MI, WI, MN & ND road trip

Well, we spent the last three days traveling from Marquette to Dickinson ND. We took scenic routes through MI, MN and WI although the interstate in ND was also magnificent. We hope the pictures give you all some idea of the beautiful landscape. Some cool sights include lakeshores, cedar lots (4 stories tall and a half a mile long) more eagles, national forests through WI and MN, miles and miles of corn, sunflower and wheat fields before starting to see some hills in our current location. The smallest town we passed through had a population of 53 and although that seems low it was rare to see towns with populations approaching 1000. The fruit stands farmers markets and friendly nature of folks has been a real pleasure to experience.

The picture of the cow and the metal sculpture are both on the interstate in ND. Salem Sue is the largest Holstein in the country (I know weird but we took the picture for Kay) and the sculpture is the largest metal sculpture in the US.

We plan to spend some time in this location visiting Theodore Roosevelt’s national park and the national grasslands, both better known as the Badlands of ND.

P.S. this is what Amy looks like while I am driving...very calm

Ishpeming MI ok Marquette

Not much to post we have been a couple of lazy bums for a few days. Originally we thought this was Kim G's home town but later found out we were way off. They have a hot tub at this campground so I was able to talk with some locals and when I asked them "what must we see while in Ishpeming" and they looked around the pool area and said I have covered it. Great people here and the weather is spring like 44 in the am and 78 in the afternoon.

Still no bears but I am so happy to report that we have seen our first bald eagle in the wild... how amazing. In all honesty we have worked on planning our next few months and we are planning to travel the next several days to get in the western side of the US so as not to miss some important spots before it get to cold.

We love all of you guys, thanks for all your posting.

More later

Mackinaw Island

Normally when we go to the island we don’t spend very much time in town. This time we walked it and had a blast. Some of the houses and Bed and Breakfast’s are just stunning. We did an official taste test of two of the fudge shops; Ryba’s and Joann’s (somebody had to do it!) and we picked our favorite. Joann’s makes a double dark chocolate to die for! We had lunch at the Pink Pony and visited the marina. We also spent some time with butterflies from all over the world. Our favorite was the Blue Morpho from Central and South America. It was so vibrant and beautiful. It was amazing how different it looked on the upper side than the under side. The setting the butterflies live in was also wonderful. All the flowers! We walked by Fort Mackinaw but didn’t stop. Of course no visit to the island would be complete without a visit to the Grand Hotel. I am so glad it hasn’t changed much. They still require appropriate dress after 6:00 PM. No slacks for the ladies and a jacket and tie for the men. The gardens, as always were stunning. We have taken so many pictures so we don’t forget this unbelievable adventure, it’s hard to pick just a few!

St Ignace and the trip to and thriough the U.P.

We decided to take the scenic route to the UP. Some of the marina towns like Traverse city and our favorite Charlevoix were separated by some really pretty landscapes. The nicest was through sleeping bear dunes national lake shore which is correctly named because there were no bears in sight. After cresting the 5 mile Mackinaw bridge (Missy had her eyes open the entire time) we turned right and settled in Straits state park which is located on the shores of the Mackinaw straits almost under the bridge, stunning views of the bridge and an amazing place to sit and drink your morning coffee.

On our first day we decided, by Kim Grindle's recommendation to go to Tahquamenon Falls through Hiawatha National forest and returning through Lake Superior State Forest. The term "GOD'S country" comes to mind. We were told that there is one bear per square mile in the UP, they must have been sleeping too. We did a day on the island today and Missy will post that tomorrow evening. Moving west tomorrow.

Ludington Michigan

What a cool stop, I feel like a broken record but the weather was absolutely perfect today, 76 sunny and a lite breeze.

Ludington, a little bitty town on lake Michigan is known for its lighthouses, we were lucky enough to find one that is in operation and open to the public. We got an interesting lesson in lighthouse lens and operation and have a new appreciation for those folks, years ago that kept the flame burning for the ships in this case up to 15 miles away. All in all, we walked about 6 miles today through town to the lighthouse and through a city park. After that, we rode through Ludington state park and it's three campgrounds...really pretty place, off to the upper peninsula tomorrow. Pictures aren't uploading will try tomorrow