I'm a Youper, You're a Youper!

Last we talked, we were in lower Michigan and now we find ourselves in the UP, the Upper Peninsula of MI, the home of the Youper's.

When MI gained statehood back in the day, they claimed the lower glove (check out a map, lower MI looks like a glove) and the UP as part of their magnificent State, but there was no physical connection between the two due to the Straits of Mackinac seperating Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

So from way back when, there was always a dream to connect the entire State, the glove of lower MI with their northern brothers, the Youpers (UP'ers). What we need my friends is a legit bridge!

And in the late 1950's, they built a magnificent bridge to span the 5 mile wide Straits of Mackinac, marking the delineation between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Finally, at long last, this magnicifent State was physically united.

I know, I know...another damn bridge Howard? Sorry, but come on, she's a beaut! That's Lake Huron to the left and Lake Michigan to the right and I'm standing in the UP at Straits SP.

Only minor issue upon our crossing this now united empire, was the bridge toll booth going northbound that had traffic backed up for about 45 minutes mid span on the bridge. The absolute best traffic jam I have ever endured, 250' above the Straits of Mackinac, mid span, with Lake Michigan to the left and Lake Huron to the right. That jam could have lasted all day and I would have been in heaven. That sweet gal was definitely swaying too, very cool!

As soon as we enter the UP we see many take out joints alongside US Highway 2 advertising Pasties (pronounced pass-tees), smoked fish and beef jerkey. Debbie and I recall that those were her fathers favorite 3 food groups! Papa Don would have loved this place!

After a bit of a long driving day, we amble on into a National Forest first come, first served campground in Lake Michigan NF, right on the shoreline of Lake MI, very nice spot, right on the water.

Sun setting on our Lake Michigan NF campsite...$8 per nite with the Senior Pass, God Bless America!

So enough about this beautiful hang, let's get back to the meat of the matter... UP here in Youperland, the Pastie rules. As I perused the all knowing Internet, I come to find out that the UP is the self proclaimed capital of the pastie...well, dear readers, lets s'plore this claim shan't we?

The Pastie was reportedly invented in Cornwall, England as a hot meat pie, prepared in the morning for miners to take down in the mine with them for a hot lunch. They are meat and veg, wrapped in a flakey dough pouch that will hold the warmth for an extended period, perfect for a lunch down in the hole. If the pastie got cold before your hunger pangs rang, simply place it on your miners shovel and use your miners head lamp underneath to warm it up, what a perfect meal.

Debbie's Finnish ancestors were masters at preparing pasties for their mining families working the gold mines in Lead, SD. So, this girl knows a thing or two about how to fix up a proper pastie. There's no better way to enjoy a pastie than the ones that come from the kitchen of Finnish ladies working the dough all day and properly dicing the meat and potatoes to perfection.

And the dough is the secret, it's gotta be flakey, yet have enough lard in it to stick to the ribs. I mean, these are miners we're talking about, they needed a solid lunch to get them thru the day.

Debbie and I go on a search for the best pastie in the UP, Munising, MI, right on the shoreline of Lake Superior, what a kick ass place! Super nice, a gorgeous town with the fabled Pictured Rocks Shoreline right next door.

So we sample the pasties from two highly touted joints, Miners Pasties and Muldoons Pasties right in town. Deb preferred the Miners pasties and they were phenomenal! She had the 'Youper' with pork, beef, potatoes and carrots, not bad. I had the Philly steak and cheese pastie, and dear readers, sublime!

Next day we sampled the Muldoon's pasties and, in my opinion, they were absolutely the bomb! Muldoon's whooped up a delicious youper pastie with brown gravy on the side and all was right with the world.

Debbie voted Miner's number one based on the dough and I went with Muldoon's...can't go wrong with either, pastie heaven, sweet. Based on Debbie's ancestral roots and knowledge of the Finnish ins and outs of putting a proper pastie together, I'll go with her vote. Both places were really good.

Satisfying a pastie fix at Muldoon's in Munising, my favorite pastie in town, two thumbs up.

But, as Deb says, these guys were rank amateurs compared with her grandma Alice and aunts Chick and Flo, the Aaladala sisters, the Finnish mafia of pasties! I mean, pasties fresh outta the Finnish oven, oh my god, like eating candy, these Finlanders could put together the best pasties known to man! 'Nuff said.

Right before the pastie frenzy began, we went in search for a respectable domicile for the next coupla nites. We cruise on into Bay Furnace NF campground on the outskirts of Munising proper and no joy. Booked solid I'm afraid, according to the very nice Park Ranger, but she directed us to a most beautiful campground about 20 minutes outside of town, Pete's Lake...don't know who in the hell Pete was, but he has one hell of a fine campground!

The swim beach on Pete's Lake

The last post I sent out was from the Munising City Library. I always love using local, small city libraries for their wi-fi and just to check them out. I am a big fan of local libraries and love to support them as they are an important part of a community and this one fit the bill just right.

