JULY 25, 2015

MUNISING, MICHIGAN

We have experienced some really poor Internet service over the past few days – even when using my iPhone as a hotspot.  All of the campgrounds have free Wi-Fi but the speed has been very slow and getting text let alone pictures posted has been impossible.  I found that I could get marginal Internet this morning - so the latest post has gone live.

We left Superior, Wisconsin, Thursday morning for Munising, Michigan.  The distance was only 270 miles but it was completely over 2-lane 55 mph roads that dropped to a 25 mph speed limit through every little community spaced about 10 miles apart.  I was more than ready to stop when we pulled into the Munising City campground.

We are on the northern shore of Lake Superior and are fortunate enough to have a huge site.  The campground is full due to this being the prime tourist season up here.  Now, when I say “up here” that’s exactly what I mean.  This is about as far north as I would ever want to be.  Munising is part of what is called the "Upper Peninsula", or to the locals the "Yoouper Peninsula" 

Today’s high temperature did not even hit 70 and the need for A/C in the camper has been minimal. Looking at the weather forecast for Sunday it will not even get up to 60. The surface temperature of the lake water is reported to be about 56 degrees and quickly drops to 40 degrees about 5 feet under the surface.  While I have absolutely no desire to even wade in this cold water there are a whole bunch of folks with blue lips playing in the water.

One of the popular meals here is called a “Pastie”.  Where I grew up a pastie was something you would find in a strip club covering a part of the female anatomy.  The pastie here is what I would call a “Pot Pie”, but there is no pot.  It is a huge baked roll all sealed up with a mixture of meat and vegetables inside.  It is served with gravy and slaw.  The story behind this is that the miners in this area took them to work in a paper bag for lunch.  They were stuffed with any leftovers in their household.

We had our lunch at a local eatery called Muldoon’s.  Nancy and I ordered the chicken pasties.  Some of the others in our group ordered beef.  They were tasty but IMHO had too much bread.  I ended up not eating the bottom of my roll.

This afternoon we took a sightseeing boat tour on Lake Superior along the tall rock cliffs know as the Picture Rocks.  The boat was a 60 foot craft that carried maybe 50-60 people.  The crew member that narrated the tour did an excellent job of telling us about the area, Lake Superior, ship wrecks and winter weather.  Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes.  It is actually the third largest fresh water lake in the world!  In square miles it is bigger than North Carolina.  It is hard to imagine that it was cold enough this past winter for the entire lake surface to freeze.  That just boggles our minds.  Just like the ocean, you look across the lake and do not see the other side.  While the water was calm today, when the wind picks up the lake can have waves over 20 feet high and is the graveyard for many ships.  Yet right now, you will find folks in canoes and kayaks skimming along the shore line.

Tomorrow we will probably just check out the quaint little town of Munising if it is not raining – which is a good possibility.

Sunday we leave here for Mackinac City, Michigan.  Mackinac is also considered part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This will take us across the Mackinac Bridge ($20 toll) and down the east side of Lake Michigan.  While this area does not have the awe we experienced in the Badlands and mountains back west, it is uniquely beautiful and different than the landscape we are familiar with back home.  But, no matter how beautiful it is, I would not want to live here in the winter.

 Shore line of Lake Superior at our campground

 Our campsite in Munising.

 

 Mr. Muldoon?

This is a Pastie.........

This is a "sister" boat to the one we were on for the Picture Rocks Tour

All of the Photos below were shot from the boat on the tour.  The colors in the rocks (limestone) are from minerals being pushed into the rock by water pressure and then dripping back down.  The caves and arch are all from erosion of softer rock.

 The water in shallow areas appeared green.  You could easily see the bottom in 20 feet of water as shown here.

 This is a waterfall (or infall) at a place called Mosquito Beach.  Keep in mind the water is COLD and outside temperature 69 degrees.  We watched these kids slide down the rocks under the waterfall.

MONDAY, JULY 22, 2014

SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN

We left Medora, ND, Saturday morning and drove straight across the state of North Dakota to Barnesville, Minnesota.  We stayed the one night in a city owned park that provided water, sewer and electric hook-ups.

The next morning we pulled up our jacks and headed for Superior, Wisconsin, where we were to meet up with Lavern/John, Skip/Susan and Torbin/Patty.  Our stay in Superior is scheduled to be for three nights.  I'll share more about this area in another blog posting.

We have been without an Internet connection for the past two nights - even with the Verizon Hot Spot on my iPhone.  Therefore, I was not able to share anything about our last night in Medora.

As I mentioned earlier, we had bought tickets for the Pitchfork Fondue and the Medora Musical show.  Both of these events were held on top of one of the taller hills in the Badlands at an absolutely beautiful location looking out at the North Dakota landscape as far as the eye could see.  There was a slight haze in the air that didn't seem to fit the location.  We were told it was smoke from the forest fires further west in California.  We could not smell smoke but the answer seemed plausible.

The facility had a "cooking area" with three large fondue pots appearing to be about 250 gallons each.  Huge Rib Eye steaks were poked onto the prongs of pitchforks.  When it became time to cook the steaks the loaded pitchforks were plunged into the bubbling fondue pots.  All steaks were cooked about the same - medium to medium well.  Patrons got in line for a buffet offering beans, salad, baked potato, slaw, chocolate brownies, cinnamon doughnuts and water or lemonade.  Once your tray was full from the buffet you stopped to receive your steak and then found a convenient picnic table to enjoy your meal.  The steaks were delicious and for me seasoned and cooked just right.  I can't say I have ever eaten a whole steak that has been boiled in oil, but I do remember the fondue craze from back in the 70's where there was a smaller pot of hot peanut oil in the center of the table and you cooked individual chunks of chicken, beef and vegetables in the pot yourself.  Come to think of it, I believe I may still have a fondue set in the original box colored in harvest gold packed away in the barn back home.  Maybe I should find it and bring it on a trip for a group fondue?

After our dinner we worked our way over to the area where the musical was to be presented.  A 3-level escalator took us from the top level down to the seating area where our seats were literally carved out of the hill (mountain?) side.

Since we had bought our tickets late our seats were in what one might call "the nose bleed section".  We were up high in the seating area meaning seeing the faces of the performers without binoculars wasn't possible.  But, our view of the staging area and the backdrop of the beautiful Badlands was unsurpassed.  The Badlands have been described in numerous ways.  One often quoted is, "Hell with no fire".  Another is, "The most beautiful and restful environment imaginable".  I choose the last one.  Of course, if I was trying to cross the Badlands on foot, horseback or with a heavily laden covered wagon pulled by oxen I am sure I would refer to them as hell.  We must remember this is the way our pioneer forefathers and mothers crossed the west - long before paved highways, tunnels and bridges.

The stage was set-up so that the different scenes could be moved in and out on tracks.  The lighting and sound system were exceptional as were the performers.  Medora has been putting on the musical for 50 years.  Obviously a lot has changed since it started.  It has become a destination event for people from all over the world.  The entertainment was nothing but top class. 

We were further entertained by a pair of Elk on the huge hill behind the stage.  They were not part of the show but keep coming to the top of the hill - perhaps to see what was going on.  At one point a cowboy on horse back rode up to the hill and guided the Elk into another area, but they eventually managed to get back into the spotlight.  I am thinking these animals were not wild as they did not seem to fear the horseman.

The grand finale for the show featured an American Flag projected onto the hill in the background including the logo of the Medora Musical at the very end.  This was absolutely a great show and one I am extremely glad we attended.

We really loved this part of the country even if our campers, trucks, clothes and carpets are now covered with a fine red dust.  Coming down the highway yesterday behind Wayne & Margaret's RV I laughed at the pink to red color of the roof, which is normally white.  Some serious vehicle washing will need to be done.

BTW - I am writing this as I sit in the waiting room of NUUS Truck Center in Duluth, MN.  The air conditioner compressor on the Volvo locked up and quit putting out cold air shortly after we left Barnesville yesterday.  So, it is either pay up and get it fixed or swelter as we drive down the road.  With several thousand miles still ahead of us and the potential for hot, muggy July and August weather I decided it was not a convenience that could wait for my personal attention back in Virginia.

 Steaks on Pitchforks ready to be put into the fondue pots in the rear of the photo.

 Natural backdrop of the Dakota Badlands as seen from the picnic table where we ate our "Pitchfork Fondue" steak dinner before the musical.

 First photo is one of the Elk on top of the mountain.  The red arrow points to them.  The second photo (above) is just a zoom-in on the Elk so you can see the size of their massive antlers.

View from our seats of the stage set.  Notice the mountains of the Badlands directly behind the stage.

The "Old West" buildings have been rolled on stage and the musical show has begun.

 After the intermission.  The sun has gone down and the lights are on.

The America Flag projected on the mountain side behind the stage.

Medora Musical projected on the mountain.

July 19, 2014

Medora, North Dakota

THE DAKOTA BADLANDS

There is not much in Medora.  It is a small, quaint little community - one of those, "Don't blink or you'll miss it" type of towns.  Still, it is obvious that the people here are proud of their town and do everything possible to make tourist like us comfortable.

What is here that I have longed to see are the Dakota Badlands.  They are majestic, different and speak of history at every mountain, mineral formation and grassland.

We started our tour of the Badlands by entering Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  The "loop" through the park is about 36 miles - much less than we encountered in Yellowstone.  The scenery is breathtaking.  There is nothing on the east coast to compare to this. 

While we have previously encountered Buffalo, or Bison, in South Dakota and Wyoming, it was still exciting to come across a heard of the huge animals in this park.  But, perhaps one of the most interesting animals we encountered were the little Prairie Dogs.  There were thousands of these little critters either playing, standing outside their underground burrows or digging new holes.  It is hard to believe how dangerous the underground homes were (are) to horses that could easily drop a hoof into a hole and come up lame.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is also home to wild horses.  They live, breed and gallantly run across the plains unencumbered by man or his saddle.  I was told that they are occasionally checked by a Veterinarian to be sure they remain healthy and disease free.

Nancy, Margaret and I decided to visit the "Petrified Forest" in the park.  Here you can see the fossil remains of trees that stood tall and mighty some 58 million years ago.  This entire area was formed by volcanoes, ice sheets, rain and wind.  The softer rocks quickly dissolved away from the more dense material leaving behind some pretty strange looking formations.  Anyway, to get to the petrified forest we had to drive 7 miles down a red dirt road and then hike another 1-1/2 mile through the Badlands.  The red dust from the road billowed up in huge clouds and penetrated every crack and crevasse on the truck.  Poop from wandering cattle and Buffalo along the road splattered up under the fenders coating the rear flaps with the grassy mess.   Fortunately, I was able to wash much of the dust off today thanks to a kind manager at the campground.  Vehicle washing is not normally allowed.

Torbin and Patty joined our caravan yesterday - we now have four Cedar Creek's heading for FROG.  Skip and Susan should join us when we reach Superior.

Tonight all four of us (couples) are going to the Medora Musical, billed as a fantastic outdoor on-stage show and an event called the "Pitchfork Fondue" where steaks are put onto the prongs of a pitchfork and roasted over a bed of hot coals.  It will be interesting to see just how this works out.

I will share some photos and comments about this event the next time I have a chance to add to the blog.

Tomorrow we leave Medora and head completely across North Dakota to Barnesville, just east of Fargo.  Barnesville is actually just a overnight stopping place.

For those that asked, Oscar is doing just fine.  He constantly enjoys exploring the new smells found at each campground or stopping place.  Nancy gave him a bath today and the red dirt just rolled off discoloring the water in the bottom of the shower.  He is not too keen of baths but we now have a nice clean puppy.  I hope he can stay that way for at least a few days.

 Majestic view of the Badlands from the truck.

 Badlands view.

 Our campground

 

  Strange Rock Formations.

Wild Horses in the Park

Buffalo Herd

58 Million year old petrified tree stump.

Yes, I know.  I am two days behind again.  Problems with poor Internet connections and being tired are the culprits.  We are in Miles City, MT heading for Medora, ND.  I will do my best to get caught up.

JULY 15, 2014

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

WYOMING

We left Cody at 8 :00 a.m. and began our drive through Buffalo Bill State Park to the east entrance going into Yellowstone.  The drive to the entrance took an hour so we did not get into the park until around 9 :00 a.m.

 If you look at the map at the end of the text you will see our route highlighted in red.  This route took us across Sylvan Pass at an elevation of 8,530 feet.  This took us around the beautiful shoreline of Sylvan Lake accented by even higher mountain peaks still covered with snow.  The temperature was in the upper 60's when we stopped to make some pictures at the lake.

