Point Iroquois Light

Point Iroquois Light

Map location

Lake Superior trip - Day 8 (October 8th)

Start: Ashland, WI
End: Home in Plymouth, MN
Distance: About 215 miles

Comments:

• We had breakfast for the second day at the Americinn in Ashland
• A beautiful drive down through Wisconsin: Hayward, Spooner, Shell Lake, New Richmond, and onto Hudson. There was a big motorcycle rally in Hudson that slowed traffic
• Then the uneventful and not-that-exciting drive across I-94 to I-394 to Hwy 169 and home.
• We stopped at the Plymouth VIP to fill up and get the car washed.
• Then picked up Wendy's for lunch (there was nothing in the house)
• Great to be home. Our cats all came out to visit us. Our oldest cat, Blue, doesn't look too good and actually acted depressed. But he perked up after receiving a lot of love
• Kathee was busy upon getting home: Wash ... grocery shopping
• It was nice to sleep in a king-sized bed

Lake Superior trip - Day 7 (October 7th)

Circle Tour: Ashfield, Bayfield, Cornucopia, Superior, and return to Ashfield (170 miles

• The highlight was the Apostle Islands boat tour out of Bayfield. This takes about 3 hours. We left at 10:00 a.m. and returned at 1:00 p.m. Our original plan was to stay 2 nights in Bayfield but the rates were very high. Ashfield has excellent accomodations and was reasonable.
• The scenic cruise was really worth the money. I think it was $ 90 for the two of us. The boat wends its way through the islands out to Devil's Island and then back
• Next stop was Cornucopia, Wisconsin. We ate at the Fish Lipps restaurant / bar.
• Wanting to hug the coast as much as we could, we continued along the N shore of the Bayfield Peninsula (see map above)
• We only went to Superior so that we could say we did the complete circumnavigation of Lake Superior. I might have been tired but I found Superior to be a depressing town.
• Then back to Ashland. Kathee was driving. We came across an auto accident in the clean up phase along Hwy 2. Again thankful for God's protection of us!
• We had dinner again at Hugo's and then retired for the night

Lake Superior trip - Day 6 (October 6th)

Day 6: Copper Harbor MI to Ashland WI - the uber-scenic route.

Comments:

• We had a nice breakfast at "The Pines" in Copper Harbor. The restaurant was full but a retired couple from Ann Arbor invited us to sit with them.
• We gassed up ($ 40 worth) at the only gas station in town.
• Copper Harbor is of interest to me because my Grandfather used to hunt here
• We drove back into the Estivant Pines
• We followed Michigan 26 along the Lake Superior coast
• The town of Eagle Harbor is beautiful.
• We bought two jars of jam at the Jam Pot(image below)
• We followed the Keweenaw Waterway into Houghton
• Staying as close as we could to the coast we next stopped at Ontonagon, Michigan and had lunch at Lynn's diner. I had home made chicken-ala-king on biscuits
• Then onto Ashland, WI
• We had a very nice Lake Superior facing room at the Americinn
• We shared a pizza at Hugo's and then retired for the night

Lake Superior trip - Day 5 (October 5th)

Approximate Route

Comments:

• Start: Hotel in Sault Sainte Marie Ontario (we had a good breakfast there before we left)
• End: Cooper Harbor MI
• Approx. Distance: 350 miles. We hugged the coastline whenever we could. It was a long day of traveling. We arrived at Cooper Harbor at about 8:00 p.m.
• See border crossing post from yesterday. We joked on the way up to the crossing that we would answer all the questions in German. "Are you citizens?" ... "Ja!". "Did you bring any alcohol, tobacco or firearms with you?" ... "Nein!". "How was your stay in Canada?" ... "exzellent!". But we played it straight!
• Just after the crossing we stopped at a Michigan tourist center. This was very helpful as the guide provided detailed maps for our coast-hugging tour.
• We visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, located at Whitefish Point . Worthwhile. There's a lot to see here but we only went through the museum proper. Minor pet peave: I asked the girl at the pay station where the men's room was and she said "the gift shop". OK ... where is the gift shop? She signals me. I walk over the the gift shop ... up the handicapped ramp to the main door. There is a sign there that points around to the other side of the gift shop ... down stairs to the men's room. I wish she would have been just a little clearer ... would have saved me many steps. (Sometimes younger people are clueless about the needs of handicapped people!). We saw perhaps 1/5 or less what there is to see here. But this was going to be a long day and we just did not have time
• Our Canadian $$ was gone and we had just $ 23 American. We found a little fish house called Buddy B's. Did not accept credit cards but we were able to get a nice lunch for two for $ 20 and some change. I left the entire $ 23 so there as a nice tip. We left with no money at all. Time to find a Wells Fargo
• We drove through the cute little town of Newberry Michigan. A friend of mine (now with Christ) used to Pastor the Baptist church there. When he left I hoped to be a candidate there but they did not ask me.
• On to Marquette Michigan. This a beautiful college town. We visited the main lobby of the historic Wells Fargo main branch. Very nice interior. Picked up $ 80
• We began to realize that this was going to be a long day. No time to dawdle.
• Onto Houghton Michigan and then onto Copper Harbor
• We checked into a very nice lodge - the Mariner North. Excellent room. We had dinner (it was now past 8:00 p.m.) at the bar/restaurant there.

Final comment: I should have bought gas in Hougton .... near empty and the only gas station in Copper Harbor only takes cash ... and it was nearly $ 4 per gallon.

Crossing the Border

We are not world travelers. We've been to Mexico several times and Canada multiple times. In recent years one needs a passport to cross the border.

Our crossing into Canada on Sunday: Kathee was driving. I was in the passenger seat. We both had sunglasses on. At the boarder: Kathee presented our passports. We were asked to remove our sunglasses. Questions:

• Are you carrying any tobacco? Firearms? Alcohol?
  Where are you going? How long?
  

It was quick and professional and we were through. More information on the Thunder Bay crossing here. Our crossing to the United States on Wednesday October 5th:

• The crossing is at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge
  
• The line was long. I began to wonder ... perhaps I should have had a bathroom break at a gas station before we drove across the bridge!
  
• The set up is elaborate. When one's car is at the front of the line, there is a traffic light that signals to proceed. When the light is green, the driver is to move forward and then stop. There are multiple cameras and sensors at each corner of the car.
  
• Finally at the border guard, the questions as I recollect were basically the same. It is quick, humorless and professional.
  
  

First stop after crossing: A visitor's bureau at the immediate exit. Very helpful guide there to provide maps for our next leg of the tour .... nice restroom ... and then we filled up our car with gas with the less expensive US gasoline.

Lake Superior trip - Day 4 (October 4th)

Day 4 was a train trip from Sault Sainte Marie to Agawa Canyon

Algoma Central Railway

This was an all day trip. We boarded the train at 7:30 a.m. The train departed at 8:00. It took approximately 4 hours to get to the canyon. We spent an hour and a half at the canyon and then the return trip was another 4 hours. We returned to the Sault Sainte Marie at 6:00 p.m.

Our hotel provided box lunches for us. The views were spectacular. I'll be posting some photos soon.

We a late dinner of prime rib at North 82

Lake Superior trip - Day 3 (October 3rd)

Start: Marathon, Ontario
End: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
KM: 413; Miles = 256

Comments:

• The scenery is spectacular
  
• The remoteness is profound
  
• Few gas stations. Few restaurants
  
• We hoped to make it to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario without eating but finally found a decent restaurant at Batchawana Bay
  
• We stayed at the Algoma Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This is a very fine hotel with great service.
  
• We bought a new camera battery at The Future Store: Looks like a Best Buy inside. Turns out that it is owned by Best Buy
  

Lake Superior trip - Day 2 (October 2nd)

Start: Grand Marais MN
End: Marathon, Ontario
Mileage: 265

Comments:

• Wish we would have had breakfast at Grand Marais. This was Kathee's preference but I wanted to get on the road. I had this idea of eating breakfast in Canada (eggs and Canadian bacon - also known as peameal.). By the time we got past the border it was past 10. We stopped at a place called Robin's. Had we driven just a little further along to Thunder Bay we would have had better choices.
  
• Gas: We gassed up at Grand Portage, MN. This proved to be wise as gasoline in Canada is very expensive. Our next gas stop was at Marathon and it was $ 1.39 per liter Canadian!
  
• Just past Thunder Bay we stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial and Lookout. We discovered that our camera battery was dead. No camera until we bought a new one in Sault Saint Marie Ontario. While we did not take photos - here are photos others have taken.
  
• We stopped at Ouimet Canyon park just past Thunder Bay. There is a difficult walk down to the canyon overlook. I did not make it all the way - for me just to the suspension bridge - but Kathee was blessed by the view.
  
• Next stop Marathon. Spectacular lake views all along the trip. Two moose crossed the highway a hundred yards ahead of us. Kathee was thrilled.
  
• Driving in Canada: Speed limits are in KPM (Kilometres per hour). 100 kmp is approximately 62 miles per hour. The maximum speed limit was 90 kph or approx 55 mph. Our Buick has a setting that converts the instrument stack to metric - very handy!
  
• Marathon has a very remote feel to it. We stayed at a Travelodge. This was the least nice of all of our accommodations. We had dinner and breakfast in town at a restaurant called Zero 100 Motor Inn. The food and service was excellent.
  
• On Monday morning we filled up in Marathon. There is virtually nothing between Marathon and Sault Saint Marie so it was a wise choice. Gasoline was $ 1.39 per liter Canadian (approx $ 5.56 a gallon).  Credit card use in Canada: There is a 3% foreign exchange fee. (image from my Chase bill below)
  

Lake Superior trip - Day 1 (October 1st)

We left Plymouth on Saturday morning October 1st and drove to Grand Marais, Minnesota. I was least interested in this day because of I-35 which is so boring to me. But we did exit I-35 just past Sandstone and followed Minnesota State Highway 61 into Duluth. We exited 35 because of a giant traffic backup that brought the interstate to a standstill. I did a U-turn and drove back to the previous exit and we continued on 61.

Details:

• Breakfast at McDonald's in Lino Lakes
  
• Lunch at Emily's in Knife River
  
• Ahead of us by about an hour was a fatal accident at Split Rock that killed a Twin Cities woman (AND here). We are grateful for God's traveling mercies upon us!
  
• We stayed at the Aspen Lodge in Grand Marais
  
• We had dinner at the Pie Place Cafe in Grand Marais
  
• After dinner we drove out the Gunflint Trail about 10-15 miles. We pulled off on a gravel county road and drove back into the woods another 3 miles or so. We turned off the car and opened the sun roof and viewed the majestic night sky! Oh what a sight - "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1)
  

Other comments: We endeavored to read one Psalm a day. We began with Psalm 111 and finished with Psalm 118. Among other things (the serious prayer requests!), Kathee prayed that she would see a moose. Stay tuned! Money: I brought along $ 110. Canadian. We only intended to use this for meals. It went really fast! Things are expensive in the way North

We circled Lake Superior

Comment: Just back from our 1913 mile road trip around Lake Superior. We left Saturday October 1st and returned today. I expect to be doing several blog posts about our trip. Meanwhile here's a map of the circle tour courtesy of

www.lakesuperiorcircletour.com