Since it had been over 2 full months from our last motorcycle trip, Around the Lakes, my Dad and I decided to take a 3-day mini-trip just to get back on the road again. Originally, we had talked about heading down towards the Arkansas area, but because of the heat factor (95+ degree days forecasted), we decided to go north instead.
Our basic plan was to head up through central Wisconsin, explore the UP of Michigan, and finally follow the coast of Lake Huron before turning west back towards Chicago. The trip totaled 1358 miles for me.
Day 1 - Aug 5, 1999 (Thursday)
362 miles
I left work around 11am in order to my Dad in Lake Geneva, WI by 1:30pm. Downtown Lake Geneva was busier than heck for the middle of the afternoon, and we quickly got the "let's get out of dodge feeling."
Trying to avoid the interstate on our way to Escanaba, MI for the night, we followed Rt. 67 up through central WI. This was a nice road, and very quickly we found ourselves getting away from civilization. Our first stop ended up being in Elkhart Lake, WI - the home of my favorite race track, Road America. After a couple pictures, and a quick "nature" break, we were on our way again. I joked that it sure would be nice if the track would have been open, and I could have paid say $50 for a couple of laps. :) Someday I will get on the track (Mark!).
Continuing up Rt. 67 the scenery keep improving (for WI anyway), and I was enjoying the simple fact of being back on the bike. Once 67 ended, we headed east and hooked up with 94 to get around Green Bay. After an hour or so of 80mph+ interstate, we exited towards Escanaba. Our next stop was at a roadside beach/park along the coast of Lake Michigan. My Dad and I each snapped a few pictures and I took a few minutes to enjoy the view.
After another 50 or so miles we made it to our first hotel for the trip in Escanaba. I wasn't the least bit impressed by our Best Western (thanks to a noisy air conditioner that keep my up most of the night), but it was someplace to rest the bones for a few hours at any rate.
Pictures:
The bikes at Road America
Lake Michigan
Day 2 - Aug 6, 1999 (Friday)
475 miles
With basically nothing but time on our hands for the day, we set out to explore the UP of Michigan around 7:30am. Before leaving Escanaba, we filled up with gas and I was very happy about getting 211 miles on the last tank with just over a gallon remaining.
Before leaving home, I had printed out some maps using Map-n-Go of
the backroads through the Hiawatha National Forest (the atlas
map just didn't get detailed enough). The picture to the right was
the first time we stopped on of those backroads. We stopped because
the pavement had ended, and (at the time) I wasn't willing to keep
going. This turned out to be a really neat place to stop. The
birds were singing, the dew was still dripping from the trees, and
the smell of birch and pine was abundant in the air.
Our next stop for the morning was in Manistique, MI for breakfast after abandoning the backroads. After breakfast, we headed up Rt. 94 with plans of going to Grand Marais. This road turned out to be one of my favorites of the trip. My Dad dropped back a ways, and for a while I forgot he was even with me. It was just me, the bike, and the road. Needless to say, it was a short 34 miles to Shingleton. At this point, we looked at our maps and decided on the best route to Grand Marais. We opted for the more direct route and continued north onto H15. A short time later, we passed a sign saying "Plowed Road Ends 18 miles ahead." I remembered Tad telling what these signs meant in Michigan and explained to my Dad that it would be sand/gravel/rocks/etc. He said, "Well, I'd probably go for it." Ok then...
Exactly 18 miles later, the road ended as promised and we got a
chance try out our hand at dirt-tracking (with street bikes). My
Dad seemed to get the hang of it better than I did on his ST1100,
and I keep falling behind. A few times, I thought for sure I was going
down when the front end washed out on a big pile of sand. It was
quite the experience to say the least, and I think I'll stick to the
paved roads from now on. After about 15 miles of this, we finally intersected
with Rt. 77 which would take us to Grand Marais. However, before getting
underway, I stopped and thanked the "road gods" by removing my helmet
and kissing the pavement. :) You had to be there I guess, and ironically
(thankfully?) my Dad didn't get a picture of this.
