2026 Michigan, Day 11 - Oshkosh to Ottumwa

 Day 11, Monday, 21 September 2026 – Oshkosh to Ottumwa

Another early departure: HIE breakfast was set for 0630, I was on the road by 0545. A short stint on I-49 south and I’m on WI-26, heading southwestward. There’s a lot of inbound commuter and truck traffic coming my way, but it starts petering out about daylight, when I pick up US-151 – I’ll be on it for almost 200 miles. My first decision point comes about 20 miles north of Madison – do I avoid the metro on some back roads, or do I brave early rush hour and use the circling freeways. I choose the latter. It is only somewhat stressful, and I encounter no tie-ups whatsoever until US-151 exits, slowed by a stop light.

I’m driving southwestward again, and the highway remains divided. The terrain becomes hilly, with flat-bedded rock layers visible in cuts. I pass Cave of the Mounds and Blue Mounds State Park. I meet my original route at Dodgeville about 30 minutes earlier than I would have expected. I use that half hour at a Cafe by Country Kitchen, a breakfast-and-lunch only adjustment to changing consumer choices.

US-151 in Wisconsin reminds me of US-50, only with less traffic and much more intresting scenery. Relaxed driving lasts only so long, as US-151 joins US-61 at the start of a 15+ mile stretch of single-lanes. This ends just before the Mississippi River bridge, and I cross into Iowa at Dubuque.

Rural Iowa is definitely corn country. Even the hillsides are in corn; I see few terrace systems, but every field has its grassed waterways to control run-off. These remind me of some of the ski areas I’ve passed in Michigan – from short “bunny-slope” ones to ones that snake down the hillside like a slalom course.

At 4-½ hours in, I leave US-151 for 95 miles on IA-1. This is a nice 2-lane road without excessive traffic. Martelle is a tiny town with a big grain elevator. Cornell College is located in Mount Vernon. It’s also on the Lincoln Byway and has a byway arts festival. The Cedar River there is out of its banks. Just north of Solon I see the historic stone Stone Academy schoolhouse. A Solon food truck is named… El Sol.

IA-1 actually goes through Iowa City, once Iowa’s Capital and still home of the state’s major university, oddly named “The University of Iowa.” That’ll show those folks up in Ames! The city is crowded with students crossing the streets, sometimes even at light-controlled crosswalks. Many of the larger university buildings sport the Mid-Century Brutalist architectural style. If any of my Mid-Missouri Artists friends had been along, I’m certain we’d have stopped at the Blick store.

I have an ulterior motive for choosing this route – I need to pick up a certified birth certificate at the Johnson County Recorder’s office in Iowa City. They provide it very efficiently, and I’m on my way.

Back on IA-1, I see the certain signs of an Amish presence. Now did a buggy hit those two raccoons lying dead over on the opposite shoulder? I pass Kalona; the English River is flooding. Washington’s Hy-Vee has an attractive (for these days) gas price, so I use that 5 cent credit before it expires. I forget that I’m short one pair of socks, so I don’t stop at the neighboring TSC for some Carhartts. Here’s a sorghum field, real sorghum, not milo. For what use I ask – fodder? Syrup? Molasses? The Skunk River is out – they must have had some rain!

I’ve written about silo trees; last year I posted a picture of a car on a silo near Lamar, CO. Here, I present Iowa’s answer: a barn on a silo!

Just north of Fairfield I pass a large building owned by the Maharishi group. They also own several buildings in town, including even the old railroad station. Here I’ll pick up US-34, a nice 4-lane divided highway. A Flock camera clocks me at the 198 mile marker. I pull in to Ottumwa, get turned around, but eventually find my HIE. Supper will be carry-out from the walking-distance HyVee.

Tomorrow: HOME, via US-63, MO-11 & 41, and Aldi in Sedalia. Then the fun work begins!

For the day: 356.8 miles; for the trip: 2443.0.

