August 4, 2013 Lorraine’s Report
Hello everyone, it's time to write our blog for the week. Well, we moved this morning, just down the way to St Ignace, MI. Not very far, but enough to see new things again. It should be fun
So last Sunday we wrote our blog in the morning, then went out to check on a "Tourist Trap " in West Ishpeming,MI. called "Da Yoopers". I can not believe everything we saw; but I forgot my camera that day . There was lots of everything one could imagine from "the 7 wonders of Yooperland" to the world's largest running chainsaw, to the largest working rifle in the world. We spent a bit of time exploring it all, didn't buy anything, but spent quite a bit of time there. Since it was rainy, wet and cold (in the 60's), we enjoyed our day there. We stopped at Culver's and had their burgers and ice cream, a good ending to a good day.
Monday found us headed over to Indian Lake to explore that area. Indian Lake is a lake that is fed from below, by hidden springs. The lake is so clear you can see the bottom; on the bottom are patches of small bubbles, and from these bubbles comes the refreshing and renewing of Indian Lake; bubbles from the underground of that lake It is so interesting to watch and see. We rode a small raft, hand powered over to the other shore, then back again to see it. You could see all kinds of fish on the bottom, as well as the tiny bubbles. These bubbles refresh the lake by replacing 10,000 gallons a minute to the lake. This was a "must see" for us; we enjoyed it.
From there we went to Fayette. "Once a bustling industrial community, Fayette manufactured charcoal pig iron between 1867 and 1891". There were lots of buildings, a town hall, hotel, company offices and company homes. This was pretty neat to see, and oh have things changed since then. They called this a "ghost town".
Tuesday we went to the boardwalk. I got to put my feet into Lake Michigan that day. It was C O L D, and since it was cold outside, rainy and not nice, so was the lake.
Wednesday we left and went on into Sault Ste, Marie, MI. The locks are something else. Wednesday and yesterday we enjoyed going over and watched the ships going through the locks. It was pretty amazing to see them, we enjoyed the timing, getting there just when the ships were about to got through the locks.
Thursday we did laundry, your normal upkeep.
Saturday we went on over to a casino, the Kings Club Casino. This was the very first of its kind, a new Native American casino that started this whole shebang of gaming, not just in Nevada, but through out the nation. Chuck said it was a landmark case. We played there a bit and won.
So that's it for me. Today is my sister's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday, Thelma. Joy's birthday was on the 2nd, sure hope they went to Alaska. My birthday is Tuesday. Happy Birthday to us all.
Hugs,
Lorraine
8/4/13 Chuck’s report
We are still exploring the UP, so much to see up here. We may have to return someday because we won’t see/do everything for sure.
Last Sunday we were in Marquette. After writing our blog, we made another trip back into town, went to a tourist trap called DA YOOPERS Tourist Trap. And it really lived up to its name but then again it did draw us in. I don’t think we bought anything but it was something to see, they have lots of “stuff”.
Monday morning we headed out for Manistique, on the Southern side of the UP, along the shores of Lake Michigan. We stayed at the Kewadin Indian Tribe Casino. This tribe has five casinos in the UP, each one has a casino associated with the casino. This casino doesn’t charge anything for staying, just ask that you sign up so they know who’s there. They only have 30 amp electric power available at the sites, no water or power. We had emptied our holding tanks but needed to fill our fresh water tanks so one of the maintenance guys helped us get water. While we were filling the tank, he also gave me some information about the local area that helped us during our touring of the area. He also said if we wanted, he could set us up with 50 amp power, still no water or sewer.
So we moved over and got set up then headed out for our first tour of the area. We toured Indian Lake State Park and Big Springs, or the Indian name is Kitch-iti-kipi. It is the largest spring in Michigan and one of the main attractions in the UP. It is a fresh water spring with very clear water so you can see the water coming into the bottom of the spring, bubbling through the sands on the bottom and is one of the largest sources of water for Indian Lake.
