Kit and Carol on the Road

Carol is bushed after 5 miles of hiking over rocks and tree roots and dowm past the Frankenstein cliffs. 

We stopped early this afternoon in Bangor, Maine. The wind she is a whippin’. We thought we were heading away from it –the forecast was for high winds in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains after all—but no such luck. I am watching the dust swirling around the campground. (Later the dust is replaced by a Downpour!) There is not much to report today—we just drove Highway 2 from New Hampshire to Maine. It’s a lot like driving Highway 2 in Washington between Everett and Gold Bar. We didn’t find any small towns we could comfortably stop in.

Yesterday, however, was pretty spectacular—a perfect day in New Hampshire: sunny, no wind, and 70 degrees. If we get the wireless to work I’ll post some photos. We set off to go on a hike recommended by our camp host but the bridge was out and the road was closed and we couldn’t get to the trailhead. So we picked another hike—a loop to Arethusa Falls and back on the Frankenstein Cliff trail. (the name should have told us something). There are lots of rocks in the trails (New Hampshire is the Granite State) and also tree roots making even the level parts tricky. Not much was level. The falls were really cool, and there were some fantastic views on the trail—but coming down the last mile of the Cliff trail was very slow going. The whole loop was 5 miles with something like 1500 feet of elevation gain. The worst part was that both Kit and I got stung by bees. Mine kept me awake much of the night the pain was so bad. Kit’s has swollen up and is red and painful. I guess we will live.

Arethusa Falls--White Mountains of New Hampshire.  

Musicians at the Walden church potluck. 

A Vermont dairy cow. Is this Bluebell? 

Even though Sugar Ridge was REALLY expensive ($37) we decided to stay an extra day for our Sunday no travel day. Then this morning we headed to New Hampshire-- but I first wanted to stop at Maple Grove for the factory tour. We got to see Maple Sugar Candy being made. Maple Grove also makes syrup and salad dressing which was considerable cheaper here at the factory (unlike Ben and Jerry’s where nothing was cheaper). Anyway, Kit got to talking to the “man who knew everything about Vermont” and discovered that this week is the Fall Foliage Festival in local communities in this area. So we stopped a few miles down the road at the next RV park (which by the way is very nice, a LOT cheaper, and we have a spot right on the river—and free WiFi which we can’t get to work, as usual). Dropped Alice and drove back the way we’d come to Walden, a hamlet you would miss if you blinked. Each town has a day and Monday is Walden. At the church/community center we had lunch and then headed out on an afternoon of tours, despite the rain. Kit got a kick out of the town constable with blinking lights directing traffic for us.

The first stop was the local school which we got to tour. Of course I was excited about this. The school is a k-8 but there is a separate teacher for each grade—which means class sizes of 8-18. (all of you teacher friends, eat your hearts out). When the kids go to high school they are “contracted out” to a high school of their choice—which is an extra expense for this one school district. Next we went to a bakery which was really in the Boondocks. Turns out owners were DAIRY FARMERS who started the bakery as a side business and then gave up the cows. The next stop was at an alpaca farm which was also a quite large DAIRY FARM. (220 cows, 36 alpacas). We didn’t stay long here because of the rain. Last stop was a Morgan Horse Farm which of course was a former DAIRY FARM. The lady who now owns it was a veritable font of information about Morgan horses. Then it was back to the church for the 5:00 ham supper. Since we were early we had some entertainment from the local old-timers. (country music NOT bluegrass).
Then it was time to go. We were parked in a grassy field—at the bottom. It was now a muddy field. We could not get our truck up the hill. Luckily we were towed up by a 4 wheel Ford. If that wasn’t excitement enough, on the way home we got stuck on Highway 2—a nasty accident had closed our lane until the emergency vehicles came and went. I hope our trip to New Hampshire tomorrow is less eventful.

By the way: The Fall Foliage Festival is a quite a bit premature though there are a few colored leaves out there. Locals tell us they are NOT expecting spectacular foliage this year and we may well go green to brown. So it goes.


PS: The adventure didn't end. Tuesday morning I discovered I'd left my hat at the church in Walden so we had to go back. We are now in a lovely spot in New Hampshire. Weather great for a hike tomorrow.

