Go North, Young Man

[Hickey]

The  Wind mill you saw could have been for a good purpose. They have been used to provide power for everything from grinding grain to pumping water.  

According to the nice lady running the gift shop there, the windmill is used to demostrate the grinding of grain, although they weren't using it that day.  It is fully functional and historically accurate.  I seem to remember her saying that it was put up in the 1990s sometime.

[Hickey]

Where we last left off I was just inside Michigan and headed for Copper Harbor at the far end of the Keweenaw Peninsula.  On the way I went through the Ottawa Forest.


Before long I was in the Houghton area, which is home of the Michigan Tech Huskies.  This view is from the north side of the valley, over looking downtown Houghton.


From there it was the longish ride North to get to Copper Harbor.  Both Route 26 and US route 41 go up that way.  On the way north I took Route 26, which follows the coast.  This was a nice tree lined road along the banks of Lake Superior with lots of sudden curves and elevation changes.  I enjoyed it, but sand had blown onto the road in several places, making hard cornering a risky endeavor.  I had the back end of the FJR step out on me a couple of times, before deciding that I'd better just slow down to a more lesiurely pace.


Here is a view of Copper Harbor from the boat dock.  You might be able to see the lighthouse in the distance.


Ah.  The end of the road.  I had travelled as far North as I could.  Time to turn around.  That picture marks the far point of my travels.  From that point on, I'll be heading more or less towards home.

[Hickey]

On the return trip down the peninsula I took US route 41.  This road is fairly technical and twisty in the far North which gives way to sweepers further South towards Houghton.  No sand on the pavement here, since this road is much further inland than Route 26.  It was a nice road, so nice I couldn't be bothered to stop and take a picture of it.

I did stop and take a shot of an abandoned building along US 41.  The whole area has been a center of mining and lumber.  I'd guess that building had something to do with one of those industries, before times changed.


Back in Houghton again I tracked down a hotel and dinner.  A view of the street:


Here is the really cool and BIG bridge that spans the Portage Lake and connects Houghton to Hancock.  It apparently lifts the road deck straight up to allow ships to pass underneath.  


And lastly, here are some more abandoned industrial buildings, just across the water from Michigan Tech.


Overall I've enjoyed my time in Michigan.  I'm hoping to find some more good roads to the South tomorrow.  The Saturday plan is to wander the UP a little more and then head in the general direction of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  According to the GPS, I've gone a total of 1180 miles since leaving home.  My moving average has been 53 MPH.

[PEST!]

According to the nice lady running the gift shop there, the windmill is used to demostrate the grinding of grain, although they weren't using it that day.  It is fully functional and historically accurate.  I seem to remember her saying that it was put up in the 1990s sometime

It looks as if its just a trap.. Run holdon to your wallet....  Nice trip though.

[Hickey]

Leaving Houghton this morning I rode South towards Wisconsin.  Along the way I stopped at Bond Falls outside Paulding, Michigan.




And here is a pic of me at the falls.  I was the only person in the park this morning.  




From there I wandered South to Thousand Island Lake Road and took that into Wisconsin.  A nice road, if a little bumpy.  Eventually I ended up the Land Of Lakes area of Wisconsin around Boulder Junction.  A bit south of town is County Road K, which was wonderful.


That's it for now.  I'm eating lunch in a little cafe in Eagle River.  This is a seriously tourist oriented town.  I'm going to continue heading more or less South and then tomorrow will be the final leg of the journey, to home.

[Baz]

Wow, some nice shots of some great places in the mid west. Thanks Hickey.

[Hickey]

Sorry that this report didn't get up here last night.  I actually had some trouble finding a hotel room.  What I found didn't have wi-fi, so this update had to wait.

From Eagle River, I went South and West.  I noticed on my map that I wasn't too far from the highest point in Wisconsin.  So, I decided to go see it.



This was pretty cool.  You get to the hill top by riding on a narrow, asphalt trail to a parking lot.  From there it is a 300 yard walk up a gravel trail to the top of the hill, where you are greeted with this tower:



Climb to the top of it and you get this view:



From there I headed South for a while and then had to make a choice.  Go South-East towards Oshkosh as I had planned.  Go South to the Wisconsin Dells area.  Or go South-West generally towards the House on the Rock.  I called a number of hotels trying to find a room, but that was a grim proposition to the South or East.  So I went South-West, eventually finding a small motel in Union Center, Wisconsin that actually had a room available.

So I started the day in Houghton, Michigan and rode most of the way across Wisconsin diagonally.  I'm glad to be done for the day.  It was a fun and rewarding ride, but a bit longer than I planned for.  The GPS says I've gone 1625 miles, 445 of them today.  Which isn't my longest day, but it felt like it.

