Couple of more stops and back to Canada – We headed back north on I-75 toward Mackinaw City, across Big Mac again and then immediately took a left onto US 2 West toward Escanaba, MI.  This route took us all along the north coast of Lake Michigan with several overlook rest stops and scenic views. 

At our first stop we got out and had a quick lunch while we checked out the view of the lake and watched the sea gulls.  Gail did a google search and we think the best choice was that they were Ring Bill Gulls.  They definitely had a black ring around their beak.  And they were relatively friendly or just used to being given treats! 

From Escanaba, we headed more west on Hwy 41&2 until they split, and Hwy 2 continued on to Iron Mountain, MI and then to Spread Eagle where we crossed the border into Wisconsin and the time zone to Central Time.

Our friends Roz and Jack from Miami have a family cabin on Spread Eagle Lake that they visit for a few months from mid-summer to early fall.  We had visited with them once before, so we were looking forward to “the Cottage”. 

The first day, Jack and I had an outing to Oshkosh for the Annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly In.  I had always wanted to go when I was flying back in the ‘80s.  It was about a 300 mile round trip through Green Bay, but it was worth it.  An amazing number of planes of all sorts including an old SBD Dive Bomber like the one that my Dad flew in as a radio/gunner during WWII.  We probably only saw about ¼ of the whole show.  And at the end of the day, they put on a great airshow with a variety of antiques, jets, aerobatic, and modern planes.  Always amazing to watch.

And while we were gone, the girls took the opportunity to have a quiet morning, then a little pampering:  massages, pedicures, manicures and a little shopping.  They cooked a nice dinner, which they ended up reheating for us since we did not get back until after 8:30 PM.

The next day was another quiet morning catching up on those normal things like email and laundry, but we were rewarded with a nice ride on the lake that afternoon on Jack’s new pontoon boat.  The girls even went for a short swim.  Later, we all went to a house concert at another home on the lake.  Josh Kaufman (Season VI winner of The Voice) and Cliff Ritchey.  Very nice evening listening to a variety of music under the stars!

A very nice but too short visit.  We reluctantly said goodbye and headed out to Copper Harbor, MI.  Yes, back in Michigan again.  Copper Harbor is the most northern point of Michigan on the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.  The Keweenaw Peninsula juts north into the middle of the lake and Copper Harbor is at the tip.

And it is at the northern end of US Hwy 41.  1990 Miles to Miami where it ends at Biscayne Bay.  And very close to our house!

We then took the Brockway Mountain Drive up to a scenic lookout (1340 ft).  Nice views of Lake Superior and the surrounding area.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Hunter Point Park to stick our feet in Lake Superior.  Still as cold as we remembered it from 2018!

Finally before leaving the area, we went out to Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary which is home to a great a stand of old growth northern hard wood forests with groves of eastern white pines that tower above the lower growth. Although there also seemed to be some birch trees almost as tall! The hike was easy and the the forest was filled with other trees and flowers. So nice to see these types of woods protected for others to see!

The next day we headed back into Wisconsin to Minocqua to meet our friends Deb & Chuck who we met sailing in the 2012 in the San Blas Islands in Panama.  We had last gotten together in 2018 when we sailed in the Apostle Islands. They came out to the campground to see the RV and then we all went into town for pizza at Alexander’s Pizza.  Another small world story, our friend Carmen from Guatemala knows the owner so we passed on a hello from her.   Good pizza too!  A short walk near the lake and we caught the end of a water ski show.

Deb and Chuck belong to a boat club that allows you to take boats out on many lakes throughout the US, so they arranged to have a 20 ft. ski boat for the day, and we took off touring the lakes.  In Minocqua, there are several interconnected lakes to explore.  We started on Lake Minocqua and headed to Tomahawk Lake.  After a few hours of enjoying being on the water, we stopped for lunch at the Lakeside Grill.  Then more exploring with a quick stop for Gail to jump in!  She always says a boat is to take her someplace she can get into the water!

After being on the boat, we all wanted to stretch our legs, so we decided to walk part of the Bearskin Trail.  It’s a nice wide trail for walking and biking that crosses a few of the lakes.   3 miles and we were all ready to take showers and relax.  It was so fun to see our Deb and Chuck.  What special friends we made during our Caribbean sailing trip!

The next day we started back to Canada.  Our first stop was in Superior, WI.  We had decided to try to do some of the Wisconsin Lake Superior Waterfall route on our way.    We tried 4 of them.  Two out of 4 were nice although, with waterfalls, there are often lots of stairs and one had over 200 steps to go down to see the falls! (even though the sign says only 197).  We ran out of time to make a few of the other stops.  Maybe next time.  But we did take the time to stop again for some smoked fish at River Rock Inn & Bait shop in Ashland, WI. (We had stopped there in 2018 and would definitely recommend it if you are ever in the area!)

Our last US stop before heading back to Canada was to International Falls, MI. also lovingly called Frostbite Falls or Icebox of the Nation since it is famous for having the coldest temperatures in the US many times during the winter! 

We headed out to Rainy Lake Visitor Center of the Voyageurs National Park and got my National Parks passport stamped.  We took a short walk to stretch our legs.  We actually had to use our bug head nets, which was one of the reasons it was a short walk!  Then a quick stop to see the Voyageur statue.  It turns out there was quite a controversy over the creation of the National Park and some of those that were against it had a giant statue built and placed on some of the land that was in question as part of their protest.  And then the last stop  for the day was at Smokey the Bear Park in downtown.

Tomorrow, we head back to Canada and a surprise stop!  I know you can’t wait to find out.