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 10 - Sault Ste. Marie to Oshkosh

 Day 10, Sunday, 20 September 2026 – Sault Ste Marie to Oshkosh

Yes, I’m in Oshkosh, b’gosh. Overall, I’ve made very good time. It’s 0645 EDT when I pull our of the Soo, making this the 3^rd day in a row to greet Homer’s rosy-fingered lady, Eos. I don’t see her for long, because a moderately thick fog envelops I-75. I take a bit under an hour to reach St. Ignace; the bridge-view area is well-marked, the fog is gone and the sun is in a good place. Mackinac Bridge photos ensue.

US-2 west of St. Ignace runs fairly close to the shore in spots. There’s a gift shop in a lighthouse! Next is The Mystery Spot; it used to advertise some sort of gravitic anomaly (actually a very convincing optical illusion), but now it pushes “fun” and 2 zip lines. The roadside has more than its share of pasty shops, most not open at this hour.

The Lake Michigan shore here is sandy, with a stretch of low dunes. Small towns with a bar & gas station appear every 5-10 miles. One of these is Gould City, home of a real Bates Motel – does that name hurt or help business, I wonder. A bit farther along on this 65 mph road, I pass Divine Infant of Prague Church. A sign on an abandoned-looking Culliver building reads “Stuff Capital of the UP.” And there is “Da Place for Cedar Signs.”

I left my hotel before breakfast so I’m looking for a cafe;. I pass several that I don’t see in time to stop. Wait! There’s a sign – Big Boy ahead. I didn’t know there were any left. I stop, it’s not crowded, and the veggie omelet hits the spot. Here’s proof it exists:

What do you think Wacky Jackx sells? If you guessed pot, you’re right. Rapid River’s school’s sign includes what looks like a real rocket. US-2 & US-41 merge here for a trip through Gladstone & Escanaba, a good-sized community on a very large bay. It hosts the U.P. State Fair.

I diverge onto MI-35, the coast road. It has a 55 mph speed limit, obeyed by those who enjoy leading long lines of irate drivers. The usual camps line the shoreline; one has a MizzouRAH sign, complete with tiger. I catch glimpses of something bright across the lake. My first surmise is that it’s the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Alas, it turns out to be a cloud bank. Shucks.

MI-35 rejoins the main roads at Menominee, MI; I cross the bridge and find myself in Marinette, WI. Pasty shops are replaced by Wisconsin Cheese vendors. I pull off the 4-lane at Peshtigo, where a deadly forest fire in memorialized.

US-41 is moving right along,and now it’s joined by US-45. The combined road is designated I-41; I’ll be on it for almost 70 miles. There’s a lot of construction and lane shifts to deal with and I’m pleased that I dared it on Sunday! I arrive at my HIE at 1245 after 7 hours on the road. The room isn’t quite ready so I process the few pictures seen here and check tomorrow’s plans.

Tomorrow’s destination is Ottumwa, IA, mostly via US-151 & IA-1. It will include a stop in Iowa City to pick up a certified copy of my birth certificate – I’m already planing next year’s adventure!

For the day: 348.5 miles, for the trip: 2086.1

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 9 - Grand Marais to Sault Ste. Marie

 Day 9, Saturday, 19 September 2026 – Grand Marais to Sault Ste Marie

I woke up early as the motel was very much lacking in attention to detail and the stars were bright; Grand Marais isn’t bothered by a bunch of nearby light pollution. So I leave before 5 AM! I consider going to the beach & star gaze or to hit the road early. There’s my turn-off – the road wins. It starts off paved, but soon turns to more-dirt-than-gravel. It’s headed eastward, so I’m committed. Almost an hour of seemingly wandering and I finally hit pavement again. County Rd H-37 takes me to MI-123. It’s still very dark out at 0600, so I run into Newberry looking for breakfast; I find only a snack at a gas station..

I head north again and arrive at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Falls unit. The parking lot is rapidly filling up despite the early hour, so I grab my cameras and head for the overlooks, only ¼ mile away. The falls are spooky; mist shrouds the view of the falls. The water lacks the color most associated with them – it will soon regain the leaf-derived tannin that supplies the color. 