[Hickey]

Today I left the nice little motel I found last night and headed more or less West toward the Mississippi.  



This was pretty country, full of hills and farms.  The Amish were out in force on the roads.  I assume coming to or from Sunday church services.  I eventually made my way to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin  to have a late breakfast (or early lunch.)  I haven't taken time to take many pictures so far this morning.  Just haven't been in the mood, I suppose.

After eating, I crossed into Iowa and pointed the bike South along the river.  Much as it was on the other side of the river in Wisconsin, the roads were full of wide, sweepers with nice views.



Before long I was in Guttenburg, Iowa.  Here was the road decending down the river bluff into town.



And a view of the river from a scenic overlook just South of town.

[Hickey]

As I continued on my way I came across Iowa road C9Y, which was where I had taken my first group ride with ST.N riders, earlier this year.  This is a fantastic Midwest road.



Next stop was Mississippi Mug coffee house in charming downtown Dubuque, Iowa.



I stayed in Iowa and continued South until I got to the bridge that jumps the Mississippi at Savanna, Illinois.  Almost home, now.



And finally I am home again.  



The bike and the GPS say that my trip was 1945 and 1950 miles respectively.  I spent 36 hours on the move, with a moving average of 54 MPH.  My top recorded speed was... well... illegal.  

I have come to love that bike even more.  The saddle bags work great and held everything I needed them to.  The new gloves I got at Aerostitch (Olympia Gel gloves) really are nice.  My hands very rarely got sore or cramped with the new gloves.  My jacket though is just not vented enough for that much Summer riding.  I think I need to find something in a lighter color with more vents or mesh before I do another long, Summer trip.

I had a fantastic time and would love to do something like this again.  Maybe to the Dragon or the Rockies.  I had occasional worries about finding hotel rooms, but it was nice to have the trip be more free-form and not HAVE to be in a certain place at a certain time.  I just let the roads lead me to interesting places.  That said.  It is good to be home.  I'm pooped.

[mxvet57]

bill, glad you got to see bond falls. by far it is the best falls i have ever Ben to. and the fact that you walk down on the side of it makes it more impressive. to bad you cant show all of the falls b/c there is so Meany good shots.  i have Ben there snowmobiling and it is Even nicer in the winter.

 BTW was the general store open?  the strawberry ice cream was to   for.

  ed

[Hickey]

The store in the little town near the park?  Yeah, I think it was open, but I didn't stop there.  I didn't go through the whole park, so maybe there is a store in the park someplace.

I just stopped there on a whim.  I was flying down that road and saw a sign for waterfalls.  So I whipped the bike around and went looking for the falls.  Glad that I did, because that was one of the most interesting things I saw on the trip.

[Orson]

I had occasional worries about finding hotel rooms, but it was nice to have the trip be more free-form and not HAVE to be in a certain place at a certain time.

That's the way I like to travel  

Many times I'll change course at the spur of the moment.

no strings attached  

Nice ride report. I've never been to that region of the country on a bike.

[Rincewind]

Thanks for the report of your solo trip.  Makes me want to do the same.  Well done.  

[RedCBRRider]

Nice job Bill.  Let me know about that trip to the Rockies.  I want to go there also if I can fit it in.

[Hickey]

Maybe someday we can put a Region Four trip to the Rockies together.  Say like a nine day trip, Saturday through until the following Sunday.  Assuming a total of four days to cross (and recross) the Great Plains, then that gives five days to ride the Rockies.

[PEST!]

 Excellent photo's Looked like a good ride. You saw a lot of country in a short time. Hope you enjoyed it.  The Rockies are great as long as you don't get stuck behind a motorhome and 4 cars on a winding road with no were to pass... 30 in a 55 is hard to take.
Great trip

[Jetpilot5]

Maybe someday we can put a Region Four trip to the Rockies together.  Say like a nine day trip, Saturday through until the following Sunday.  Assuming a total of four days to cross (and recross) the Great Plains, then that gives five days to ride the Rockies.

I like this idea as I'd like to get out there too and don't really care to go solo that far.

Great report too.  I wonder if we were close to crossing paths.  I rode up to Rochester MN on Sunday and spent most of the day in SW Wisconsin before crossing the Mississippi at La Crosse.

[Hickey]

Yeah, we must have been near one another.  I was in SW Wisconsin and Eastern Iowa through most of the day on Sunday.   I passed through Prairie du Chien into Iowa in the late morning.

Saturday I would have been coming down out of the North-East from the UP into SW Wisconsin.

[Hickey]

As far as a trip out West goes.  That will have to be next year for me.  I can't budget the time for another multi day moto trip this year.  But on the plus side, those interested can take plenty of time to plan something.  I think I'll start a thread in Region Four about this.