Sip Trip
A few states back I decided that this is such a huge country that we aren’t even getting a taste of the states we visit—just a tiny sip. We don’t have a consistent theme either—though we’ve certainly had our share of lakeside camping. (But, less we do anything too completely, we visited only 4 of the Great Lakes). We’ve sipped Natural Wonders, Historical sites, State Capitals, Locks, bicycle trails, etc. In the Finger Lakes on Friday, we sipped some New York wine. Kit picked an area near a winery that offered tours. Out of 3 wineries, 2 had pretty good wine, and one had Really Bad wine. We decided the odds weren’t worth continuing. We did learn that up until 1976 two wineries had a monopoly in New York so all the current wineries have only been operating since then. More New York facts: Like Michigan there is an extra layer of government—Towns (like townships) contain cities, villages, and hamlets.

Fort Ticonderoga (9/24)
We had a wonderful morning in New York at Fort Ticonderoga which has always been first on the list of forts I’d like to visit. I love the story of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys. Amazingly this fort is not a National or State historical park. It is a private museum. A wealthy gentleman purchased the property and the family is restoring the fort to it’s original condition. They have collected some really fine artifacts.

Vermont Impressions (9/24)
Vermont is a beautiful state—flat farmland and then more mountains. But it’s very slow driving. We stopped at a farm stand and I was shocked! It cost $1 for 2 years of corn and then I refused to buy ONE tomato for $1.50. I hope all the food in Vermont is not so expensive. Amazingly we ended up passing by the Ben and Jerry’s factory. But crabby Kit would not pay $3 for the tour so we just ate ice cream. Anyway, it was late and we were in a hurry to get to the state capital, Montpelier. Well, we did get a glimpse of a beautiful golden dome on our way through. But the RV park in Montpelier was really horrid so we had to keep going. It was a very long day but we have found the Sugar Ridge RV Village which is a Very Nice place where hopefully we can work on our impressions of Vermont.

Tour boat going through the locks on the Erie canal. 

Niagara Falls from the American Side 

Thumbs Up (9/18)
As much as I loved the city/town of Manistee, the Thumb of Michigan is definitely my favorite part. It’s flat farmland with the Minnesota red barns, and sugar beets instead of soy beans—great bicycling country. (Kit biked 35 miles and I biked 23) There is water all around but without the mega tourist hoopla of the west side. We are taking a day off from driving and just enjoying a very pleasant spot here at Lighthouse County Park—with Lake Huron out our back windows and a lighthouse towering above us. Thank heavens for Michigan’s wonderful county and city campgrounds—the state parks are ludicrously expensive. This park costs less than half of what we would have had to pay at the state park ($29), and is right on the water. There was a gathering of the wild species harli davidsonii near here and a herd of them came through the park today.

Night on Lake Erie (9/19)
Monday we crossed into Canada. For most people the crossing to New York might have been about 3 hours, but we travel in a different time zone—off the boring freeway and onto the back roads where villages and speed limits slow us down but make travel interesting. In this part of Ontario there is a new crop with really big leaves (plus the ubiquitous corn) and sets of big cement “houses” painted all alike with 2 doors on the long side, up off the ground. Kit thinks they might be tobacco curing barns?? Anyway, we wanted to sleep on Lake Erie so we went to Long Point Provincial Park on a peninsula in the lake. It turns out to be mostly wetlands. Though we were close to the lake we couldn’t see it from camp. This bit of Lake Erie is long sandy beaches and migratory birds.

Back in the USA (9/20)
Today we drove about 100miles across Ontario and into New York. We are staying at the Niagara KOA between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. We got here about noon and did nothing all afternoon. We haven’t even been to Niagara Falls. There is a really nice pool here—each pool we find we think will be the last until Florida. Tomorrow we are going to meet my friend Suzanne—and hopefully find time to make it to Niagara Falls.

Entrance to the port of Manistee. Lake Michigan in background. 

Sunset over Bear Lake (view from the window of our trailer) 

Cool house on Mackinac Island. 

Laura and Steve's new house on Sugar Island :) 

Apparantly the lower part of Michigan is called the Mitten. Tomorrow we are going to the thumb. Weather is perfect. Diesel/ gas prices are falling. What more can we ask. We drove down the West side (Lake Michigan) yesterday. Drove through the town of Thompsonville where my dad was born. It's seen better days but the real estate outside of town is thriving and the trees are thick. Stopped for the night in Bear Lake, where his Swedish grandparents settled. We camped in a public park on the site of the lumber mill which closed in 1901. It didn't take long to wipe out the forests of pine. Bear Lake is a nice town but the downtown is pretty sad. We found out one man owns much of it and doesn't want to sell or develop. Today we spent most of the day in the wonderful town of Manistee. This is the neatest place we've found since Big Timber, Montana. The downtown is still a vibrant place, there is a great historical museum, and lots of "wow" buildings from the late 1800's. (The town burned in 1871 so they rebuilt in stone and brick). The real estate prices are amazing. For $160,000 you can get a remodeled 4 br, 2 bath Victorian.
Now we are at a huge upscale RV resort in Ludington which has a great pool and WiFi which we've finally gotten to work.

