A 3 state day...

Bright & early we left Marquette heading west towards Wisconsin. It's fairly undeveloped in this part of Michigan (could the winters be the reason?). To pass the time we decided to count wildlife. Our tally was one crow on our short jog north (Miss GPS forgot to wake up resulting in a missed turn); one crow, probably the same one, on the way back; one deer; two dead opossum; and one fish, unidentifiable, leaping in a stream. We were happy to see Wisconsin! We were happy to say goodbye to Wisconsin! We were happy to see Minnesota! Guess we're just a happy lot.

Anyway we did stop at The Duluth Trading Company where John G. acquired his own pair of Duluthflex Fire Hose work pants (John K. already has a pair) that are "the world's most flexible, have tougher belt loops, tuckable pocket flaps, and crouch without the ouch"! Grace's house (John has been helping make it liveable again) may never be the same. Certainly John's work outfit has taken a definite upgrade.

Tonight we're in International Falls, home of the country's largest Smokey Bear statue. It's 26 feet tall. We're not.

Trivia of the evening... Answers are limited to Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota.

What state is the Hockey Hall of Fame in?

What state is home of the Bronko Nagurski Museum? (Unlike me, you'll recognize the name if you're a football fan.)

What state has a Three Way Continental Divide?

So you won't go fretting about it, the answer to all three is the last state. Didn't we see anything interesting in Wisconsin? Guess not...

Up to U.P.

Waving goodbye to friends of John K. & Judy (small world Michael - they're from Tiffen) we headed north to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The first "obstacle" (at least in John G.'s eyes whose fear of heights has increased with each passing year) was the Mackinaw Straits bridge. It's the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. The photo shows it and John who has just decided that, as good a swimmer as he is, he probably couldn't make it to the far shore...

After a picnic lunch on the southern shore of the U.P. (Lake Michigan) featuring such fine local delicacies as smoked whitefish, curds, and pasties, we made our way to Munising. The one place we had been advised not to miss (thank you Tess) was the Pictured Rocks along part of the southern shore of Lake Superior. Both the afternoon and the rocks were beautiful. (You can look up more photos on the Internet.) The tree in this one was as unique as the rocks. It's connected to shore by one root going down the back side.

Trivia question... What is the largest fresh water body of water in the world when measured by surface area? If you guessed or knew Lake Superior you score! For you who are really clever, what is it when measured by volume?

Frankenmuth

"Ist dad nicht ein schnitzelbank?" And you reply... "Ja das ist ein schnitzelbank".

The tourist info for the Bavarian Inn in the very touristy town of Frankenmuth, Michigan, said "Join us for the singing of the Schnitzelbank song every night." With two Johns of German heritage in the car, was there any question as to where we'd go for the evening? Especially after John G had tried (with questionable results) last summer to teach the song to a gathering of family and friends. Let's just say the group last summer could have used a lot more practice, a lot more beer for the audience and maybe a touch less for the conductor. With that experience behind us, we were very much looking forward to tonight's sing along. Unfortunately it was not to be as the lounge was closed for a wedding reception (of all the nerve!) John G. tried to be consoled with a Frankenmuth beer and a stack of "Schnitzelbank" napkins to take home. A warning to the Thanksgiving crowd - don't be surprised if Schnitzelbank resurfaces once again.

We huffed and...

Hold onto your seats folks. Two Johns plus Judy & I are about to hit the road for points west. Since John & Judy live in NJ they've already started. First stop... John & Patty's, on to the Huff Brau, home of the best Friday night fish fry in NY State. As you may know from past blogs, eating well is part of the adventure (in spite of the radishes and celery sticks Judy has brought along hoping they will help her resist temptation on the trip... Wishful thinking!)

PS - the photo for today, still somewhere in transit but soon to be posted, purportedly shows at least Judy doing a pole dance outside the Huff Brau. Some folks just know how to party!