mine - a unique artifact of a bygone time.

Barging in on Iris again	A very unique wrench

Then a cruise through town to see the old family home, now in new but apparently good hands, and back to Watersmeet where we met up with several of Suzanne's close friends from the E-TC class of 1981 to have a bit of a mini-reunion over a nice dinner at the casino restaurant.

Suz's high school friends join us for dinner	And then things get a bit goofy

After dinner, Richard took Duncan to the pool while the gals had a fun evening at the casino, and eventually the sound of the local fireworks was heard booming distantly through the walls. Dunc at first wasn't much interested, but then said "please can we go see the fireworks?" - just about when the last shell echoed over the forest. He wasn't much happy after that, but we promised him we'd see fireworks elsewhere tomorrow. And that, along with some happy blue ice cream, recovered a smile from all of us, and off to bed after a busy day.

Hotel pool is hoppin'	A happy blue Jilbert's mess

Day 16 - Saturday, July 5, 2014
Watersmeet, MI to Bruce Crossing, MI (twice!)
70 miles

It's the Fifth of July. Why not have a Fourth of July celebration?

We drove on up to Bruce Crossing, where the flags were fluttering and the air was filled with excitement and the aroma of some good grilling. The warm weather was still in abundance, but tempered today by a stiff south breeze, which seemed to keep the bugs in check even if it did cause an occasional hat or paper plate to become an uncooperative flying object. The local Lions Club was serving up fresh barbecue chicken, and we dug into the juicy feast with plastic-forked abandon.

Winner, winner!	Courageous Lions cooking the chicken	Mmmm. Grilled bisected poultry.

Yum. More Vollwerth's.	Ice-cold bright blue freeze pop = smile on a warm day

Other activities included a car show with several shiny wheeled beauties on display, but soon the population began to migrate toward the main highway as the classic vehicles' engines rumbled to power to prepare for the parade.

Classic '54 Ford in the lineup	Info on a rare set of wheels

Duncan saw the local kids had congregated by the playground, and he soon joined them for some fun, with Richard drafted into converting some of that chicken's nutrition into ample angular velocity for the metal merry-go-round.

Providing angular acceleration as kids hang on for dear life	Never too old for a happy childhood

The bright blue cars of the Michigan State Police were already on station as we found a place to set up our chairs along US 45 with Suzanne's friends, and the spray bottles were unholstered for some cooling fun as we awaited the beginning of the parade.

The spray bottle battle begins	Little squirts	Cooling duel at point-blank range

Gals and kids ready for the parade	Cherry-topped MSP cruiser and fluorescent-vested MSP trooper keeping things under control

We all stood to salute the flag as the American Legion honor guard smartly stepped up the centerline of the highway to herald the parade's arrival. After the guard came a great variety of entries, including a float honoring the triumphs and sacrifices of our fighting forces, the high school band playing with pride, a grand marshal and tiny parade queens, Smokey the Bear tossing Forest Service fire safety items to the crowd, ATVs, horses, and trucks, and a long line of tractors chugging up the route.

Color Guard, Salute!	Honoring the brave who assaulted Suribachi almost 70 years ago

Heeeere's Smokey!	The Ewen - Trout Creek Panther Band marches onward	Littlest entry of all

Big float for a century of banking	Always a nice thought.	Little parade queens cruise by

Tractors chug up US 45	"Can I drive for a while?"

Classic cars in the parade lineup	The 4-wheelers take over

You mean there's candy too? Yup - lots of great ballistic-trajectory sweets hurled from the parade entries to the eagerly-waiting small hands on the sidelines.

Throwusomecandypleeez!	Here ya go!!

HOOOONNNKKK!!! went the air horns of the shiny red fire trucks, which sent Duncan and the other kids in a scurrying dive to cover their ears from the din of the super-loud sirens.

Bright red flashing honking fire trucks	They're LOUD!!	One more happy train

And after the final truck had rumbled through and US 45 resumed its normal role as a trunk highway, we folded up the chairs and returned to the frolic. The coin scramble at the bottom of a large pile of fluffy sawdust and greedy children was fun to watch, fortunately with much revenue recovery and a minimum of bloodshed.

Preparing for the impending coin-scramble frenzy	It's a madhouse, I tell you. A madhouse.	Suz gets in on the scramble

Then it was time for the post-pie-judging dessert, where we pronounced the apple pie to be A-OK and the pumpkin pie as perfect.

Mmmmm. Home made pies.	Patriotic parfaits at the co-op	Strike up the band!

Then a bit more play with the Perttulas and Ahos, some excellent Vollwerth's hot dogs and brain-freezing ice pops for the road, and a drive back to the hotel to rest our bodies from a fun 4th-on-5th day.

Lily + Duncan's hat = supercuteness	Aha! Ahos!

Later in the evening, fireworks were scheduled as part of the festivities, and after missing the previous night's boom-booms, Duncan wanted to make sure he experienced tonight's edition. But Mother Nature makes plans of her own, and right before nightfall sent lightning-crackling clouds and drenching rain over the area. But Dunc was undeterred, and we motored up a very wet and sloppy highway 45 as the windshield wipers rhythmically whopped across the windshield. Arriving in the parking lot of Settlers' Co-Op General Store a few minutes early, we enjoyed personal pizzas from the deli within and met up with friends from the area also here to view the pyrotechnics. And despite the drizzle and the very low cloud cover, the show did go on, with Dunc's face lit up with the glow of burning metallic compounds and a boy's innate love of big things going boom. And then a final soggy farewell to the folks, a swat or two at the pesky mosquitoes, and back to the hotel for one more evening of Upper Peninsula rest.

Waiting for fireworks in the foggy rain	Natural lightning and man-made explosives light up the sky	I LOVE FIREWORKS!

Next Stage: Up the Midwest

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Latest Historical Revisionism 30 December 2014

Scripting: Richard C. Moeur
rcmoeur@aol.com

Coding for photos created by PhotoPage by John A. Vink.