American Wildlife. These examples of species Harli davidsonii seen in Minnesota. Just like deer when you see one, look for the other. There are no two alike because they prize their individuality,but they all gather at the same places, (a common ground is in South Dakota).  

I won't even mention the cost of this ferry ride. Mackinac is a no car island but I can't say all the horses are much better. (extremely slow and too many droppings). We took our bikes ($6.50 each) and had a wonderful ride around the island and through the hillier middle. Avoided all the souvinir shops but bought some fudge. M. Island is in Lake Huron. Both Huron and Michigan have different beaches than Superior. Big chunky rocks with water up to t he beach grass and marshy areas with no real walking beach. Kit says there are sandy beaches but I didn't see them. ( Diesel is now down to $2.96 and gasoline down to $2.88.)

Camped 3 nights on Lake Superior. Last night on Lake Huron --and tonight we are on Lake Michigan. Still Hawaiin weather but forecase keeps saying cooler. Are in St. Ignace to go tomorrow to Mackinac Island.

Bicycling in Wisconsin (9/8)
There are so many good places to bike in Wisconsin. We came to Woodruff because there were choices. So we decided to do the Lac Flambeau road loop because it sounded so “Wisconsin”. Lac Flambeau is an Indian Reservation and apparently casino funds were being used to upgrade the roads. The start of our bike route was all torn up and the vibes were bad. So we went to Minocqua and rode on the Bearskin Trail. (an old RR turned bike trail). We had to pay a hefty fee which I was OK with—supporting the trails and all that. But when a guy in a truck came down the trail to check our passes I felt less altruistic. (We were 10 miles out). We turned around after 11 miles because there were a few drops of rain and then it turned out to be a fine sunny afternoon.
I thought Minocqua was a cute little Wisconsin town until I discovered there were at least 8 shops in town just selling Minocqua T-shirts and not many stores selling things real people need. Kit finally found an open barber shop and got his hair cut. (I was worried about getting out of the shop with my scalp intact because the barbers and a visitor got into a heated argument about eliminating the estate tax. Later I asked about why the parking meters were located next to the building instead of by the curb but they got into an argument about that, so I never really found out why. Next time I’ll pick a place where they stick with sports and hunting and fishing – Kit). We had to drive 6 miles south to find the fabric shop.
By the way—Wisconsin may well be micro-brew capital of the US. We found an awesome grocery store/ liquor store. I think there were more micro-brews to choose from than the Pacific NW. It was hard. (after those prairie states where we were lucky to find any.)

A Do Nothing Day in Michigan (9/10)
Yesterday we had a long driving day across the UP. Michigan back roads for the most part are pretty good—with lots of nice roadside rests (so you don’t have to starve looking for a place to stop for lunch). When we left Wisconsin we intended to go to Porcupine Mt. SP but it was a bit of a step back west so at the last minute we decided to go east far enough that we could take a day off and do nothing. After one camping reject we came to Grand Marais and Woodland Park Campground and said “Halleluiah!” This public campground is right on Lake Superior, for long beach walks. There are plenty of roads for walking/ biking. It’s very scenic here. And we love the tiny town of Grand Marais. There is even a brew pub (complete with juke box and animal heads over the bar) where we had dinner. No, I did not try the blueberry beer.
So it comes to our do nothing day. Sigh! We are caught in the middle of a thunderstorm—rain, rain, rain. The forecast says it will clear off and be 80 degrees this afternoon but so far we aren’t seeing any sign. My idea of doing nothing was sitting in my chair in the shade reading, and walking on the beach. Kit’s idea was a long bike ride. I guess we can’t complain. This is the first really rainy day we’ve had since we left home.
The rain eventually let up and we decided to hike out to the Au Sable lighthouse: a nice 4 mile (RT) hike through the woods along the shore. Sunday will be the do nothing day.

