Upper Midwest Tour, Days 14 and 15, July 23 & 24

I was too tired yesterday after a very long travel day to write the blog and we had another long day today, however, with another successful State highpoint.  Besides, last evening I had the 4 Isle Royale days  to publish.

Yesterday was 8 hours of riding on the Voyageur II from Rock Harbor back to Grand Portage.  It was a later departure time so we had time for breakfast and some waiting time.  We checked out the Parks Service boats- very impressive RIBs with  twin 250 horsepower outboards.  They had aluminum nose sections and very compact but sturdy looking cabs.  They would be able to outrun almost every other boat in the waters around the park.

Our boat ride took us along the southeast side of the island, past the Park HQ, and two lighthouses.  The waters were calm and temperatures moderate.  We made a two intermediate stops to drop off and/or pick up backpackers.   We stopped in Windigo to pick up about 10 Boy Scouts (including a few  young women), who had walked the length of the island.  Another group of scouts had walked the other direction and had boarded the boat at Rock Harbor.  I talked with the leader who said that both groups knew each other, were from Iowa, and did this type of trip frequently.  They earned their 50-mile hike award.

We reached the dock at  Grand Portage at 3:00 pm on the dot, paid our parking fee ($5 per day), and drove a mile or two to the Grand Portage National Monument, largely to use the restrooms.  We toured the visitor center quickly but did not walk down the hill to the re-constructed fort site.  

Model of Grand Portage during the fur trading days.

Full description for the portage.

And a description of the men who carried the 'load.'  The local Indians trapped, killed, and prepared the pelts which they then traded with the Voyageurs for market goods.  The Voyageurs were the intermediaries between the Indians and the Fur Trading companies.

We then drove down along the Lake Superior shoreline, past Duluth, to Ashland, Wisconsin (also on Lake Superior) which took over 4 hours.  We arrived at about 7:30 pm.  We immediately went to dinner at the one place that was open on a Sunday night - the Stagecoach Bar and Grill.  It was one step down from a tavern.  But the place was busy and the food was good.  We walked back to the hotel and I spent the rest of the evening blogging, etc.

Today, (the next day) we had a good breakfast in the hotel and drove south to Timm's Hill, the high point for Wisconsin.  It is easy to find and forms a small county park.  There are a number of trails in the park and  the shortest walk to the lookout tower at the summit was 400 yards.  

We climb to the top of the tower, gaining some more altitude.

Looking down from the top of the tower.

I thought the street sign was an interesting effect.

Typical Northwoods forest - mostly maple trees.

After the high point, we angled across the back country of Wisconsin into Michigan, ultimately arriving at Marquette, MI.  The  mostly flat country was full of forests, lakes, rivers, some farm land,  a number of small resorts (fishing camps?) and a few small towns with big churches. . With the time zone change, we didn't get to our hotel until 5:30 pm.  However, on the way we stopped in the town of Tomahawk, WI for coffee and a snack.  We found the "sweetest" shop in town, which specialized in candies, and all manner of dessert bars (seven layer bars, revel bars, salted caramel bars, etc.)  We bought a couple for our evening dessert.  We also went across the street to a shop selling "Wisconsin cheese."  We bought a chunk of gouda with herbs and a highly recommended cheddar. 

We completed the drive to Marquette (again on the shores of Lake Superior), found a laundromat for clothes washing, and had dinner at Casa Calabria, a hearty Italian restaurant.