Day 25..."I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy"

Day 25, July 4th 2014....Mackinaw to Ironwood.  I drove all back roads and discovered a twisty-turny road that was absolutely beautiful.  Americana to the max! 

 

I left Mackinaw this morning and drove through the tourist part of town one last time.  I had a morning bagel, fought the urge to buy fudge, and got out of town without buying a tee-shirt.  The morning broke cold…I mean pretty dang cold and I broke out my long-sleeved undershirt to wear with my long sleeve button down shirt and my heavy riding jacket.  I know 52 isn’t freezing, but at 65-70 mph it is pretty dang chilly.

 

 

Today was probably the prettiest day’s ride so far.  I’ve seen a lot of pretty country, but the Michigan Upper Peninsula that I drove through today was magnificent. Maybe it was because, despite it being July 4^th, there was little to no traffic.  Early on I drove one stretch of about 60 miles without passing or being passed by anyone and only meeting a handful of cars.  I’m not complaining but it did seem a little surreal to be so alone.  Maybe everyone was already where they needed to be. 

My first checkpoint of the day was Grand Marais, Michigan.  I hadn't really planned to go to GM since it wasn't the most direct way of getting around Lake Superior, but I met a husband and wife team of motorcyclists that HIGHLY recommended the drive along Lake Superior starting just outside of GM.  It was, they said, the "Dragon's Tail (a famous twisty stretch of road in the south east of the US) of the Upper Peninsula.  So, with blind trust in my fellow riders, I set off in search of the dragon of the north country.  What I didn't expect to find was an ocean.  Really...I know that Lakes Erie, Huron, Ontario, and Michigan were big.  Bigger than big really.  But Lake Superior took my breath away.  It has beaches, waves, tides, and currents like the salt water oceans.  Some day I MUST come back and boat some of this lake.  And I don't like boats all that much.  The beach at GM was very similar to the beaches I saw in Florida, South Carolina, and Massachusetts.

 

  

 

 

I got to GM an hour before the July 4th parade (lots of decorated boats on trailers, kids with crepe paper on bikes, etc.) was scheduled to start and I wanted to hit the twisty road before there was a lot of traffic, so I didn't stick around.  Just outside Grand Marais I hit the beginning of the road, state highway H58. 

Before I got too far down the road though, I came across a sign directing me to a waterfall.  Being curious, I stopped so I could stretch my legs for a bit before I got busy with the twists and turns.  If you are interested, you too can take the audio tour of the falls.

After a 20 minute walk with two or three other hikers and a swarm of fearless, ravenous, blood sucking, mosquitos it was time to get serious about riding.  It was new, smooth, twisty as a diagram of the small intestine, and devoid of cars (or as the bike couple called them "joy killers").  I saw a few cars, but not enough to take away from the fun of leaning the bike left, then right, then left again.  I didn't get a lot of photos because, well, it took both hands on the handlebars to be safe on this stretch of road.  You can't relax because you don't know what lays around the next corner waiting to kill you on a motorcycle... moose, cars, or loose gravel.  But today, it was smooth sailing and at the end of the 17 mile stretch of curves I was tempted to turn around and do it again.  But then I'd have to turn around and do it again and that would be just TOO MUCH fun.

Once the curves subside H58 doesn't quit being a nice road.  It still had very little traffic and terrific views.  I stopped at a roadside tavern for lunch and had my first 'pasty'.  It's kinda like a pot pie married to a fried pie.  There are as many recipes for pasties as there are cooks in the Upper Peninsula, but this particular cook used potatoes, rutabaga, onion, and seasoned ground beef to make a most excellent pasty.  The recipe isn't tough (the dough might make me slow up though) and the cook assured me that anyone that put green peppers in a pasty would chase cats and bark at the moon just in case I had any ideas about getting creative.  The tavern also had a nice beaver.

The next town of any size down the road was Marquette and I arrived just in time for the 4th of July Parade to begin.  This is a slice of American Pie that I just couldn't resist.  So, off the bike again and I tramped from the parking lot down to a good place along Main St. that offered good views and a chance to pick up candy thrown from the floats. (note: fat chance on the candy, the kids all around me were much more nimble and quicker than I was).  I watched for 45 minutes or so and applauded the fire engines, BMX bike riders, marching bands, cheerleaders, dancers, and a brass ensemble that was amazingly good for playing on a moving implement trailer.  It was a shame to have to leave town because they had so many interesting activities planned throughout the day ending with fireworks over Lake Superior.

After a few more hours on the road I found myself a couple of hours out of Duluth in the small town of Ironwood.  On the back side of town was a park that advertised camping.  Honestly, I was all done in and didn't want to bust a hump to Duluth just to find expensive motels or packed campsites... so I pulled in and set up for the night.  It was quiet (except for the fireworks) and beautiful.  To cap it off, there was a fireworks display about 400 yards from my tent.  So, with the exception of the dozen mosquitos that followed me into the tent, it was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

Happy 4Th of July everyone!  And God Bless America.