Patio Lantern Tour

After a couple of days spent in Sault Ste Marie and a couple more spent in the Blind River area, we returned home last evening.   It felt a little strange driving into our laneway and realizing our adventure had come to an end…maybe not quite…there is an awful lot of stuff to clean and put away. Distance Traveled = 637 km. Wildlife Sightings = Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Mallard, Sandhill Crane, Crow, Raven, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Goldfinch, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Chipmunk. P.S.   Stay tuned.   A wrap up blog is coming…hopefully today! Coming back to Canada Sault Ste. Marie Waterfront Mississaugi River

It was strange to pack up the tent trailer for the last time in a campground.  Mixed emotions actually.  We have returned across the border.  It was an uneventful day as we crossed the rest of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan. The blog will go quiet for a few days until we get home.  Check back in a few days for a wrap up of our adventure. Distance Traveled = 198 km.  Wildlife Sightings = Chipping Sparrow, Robin, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, Crow, Raven, Chipmunk, Deer. Sue put these up again...first night and last!

We took a 30 mile boat excursion today out into Lake Superior.   It could not have been better weather.   The sun shone, the wind was light, and the swales were only small ones, which we suspect is rare when venturing out into Lake Superior. This area, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, is made up of sandstone cliffs that can only be viewed from the water.   The name, ‘Pictured Rocks’, comes from the streaks of mineral stain that decorate the faces of the cliffs.   These streaks are caused by groundwater leaking out of the cracks.   The dripping water contains iron, manganese, limonite, and copper as well as many other minerals.   They are something else.   I hope that our pictures can tell the tale. It is time to move on from here.   Tomorrow we will return to Canada.   We have been on the road since May 12.   We have experienced so many things on this adventure that in many ways it will be a sad day to pack up the ‘little ten...

At our campground in Hayward Wisconsin, a sign in the office stated: “Be courteous, please do not walk through occupied sites”.   At the time I thought well that is obvious.   As it turns out I guess more campgrounds should hand that advice out.   You would think that common courtesy would be something that would be taught in the home…apparently the campers of Michigan missed this lesson.   Last evening, I felt like asking what their campsite # was so that I could go and walk through the middle of their site while they were eating dinner! Sue found us 3 ‘Superior’ waterfalls today.   They were a bit of a drive but heck that is what we have been doing for over 3 months now.   Today we had our first ‘Pasty’.   A Pasty is a full meal wrapped in pastry. It is Finnish.   It has meat, potatoes, turnip, and lots of other vegetables in it.   It is served with gravy and is incredibly filling.   It is a legacy left by the Finish woodcutt...

Last evening, we were again wondering where the diary area is in Wisconsin.   It is on the west side.   Our route through the state missed it.   So again, Wisconsin showed us more forest as we exited the state. Michigan introduced a new wrinkle to the trees theme.   It added rocks and lakes, lakes and rocks and eventually the biggest lake of all Lake Superior.   If we had not known better, we could have been driving through Northern Ontario. We are in Munising/Pictured Rocks KOA on the south shore of Lake Superior.   We will be here for 3 nights so we can explore the area. Distance Traveled = 456 km.   Wildlife Sightings = Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle, Blue jay, Chipping Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Crow, Raven, Canada Geese, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey, eastern Kingbird, Deer, Grey Squirrel, Chipmunk. More of Wisconsin's scenery! First glimpse of Lake Superior Neat statue honoring Iron Ore Miners and Loggers

Once again it rained all night and most of the morning.   We are glad we did not have to take down the tent trailer.   Again, things are wet.   Today we truly did nothing.   The most exciting thing was having breakfast in a Norwegian Restaurant in the town of Hayward.   We will be back on the trail east tomorrow. Distance Traveled = 29 km.   Wildlife Sightings = Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sandhill Crane, Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow. Rather interesting campsite...surprisingly private! Only in Wisconsin...can you tell it was a slow day?