mosupernak
Adventurer
Alright you win the prize for prettiest dirt track pic. The one in the meadow in South Pass.
Tripping without a plan, summer 2010
- Thread starter suntinez
- Start date
suntinez
Explorer
Thanks ya'll ...
Believe me I'm no beast-master! Pepper is the only beast who actually listens to me, and that is augmented by liberal applications of food :sombrero:
I guess you just have to get up and go where they live, and take some time to look around. I find if I sit really still, the drama of nature unfolds all around me. Not always dramatically - but it's always there, even when I'm not.
I had some really crazy weather on this trip, which means great clouds - and that never hurts a picture.
Believe me I'm no beast-master! Pepper is the only beast who actually listens to me, and that is augmented by liberal applications of food :sombrero:
I guess you just have to get up and go where they live, and take some time to look around. I find if I sit really still, the drama of nature unfolds all around me. Not always dramatically - but it's always there, even when I'm not.
I had some really crazy weather on this trip, which means great clouds - and that never hurts a picture.
suntinez
Explorer
MN to WI, and the Superior Ocean
After driving the St Croix river for a few days, I’m getting excited to see Lake Superior, the source of all this water and created by an ancient glacier. Coming into the city of bridges – Duluth - I’m blown away by all the cargo ships I see, this is like a huge ocean port.
But it’s a lake? Well it’s a really big lake – by some accounts, one of the world’s largest, and holds 10% of the world’s fresh water. That’s pretty mind-bending and I’m rethinking this whole lake thing. This can’t be a lake.
I stop in the waterfront district downtown and drive down Minnesota Ave, the “world’s largest sandbar” towards Sky Harbor airport. The aerial lift bridge was up on the way back so I popped over to the bay to wait out the traffic.
So go north, or go east?
The aurora forecasts are dismal, even though I’m getting far enough north to maybe see them. I give my aunt in Southport, NC a call, tell her I’m in MN and her response is “When you gonna be here?” I’d visited her in the spring and we’d had plans to spend more time together, which got delayed.
And I call Anne in OH, who I’d met with Campa at OvExpo and stayed in touch with since. She had my SPOT link and was watching my progress while finishing up her semester in alternative energy. Between discussing Thevenin equivalents and the headaches of calculus, I could tell her wanderlust was growing - she was getting itchy to go somewhere too. She’d signed up for BMW’s offroad motorcycle class in Greer, SC and we’d talked about maybe connecting somewhere on that trip.
OK so east it is. I head back down to WI and drive along the lake, seeing signs for the Lake Superior circle tour. That sounds interesting, maybe I’ll do that? Later I find out this circle tour is 1200 miles long! That’s an entire vacation in itself. Road construction continues so I can’t exactly follow the circle tour, but still plenty to see. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, empty beaches, beautiful meadows and waves crashing into the shore. It's an ocean.
I stopped to look at this truck for sale, spent some interesting time chatting with the farmer who owned it. He was trying to run backwards to get out of the picture, but too slow. Gotcha.
I see the Apostle Islands on the map and there’s a ferry from Bayfield, WI over to Madeline Island where there are a couple of campgrounds. So I head that way and catch the ferry.
Bayfield maritime museum:
I love these little port towns:
Looking south to Washburn:
On the ferry:
Apostle Islands:
Looking back at Bayfield:
Found this little gem in La Pointe right after disembarking - oh yeah, that’s worth stopping to get a few pics.
It’s a 1946 Willys Jeep CJ-2A, all original. I didn’t know they made non-military versions of this thing. The fellow who owns it learned to drive in this truck, his Dad bought it new back when. I put some other pics of it up here.
Madeline Island is an interesting place – the year-round population is around 200, although quite a few more folks vacation there in summertime. In winter, before the ice road freezes up to the mainland, residents use the windsled to get back and forth. There's a 2-room schoolhouse on the island for the younger kids, and the older ones use ice sailboats to get to the mainland.
Peaceful scene:
After driving the St Croix river for a few days, I’m getting excited to see Lake Superior, the source of all this water and created by an ancient glacier. Coming into the city of bridges – Duluth - I’m blown away by all the cargo ships I see, this is like a huge ocean port.
But it’s a lake? Well it’s a really big lake – by some accounts, one of the world’s largest, and holds 10% of the world’s fresh water. That’s pretty mind-bending and I’m rethinking this whole lake thing. This can’t be a lake.