 

Impressive even at seasonal minimum flow.

Yesterday’s excursions for waterfall viewing required over 300 steps each way, down & back up. The view I need today only requires a boardwalk and a 900 foot ramp. The boardwalk sports decorations and a natural archway.

View from rim of the falls

Now I drive to the lower falls unit, a few miles away. No climbing here, just a lot of walking, about 2 miles worth.

Falls are done. It’s time to head for Whitefish Point, one of the major ship graveyards of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is hosted in a now-inactive Coast Guard lighthouse and lifesaving station, its featured exhibit is the Edmund Fitzgerald’s ship bell. The light is now automated and rescuers no longer need to face the storm in an 8-oared boat.

A beach shot - my last view of Superior! Can you make out Canada in the distance?

Another long (and rather boring) drive on MI-28 and I’m at the Soo. I can see the industrial build-up at the locks area, but can’t park nearby – the meters are app based and I allow no financial apps on my phone. I’ve been there before, even taken a tour boat through the locks. I occasionally check out my HIE hotel window in case a ship appears.

Supper at Don Jose’s, revamp a suitcase, and review Sunday's routes.

Tomorrow: I-75 to St. Ignace for a look at the bridge, then US-2 along Lake Michigan’s north shore and US-41/I-41 to Oshkosh.

For the day: 178.4 miles, for the trip: 1737.6

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 8 - Kearsarge to Grand Marais

 Day 8, Friday 18 September 2026 – Kearsarge to Grand Marais

I woke up early, as usual, and was on the road in grey pre-dawn at 0630 EDT (aside: this part of Michigan uses Eastern time, although it’s directly north of Milwaukee – in effect, on double DST). I get through Calumet & Houghton OK, and am soon on US-41 heading east. At Chassell I say goodbye to old Portage Lake; it was always sad to take our last look from the window of the Copper Country Limited.

Soon I’m driving next to Keweenaw Bay as I approach the head area, A little wait in a construction area give me chance to shoot the sunrise.

Baraga was named for an early bishop who served the area. L’Anse is home to a tribal reservation; are those white columns steam or maybe smoke signals? I pass turn-offs for Dynamite Hill Road and Northiron Church. I’m now passing south of the Huron Mountains.

The road leads through the 3-lakes area; I see Ruth Lake & Lake George, but not the 3^rd one. Here’s Michigamme. This whole area appears to be igneous rock of some sort, probably iron-rich since Marquette ships a lot of ore. Here’s Ishpeming and the Sku & Snowboard Hall of Fame. Negaunee was a small town when we visited in 1978; it’s busy now.

Marquette is the largest city in the U.P., with a bunch of roundabout junctions that few seem to understand. I leave US-41 here and continue east on MI-28; I am amazed that the speed limit is up to 65! MI-28 follows the shoreline; it draws some unusual lodging choices – one place has tepees and yurts for “glamping.” I think it was near Christmas, Michigan – yes, that’s a town.

I arrive in Munising at 1015. The welcome center suggests 2 places for a good breakfast. The likeliest one’s line extends out the door. Dogpatch sounds questionable but it has no line and a solid breakfast.

Now, it’s time for serious sight-seeing. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has more than just rocks – it has water! Munising Falls is closed, but Miners Falls is tallest in this park – which means more switchbacks and steps to get to it. It’s a nice .6 miles each way, with the last 200 feet or so consisting of steps. The pictures are worth the effort!

I survive that little expedition, so now it’s time to see the Miner’s Castle rock formation. Did I take pictures? Of course!

The Grand Sable Dunes start where the pictured rocks leave off. They rise precipitously from the narrow beach. Lumbermen in the area found it convenient to slide the logs down the dune to the be shipped to their destination, hence the “Log Slide” view point. This view shows the Au Sable light, about 2-3 miles west.

 

My last stop of the day, and it’s a doozie – a short walk followed by 168 steps down to the Sable Falls view point, then that 168 stair steps back up.

