UP Travel

Early Summer days Up North can be amazing.  The days are warm and super long and the nights are cool.  Yesterday was one of those, today promises to be another one.  Just after 6am the sun was already peeking above the horizon, and it didn't get totally dark until after 10:30 last night.  We had a cross breeze coming through the open windows of the RV that caused goose bumps--perfect sleeping conditions.

Unfortunately, sleep didn't come easy.  Somehow, the first night on the road is always problematic.  Doesn't matter where or when, I just never sleep well on the first night, even in perfect sleeping conditions. Looking forward to night two and some better rest.

We turned west down M-28 again and headed into Marquette, hoping to take in a couple things before the five-hour drive to Duluth.

First stop was Presque Isle, or so we thought.  We got there too early as the drive around the island opened at 10am and it was only 8:30.  So we headed over to the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse to check it out and take a walk on the pier.  This lighthouse looks more like a schoolhouse than a lighthouse as it doesn’t have the familiar tall tower and it has the distinction of being the oldest significant structure in Marquette, having been built in 1853.  Tours are given but we were too early for that also.

We took a walk on the adjoining pier, must have been a half mile long.  A nice walk on a pleasant day and it offered a great offshore view of the city of Marquette and one of the large iron ore loading docks in the bay.

Back to Presque Isle, now we were only 15 minutes early so we hung out in the parking lot and watched the *other* iron ore loading dock next to the park. This one was still active and had a freighter moored next to it.  The freighter was taking on ore from a series of railroad cars parked on top of the dock.  When a chute was lowered over the ship’s hold, it took less than 30 seconds for the entire contents of the railroad car to slide down into the hold, with a whooshing noise that could be heard for quite a distance.  Fascinating to watch.

The drive around the Preque Isle opened promptly at 10am and we drove the 2 miles on the narrow road to the Black Rocks on the far side of the island.  I don’t think they had RVs in mind when they put this road in, or at least they don’t trim the trees for a vehicle almost 12 feet tall.  We could hear limbs scraping the roof and hitting the kayaks sticking up on the back.

We were early enough to get a parking space in this small parking lot.  We talked to a couple who live in the UP and were commenting on the unusually warm weather.  They told us they have been here many times and they have seen ice floating in the lake at this time of the year.  This time, however, we saw two guys jumping off the rocks into the water.  Still cold and not swimmable for most normal people; after all, this is Lake Superior, but the warmth is rather unusual.  We are enjoying it, however.  We scrambled around on the moonscape of black rocks before heading on.

Near this area is something we were able to add to our *World’s Largest* collection.  Northern Michigan University has an athletic stadium which is housed in the world’s largest wooden dome.  143 feet tall and a diameter of 536 feet, this dome covers just over 5 acres and can be seen from quite a distance away.  It’s kind of a defining feature of this area.

Next stop was Sugar Loaf Mountain, which has a couple observation platforms offering a 360-degree view of Lake Superior and the surrounding area around Marquette.  Just a short hike up a bunch of stairs to the top and you are above it all.  Beautiful views and a great hike before driving for hours.

We had lunch here and then it was time to get some miles in.  We’ll have to come back to Marquette sometime.  There is a lot more to do here.

Now it was time to drive.  Five hours to Duluth.  As we drove away from the lake, it began to get hot.  Pleasant, shirt-sleeve weather on the shores of Lake Superior turned into nearly ninety-degree heat in the interior and we were driving a tin can that traps heat, even with the windows open.

We stopped in Ironwood, hoping for something to do.  The Stormy Kromer hat factory, which offers free tours, was closed on Saturday, so we ended up at another ​*World’s Largest*​, a tiny park which had some iron ore displays and the world’s largest Indian.  This is a fiberglass statue of Hiawatha, standing 52 feet high.  We took the obligatory picture.

The remainder of the drive would probably qualify for the World’s Hottest RV, but I don’t think there is such a category.

We knew we were approaching Lake Superior again near Duluth when the temperature suddenly dropped twenty degrees.  It was deliciously cool for the rest of the drive, and we made it to our destination, a 24-hour municipal parking lot at just before 7pm, local time.  We used this parking lot the last time we came through here last October, so we already knew this was a good boondocking spot in Duluth, Minnesota. We took a walk down the bike trail, having to don long pants and hoodies due to the chill in the air.  Being next to a lake makes a huge difference in temperature. 

We covered 313 miles covered today.