Aug 23, 2012 - Northern Wisconsin & da U.P. Eh

8/16/12 THURSDAY: we camped at Dawson Trail on French Lake near Atikokan. Got a very nice campsite right on the water. Very tempted to go swimming, but the wind was from the North and had quite a chill to it. Settled for wading. 8/17/12 FRIDAY: Stopped just south of Thunder Bay at a cheese store to stock up on some very good homemade cheese. Crossed the border into the U.S. at Grand Portage, MN. We have a souvenir Alaskan license plate on the front of the vehicle amd it confused the border guard. He kept asking questions about where we were...

Aug 8, 2012 - Champion, Michigan

Well, we are back on the road for an indefinite time. We are starting out our journey, first heading to Wasaga Beach Ontario, to visit with brother Don, Trish and Nicky for a few days. We left Winnipeg at 6:30 am, and headed for the Emerson border. We were held up at the border for about a half hour, as the lane we picked had a motorhome, in which they were scrutinizing. After the border, we made up some time, and were only slowed down about a half hour from our destination, as we hit a huge rain storm. Turkey pulled off the road and asked...

Jul 11, 2012 - Marquette, Mi

Today we stayed at the Marquette city campground. It was real nice and quiet. We left to go to the store and when we came out there was a heavy downpour so we drove around for a while to avoid having to get the grocerys out of the truck in the rain. Marquette is still on Lake Superior.

Jun 28, 2012 - Marquette, MI

While camped at Gitchee Gumee we did a couple of quick tours of the town area of Marquette. Somehow, I had assumed that the college in town was Marquette University. Dummy me. That university is in Milwaukee. Of course. Turns out that Northern Michigan University is in Marquette. They actually have a domed football stadium. Nothing fancy like the Dallas Cowboys, but I guess they need it because of all the snow. Marquette has the last of the "Ore Docks" on Lake Superior. Hopefully Kathy will find a good picture of it. This is a huge, very...

Jun 27, 2012 - Gitchee Gumee

Anybody know what Gitchee Gumee stands for? Besides being the name of the RV park we are staying at, Gitchee Gumee is the Indian (Ojibwa I think) word for Lake Superior. I think Gordon Lightfoot included it in his song about the Edmund Fitzgerald. I am now singing that song in my sleep. Ugh!!! Lake Superior is fantastic... facts we have learned this week: It is the largest body of fresh water in the world. If you made a swimming pool 5 foot deep and put all the water from Lake Superior in it... it would cover continental United States......

Sep 7, 2011 - Mishmash of Miscellany Around Marquette

As I was organizing some photos last night I realized I had overlooked a whole series of pictures we've taken here in Marquette that never really related to the post of that day, so this is the mishmash of miscellaneous photos we've taken since being here. Hope you enjoy them, it's a beautiful area and we are both enchanted with Lake Superior and its natural beauty. We've now seen it at its calmest and then during a storm and both can readily say we would NOT like to be here when she's in full fury and during the winter months. It's...

Sep 5, 2011 - Seeing Some of Marquette

High time for us to get out and explore where we’ve been living now for almost ten days! Hard to realize we will be leaving this part of the UP in two more days and we hadn’t even driven into downtown Marquette to see historic downtown area at all – so today, even being the holiday, we decided to venture out and see the county seat of Marquette County and the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home to Northern Michigan University. The most...

Aug 31, 2011 - Wal-Mart, Marquette Michigan

Today was Leila’s first day at pre-school. Colleen sent us a picture of her; what a big girl she is getting to be and oh, so beautiful. (Proud grandparents talking of course) No pictures today. It was gray and cloudy all day with occasional sprinkles so we decided to pack up and leave Munising and go to Marquette so Bob could get a haircut and I could get my nails done. You learn the best things at the beauty shop. I asked Brooke, the manicurist, where to get a nice dinner. She steered us to Casa Calabria in downtown Marquette that serves...

Aug 28, 2011 - And, Hello Michigan . . at Gitchee Gumme

What a wonderful travel day this proved to be! We departed Kewaunee RV Park promptly at 0900, stopped for fuel (love the $3.85 prices here for diesel), proceeded on our way with only one stop at the Welcome Center when we entered Michigan at Menominmee (just love how that name sounds) and picked up some wonderful information to explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had no winds, we had sunshine and billowy clouds, Zookie was happily content in her carrier that she nicely walked into this morning for us (yeah, right)! We arrived...

Aug 8, 2011 - First Venture Into The Northern Part Of The UP

From Whispering Valley RV Park – Rapid River, MI (Upper Peninsula) Visited our third UP County……..Marquette. Located in the center of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Marquette County is home to Northern Michigan University and one of the four Olympic Training Centers in the United States. Throughout the county the history of the area is represented in the original sandstone architecture of the buildings. The county lays claim to over 80 miles of clean sand beaches where bleached white driftwood can be found. One of the major attractions is...

Aug 15, 2010 - UP of Michigan, Marquette, Christmas & Munising

8/1-3rd We were in Marquette, MI. for 3 nights at the Ojibwa, Casino w/ electric, free of charge. While we were there we visited Presque'Isle Point Park, what a wonderful park. They have bike & walking trails throughout and right on Lake Superior,(the BIG LAKE)as its called by the locals, and it is huge. One of the great things we have noticed in the UP is that the city & county parks & roadside rest areas are very people friendly. They have picnic areas with grills, tables and even bathroom facilities. We left Marquette & went east on hwy...

Aug 1, 2010 - Submarines, Lighthouses, and Wooden Domes - what do these have in common?

Today we drove into Marquette and saw the Maritime Museum there. They have a very interesting recreation of the the Battle of Leyte Gulf during WWII since one of the crucial submarine commanders was from Marquette. He was the leader of a sub "Wolfpack" that sent back urgent information regarding the placement of the Japanese fleet which was the beginning of the end of that same fleet. Although his submarine the "Darter" ran aground, and they had to scuttle it before they were rescued by the other sub the "Dace", their mission was highly...