A short time later we arrived in Grand Marais. I spotted a public
beach and decided to stop there. It was really great seeing Lake
Superior again, and we took some time here to enjoy the view.
On top of that, I decided to take my shoes off and walked
along the shore line for a while. The water was on the cool side,
but I didn't care. In fact, not much of anything mattered at the
time. I was really enjoying the moment. Next stop - Whitefish
Point.
"...the searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish bay if they'd put 15 more miles behind her..." Those of course are lyrics from Gordon Lightfoot's - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. On the way to Whitefish bay, I couldn't seem to get that song out of my head (imagine that). Anyway, before arriving at Whitefish Point, we stopped at the Upper Falls along Rt. 123. It was a nice view, however the $4 spent didn't even come close to Porcupine (from the Around the Lakes trip) . A short time later we arrived at Whitefish point. My Dad and I both enjoyed the view here, and were amazed to see Canada across the way (where we had been not that long ago).
Next, we followed the dotted (ie. scenic) road along the southern edge of Whitefish Bay. This was a fantastic road that I would recommend to anyone passing through the area. Oh ya, I have to mention here for Jeff that my Dad TOTALLY blew this turn. It was hilarious. I put on my turn signal (my Dad was leading), turned left onto the road and watched him continue down the road for quite a ways before his brake lights finally came on. :)
A short time later we were on Interstate 75 heading towards Mackinaw City. This road was posted at 70mph, but for some reason I had a hard time keeping it under 90. My Dad's ST did a good job at keeping up though I must say! Once at Mackinaw, I paid the $2 to cross ($1 each bike) and had fun looking down at the water through the grated bridge again.
After crossing the bridge, we exited on route 23 and headed towards Alpena for the night. Then it happened. I was riding along, minding my own business, enjoying the scenery, when all of a sudden the Eagles started signing to me in my head. No, I don't mean I was signing to myself. I mean I could hear the Eagles signing Hotel California to me. It was, shall we say, quite the "peaceful-easy feeling." I suppose this is another one of those things that is hard to describe in words. Oh well, I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about here.
Pictures:
Plowed Road ends - Dohhhh!
My VFR-SX (ie. dirt bike)
My tribute to "and what's this guy doing in
the water"
The Upper Falls along Rt. 123
Another shot of the Falls
I wonder if that's the Fitzgerald?
My bike at WhiteFish Point Harbor
Day 3 - Aug 7, 1999 (Saturday)
521 miles
From Alpena, we followed the Huron coast down to Standish. Then we headed west toward Baldwin. About 15 miles before Baldwin it started to sprinkle, so we pulled over and put the rain covers on our luggage. Sure enough, a short time later, it started to rain pretty good. That didn't stop me from, ummm, passing a few cars that I think were having "technical difficulties" with the water though. :)
A bit later we got detoured back over to Rt. 131. We then stopped for some gas before continuing towards Grand Rapids. Then, all of a sudden, like someone hit a switch, it started raining harder than "a two-peckered billy goat pissing on a flat rock." (haven't said that one for a while). It felt like I was getting stung with hundreds of little needles all over my chest. Then, to top it all off, we pull onto the I196 exit ramp, and traffic stops. I look ahead, see a major traffic jam and decided to divert south to 94 instead. This worked out great, and after a couple stops and about 3 hours or rain, the sky finally cleared up. I must say that I was very impressed with my "95% waterproof" AeroStich suit. It keep me bone dry. I wish I could have said the same thing for my not-so-waterproof boots and leather gloves.
Once into Illinois (yes, I gave the welcome sign a proper salute), we hooked up with the Tri-State, and I was home around 6pm.
Pictures:
Lake Huron
Summary
This really was a nice trip for me. Despite the short duration, I was still able to find that peaceful feeling of simply being out on the road. I'm really looking forward to the Appalachian trip coming up in October! Thanks to my Dad for making the time to take another trip with me. I enjoyed the company.
Links:
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