I stop in the waterfront district downtown and drive down Minnesota Ave, the “world’s largest sandbar” towards Sky Harbor airport. The aerial lift bridge was up on the way back so I popped over to the bay to wait out the traffic.
So go north, or go east?
The aurora forecasts are dismal, even though I’m getting far enough north to maybe see them. I give my aunt in Southport, NC a call, tell her I’m in MN and her response is “When you gonna be here?” I’d visited her in the spring and we’d had plans to spend more time together, which got delayed.
And I call Anne in OH, who I’d met with Campa at OvExpo and stayed in touch with since. She had my SPOT link and was watching my progress while finishing up her semester in alternative energy. Between discussing Thevenin equivalents and the headaches of calculus, I could tell her wanderlust was growing - she was getting itchy to go somewhere too. She’d signed up for BMW’s offroad motorcycle class in Greer, SC and we’d talked about maybe connecting somewhere on that trip.
OK so east it is. I head back down to WI and drive along the lake, seeing signs for the Lake Superior circle tour. That sounds interesting, maybe I’ll do that? Later I find out this circle tour is 1200 miles long! That’s an entire vacation in itself. Road construction continues so I can’t exactly follow the circle tour, but still plenty to see. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, empty beaches, beautiful meadows and waves crashing into the shore. It's an ocean.
I stopped to look at this truck for sale, spent some interesting time chatting with the farmer who owned it. He was trying to run backwards to get out of the picture, but too slow. Gotcha.
I see the Apostle Islands on the map and there’s a ferry from Bayfield, WI over to Madeline Island where there are a couple of campgrounds. So I head that way and catch the ferry.
Bayfield maritime museum:
I love these little port towns:
Looking south to Washburn:
On the ferry:
Apostle Islands:
Looking back at Bayfield:
Found this little gem in La Pointe right after disembarking - oh yeah, that’s worth stopping to get a few pics.
It’s a 1946 Willys Jeep CJ-2A, all original. I didn’t know they made non-military versions of this thing. The fellow who owns it learned to drive in this truck, his Dad bought it new back when. I put some other pics of it up here.
Madeline Island is an interesting place – the year-round population is around 200, although quite a few more folks vacation there in summertime. In winter, before the ice road freezes up to the mainland, residents use the windsled to get back and forth. There's a 2-room schoolhouse on the island for the younger kids, and the older ones use ice sailboats to get to the mainland.
Peaceful scene:
wild horses are doing good here in Oregon....we even have an 'adopt a horse program' every year.
suntinez
Explorer
into the UP, MI
yayaya ... NOW we get to the good stuff :wings:
Into the upper peninsula of Michigan – thanks to UPOverland, some of you are becoming familiar with the wonders of “da yoop”. It really is an offroad/ outdoor paradise with spectacular scenery and tons of trails. I had so much fun and took so many pictures, it’s hard to figure out what to post. And I was only there for a few days!
I start up the Keweenaw peninsula, it’s very lush and green here.
I stopped by the Baraga shrine, a tribute to the “snowshoe priest” who did a lot of missionary work with the Indians in this remote peninsula:
Shipped a friend some WI cheese and found this amazing triple berry jam at Keweenaw Kitchen in Baraga. The berries are delish in the UP, everyone is out picking blueberries, a bumper crop this year evidently.
Saw another bald eagle, a bit soggy in the rain:
I’d met Tom and Kristian at OvExpo, they were camped nearby and I’d had some fun with them in the midst of the frenzy. I’m not exactly sure where they are in the UP, and they have no idea I’m nearby, but hey – worth a shot. Even if they’re not, I’m sure they’ll have some great tips on places to go.
So I drop them a note, Tom calls me back - they’re both around – turns out this is unusual. Tom graciously offers Kristian’s place to aim for, so over to Marquette I go.
It’s good to see Kristian again, he has lots of toys and great stories about them - he’s always out biking, hiking, kayaking and tripping around the UP - when he’s not globetrotting the world as a ski coach, or remodeling his house. Busy guy.
A spot for Tiger:
I quickly learned, don’t go ANYWHERE with Kristian without a camera in hand! He showed me around his town and we saw some amazing stuff, all close to home. When we drove by Presque Isle and the Ishpeming railroad ore dock the first day, there was a 1000+ ft ship offloading, and you got some idea how big this thing is –it’s about a ¼ mile long.