The spring is about 40’ deep and is at a constant 45F so it doesn’t freeze in the winter. There is a passenger raft with a glass bottom that is attached to a cable stretched across the lake. Visitors can see the water bubbling up, old tree trunks and large trout through the crystal clear water. Unfortunately they don’t allow fishing here, darn. I think this is a must see if you are in Manistique area, we sure liked it.
Afterwards we headed out to Fayette State park and the abandoned town of Fayette. This town was a thriving industrial place back in the late 1800s. They manufactured pig iron for the steel mills that used to be in the upper mid-west. The town was located here due to its close proximity to the ore mines, had a natural harbor and was near limestone and hardwood forests. There was over 500 residents who worked/lived in/near the town. But the foundry was only in service for 24 years and when it shut down, the town died a slow death. This is a now a State park and they have restored some of the buildings and keep the lace up for visitors.
Later we stopped by a Big Boy restaurant for dinner and Lorraine had her first Walleye, she said it was “OK” but not salmon.
Next day we went back to town and walked part of the Boardwalk. They have built a 2 1/2 mile boardwalk along the shores of Lake Michigan that give folks access to the sandy beaches and the water. This was our access point for Lorraine to put her foot into the waters of Lake Michigan. We toured more of the town, checking out some of the residential area and downtown too.
Wednesday morning we decided to pack up and head out to Sault Ste. Marie. We stopped at the Kewadin Casino here, about two miles from the locks. We used their sewer dump and filled up our fresh water tank then picked out our spot and got set up. The campground host was off that day due to his wife getting surgery so I walked over to the casino to see about paying for our site. They charge $10/days but when we got their player’s card, they gave us coupons for 7 free nights and told us we could “earn” more, depending on how much we play in the casinos. So not a bad deal, not as good as paying us $30/day like the place last week but pretty good.
After getting set up, we headed into town to see the Soo Locks that were built to bypass the rapids of the St. Mary’s River. This is where Lake Superior dumps into Lake Heron, a drop of 21 feet. We were lucky, one of the large tankers that are on the lakes was ready to to come into the locks while we were there. It was amazing to see this 1000’ tanker line up, go into the locks, see it drop over 20’ then sail into Lake Huron. This is one of the busiest locks in the world with over 11,000 vessels per year going through them, anything from a row boat to large tankers over 1000’ long and 70’ wide. Only problem with the locks is visitors have to stay in the viewing area that doesn’t give the best view of the vessels going through but it’s still worthwhile seeing.
Next day we headed out to do our laundry, we haven’t had full hookups at the last few places we’ve been and it was piling up. The GPS showed three laundry mats in the area but all three happened to be on the Canadian side, not what we wanted. Finally I stopped to ask someone if there was a laundry mat on the US side and they told us where to find it. I was surprised to find there was only one laundry in a town this side, if anyone is interested in starting a business, I have an idea for you.
Later we walked over to the casino to try our luck on the slots. This time was my turn to have some luck, I made back all I’ve lost and gave enough to offset what Lorraine lost today too.
Next day we drove around town to check it out, stopped at Wal-Mart for a few supplies then headed back to the rig. Later we drove to another of the Kewadin Casinos, this one was in Hessel. We had been thinking about staying here for a few days but sure changed our mind once we saw where it and it’s campground. The casino is in the middle of nowhere and the campground is across the road. They only have 30 amp power at each site and there are enough trees that it would have been hard to get satellite access through them. Plus the sites were muddy and not very level, not really our kind of place. So end results, we decided to stay at Sault one more night instead of going to Hessel.
Saturday morning we headed out for another tour, this time following part of the shore along Lake Michigan. Once again we remarked how it looks like Western Washington or Oregon except the water is fresh, not salty. There are lots of trees, both evergreen and deciduous, lots of underbrush and of course, water everywhere, lakes, streams and rivers. Some of the shores are sandy, most are rocky and some are large cliffs, like the ocean.
