TRAVEL DAY
Our travel day was blissfully uneventful. As we drove through the winding roads of trees with the occasional house back in the woods, both of us wondered, what do these people do for a living? Do they all work for the mines or in lumber? Or, do they drive distances for work?
I haven't mentioned it, but we have been in the eastern time zone for a number of weeks. We left Marquette at 8:30 am and expected to arrive at Iron Mountain at about 10:30 am. However, with the change of time zone, we arrived at 9:30 am. A bit earlier than we had planned.
IRON MOUNTAIN
Wow, what a two weeks we had in Iron Mountain and I don’t mean in the best way “wow.” