The U.P. & Gitche Gumee

I left southeastern Wisconsin and drove north through all of the state, past Green Bay, and into Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I arrived at J.W. Wells State Park, and was pleased with the size of the sites and how few were occupied. I selected one that allowed me to look out upon Lake Michigan from my rear picture window:


I found nearby a trail system in state forest, bordering a mirror-smooth flowing river, so naturally had to get in there and put a new coat of mud on the Remedy:


My next drive took me north again across the breadth of the U.P. to the shores of Lake Superior. I've always held a fascination for this lake, from seeing it's wolf's head shape on maps, to learning the words to Gordon Lightfoot's classic "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald":

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee".
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early."

So, after all these years, I finally lay eyes on the icy waters of Gitche Gumee (seconds later I had a shoe full of it!):


Remember, all of these photos can be viewed larger by clicking on them:


Here is a little sand sculpture carved by the relentless north wind:



The next day I took a drive into Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, where I stood atop 300 foot tall sand dunes:


And took the dogs onto 12 mile beach:


Walked through white birch forest:


And came home in time to catch the sunset over the lake: