Greetings to everyone.

June 18th we drove to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The locals call it the UP and I will call it that, also. The locals call themselves Yoopers if they were born and still live in the UP. We were advised to try pasties. This was a staple of the mining community. It is a potato, carrot and meat combination in a crust. It can be served plain or accompanied by either
gravy or catsup. Pasty rhymes with nasty, not tasty. When it comes to eating them they are tasty not nasty.

We stayed in the town of Ishpeming. We went to 2 museums. The first is the U.S. National Ski and Snowboarding Hall of Fame and Museum. Ishpeming is the home of the first known skiing competitions individually and as a team. They have antique grooming equipment, a cable car, t-bars, trophies and a lot of memorabilia.

The second museum is the Michigan Iron Industry Museum. It covered the history and development of iron ore, mining and transporting the ore. Through photographs and a movie it covered the hard and frequently unpleasant aspects of the miners and their families. We gained more incite about the "company store". Tennessee Ernie Ford sang the story of the company store and the strangle hold it had on mining families and it was not an exaggeration.

The UP is really beautiful. The trees are tall and plentiful. There are lots of hiking trails and some spectacular waterfalls. We have had a streak of cool to cold weather and a lot of rain. It has limited some of our plans. I have done a little rock hounding along the lake shores. The glacial movements have broken down the mountains and the waters have polished and shaped the rocks. The color and shapes are varied. I have found fossils, agates, jasper and many stones that I can't identify.

On June 23rd we drove to Munising. Much to our surprise we could not get local channels on our TV in the campground. We were able to get satellite programs. This is another area with good trails and waterfalls. Our favorite waterfall was Miners Falls with an impressive 60 foot cascade.

We spent the better part of a day Grand Marais. This part of the country was famous for logging the enormous white pine trees. We went to the place where the trunks were hauled to a great slide in the sand down to the water. Because of road construction we took a 12 mile detour on what is called Adams Road. There are large areas of downed trees, some scrub bushes, sand and ponds. The ranger at the station told us that the white pine were not replanted and that the sand and little soil could no longer sustain large trees.

We did get to see 2 fawn. They were on the road and watching us until another vehicle came by. Then they flipped their tails and hooves and disappeared We haven't seen young spotted deer in a while except in a zoo. The doe came out to look for them and followed them into the trees.

Rainy cold weather continued until the last afternoon in Munising. We took our chances and went on the Pictured Rocks Cruise. The earlier cruises of the day had ended prematurely due to 8 foot waves. The water was rough and a few people were sick. The sunset cruise has the wonderful angles of the setting sun hitting the 200 foot colorful rock formations that rise out of Lake Superior. It was breathtakingly lovely. It was a grand way to end our stay in Munising.

Our next stop was an international one. We arrived in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan on June 29th . The campground is located on the U.S. side of St. Marys River. The Canadian side of Sault Ste Marie is visible from the campground.

The first day we went to see the Soo Locks. We have been to several Corps of Engineering locks during our travels this year. This is the most northern set of locks. The Poe and MacArthur locks can handle the huge 1000 foot long tankers. That night we went to a summer concert at the park and heard Irish music and ballads.

The next day we went to the Valley Camp, a maritime museum. We have been to a number of these but this was different if only because it explained the November 1975 tragedy when a storm destroyed the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald. All 29 crew members perished. They had been in radio contact until the end so the whole story was told.

That evening we went to the waters edge and waited until after 10:00 to watch the fireworks for Canada Day. The barges were in the river and the reflections added to the beauty.

We crossed over into Ontario the next day . We went to the Locks but they are not operating during a renovation. The Bushplane Museum was great. We have been to airplane displays but this was unique. We had not seen bush planes or seaplanes since we were in Alaska. One of the films showed how efficient these planes are in scooping up water and bombing forest fires.

The Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site has the oldest stone building Northwest of Toronto. The building dates back to 1812 and was part of a wealthy fur traders lands. He and his wife were the parents of 13 children. She was the daughter of an Indian Chief. They had a significant effect on the region economically and politically.

Returning to the U.S. was an odd experience. Traffic was slow but steady as we headed to the border crossing. All 6 lanes were open. Then all traffic flow stopped. We did not move for at least 20-25 minutes. We will never know what caused the delay of all lanes. Terrorists? Coffee break? Bathroom break? It is just another mystery unsolved.

On Saturday we went down to the river again. This time it was to watch a tugboat parade. They ranged from small to very sizeable. A few were decorated and some had a pirate theme. All of them were tooting their horns and they were waving madly at us. When I say us, I mean a big portion of the people at the campground. It was the 4th of July weekend and there were no vacancies.

Saturday evening about 7:00 we went on a Twilight Walking Tour led by Mary and Jim Couling. They told stories, sang songs and gave a history of the people who came to Sault Ste Marie. They included those who built the locks, fur traders, voyageurs and tribal Indians. It was a very pleasant way to learn a lot in a little time. There were only 6 of us on the tour and we learned that the other 2 couples were staying in the same campground.

On the 4th of July we saw the town parade. It was nice but had a small town feel. There was only one float but a bunch of old cars and tractors. What the heck...;a parade is a parade. I mentioned a tugboat parade. On the 4th there were tugboat races on the river. Once again we went to the river. We were a little bewildered. There was no starting line or even a signal that the races had begun. The only obvious rule seemed to be size. All of the tugboats of the same or similar size raced together. I must confess that we aren't even sure who won.

Yes. One more time we went down to the river. This time to watch fireworks for the 4th of July. There was a good sized crowd all sitting comfortably in chairs. There was a lot of laughter. Cameras were ready to capture the moment. Twilight faded into night. The fireworks began accompanied by oohs and ahs. And then the rain and the wind came. Oh well. Maybe next year.

We hope your Canada Day or 4th of July was great.

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