This library in Munising was situated within the local high school and it was a very nice set up. Talking with the librarian I mention that it must be nice to have tourists flowing back in to the local economy after C-19. Yes it is, but she mentions that last year at this time, at the height of C-19, the town was just as busy as it is today. That surprised me, thought the whole globe was shut down this time last year, go figure.

She asks's where you all stayin? Out at Pete's Lake says I. Really? I remember growing up and back then every Wednesday during the summer there was a bus ride out to the lake for a day of swimming and fresh air. Mom would pack you a lunch and give you 50 cents for the round trip bus ride out, lifeguard on duty and unforgettable memories. We lamented that these types of things no longer exist, bummer.

While in Munising, MI the thing to do is take in a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks Shoreline alongside Lake Superior. The title of the place is not just a clever name...these cliffs were certainly picturesque!

The lakeside cliffs are about a hundred feet or so tall, composed of sandstone and they go along the Lake Superior shoreline for miles and miles. Within the sandstone cliff faces mineral ores such as iron, copper, manganese and taconite have leached thru, giving off brillant colors upon the cliff faces that were, well, picturesque. The iron minerals gave off vibrant reds and yellows, the copper yielded beautiful blues and greens and the manganese and taconite leached black colors. It was really quite a beautiful scene to take in.

Debbie giving the pictured rocks a look see from above.

While on the 2 hour boat tour there was a lady sitting in front of us that, no exaggeration, composed at least 50 selfies of herself...in two hours! Now, I get it, you see a nice background or point of interest behind you, selfie on. But not this narcissist, her selfies were all close ups on her and her alone. Trust me, I was sitting behind her and could see her screen and it was ALL about her!

She would click a selfie, check the screen, take off her sunglasses, shoot another one, check the screen, put sunglasses back on and adjust her hair and shoot another one. And...this went one for 2 hours! Whoo boy, the people you see on the road.

Checking the umpteenth selfie she just took. Yes, narcissism was alive and well this day on Lake Superior!

After the boat tour we decided to head back to our most comfortable set up at Pete's Lake and enjoy a refreshing swim in the lake and reheat some, you guessed it, leftover pasties. Man alive, does life get any better in Michigan? 

Next morning we head out westward with no specific destination in mind, just generally somewhere west of here.

Before we leave Munising, MI I want to say that this town was really fabulous. Small town Youperville smack dab on the Lake Superior shoreline with the massive Hiawatha National Forest surrounding it with boreal forests, majestic lakes and very cool folks around. If'n you get up this way, make it a stop for sure, you won't be disappointed. And...make damn sure you get a pastie at Miner's or Muldoon's, take your pick, with a Vernor's ginger ale to wash it all down.

Heading westward ho' we end up at the Sylvania Lakes SF a couple of hours west of Munising and opt to settle in for the night at a secluded and quiet campsite alongside a series of lakes. Didn't capture any snaps but it was a very nice forested and peaceful site.

At this time we are about 20 miles or so from the border with Wisconsin and the next dawn we decide to move on into WI, the Badger State.

 

Having no State Highway map of WI I am now flying completely blind. On my big map of the USA, I spy a northern WI area along Lake Superior that shows the Apostle Islands not too far from here. From my early church going years, I think, the Apostles? This should be good, can't be that bad, I mean it's the apostles, right? Let's check it out 'eh?

So we shuffle off only to find every campground local to the Apostles and the adjoining Lake Superior shoreline booked solid. Well, so much for the Apostles and it's magnificent shoreline, so we head out in search of a more inland and not so crowded nook for the night. And we found it out at Birch Grove Lake NF campground about 10 miles outside of Washburn, WI. Once we got there, a very nice spot for sure.

And dear followrs, those were 10 tough miles of rough gravel, washboard road to get to the place. We really wanted to get back into Washburn the next day for a boat tour of the Apostle Islands but we just weren't up for another coupla trips up and down that rough ass access road and besides...how many damn boat tours can one happily married couple endure? We've had enough of boat tours with the life preserver safety talks and the lady seated in front of us with the selfie afflictions...westbound and down! So, that was pretty much all there was to WI for us.

Wish we had more time to give WI a good look over. From what we saw the folks were friendly and the scenery was gorgeous. Next trip we can spend a proper amount of time perhaps.

On to Minnesota.

Wrapping up MI, we had a most wonderful time the past two weeks here. My only past experience with MI was business related in the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor but I was truly taken aback with the beauty of the rest of this great State. The Lake MI shoreline, UP and the vastness of this State happily surprised me. Debbie and I really loved our time here...Michigan, you're a beauty for sure!

Next post coming from northern Minnesota, stay tuned, and as always, thanks for following along!

Peace out, Debbie and Howard