Lake Superior
The lake is a surprisingly Caribbean turquoise color. Beautiful. The resemblance does not end there. This part of the UP reminds us of nowhere more than Hawaii with the wrong kind of trees. It is almost unbearably hot and humid. (not QUITE Costa Rican hot) But the bartender does not come bringing tropical fruit drinks.
Kit was talking to a full time local who says winters here (on the south side of the lake) are the worst in Michigan. The Canadian north side of the lake is milder. AND I was asking why there is so much rock hounding when the rocks are always the same (no tides). The icebergs dredge up new rocks in the spring. Definitely not Hawaii.
I think the locals are fixated on rocks because there is nothing else. The Lake is really boring. The man at the National Lakeshore visitor center says every rock is identifiable. (This is intriguing to me). They also say here that our beach agates are NOT agates. Agates have to have bands of color they say and are usually not translucent. What do these Michiganites know, anyway.
I had a long walk on the beach and the only life I saw was a group of red headed ducks. No driftwood. Not flotsam and jetsam. No critters along the shore. The horizon is FLAT and there is almost no boat traffic though in a day of watching I finally saw a ship.

Hot and Crabby (9/12)
We left Grand Marais sort of intending to go to T. Falls State Park,
but it was too darn hot for hiking or doing anything outside and the flies were biting so we decided to keep going east. We did take a swing around route 123 to see the country (but not pay the fee to stop at the falls). It was our intent to stop in Paradise at the famous brewpub for lunch. I found a fabric shop in Paradise and THEN found out the brewpub was 14 miles back at the falls. NO SIGNS! and Laura, you did not tell us this. It was too big a trek for us to go back so we had sandwiches at a picnic stop instead. Came to Sault Ste. Marie hot and crabby. The campground we picked was a little frustrating to get into but it was right on the water with ships going by and we were able to make a short bike ride to the Sugar Island Ferry and in the other direction, to the locks. We were surprised the locks weren’t more grandiose. (like the Panama canal). The ships were bigger (so the locks were too) but they really aren’t much different that the ones in Seattle.

at the Finnish Cultural Center 

Madeline Island ferry (Wisconsin) 

Tuesday, despite some questionable weather, we rode our bikes to Madeline Island. Turned out to be a gorgeous day. It was a nice ferry ride (though Expensive!)—about 20-25 minutes from Bayfield. We biked out to the State Park and back—a total of about 20 miles. The island is heavily forested, with lots of wetland as well. We didn’t see any sign of the Overtly Rich. Looks like ordinary people live here. In fact there are only 250 permanent residents though the island is 3-4 times the area of Guemes. I got to dip my feet in Lake Superior but mostly we just rode our bikes. Visited the impressive island library (island tax supported).
Today (the 7th) we have come east and south to Woodruff where we plan some more bicycle riding. (when we choose which trail). We drove almost to the Michigan border to visit Hurley, home of the Harma house. No kidding—it’s part of the Finnish Cultural Center here—a rebuilt log house from early Finnish settlers. After we leave here we head to the UP –state parks are in our future which means no internet.

PS: PHotos coming when we have more online time available--don't hold your breath.

Today we have been traveling on Hwy 2—the same route we left home on almost a month ago. We are impressed with Wisconsin highways, though we have not yet come far. We are impressed with the visitor information centers. We had to stop at this huge and amazing Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center—which was actually a museum with observation tower and nature trail. It is paid for and directed by a group of 7 government agencies. The volunteer I spoke with said he was amazed it ran so smoothly.
Diesel has shot up to $2.99 (from $2.89 in Minnesota). It is still cheaper than gas which is well above $3. We are camped in Bayfield. The plan is to go to Madeline Island tomorrow. When I read about it, I thought it was a place a Guemian should visit. Now I am not so sure. All of you Guemians, stop whinging about ferry costs. It looks like the 10 minute ride to Madeline Island will cost the two of us and bikes (no car) about $30. When I get a chance I will report on whether only rich people live there. Internet hookups are nearly impossible to find on the route we are taking. I hope I can get this one to work.