For reference, those little things on top of the dock are railroad cars:
We ran into some guy with a restored 60s vintage VW bug, they frequent the same forums and he gave us a tour of his beauty. They’ve both got a thing for air cooled engines.
When the university is session there’s a lot of people in Marquette, but summertime brings a bit of relief for the locals and the vacationers come. Pretty sure that owning a kayak is a residency requirement for fulltimers, never seen so many vehicles toting them around.
And here’s why – world class paddling and views, very close to hand:
I’m craving a good salad and beer, off we go downtown and meet up with a friend of his for dinner. I’m a beer novice, so we order the sampler – my favorite was a wheat beer, with blueberries! Fresh fish, salad, good company – can’t ask for much more than that.
Pep & I take a walk in the morning over to this beautiful spot:
And a drive over to Little Presque Isle, Pepper approves!
Sign in the parking area – seriously??
Saw this huge nest or something in a tree – pretty strange. I still don’t know what it is, maybe an eagle/osprey nest? Seems unlikely, those are usually in the tops of trees I think. It must’ve been at least 15 feet across:
yayaya ... NOW we get to the good stuff :wings:
Into the upper peninsula of Michigan – thanks to UPOverland, some of you are becoming familiar with the wonders of “da yoop”. It really is an offroad/ outdoor paradise with spectacular scenery and tons of trails. I had so much fun and took so many pictures, it’s hard to figure out what to post. And I was only there for a few days!
I start up the Keweenaw peninsula, it’s very lush and green here.
I stopped by the Baraga shrine, a tribute to the “snowshoe priest” who did a lot of missionary work with the Indians in this remote peninsula:
Shipped a friend some WI cheese and found this amazing triple berry jam at Keweenaw Kitchen in Baraga. The berries are delish in the UP, everyone is out picking blueberries, a bumper crop this year evidently.
Saw another bald eagle, a bit soggy in the rain:
I’d met Tom and Kristian at OvExpo, they were camped nearby and I’d had some fun with them in the midst of the frenzy. I’m not exactly sure where they are in the UP, and they have no idea I’m nearby, but hey – worth a shot. Even if they’re not, I’m sure they’ll have some great tips on places to go.
So I drop them a note, Tom calls me back - they’re both around – turns out this is unusual. Tom graciously offers Kristian’s place to aim for, so over to Marquette I go.
It’s good to see Kristian again, he has lots of toys and great stories about them - he’s always out biking, hiking, kayaking and tripping around the UP - when he’s not globetrotting the world as a ski coach, or remodeling his house. Busy guy.
A spot for Tiger:
I quickly learned, don’t go ANYWHERE with Kristian without a camera in hand! He showed me around his town and we saw some amazing stuff, all close to home. When we drove by Presque Isle and the Ishpeming railroad ore dock the first day, there was a 1000+ ft ship offloading, and you got some idea how big this thing is –it’s about a ¼ mile long.
For reference, those little things on top of the dock are railroad cars:
We ran into some guy with a restored 60s vintage VW bug, they frequent the same forums and he gave us a tour of his beauty. They’ve both got a thing for air cooled engines.
When the university is session there’s a lot of people in Marquette, but summertime brings a bit of relief for the locals and the vacationers come. Pretty sure that owning a kayak is a residency requirement for fulltimers, never seen so many vehicles toting them around.
And here’s why – world class paddling and views, very close to hand:
I’m craving a good salad and beer, off we go downtown and meet up with a friend of his for dinner. I’m a beer novice, so we order the sampler – my favorite was a wheat beer, with blueberries! Fresh fish, salad, good company – can’t ask for much more than that.
Pep & I take a walk in the morning over to this beautiful spot:
And a drive over to Little Presque Isle, Pepper approves!
Sign in the parking area – seriously??
Saw this huge nest or something in a tree – pretty strange. I still don’t know what it is, maybe an eagle/osprey nest? Seems unlikely, those are usually in the tops of trees I think. It must’ve been at least 15 feet across:
suntinez
Explorer
over to Munising, MI
Kristian has work to do, prepping some new skis that came in so I give Tom a call and head over to Munising for a visit.
Stopped a few times along the way, not shabby:
Grand Island:
And Christmas in July, just what this trip feels like:
I stopped by the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise terminal in Munising, was going to make the trip but it’s getting late and a little too warm out to leave Pepper that long. I go into the terminal to check it out and bought the $5 CD that they’re showing there – after watching it, I realize what a mistake I made in not doing the cruise.
The Pictured Rocks is over 40 miles of beautiful sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and other delights - you just can’t see all that from the shore. It would be fun to paddle it or see it from the lake side on a boat.
There's a great shipwreck cruise tour too - in a glass bottom boat! The stories this place could tell. Ahhh, next time.
We meet up at a nearby restaurant and I have one of Muldoon’s pasties (yum) famous in these parts, and head over to their house. Tom & Myra are both dynamic, busy people and working hard to promote their customers, Munising, and the UP, so I’m really glad they make some time to play. Check out 9zero6.com to see what they’re up to.
Pepper finally has another dog to play with
This is Myra and Flex - he’s every bit as quirky and fun as my girl, both avid chipmunk and rock chasers. They got along great:
Tom & Kristian are about as different as night and day, and absolutely hilarious together
We get on the phone and after some coercion, Kristian drives over to go camping with us for the night. :campfire:
The 2010 UP Overland trip is right around the corner, and Tom needs him to drive around and keep scouting locations to take the group. Conditions change, trees fall, bridges disappear - ya gotta keep up! Kristian got a promotion at work, and was unexpectedly called out of town for the duration of the event. This after they decided to increase the size of the trip from 2009, they’re expecting 40 vehicles and 83 people!
But if anyone can still pull this off, it’s Tom … by all accounts, it was an amazing trip – again.
Kristian has work to do, prepping some new skis that came in so I give Tom a call and head over to Munising for a visit.
Stopped a few times along the way, not shabby:
Grand Island:
And Christmas in July, just what this trip feels like:
I stopped by the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise terminal in Munising, was going to make the trip but it’s getting late and a little too warm out to leave Pepper that long. I go into the terminal to check it out and bought the $5 CD that they’re showing there – after watching it, I realize what a mistake I made in not doing the cruise.
The Pictured Rocks is over 40 miles of beautiful sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and other delights - you just can’t see all that from the shore. It would be fun to paddle it or see it from the lake side on a boat.
There's a great shipwreck cruise tour too - in a glass bottom boat! The stories this place could tell. Ahhh, next time.
We meet up at a nearby restaurant and I have one of Muldoon’s pasties (yum) famous in these parts, and head over to their house. Tom & Myra are both dynamic, busy people and working hard to promote their customers, Munising, and the UP, so I’m really glad they make some time to play. Check out 9zero6.com to see what they’re up to.
Pepper finally has another dog to play with
This is Myra and Flex - he’s every bit as quirky and fun as my girl, both avid chipmunk and rock chasers. They got along great:
Tom & Kristian are about as different as night and day, and absolutely hilarious together
We get on the phone and after some coercion, Kristian drives over to go camping with us for the night. :campfire:
The 2010 UP Overland trip is right around the corner, and Tom needs him to drive around and keep scouting locations to take the group. Conditions change, trees fall, bridges disappear - ya gotta keep up! Kristian got a promotion at work, and was unexpectedly called out of town for the duration of the event. This after they decided to increase the size of the trip from 2009, they’re expecting 40 vehicles and 83 people!
But if anyone can still pull this off, it’s Tom … by all accounts, it was an amazing trip – again.
suntinez
Explorer
camping in da yoop
Thanks - I'm really lucky to have been able to do it.
We meet to gas up and get a few supplies, and off to one of the “secret spots”. These guys know all of them around here.
So here’s how it goes – you’re driving along a paved road, you can pickup firewood at places like this (we didn’t – plenty of wood at the secret spot):
Then you turn off the paved road:
After a few miles, the road narrows a bit and the trees start growing like a tunnel overhead:
The road may get a bit dicey, trees may be down, trestles lose their bents, rivers overflow, a ditch may have appeared. The road may turn to a 2-track. You just don't know until you go.
I thought Tom had stopped to tell me I couldn’t make this. Oh no, he just stopped for pictures:
So down we go:
After an interesting drive in you arrive at a pristine spot on a lake, maybe there's a mine, or a waterfall crashing nearby, or sometimes – an ocean. And you setup camp:
We’re camped just above this bluff:
And that's how it goes in the UP.
