RV There Yet?

We’re getting settled at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp – meeting new friends and getting to know the area. Mostly we’re learning that the nearest “real” stuff is about a half hour away in Iron Mountain. But before we get to where we are now, I need to fill you in on where we’ve been.

Wednesday, the 27th, we continued north up the “tail” of the U.P. We were headed for Houghton (known location of a Walmart and also the home of Michigan Tech). It was a beautiful drive, and along the way we stopped at Alberta Village– a model community that was built by Henry Ford. He thought it would be a good spot for a lumber mill to produce wood for his “Woodie” automobile. Along with the sawmill he also constructed 12 houses, 2 schools, a reception center and several outbuildings. It lasted about 12 years (1935-1947), and then was deeded over Michigan Tech. They have restored the mill and are currently renting out the houses. It was a very interesting stop.
We tucked Lizzie out of the way at the Campground du Walmart in Houghton, and just took the truck to make the rest of the trip to, the farthest north point of Michigan – Copper Harbor. Again, a very beautiful drive, much of it hugging the coast of Lake Superior. When we got to the end of Rte 41 (that road runs from here down to Florida!), there was a dirt road that continued on…..so what the heck, we were kind of into the dirt road experience, so off we went, hoping to make it to coast (it couldn’t be that far, right?) About an hour later (and these were REALLY BAD ROADS) we finally hit blacktop again (phew) and never did quite make it to the tip of the “tail”. But Gary certainly had a fun time pretending we were driving an ATV! While in Copper Harbor we enjoyed an authentic Pasty (Pass-Tee) which is a traditional Cornish all-in-one meal wrapped in a flaky crust. (They needed them self-contained to take them into the copper mines in their pockets so we’re told). We also went to Fort Wilkins and enjoyed learning www.michigan.gov/historicfortwilkins a little bit more about the history of that area. Another blue sky day, and I took lots of pictures. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get on a faster connection and get those pictures loaded. There are many, many lighthouses in this area – probably in directly relation to the number of shipwrecks on these Great Lakes! It was a very lovely day.
Before we continued on our way on Thursday, we went to the Quincy Copper Mine and took another underground tour. Learned lots, but mostly just reaffirmed the joy of never having been a miner! There are no working copper mines in the area currently, but during the turn of the century and through WWII it was the major industry in the area.
Stuff you learn along the way!
Thursday we moseyed down the road to Iron Mountain, MI where we did exciting things like got the oil changed in the truck and picked up supplies at the Walmart. We were only 20 miles from our destination, but we waited until today to pull in and get settled. Which brings us right up to date.
Tomorrow we are planning on heading back to Iron Mountain to visit another mine – this time an Iron Ore mine. Just in case we missed something on the other two mine tours, I guess! =) Oh, we might find a couple of quilt shops along the way (isn’t he a sweetie?).
I think Wisconsin is going to work out just fine!
PS - Since this is being posted a day later….yes, we did make it to that Iron Ore mine and yes it was pretty much the same (except this one had very friendly bats!) Yep, I don’t think this girl will be going on any more tram rides into the center of the mountains any time soon!

It’s finally just about dark here in Marquette, MI - we still can’t get used to a 9:30 sunset. (Next week we’ll be on the other side of the time line, so it will be a very different story!) We’ve had a pretty interesting day, sightseeing in the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline that runs along on the south shore of Lake Superior. The sights were amazing - everything from huge sand dunes to towering cliffs revealing the beauty of God’s paintbrush. We did, however, not notice that the dotted lines on the map not only showed the way to go, but also indicated that they were dirt roads. Yes, today we took our dear Lizzie (towing the truck) on 30 miles of curvy, hilly, narrow dirt roads. It was quite an experience. And just to make it more interesting, we even picked up a couple of hitch hikers! Yes, two weary college age hikers had their thumbs out as we were going along, so we offered them a ride. Joe & Justin really appreciated the ride and we enjoyed their company! I think they even liked the PB&J sandwich we had for lunch. We let them out before we turned to see the actual Pictured Rocks, so we can only suppose that they made it the rest of the way to their car. It was fun having them bumping along with us on the endless dirt road!
Another first today - we were all set in the Walmart here in Marquette when we decided to go across the road to fill up with fuel. By the time we returned an additional 4 RV has pulled in, and the official Walmart Parking Lot Guy told us that they were full and had no more room for any more campers. Yep, the Walmart Campground does have a limit! We moved across to the Target lot - no one has kicked us out yet, so I think we’re good to go!
Tomorrow we head a little further north on the U.P. It’s so beautiful - and very remote. Today was quite blustery and the lake had white caps and huge waves breaking on the beach. We felt like we were at the ocean!
Sweet dreams, all!

