I continue my journey to the West on I-90 past Cleveland, OH. Here it merges with Interstate 80 and that is a toll-road. In Toledo I leave the Interstate and pay $3.50 at the toll-booth.
Interstate 80 is the Ohio Turnpike and therefore requires a small fee to use it...
Then a few long block on surface-roads to get to I-475 North, just as the trip-odometer turns to 7000 miles I get onto the interstate 475 that veers of to the East because it is the Belt-Freeway for Toledo, I continue on US-23 North to the Michigan State-line.
Entering Michigan at 5:30, the State of "Great Lakes and Great Time" is another endless place. I pass Ann Arbor, Flint, where Interstate 75 merges with US-23, Saginaw, where I cross the Saginaw River, stop at a Rest-Stop, then further North into the endless woods Au Sable. Somewhere in these woods I see a sign for camping and I take that exit and end up in St. Helen. This stretch of road is called the Dixie Highway, ain't that kind o funny? But I have you known that Interstate 75 goes all the way to Miami, Florida!!!
At the gas-station I find out where the campground is. It's the city park just past the air-strip, a beautiful place.
It's nine o'clock when I set-up my tent, mostly clear sky and 60° F, most important it does not look like rain.
And primitive it is... but nature sure knows how to put on a night show...
I'm spent from all this driving, can not even think about turning on the computer, instead I have a beer and more food from the back of my car, soon I'm all cozy in my tent and sleep like a ...
Thursday, June 11th 2009!
In the morning I continue to drive on the Dixie Highway north to the Mackinac Bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula to Michigan, an almost 2 hour drive from St. Helen where I spend the night.
Crossing over the Straits of Mackinac, where the Upper Peninsula is greeting me...
The straits of Mackinac connects 2 of the Great Lakes, so as I drive across the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge I can see Lake Huron to my right and Lake Michigan to my left, almost 200 feet above the water, it is quite a sight and also somewhat exciting.
Looks a bit like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but of corse it is not...
Now no more Interstate, I want to trace US-2 all the way to Montana, well, as much as possible. But first I need some gas, boy it seems that the price went up, or is it the location here. The gallon goes for 2.999 and I need about 9 of them, these guys are draining my bank-account in no time.
It's good to be back in the UP, I remember the first time I was here was less than a year ago when Bonnie Wells and I drove from Minneapolis to Traverse City through the UP. The local specialty is Pasties, yep, you look it up yourself. Almost all the women here walk around topless and... ahh, sorry, stop, rewind... almost every store here sells these Meat-pies, and they are pronounced different than the nipple-covers. A real challenge for me I tell ya!!! A long history way back from the Scottish, or is it the Swedish? Mine-workers who's wives didn't get any anymore, send them off to work with these Pasties, to keep for warmth and also for food. So, when Bonnie and I drove through here last year we keep seeing the signs but way too late I realized that we never stopped and tried one. I'll make up for this mistake now!!!
Pasties, a local specialty that is kept alive since the collapse of the Mining-industry...
At quarter to twelve I abandon US-2 for the first time. Turning right on Rt-77 to take the more northern route to get a glimpse of Lake Superior, so I can say that I saw 4 out of 5 of the Great Lakes in 2 days, I doubt that this will set any records but hey, it's my personal one at least.
A beautiful sky make me take all these pictures...
I'm now driving through the endless woods of the Hiawatha National Forest, turn left on Rt-28 to go west again. I pass small towns like Creighton and Shingleton to get to Munising. This looks like a town worth visiting, but I'm way too tired and on a serious mission for not stopping... unless of corse to try a Pastie. After all it is 1 o'clock and I'm hungry for something different than what I carry in my cooler. I stop at the Muldoons Pasties Shop and give it a try!!!
Eating Pasties from the Muldoons Shop just outside of Munising...
I buy a couple more to take along for later, they might keep me worm too. Off I go!!! A mile later there is a turn off to a Vista Point, I have to get a better look at Lake Superior from there.
Vista Point to look over to Grand Island...
Now lets get serious, back to work, back to Rt-28 further West. And as things go when you travel in Light-speed, the time gets a bit out of hand and next thing is it's Chrsitmas, but not in June, it is in Michigan, Buhh I was a bit worried!!!
Christmas in Michigan UP, where else do you wanna be???
In Maquette Rt-28 merges with US-41, then it goes inland again and 3 o'clock is happen right outside of Ishpeming!!!
Men, this Peninsula never ends... here I am nashing on chocolate and drinking some Hot Brown Water...
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