I make Grand Marais about 1500 and find my motel. I will cast judgment upon it tomorrow. I explored the town, saw some classic cars at a meet-up (Studebaker – wow!), then went rock hunting on the beach.

Supper at The Breakwall cost a tad more than I’d been spending on food, but the chicken Caesar salad filled a need for protein and for salad. Back to my room – I hope to get an early start tomorrow!

Tomorrow: Sault Ste. Marie via Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point.

For the day:228.8 miles, for the trip: 1559.2

2026 Mchigan Trip, Day 7 - Relaxation Day

 Day 7, Thursday 17 September 2026 - Relaxation Day

In other words, I have essentially seen and done all on my list thus far, so I wandered a bit, took very few pictures, prep for two more intense days of sight-seeing and photography, and just relax.

I enjoyed (?) a quick waffle & eggs at a local cafe, then came back to the cabin with a chance to meet the owners; I had nothing bad to say. Then, I made a run to the large Lake View Cemetery to find where my Finnish ancestors are interred. Management is absent, so why not make a run to the lake and pick up rocks? Lake Superior has lots of pretty rocks and I doubt that it will run out of them for a few millennia, so I fill another small bag and take a picture of the light guarding this end of the Portage channel.

Back to the cemetery, staff still absent. Let’s top off the gas tank. Whoa! It’s $4.69/gallon, up 40 cents overnight. Sure glad my RAV-4 is getting 45 mpg!

I think I’ll run down to Houghton visit the rock museum – that’s rock as in minerals, not music. Too bad I forgot the brochure with its address. Guess I will settle for the Isle Royale National Park visitor center – I can find it, such as it is. The small room has 2 desks, one selling boat tickets for a trip to the island, the other selling t-shirts, etc. I buy a zip-up light hoodie. I am now fully equipped for winter.

I’ll return via Lake Linden. Ice is half price at a local grocery store, perhaps it’s on clearance? Then, why don’t I check out the museum run by the Historical Society? The docent tells me how to find Hungarian Falls. I fail to find it/them. I guess I’ll go up to Calumet & try the chicken salad croissant at Jen’s. Plenty of chicken, very little salad, and lots of squishiness.

Back at my room – I organize my suitcases for the return trip and test my loading plan (I got rid of those bug, space-taking pictures yesterday). It’ll work, and the clock hasn’t hit 4, so maybe another Bootjack run? Another stop in Lake Linden, this time for locally-made Jilbert ice cream. Then it’s a back road up the hill to Calumet & Kearsarge, finish the blog, and call it a night.

Tomorrow: Grand Marais (Michigan) via Pictured Rocks.

For the day: 84.2 miles, for the trip: 1330.3

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 6 - Genealogy Day

 Day 6, Wednesday 16 September 2026 - Genealogy Day

Today I set aside for some research, and maybe a pasty. I arose before my 0700 alarm, had a shower, checked emails, and headed for Lake Linden about 0800. I had breakfast at this cafe/soda fountain which looks much as it did when I first saw it in the early 1950s.

 

At 0900 I meet the staff at the Houghton County Historical Society and turn over the family & friend pictures I promised them. They, in turn, showed me where my relatives’ graves might be in the local Catholic cemetery. Sure enough, I found marked graves in two of the plots; the third stone was unreadable because it had once hosted a hornet nest, one that was destroyed by fire. This is a family group stone for my French Canadian 2G grandparents.

My next stop was Bootjack where my grandpa’s cottage was, to scatter my mother’s ashes in the lake near it. Then I walked up the road, talked to a neighbor doing some yard work, and with his assent, walked around the old cottage taking pictures.

Next stop - the area tourism visitor center and a nice chat with the young lady running it. I learned of the pasty house I need to visit. Alas, they only have fresh pasties on Thursday, and I wanted one today (so I’d have time to recover if alpha-gal reacted to the beef & pork in one). I end up taking a frozen one and cooking it in the very-efficient retro-looking microwave in my cabin. Turned out OK.

It was early yet, so I head for the beach to do some rock picking. En route, I stop at another cemetery to see if I could find my Finnish ancestors. It’s really large cemetery so I will need to find a caretaker to locate the graves. It does have a bronze, well-mustached Union soldier on its CW memorial.