A little further down the road we began skirting the shoreline of  Yellowstone  Lake.  This is a huge lake with a surface elevation of 7,733 feet.  Parts of the lake are more than 400 feet deep.   This lake makes Lake Anna look like a farm pond.  We intersected with the road making the lower loop of the park at  Fishing  Bridge. There is a huge RV park here that has full hook-up sites that can be reserved.  I think that this is where we will try to get a campsite if we ever come back to Yellowstone.  We continued to follow the road next to the lake shoreline to the West Thumb Geyser Basin where we began to see clouds of steam rising just like the forest was on fire.  Speaking of fire, we observed huge areas that were burned by a fire several years ago.  All of the standing trees were dead giving the appearance of toothpicks dotting a sea of new green vegetation.  The fire must have been massive.

 We went through Craig Pass at an elevation of 8,262 feet and crossed the Continental  Divide.  We stopped at the Visitor Center for Old Faithful.   We parked in a lot for  RV's and noticed the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile a few spaces away.   I have no idea why it was there but it made an excellent photo opportunity for Me, Nancy and Oscar.

 It was a fairly long walk to the area where Old Faithful is located.  We arrived at around 12:30 p.m. and noted the next expected eruption was 1:32 p.m.  We spent some time walking around Old Faithful and looking at some of the smaller geysers.  That was when the sky's opened up and it started pouring rain.  Along with several hundred other people we made a mad dash for the Visitor Center.  By this time the temperature was in the 50's.  The gift shop was packed with people dressed in shorts and T-shirts buying jackets and sweatshirts.  I was glad we had the foresight to bring our own jackets.

It was still raining when time for Old Faithful's eruption arrived.  I found a spot in front of a window in the visitor center where I could make photos.  I wasn't really all that impressed.  In fact it was sort of a letdown.  The place was too "Disney" and lacked the atmosphere of the non-commercialized parts of the Park.  Like Disney, there were more people in the crowd that spoke a language other than English.

We left Old Faithful and meandered around at least a half-dozen geyser basins.  The area is surreal with all the bubbling cauldrons, steam vents, mud pots and geysers.  You stop and think, "I am standing on top of a volcano".  It is really a strange feeling.

Our next big stop was Canyon Village.  There you can view the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  The canyon is some 22 miles long and 400 feet deep.  The Yellowstone River runs at the bottom of the canyon which includes two massive waterfalls.  There are overlooks at the top of the canyon and trails that go down into the canyon.  We were so tired of walking that we elected to stay on top and visit the overlooks on the north rim.

We drove back down stopping at the Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron before back-tracking from Fishing Bridge to Cody.  All total we spent 14 hours on our trip into Yellowstone.  We saw a lot but still missed even more.  I feel like we could spend at least a full day at the canyon.  We did not take the upper loop to Mammoth Hot Springs or Tower-Roosevelt.  I guess they will have to wait for the next visit to Yellowstone.

The opportunity to visit the park was extremely exciting.  It is a beautiful place with many wonders.  The photos below are only a small sample of over 200 that we took.

 

We encountered Bison, Mule Deer, Elk and Black Bear in the park.  Note the pretty yellow flowers and the backdrop of burned forest and dead trees.

Perhaps the best photo of them all?

Sylvan Lake.  Yes, that is SNOW on the mountains in the background.

 We are following a tour buss heading toward Sylvan Pass.  This gives you an idea of the mountains we had to cross.

 We encountered many geyser fields along our route.  The clouds of rising steam make it look like there was a fire.

 We finally made it to Old Faithful.  The crowds were thick and it began raining.  The temperature dropped into the low 50's.

Certainly not the best picture of Old Faithful.  The rain and crowds kept me from getting a better pic.

 We encountered scores of hot pools along our route.  The water in this one was crystal clear and the cavern descended out of sight.  The blue color is from copper deposits.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  I shot this photo from a south rim overlook.  The stream at the bottom is really the Yellowstone River.

This is the best shot I could get of the first waterfall on the Yellowstone River going into the canyon.  We could easily spend two days here exploring the catwalks down into the canyon and visiting both the North and South rim.