Although these pictures fail to illustrate, the sands were combed like the Sahara.
A Chippewa Indian tale describes the formation of the sand dunes and the nearby North and South Manitou Islands. It offers a curious juxtaposition of my two fears - bears & forest fires (though I think this story is about black bears, not the grizz):
“Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear”. - nps.gov
We camped for the first time, and boy did it feel good to sleep in old NorthFace!
Lake Michigan might as well be a sea. Who decided to call them great lakes? I guess since they are made of freshwater they are excluded from the sea category. Well, anyways.
Northbound up the coast to I-75 and the great Mackinac (aka "Big Mac," "Mighty Mac") suspension bridge. It is 8,614 feet long. My dad would have loved this.
To the right is Lake Huron (our only glimpse) and to the left is trusty Lake Michigan.
Being a fan of both food and oddities, I am always on the lookout for regional food oddities. Michigan was chock full.
Refreshing as spring - All year 'round
I purchased it at a Meijer, which is Michigan's version of Wal*Mart. Yes, Wal*Mart. They don't need Wal*Marts up here because they've got their own. Apparently, all the Meijer brand products are made in Grand Rapids. Whether it's Grand Rapids via China I don't know. According to the wikipedia entry, Meijer pioneered the concept of "supercenter" or "hypermart" in the 1960s. Wal*Mart -- who's yr daddy?
The Original Ginger Soda
Thanks to wikipedia, I am now informed that Vernors, created in 1866, is America's oldest "surviving" soft drink. I expected this to taste like ginger ale, which it didn't. It was less tangy, less carbonated, and rated high on the drinkability scale. High fructose corn syrup, you never tasted so good.
The Upper Peninsula in November is a series of desolate tourist towns. It was hard but not impossible to find state parks that weren't closed for the season. We finally found one on Little Brevort Lake. It was a bit bootleg (newly created by chainsaws, with a ton of stumps everywhere for tripping over), but certainly not too bootleg for us!
At first we were relieved to see two other sites occupied by RV trailers. Sometimes, it is nice to know you're not alone in the woods. These woods had weird energy. The one site had a massive trailer and redneck occupants, so we opted for a site near the smaller trailer and hoped for the best.
Here we are, hoping for the best.
Our neighbors got the party started innocently enough by blasting some Bob Seger and Steve Miller Band. I could tell the mood was changing when the music shifted to Poison and Whitesnake. After that, the music stopped and we could hear the howls of a domestic brawl. Campgrounds can be cunnerman like that. It sure makes us appreciate the solitude and safety of shelters deep within the woods, accessible by foot only. I miss the trail almost every day.
Cooking over fire is the way to go.
The Upper Peninsula was pedaling certain foods at every turn.
1) PASTIES
2) smoked fish
3) jerky
4) fudge
Unfortunately we did not sample any. But as friends know, I have a soft spot for pasties. They are a good cold weather food. Plus, they freeze well so you can eat them throughout the long, harsh winter.
Michigan really sucked us in! Driving up the entire length of the state will do that.
Enough hanging around Michigan, Sancho.
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