Pictures from the Upper Peninsula

Deb at campsite #1

Lakeshore cabin on South Manistique Lake

Liz on the porch

Air drying the shorts

Still lake

Deb naps

This one's for Mary...it happens even on vacation

Good chilly morning

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Seriously. We Did Nothing.

We’re back from the Upper Peninsula (for some reason I want to add an extra “n” to peninsula). We drove a lot…we thought we’d end up in the far Northwestern tip of the UP, but we got a little sidetracked in Door County, Wisconsin—which, by the way, we decided is too touristy for our tastes. But we ate some delicious whitefish there, so it wasn’t a complete bust.

Anyway, we eventually found the quiet lakes and north woods of the UP where we camped for a few nights…but rain drove us to seek our shelter in a cabin, which we eventually found on South Manistique Lake. Seriously, we did nothing but sleep and read and eat.

Last night we ate dinner at an Olive Garden on the way home, and I was sort of spellbound by the number of people all gathered in one place. We got very used to quiet. We didn’t turn on a TV, and the radio is essentially dead in my car because the antennae broke and I’m not gonna fix it, so there was no extraneous noise. Except the clanging of the oars on Deb’s rowboat.

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I Shake My Fist at You, Walnut Trees

You guessed it. It’s raining. Perfectly symbolic way to end this summer (although I want to quickly remind you that summer is NOT over yet…even though the yard is now littered with fallen leaves from the walnut trees). Speaking of walnut trees…those damned things can get a bit depressing. Yes, they’re huge and gorgeous and shade the yard just when the summer is at its hottest. But they’re the last tree to leaf out in the spring and the first tree to drop their leaves—usually beginning in August. I mean, please. I get a little bit blue when they first start to shed. Why this in-your-face reminder that winter is on its way? Okay, okay, okay. I got it. But remember, I’ve been to the UP…so, bring it on.

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Give Me a Dirt Road

We are back in our usual places, Reader. You wonder what I’ll remember most about our trip through the UP. I think I’ll continue to be struck by how rough it is up there…and how gentle…at the same time. Those Yuppers (that’s what they call themselves) are the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I used to believe that Southerners had the corner on hospitality, but I’ve learned that folks are nice and hospitable all over the world. They are no nicer anywhere than in the UP. Nice and hearty. Very very hearty. Those folks can take it. 

And the dirt roads. I love a good dirt road. I cannot drive enough of them. I love the sound it makes under the tires. 

And the lakes. Lakes lakes lakes. The colors on the lakes as the sun changes. The sound on the lake when a canoe and its fisher glide by. The sound of the coyotes across the lake at night. And the owl in the tree. And the wild noise a heron makes on a lake at sunrise. And the sight of the full moon reflected on the lake. And the stars the stars the stars. 

And how rundown a place will get under enough snow. The UP is not a place for fancy. 

I told Deb that if anything ever happens to her, I’ll eventually get in my car and head for the UP. It’s a beautiful place to get lost in. A gentle place that will toughen you back up. And a place where folk don’t ask much about you…they don’t care why you want to use their shower in their little motel…they just think about it and agree to $5.00. And if the water in their little motel is shut off because of a water-main break, they’ll give you the towels from room number 11 and ask you to bring them back from wherever you have to go to get water. Don’t look for me there. But I’ll eventually bring back the towels.

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Dirt under the Fingernails and in the Coffee

We’re only about three hours from home, but I want to upload this picture for Suzanne before she leaves for Maine. Though a nice cup of espresso after dinner by a campfire is still delicious, it’s not quite as much fun to drink without Suzanne.

Campfire Espresso

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Camping across the UP

We’ve been camping our way across the UP. Once we got over the fact that there were no cozy little cabins on quiet little lakes, we decided to pitch the tent in the most gorgeous spots. We’re surviving on smoked fish and cheese and Ritz crackers.

To stay clean, we talk local rundown mom-and-pop motor lodges into letting us use their showers and towels for about $5.

I’m still wearing the same shorts I left home in. I decided to change my t-shirt yesterday so I’d look a little different in the pictures.

No cell phone reception. No Internet. Nothing but a book and some long and gorgeous hikes.

I can’t upload pictures for you right now, Reader, because the signal is so weak and pictures take a while to upload. Suffice it to say that we look a little rough but relaxed with a breeze from Lake Superior blowing through our hair.

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Let’s Put Some Hard Miles on This Old Car

We are practically out the door for the UP. The car is loaded with camping equipment, but we’ve decided not to take the bicycles this trip. I guess we’ll stick with hiking and fishing. And we’ve decided to change the small matter of our eating habits this week. On our 4-hour drive to and from Indiana on Friday we consumed the most God-awful junk food…on the way there we ate Long John Silver’s lobster bites (gross) and hush puppies (yummy). On the way home I ate a Dairy Queen hamburger, french fries, Blizzard, and a diet Coke; Deb ate a chili cheese dog and a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate sauce. Delicious, but sort of sickening, too, you know.