Rinse. Repeat. I love this place!!
Thanks - I'm really lucky to have been able to do it.
We meet to gas up and get a few supplies, and off to one of the “secret spots”. These guys know all of them around here.
So here’s how it goes – you’re driving along a paved road, you can pickup firewood at places like this (we didn’t – plenty of wood at the secret spot):
Then you turn off the paved road:
After a few miles, the road narrows a bit and the trees start growing like a tunnel overhead:
The road may get a bit dicey, trees may be down, trestles lose their bents, rivers overflow, a ditch may have appeared. The road may turn to a 2-track. You just don't know until you go.
I thought Tom had stopped to tell me I couldn’t make this. Oh no, he just stopped for pictures:
So down we go:
After an interesting drive in you arrive at a pristine spot on a lake, maybe there's a mine, or a waterfall crashing nearby, or sometimes – an ocean. And you setup camp:
We’re camped just above this bluff:
And that's how it goes in the UP.
Rinse. Repeat. I love this place!!
suntinez
Explorer
The water is so warm we could have gone swimming - and the furry kids are happily diving and begging for rocks:
Flex has more fun if you tell him “Go get it!”
Mr Mutitasker – internet , cell phone, camera at the ready:
Tom decides we need to go “over there” so we race through the woods to get to the spot.
We get “over there” and Kristian is MIA – turn around and there he is, back where we started. He’s at the tip of that point behind us:
A superior sunset:
Kristian and I stay up in the parking area with our vehicles, Tom & Myra setup a tent right next to the crashing waves.
We get a fire going by their camp, it’s a smoky one cause everything is wet, but we're motivated by s'mores. Gourmet s’mores – with snickers and reeses instead of Hershey bars. And Myra becomes the center of attention, she’s in charge of assembly:
Gotta love dogs, they’re so honest:
Graham cracker handoff, Pep was way too close to the fire! Not the first time she's ignited this way:
We had a great night but called it early, some working stiffs had a deadline in the morning, and they take off at crack-of-dawn-thirty. Kristian disappears too, ok that’s not unusual in itself – but he disappears to find a good signal and upload a photo before Tom does!
I can’t honestly remember who took this sunrise pic:
Flex has more fun if you tell him “Go get it!”
Mr Mutitasker – internet , cell phone, camera at the ready:
Tom decides we need to go “over there” so we race through the woods to get to the spot.
We get “over there” and Kristian is MIA – turn around and there he is, back where we started. He’s at the tip of that point behind us:
A superior sunset:
Kristian and I stay up in the parking area with our vehicles, Tom & Myra setup a tent right next to the crashing waves.
We get a fire going by their camp, it’s a smoky one cause everything is wet, but we're motivated by s'mores. Gourmet s’mores – with snickers and reeses instead of Hershey bars. And Myra becomes the center of attention, she’s in charge of assembly:
Gotta love dogs, they’re so honest:
Graham cracker handoff, Pep was way too close to the fire! Not the first time she's ignited this way:
We had a great night but called it early, some working stiffs had a deadline in the morning, and they take off at crack-of-dawn-thirty. Kristian disappears too, ok that’s not unusual in itself – but he disappears to find a good signal and upload a photo before Tom does!
I can’t honestly remember who took this sunrise pic:
Haggis
Appalachian Ridgerunner
X2! We know exactly what you mean. Our trip up that aways last year was one of our favorites with the great scenery, miles of dirt to roll over, and awesome locals to shoot the breeze with. We liked it so much we are thinking about ditching our planned western trip next year and instead returning to the UP to explore the western half that we missed out on last year.
Glad to see you got to hook up with some of those UP boys, that whole bunch up there are some of the finest folks on this here forum!
Digging your report and the photos! Looking forward to more!
adventureduo
Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Great report i'll say again Linda. Keep it coming. This is one for the record books.
suntinez
Explorer
Thanks ya’ll appreciate the replies. I noticed that too, people in the UP are very friendly! Tom & Kristian are both out globetrotting again, but I got these from Kristian before he left.
These are the pictures he got from that point back there:
That guy does amazing things with an iPhone! Can’t wait to see his Switzerland pics.
These are the pictures he got from that point back there:
That guy does amazing things with an iPhone! Can’t wait to see his Switzerland pics.