Later we headed out to check out another casino, this one about 15 miles out of town. It is the home of the original, first every, Native Casino in the US. They started the casino and of course the authorities shut them down and then the lawsuits started. It went all the way to the supreme court and they were granted sovereignty over their own lands and opened the door for all the rest to follow. They still have the small casino in operation and have since built a much larger one too. They gave us $15 each free play for signing up for the player’s card plus gave Lorraine $20 free play later. So with that much of a head start, we both managed to leave with more money than when we started.
Later we returned to the locks and once again our timing was almost perfect. This time we only had a short wait and two tankers were coming in from Lake Huron and getting raised to Lake Superior level. Even though it was cool and the wind was blowing, it was a good trip. I read where the locks don’t use any pumps, just the difference in water level and the power plant just downstream supplies the electric power needed to open/close the gates. Because the only cost is the little bit of electricity ($0.11 per trip), there is no charge for any of the vessels using the locks. But the other operating costs, upkeep and maintenance of the equipment and grounds are all on the taxpayer. Oh well, guess I won’t get into a rant over this.
This morning we packed up and headed out once again, this time we are staying at another of the Kewadin Casinos. They have a nice park but once again we have electric power and water only with a sewer dump available when we leave. Now for the next few day our plans are to explore this part of the UP and maybe even some of the Lower Peninsula too. One thing about our travels up here, we have been traveling less than two hours to our next stop most of the days. It makes for short travel days and allows us to check out the local area on the day we get in.
The weather this last week has also been very much like what we were used to back in Bellingham, cool and rainy. We’ve had three thunderstorms up here, not something we get back home very often. A couple of days were cloudy most of the day, finally getting some sunshine late in the afternoon. The temperature has been getting into the 70s most days but a couple of days the highs were only into the 60s. Sort of like last week, the locals say this is more like normal weather for October, so much for the global warming theory.
But we are still having a good time exploring the UP. By the way, the Mackinaw Bridge is very close by and is what separates the UP from the rest of Michigan. The locals call themselves Yuppers and call everyone below the bridge Trolls. Just a bit of local information!
We are still planning on staying up North to see the colors this fall. We will probably stay around here for a week then head South to a 1000 Trails park in St. Clair, MI. after that. We plan on heading through Canada to Niagara Falls. At least that is our short range plans, as usual they are written in Jell-O and may change but that’s just fine with us.
Now to add some pictures and get this posted.
Gitche Gumee RV Park. That’s Lake Michigan shore on the right.
Like the flags flying. That’s the Manistique Casino we stayed at.
We toured Indian Lake State Park and Big Springs inside the park.
We haven’t seen too many deer but hear there are lots of around, especially at dusk.
That’s the hand powered raft in Big Springs.
Hard to tell but that water really boils from the bottom of the springs.
The water is cold but the fish seem to like it, they’re really big.
Really serene, that’s the river running from Big Springs to Indian Lake.
Fayette State Park and the abandoned town.
An osprey at it’s nest feeding the little one.
A few of the decorated moose in town.
The lighthouse is in Lake Michigan.
Lorraine putting her foot into Lake Michigan.
Looks like the ocean, with sea gulls too.
Traveling along Lake Michigan, heading towards Sault Ste. Marie.
The power plant on St. Mary’s River.
A tour boat going through the locks. The lock is full and they are draining it.
A picture of the great lakes showing their depth and the drop to the next lake.
Bridge into Canada, most days the traffic was backed up due to border waits.
Amazingly the roads are pretty straight up here.
This started it all, the very first Native Casino in the US.
That’s Lake Superior, our last time on the shores of Gitche Gumee.
Back at the locks with two large tankers heading up.
Notice the stairwell on the boat at the lower lake level.
That’s the same stairwell after the locks were flooded.
Nice statue in town.
Our new home for a few days.
Thanks Chuck
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