They say one can see Isle Royale from this beach, Do you see it?

 

The art of rock picking is trying to keep your feet dry to grab that pretty one between rollers breaking at the beach. I don’t think sitting down will work too well.

After a nice visit with the staff at the Keweenaw National Historic Park, I’m back at my cabin.

Tomorrow: depending on weather, I may make another stab at the big cemetery, and/or visit a geology museum in Houghton.

For the day: 68.1 miles, for the trip: 1246.0

2026 Trip to Michigan, Day 5 - Around the Copper Country

 Day 5, Tuesday 15 September 2026 - Around the Copper Country

I got moving about 0600, not sure what I would do. It had rained overnight and was still cloudy, and the forecast said partly cloudy & lots of wind. I looked out the window, saw some blue sky, and said “Copper Harbor, here I come.”

I pull out at 0706, without breakfast, and head north on US-41. I pass through several small former-mining towns and past establishments like The Last Place on Earth and Prospectors’ Headquarters, then I turn off on questionably-maintained Cliff Drive. There once was a prosperous mine under these cliffs.

MI-26 takes me to Eagle River, once a shipping port for the Cliff Mine. A bridge gives me a decent view of Eagle River Falls.

Jacobs Falls is down the road a bit; I always associated them with the hymn.

One stretch of MI-26/Lakeshore Drive along Great Sand Bay has some pretty significant dunes, enough to require a stairway to access.

Eagle Harbor is well-protected by a line of rocks that leave break up storm waves. It also has a scenic lighthouse – I’m trying to find an ideal spot to shoot from, when a gentleman wearing a ‘Vet’ cap says, “follow me, I know the spot.” So I do, he is right.

We got to talking. Small World alert: He was a close friend of my two summer friends from almost 70 years ago! I dig out a few pictures I plan to donate to the local historical society, he tells me his son is an officer on a laker. He tells me one will pass in view shortly, so I head for Brockway Mountain Drive. The road is ill-maintained and I hurry carefully. I arrive, and there it is, MV American Century, a 10000 foot ore carrier. Picture time:

Enough of that gale force wind on the mountain top, I head down to Copper Harbor & Ft. WilkinsState Historic Site. It was established on 1842 to protect miners from each other and the Ojibwa (who were promptly relocated elsewhere). It’s nicely restored and well interpreted; even better in summertime when 1^st person living historians greet you.

I drive through Copper Harbor, noting that the Isle Royale Queen IV did not sail today – rough weather creates clean-up problems. A store advertises gear for Isle Royale hikers, and breakfast pasties. For non-Yoopers, a pasty is essentially a self-contained meat-and-potato pie and is the U.P.’s national dish. I get a veggie pasty while cursing that lone star tick. It’s good! I also pick up a fleece vest & a T-shirt while waiting.

That pasty is hot from the oven, so I drive to a little park in Lac La Belle to enjoy it after it’s cooled a bit. This is Haven Park, home of Haven Falls; it also has a picnic shelter named THE HeAven.

I’m now on the Gay-Lac la Belle Road along Keweenaw Bay’s shoreline. The water is rough, even in this relatively-sheltered bay.

The water glitters by act of sun and wind.

If your town is named “Gay” after some old mining exec, you have to have The Gay Bar.

I now head toward Lake Linden, but first I turn off on the Bootjack Road. I pass the Dreamland Hotel, a restaurant/bar long established even when I was a child in the ‘50s. I pull off in the boat launching area and look in the brush for foundations of my Grandpa’s cottage. Wait a minute! They didn’t take it! It’s still there, two lots away!

I stop at the HCHS Museum in Lake Linden to chat about my research visit tomorrow; a visit to the recently-accessible Houghton-Douglass Falls, highest in U.P., complete my day.

 

Tomorrow is breakfast at Lindell’s in Lake Linden and several hours of research in the morning; afternoon TBD.

For the day: 175 miles; for the trip: 1177.9