Well, its been awhile.....

Been a rough year so far.....if youre from Wisconsin, you know much of the state has been flooded all spring. Some of it still is flooded. My home didnt escape the flooding. I didnt get it as bad as some did, but over most of the spring and early summer, my home flooded 6 times. Makes finding riding time a bit tough.

We left Friday afternoon and ran the super-slab straight north to beat the weekend traffic. I39 drops to a two lane hwy (US51) north of Wausau. We had a short layover in Minoqua, and tried to get a hotel, but all were booked. So were are sitting there, watching the dark clouds of bad weather swirl around us, when the tornado siren start wailing. Fortunatly it missed us, but it was a bit scary for a moment:

Afterall, with no place to stay and no real shelter for you or your bike, what are your options? Fortunatly we ducked answering that.
WE ended up styaing in Hurley, which is the last town in WI on US 51. In the morning we set out for the UP.

Michigan is a helmet state, so that became a bit of a problem after awhile, but we managed. Our first stop was the Porcupine State Park for some waterfall viewing:

The pathways down to the "Spirit" falls are very nice, and the scenery was beautiful.

We had planned to see the "Lake of the Clouds", but decided that looking at a lake and a big rock wasnt worth the trip. Things were getting late in the day and since we didnt have any hotels reserved, we thought it best to move on up the penninsula.
Our next main stop was the Hancock/Houghton area. The upper section of the "UP" is actually an island, but doesnt really look like an island as its so close to the main land. Hancock and Houghton are separated by a shipping waterway, with a large bridge spanning the water. The bridge is pretty unique:
Called the "Lift Bridge" the center literally lifts up for ship to pass underneath.
Very picturesque town:
This is on the island side:
Evidence of its Copper mining heritage:

Mainland side:
Stopped in at the Keweena Brewing Company, and had a brew. I Recommend the "Lift Bridge Brown"
So after a bite to eat we decided to stop our nothward progress there. I had planned to run all the way to Copper Harbor, but we were a long ways from home, and needed to be back by Sunday afternoon. We headed south to Watersmeet, Mi and stayed at the Lac Vieux Casino and Hotel. So get this.....the room was $89.00, and for staying they gave us, $10 EACH in Casino Money and $10.00 each in Hotel money. We took the Casino money and WON about $50.00 and used the Hotel money for dinner. Saved some green.

Think you had it bad in highschool? Try going here:
We were so happy to see this, those helmets were killing our necks, and they came right off and went into the saddle bags, sorry.

Eagle River was our last stop for some pictures. A bit touristy, but a cute little town.

I would HIGHLY recommend riding in the UP to anyone looking for a nice ride. Most of it is through state and national forests, so there really isnt alot to see except forests. Take the time to make the trip to Copper Harbor. I missed out, but the views of Gitche Gume (Lake Superior) would be spectacular. Roads are decent, curvy, (not tight but big sweepers) and well marked.
Be forewarned, there is literally NOTHING in the UP for many miles. FEW gas stations, NO service shops, or cell phone service. Wi-Fi? Yeah right.
Its worth the trip guys......
Doc.