Driving the UP

Back on the road today with serious intentions of getting to Michigan.... finally! We really enjoyed the little bit we saw of Wisconsin and hope to be back for more time to visit.
Heading east, and since we didn't have any visits planned, I did route us with one drive by photo op. This big guy was found in the town of Ironwood, Michigan; just over the state border from Wisconsin. He, Hiawatha, is the largest Indian in the world. He is 52' tall, and weighs 18,000 lbs. All fiberglass, made in 1964. Not clear why, but he is in very good shape. The name Ironwood comes from the fact that a great deal of iron ore came from this region.
Lost an hour as we crossed into eastern time zone and realized we were hungry... saw a small billboard advertising the Hoop n Holler tavern on Gogebic Lake. It was only a mile off the highway, and the sign did mention lakeside dining! Found a cute, very old, tavern with good 'ole tavern food, all though they were sold out the "sea salted wings" (?), their specialty. Asked what they did for the winter season and they looked at us like we were from out of state ( oh, that's right we are...) and laughed and said that winter was their big season, lots of snowmobiling in this area and many come by during the day. Great looking lake, their little lakes are bigger than our big lakes!
Finished our day with salad, ramen noodles and a big, windy, rain storm in the Marquette Walmart parking lot! So nice to actually turn my fan off because it is in the 60s right now!Read more