Day Tripping

The old saying "wild horses couldn't drag me away" is applicable to me and where I live when it's summer.  We put up with some helacious winters up here on the tundra and I'll be damned if anything could entice me to go elsewhere once it finally gets nice out!  Why would anyone put up with the weather we who live in the far north do?  It's simple.  It's beautiful here and it's not crowded with people like the places that have wonderful weather are!  Yes, we get our yearly flock of tourists but come September when they go home it's our turn.   

My new scooter came home just in time for me to be able to enjoy this late summer early fall season before I have to put it to bed for the winter and I've been going hell bent for election to get in all the time I can before the days of freezing arrive.

The transportation...

This is a 1986 250 Honda Helix scooter.  It's a wildly fun bike and even has a stereo!  The scooter belonged to my dad.  Dad put 11,000 miles on it and I'm thinking it won't be long before I add another 11,000.  This is more of a motorcycle than a scooter because of it's size, but it's got a scooter body which makes it more comfortable to ride than a motorcycle...

My travels take us along the nooks and crannies of northwestern Wisconsin and the very edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and areas in between.    There is no such thing as a dull ride and I could do this for years and always find something new to see.

This day I started towards Ironwood Michigan, not really caring if I made it there or not but it gave me a direction in which to head. 

Especially fun is the fall colors are starting to come out and every now and then there is a glimpse of nice color..

My first stop ended up to be a 30 mile round trip detour out of the way but as I was saying...the UP just gave me a direction to go in, never mind if I actually get there, right?  I had never been to Copper Falls so I decided I wanted to go there first.   The road to Mellen Wisconsin where Copper falls is, is beautiful and hilly and winds with sharp curves.  This lends to a lot of interest over what could be around the next corner. 

Copper Falls State Park is much bigger than I imagined so I'll have to go back and explore more of it..

There was a lot of bridges and stairs...

The second stairs here lead to a fire tower with what I'm sure are amazing vista's.  I'll have to go back to climb those stairs when I'm driving my car as I don 't think it would be a good idea to do that AND ride the scooter!

We haven't had a lot of rain so the falls are pretty quiet. 

After a little hike I decided to head back to the scooter and the road to Michigan.

I have been to Little Girls Point before, just across the border in the UP but it was during winter, and this is the first time I visited when it was still warm...

I wondered what the lodge was like but it must be private because the road was closed

There's a good size park and camping grounds at Little Girl's Point and it's not crowded...

Huge driftwood logs

A rock pickers paradise...

Lake Superior as far as the eye can see

I had spent a lot of time getting to the U.P. so I couldn't really stay that long but I was in a riding mood anyway since this was my first adventure on my new bike.   I wanted to check out Superior Falls which is on the border of the U.P and Wisconsin. 

The Montreal River.  To the right is Wisconsin and to the left is Michigan.

Below this spot on the river is a huge dam and below the dam is Superior Falls.  I hear it's best viewed in Spring and since we haven't had rain to speak of, I wasn't about to climb down this steep trail to have a look only to be possibly disappointed!

I'm sure the vistas are breathtaking but this is another one of those "I want to arrive in a car" when I do it things.  It's a LONG ways down...

By now I knew that I'd be in trouble if I didn't aim my bike towards home and still have a little time to lollygag along the way so I headed back to Wisconsin.  I had one mroe stop I wanted to make which would make my day complete!  Yes, I took the next two pics while driving my scooter and as you can see, the big windshield is very welcome on the bike!

I had to stop at Saxon Harbor to see what it looks like during summer.  This is another spot I've only seen in the dead of winter...

Saxon Harbor is one of those places I could visit again and again, just to see the changes with the seasons.   The last time I was here there were ice houses on the frozen tundra

The red cliffs in the backround are over by Superior Falls

I could watch this view all day

There's a little stockade like picnic spot at Saxon Harbor and this one little hut with a picnic table for when it rains

When I left Saxon Harbor I had to bee line it home in order to make it before dark.  It hadn't occured to me to being clear glasses for night riding and I only had very dark sunglasses.  Well, you saw my windshield!  Not a good idea to ride with out eye protection and this meant high tail it home time for me!

I rode 264 miles that day!

Yesterday I took a 185 mile journey towards Bayfield and it's environs.  Here it's past the middle of September and it's much warmer than what we had in July!   Not to ignore opportunity when it comes knocking I set off on another adventure...

This time I headed along the Lake Superior Circle Tour route until I made it to Herbster which is about half way to Bayfield.  At Herbster I headed into the Chequamegon-Nicollet  National Forest for an amazingly beautiful ride.  I ran out of pavement and since I had never been there before wasn't really sure how far it was back to solid road and didn't stop a whole lot but this spot intrigued me.  I imagined an old farm house in the yard with people enjoying beautiful mountain vista's year round. 

This was a high elevation already and I imagoned what it might be like to live here in winter.  These people had a beautiful farm but they also had an airstrip!

I'd want a plane if I lived here too!  There was literally miles in between residences, with a few seasonal cabins dotting the roadsice here and there...

It was a beautiful ride but I was ready to be back to pavement.  Of course, with pavement comes civilization as we know it.

The reward for the miles of dirt road were rewarded with many miles of brand spanking new blacktop!

 

I came across this old vendor truck outside of Washburn and I recognized it right away.  I've seen it on Madeline Island at Tom's Burned Down Bar.  The truck is fully equipped and probably a steal at $5,000.00.  I could see me touring around in it with my glass and beads and torch with a little trailer behind it for sleeping. 

For the heck of it I headed up to mount Ashwabay...

And then down to Friendly Valley Beach

There was someone trying to learn to wind surf.  She was having some problems but maybe it wa due to not much wind. 

It's possible that the lack of a breeze was her problem but she dumped quite a bit.  You need a wet suit for this activity on Lake Superior!

I aarrived in Bayfield to see a whole lot of other people had the same idea today as I did to go there so i didn't really stick around.  The scarecrow contest is in full swing but I'll go enjoy it during the week when there aren't so many people.

I did take a couple of scarecrow pics though before I headed out of town...

I checked out one small marina and campground facility so I could pay my respects to the Apostle Islands.  Just seeing the islands is satisfying but I'd sure love to go sailing around them again!

Crystal clear waters of Gitchee Gummi

And off towards home I went.  My next and last stop was in Herbster down by the beach for a last look at the lake before I headed inland towards home...

evidence of the fact that just because you want a dock in Lake Superior, does not necessairly mean you will have one!  I wonder how long this one stood before a wave took it.  The breakwater was no help in this case!

And then it was time to head for home once again.  This journey was only 185 miles and I found myself wondering how I did the 264 miles that day last week.   I was ready for home...

Until next time...

As I travel I hope I leave beautiful footsteps behind me...

Stephanie