I concede that Wisconsin was a bit of a surprise for this would-be far rider. Yep, I’d of course been through there many times over the years, but never to there… I’d always been going somewhere else, so I’d never really gotten acquainted with that place or its people. Leisurely getting to and from Clinton, IA, from and back to the UP of Michigan had given me an opportunity to correct that oversight… One that turned out to be a previously missed opportunity for sure!
I like Wisconsin, and I really like the folks I came into contact with. Heck, I found them to be just like most folks from anywhere else! Who knew? Well, any reasonable person would, of course, it’s just that thinking abstractly or theoretically versus forming impressions by actually making contact in-person in their own natural setting are two entirely different things. So, this time at last, I had something more concrete to base my impressions upon. Even the landscape I found to be interesting and worth the time to cruise. I’m mighty glad to have had this unexpected series of events introduce me to that sliver of Americana…
One fine evening, we found ourselves in Powers, MI. A tiny hamlet in the southwestern corner of the UP just across the Wisconsin state line. We’d needed motion-lotion, and this rider had needed a break, too… My partner, an ‘ironman’ for certain, needed nothing, but his ride did… so… We stopped, topped off, consulted our Atlas, GPS, smartphones, etc., and concluded we could stop anywhere from then on and be very much on schedule.
Well, less than a mile from that place of well-timed respite was a motel meeting my requirements: Primarily, downstairs, park-at-the-door rooms! Being an advanced in age rider with gimpy knees and several heavy bags, I find stairs and hallways to NOT be my friends! That place we spotted surely got my immediate vote! It even looked plum inviting from the outside.
Alas, motels of that sort frequently turn out to be on the ‘vintage’ side of things, too, and with that comes a couple of predictable attributes… Slow hot water to the delivery spigot, creaking doors, worn carpets… and not exactly first-string players on the staff. This place did meet ‘expectations’, starting with the very pleasant young lady who checked us in. Really friendly… just a tad less efficient and thorough in the execution of her duties, it later turned out. Oh well… compromises are always necessary… The room was clean, however, and the beds tolerable… nearly minimum criteria… We do what we have to…
We struggled through nearly absent Wifi availability, but Mitch found the repeater located in an unlocked utility room midway between the office and our room, and when he moved it outside the utility room, the service actually worked rather well. The hot water… well, we just bit the bullet on that one and patiently waited it out.
Now, Mitch doesn’t normally drink coffee, so he didn’t get the full benefit of that glaring deficiency; however, I did receive the ‘full impact’ of that shortcoming! Oh well, it really wasn’t all that bad, as we spent two nights there after all… Rain, ya know, and that little matter of us engaging in, for me at least, truly delightful conversation and thereby allowing mid-morning to creep up on us before we’d realized it or made departure preparations!
Our second day there proved for this student of life to be the real prize from our stay. That first evening we’d gone to a rather nice restaurant recommended to us by several folks. It was, though, one of those commercial, ‘sterile’ type places that was long on looks and good food, but that warm engaging nature we enjoy was absent. Good for what we needed, but not the sort of place I’d go to watch a big game of socialize with friends. Ah, but that second day…
Yep, another place (that had been closed the day before) next door to the gas station that had stopped us in this small town in the first place proved to have everything I most enjoy in an eatery/drinkery! The atmosphere was more inviting and far less ‘commercial’, the bar-helper was extremely friendly and pleasant to chat with, and the food was actually even better than that the evening before. We’d found the ‘motherload’. And a good time was had by all…
The next morning, having just about talked ourselves out, we did manage to make a fairly early departure, and we headed for Copper Harbor, MI. Another rather small berg on the northern coast of the UP right on Lake Superior. We cruised into town, made our way down to the lake’s edge, parked and walked over to a bench where we could study the lake, harbor, and people engaged in various activities. Well, my smartphone, with camera feature, had been left on our girl, so… I wimped out on hiking back to get it, therefore… no pics again… Sorry about that…
Once remounted and making our way out of that very touristy town… we passed two parked Valks at the visitors center! A Blk & Silver IS and a Red & Blk IS… I reflexively thought of Trout Dude and MitchO… Dennis was still in Louisiana, however, and Mitch was with me riding a different item from his stable, so… Oh well, it did conjure-up many pleasant memories of amazing adventures shared with those two…
Following an uneventful evening in yet another motel (unless, of course, you count the double order each of wings & brews in the bar for dinner), it was time to cross the ‘Big Mac’ and return to the ‘hand’ of Michigan. We did find our way down to Jackson, MI, for two nights while we attended the annual Michigan Picnic… this time to be a pig roast, with a couple of most pleasant surprises to come with that episode…
Ever since I'd left that little hamlet in Idaho, I'd been pinning for some good biscuits 'n gravy. Only that one time in Clinton, IA, had I had any truly great stuff, though. Apparently I'd audibilized that unrequited desire, as Mitch had picked right up on my longing. Well, he found a place (GTS) in Jackson, MI, that was said to have fabulous B 'n G; the best around was the claim. OK, better go treat ourselves while we have the chance!
Breakfast the day of the Michigan Pig Roast…
The young waitress told us she'd been eating their proud product since she was a small schoolgirl, and it was really special! She even offered to pay our bill if we didn't agree... We placed our order confident we'd struck paydirt... With an endorsement like that, we just knew…
Well, she'd probably lapse into a full-blown case of the heebie-jeebies if she ever had my mother's best, but... I didn't have the heart to tell her; so, I lied and told her they were all they were cracked up to be... Does that make me a stinker? Hopefully not a politician!
Don't get me wrong, they were OK, just not what I'd had in Iowa or Idaho, and not up to snuff at all compared to what the women in my family put out. Oh well, culinary culture can be slow to radiate outward sometimes, so I do feel for the under-privileged in the hinterland... The bacon was downright stupendous, though, and that did make up for a whole bunch!
OK, our warm-up pork intake was complete, so it was then time to head out and see if we could find the pig roast place and our Valk folks congregating... Time to GTS once again. Dang! Mitch is rather impressive with his navigational skills, but he is modest, ya know. He gives much of the credit to his ‘aids’, that makeshift GPS he’s fabricated. Well, I’m giving serious thought to… nah, it just wouldn’t be the same for me. Sure, it would be far more efficient and no doubt lead us to some great roads we’d otherwise miss, but… I’ve had a lot of adventure due to missed turns, wrong turns, and U-turns… Perhaps later… but not now, I don’t think.
DDT