Slice of Minnesota (8-31)
We’ve traveled up the middle slice of Minnesota—from Iowa, north to the town of Akeley, which is so small you’ll need a magnifying glass to find it on the map. I loved southern Minnesota. It’s covered with picture book farms—those red rounded barns with lots of out buildings and two huge silos. I wonder if they look like missiles pointed to the heavens to any passing aliens. There’s always trees around these farms and they’re all so tidy. This bit of Minnesota reminds me of Skane (southern Sweden), but with corn and soybeans. Gradually as we move north there are more trees and less corn. Midday yesterday we stopped in the town of New Ulm to see what there was to see. Got a brochure and took the walking tour looking at old homes and such. I found out Wanda Gag (Millions of Cats) was born here. The highlight of the town is a free standing carillon (glockenspiel) which provides quite a show at noon. We had lunch at a good German restaurant. New Ulm is a Bavarian town but not as touristy as Leavenworth. The first campground we looked at yesterday was really awful so we drove a bit further and found a county park which looked nice—BUT it was THE MOST EXPENSIVE public park we have EVER stayed in and actually the 2nd most expensive campground so far on our trip. $28 for a public campground –no pool, no TV, no internet and the bathrooms were not up to par!! Ouch!! Luckily the place we found for tonight is nicer and Cheaper ($18)
Today we traveled north again—into the pines. The weather was cloudy and wet—kind of an Oregon Coast rain. We stopped at a visitor center and very nice museum in Sauk Center—birthplace of Sinclair Lewis and model for his “Main Street”. Not far away are the small towns which are the model for Lake Wobegon. We didn’t have time to seek out the Lake Wobegon trail. We were aiming for the Heartland/ Paul Bunyan bike trails. Akeley was the only place we could find with camping on the trail and quite near the “best part”. We have a campsite with a lake a few feet out the back window. Diesel, by the way, has risen to $2.64. Also the compact little brick prairie towns that I loved have turned into the sprawling towns we’re used to in the northwest.

Good Luck, Bad Luck (9/1)
Good luck—we found this wonderful campsite on a lake and close to the bike trail. Bad luck—we have to leave Friday as everything is booked for Labor Day weekend. Good Luck—we have Thursday for biking. Bad luck—Thursday morning the wind is blowing 20-30mph (white caps on the lake). Good Luck—we have the truck for a driving adventure so head north to Bemidji. Good luck—I found a fabric store. Bad luck—Kit did not find a barber nearby.
Good luck—we found the wonderful state park called Itasca. There we saw the headwaters of the Mississippi, and had a 2 mile hike before heading back to our camp on Crow Wing Lake #11. Good luck—we don’t have to check out before noon, so we had a wonderful bike ride Friday morning. Rode the Heartland Trail AND the top of the Paul Bunyan trail (which was really awesome).

Wood Tick (9/1)
Who would think that in the Tiny Town of Akeley you would find a theater that fills up with 130 people at a 3pm matinee! They come on tour busses from all over Minnesota to hear the Wood Tick Band. Thursday night, when we went, the theater was only half full. What a fun program: really bad Minnesotan humor, really excellent Music. The program was eclectic to say the least with a big dollop of bluegrass. We almost won the prize for the people who had come the farthest—but there were some people from Germany. After the show the band lined up outside and shook everyone’s hands as we left (like the minister after church) and thanked us for coming. It was a memorable evening.

Duluth (9/3-4)
We spent two days being totally tourists in Duluth. Saturday we let Nellie lead us to our first tourist attraction—Glensheen Mansion. We went through some interesting residential neighborhoods and she tried to get us to go down some invisible alleys. Don’t tell Nellie to find the shortest route. On Sunday, I used the map to find our way to the Aquarium.
Back to Saturday—we enjoyed our morning tour of Glensheen. A very tastefully done mansion, I thought. Later I found out there was a murder here (1977) and recklessly spent real money on a quite worthless book about it. After our tour we went into town and found a brewpub for an excellent lunch (and beer). Walked on the waterfront boardwalk and found a wonderful FREE maritime museum that the Corps of Engineers has built. Learned about taconite which is not pronounced like the Mexican food and which is being shipped to China to make steel. (I learned this from a young man in the museum) We couldn’t stay as long as we would have liked as the parking meter was running out.
Sunday we spent the whole morning at the Aquarium, a fascinating and fun place, which was not just about fish. We are learning a lot about the Great Lakes. Had lunch at a bakery/café which would be at home in Eugene or Bellingham. I forgot to mention that we got to watch a Coast Guard ice breaker leaving and later saw a ship come into the harbor. They have this cool 100 year old bridge that lifts up and down. We spent the afternoon touring two ships that are a floating maritime museum. One was an ore cargo ship that seemed huge but was retired because it was built in the 30’s and is now too small. The other was an older Coast Guard ice breaker, which was only recently decommissioned. The cargo ship definitely had better quarters for the crew. (And also posh quarters for VIP’s) We topped off the day in a grocery store with a deli that even surpassed Haggens at home.
NOTE: You cannot buy beer in grocery stores in Minnesota. You can also not buy real mayonnaise—they only have Miracle Whip. But we have not seen any jello salads in Minnesota delis.