So, yesterday Deb headed off to Fresh Market and made some wiser choices for us. This is what she chose as car food for today:

• a large bag of Movie Theater Popcorn (does this surprise you, Reader? Not if you know Deb. This woman thinks about popcorn more than anyone I’ve ever met)
• vegetable chips (this does not sound good to me. And it looks odd)
• 100% freeze-dried pears called “Crispy Pears”
• a little bitty bag of fresh trail mix including all the most wonderful nuts and dried fruits
• a small bag of baby carrots
• grapes
• 2 plums
• 3 bananas
• yogurt
• a fresh loaf of multi-grain bread (gorgeous! can’t wait!)
• 1/4 lb. hard salami (love it)
• 1/4 lb. Havarti cheese
• 1/2 lb. smoked cheddar (I can smell it from here)
• 4 bottles of fruit punch Vitaminwater

We’re off to a good start, don’t you agree? Now, I’ll have my iPhone with me, but as you can imagine, I’m not at all sure we’ll have any internet or AT&T access in the UP, so don’t expect any posts this week. I may surprise you with a line or two or a photograph, but don’t count on it. We’ll be home next Saturday fresher and healthier and sweeter.

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Walnuts Are Dropping in the Yard

Gosh, so many things to fill you in on…but I have to watch the length of these posts or I’ll get what-for from Suzanne. 

First: We both woke up yesterday with a clear decision…we’re going to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Sunday. Yes, it’ll be chilly there. Well, fine. Why bemoan it. Let’s just deal with the fact that summer is winding down, and let’s face up to it in the wildness of the UP. Bring it on. I’m pulling out the camping gear and the bicycles (and the golf clubs) and my long underwear and we are heading up there as far as we can go. Shit, we might just make it to Canada. 

Second: I had such a great time on my scooter last night. My best scooter-riding buds weren’t there, but 20 of my next favorites were. We rode over into Kentucky as a huge and hilarious group (right through Bengals traffic…which created a little stir), but I got to do one of my very favorite things on the way home—I got to ride the entire way from the Hofbrau House to my house (15-20 miles from downtown along Eastern Avenue/Riverside Drive) completely and utterly alone at night in the dark on a scooter. I just love that. For some reason, it makes me feel very happy and carefree.  

Third: My friend, Jay, wants to see pictures of my bicycle. (You can see a picture of Jay and his son, Sean, here.) Jay built all three of my bicycles, and I’ll tell you they are each one head turners. He wonders why there are no pictures of my bicycle on the blog. Jay…no one ever takes a picture of me on a bike. I usually ride all alone. The only pictures of my bicycle with me on it are from our vacations…but here’s a picture of the Rivendell in the back yard in the spring. I still think it’s beautiful every time I see it. 

 

Bess, Rivendell's Atlantis Made Better by Jay McKillop

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Updates 8/10/09

Updates:

1. We’re still unsure about where to go the first week in September. We’re thinking of just waiting to feel the weather that Sunday (August 30) and head in the opposite direction. 
2. We’re thinking either Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, or the Outer Banks, or a little vagabond road trip through Nashville, Memphis, and Asheville. Nashville to Asheville. Did I spell that right? Something lost a letter. 
3. I’m hungry for some blues and barbeque. 
4. Deb didn’t do so well in her golf tournament. But she didn’t do badly either. She’s having a lot of hot flashes lately, and I think that has something to do with it. The next round is next Saturday, and I’m thinking she’ll come home with a trophy. She’s kind of hard on herself.
5. Our friend Maria had her stroke almost 10 days ago. She has opened her eyes, seems to recognize people, responds to commands, and is now breathing entirely on her own. We last saw her on Friday night. I think Deb will see her again this morning. 
6. Did someone turn the humidity up? To 1000 %?
7. I am writing a short story. It has a good title. It’s right here on this blog but you can’t see it. It’s on a page I’ve tagged as “private” which mean I’m the only one who has access to it. It’s right here. I can see it but you can’t. Right. You can’t see it. But it’s right here. I see it. You can’t. 
8.  I know where Ben and Bernie usually play golf on Friday afternoons, so I’m going to find them and take their picture for you. 
9. But I can’t do it this Friday because we’ve got our annual tell-us-how-much-money-we-don’t-have meeting with our financial advisors. 
10. I need some new clothes. I need some pine-cone colored Keens like my little 11-year old friend, Anne…Heidi and Cathy’s oldest daughter. She is too cool. “Nothing girly,” she said. Got it. 

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