It’s hard to capture this lovely area in a photo, but here are a couple of trys…..
Looking into the harbor from the Island

A view from a fort window - that’s a ferry coming over with more tourists!

There are just some plain old scenic spots… and here’s one of them.

This is a departing shot - looking back from the ferry as we were getting ready to leave.

And here is a shot of Gary from the walk-way up to the fort.

We’ve only been on the road since Friday morning, but I feel like there is so much I want to share! In fact, I still want to share some of the neat times we had at Lake Ann Baptist Camp and with our friends there. Alas, time is marching on, and here it is Monday night and I haven’t even told you about Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and the Big Mac - the Mackinac Bridge. (Oh, and just so you know, it’s always pronounced MackinAW whether it’s spelled AC or AW). That area is the quintessent tourist mecca. It is the number one tourist destination in Michigan, and you’d be hard pressed to find any job in that city that is not tied into the tourist industry. Hotel, after hotel aside, it is a very picturesque area and well worth the visit. We took the ferry over to Mackinac (remember, say Mackinaw) Island, which likewise is lovely. No cars are allowed on the island, so we took our bikes (along with throngs of other people doing the same thing) and checked out this untouched by modern man island. Very very pretty - but very very pricey! We spent two days in that area - seeing not only the island, but also some of the historic forts and villages in the area. Sunday night we took a Vespers Cruise sponsored by the Resort Ministries. It was an exceptional 1 1/2 hour cruise under the bridge right at sunset. They share the gospel message in a very brief and not threatening way, and we were also entertained by a southern Gospel group - The Master’s Touch Quartet. They were great! It was an wonderful way to end the Lord’s day. I took many many wonderful pictures - but haven’t gotten them posted yet, so stay tuned for that!
Well, tonight we are still in Michigan, but what a different area this is! We crossed Big Mac, and headed north through the Upper Peninsula. It was beautiful countryside, but not very many people! We stopped at the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, near where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank (along with countless other ships). It was very interesting. And I got to stick my feet into Lake Superior (they went into Lake Huron earlier in the day!).
Today we also stopped at the Tahquamenon Falls which were beautiful. Again, the pictures will have to wait for another day (and faster internet connection!). And tonight we are in Grand Marais at a local campground right on the lake. It is very beautiful, but I can’t imagine how cold and blustery it must get in the winter! And talk about a switch from Mackinaw City….=) A gas station, two general stores, a local bar and grill, and an ice cream stand! They love tourists here too, though so we’re happy to share some of our tourist budget with them!
Tomorrow we continue east along Lake Superior and will be taking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and maybe even another boat ride! We’ll see!
This is very beautiful country. Come and see for yourself! (I’d recommend summer!)

(I just posted pictures from last weekend – fair warning to those of you with slow connections!)

Well, the second week of the project has drawn to a close. We have been blessed with beautiful sunny weather (although the area could really use some rain), lots of interesting projects to complete, and great fellowship. We ladies have set up our sewing machines in a room in the welcome center so we can spread out for sewing a variety of curtains, plus some of our own projects. That has been great! The guys are still working at the wood shop, and although the work is pretty repetitive, the shop has such cool tools that no one is complaining. It’s been a grand week!

And this weekend has proved to be likewise! Friday we all went on a tubing expedition. Yes, all eight of us oldsters climbed into big ol’ rubber tubes and floated down the Platte River right into Lake Michigan. It was a sight to behold! The day was sunny and clear – the water was warm and crystal – and we made it all the way to Lake Michigan (where the water turned significantly COLDER!!!). We can now officially say that we have swum in Lake Michigan. A good time was had by all!!!!
Today (Saturday) has been mostly chores – Gary has some projects he needs to get done before we head out next weekend, and I have laundry and housecleaning to do. Yes, it will be hard to leave this beautiful place and the dear friends we have made here, but on we must go. Lara is quite sure we’re never going to make it to California!

And yes, I’ll probably get this weekend’s pictures posted by next weekend. But, hey - did you check out the new grandbaby pictures? =)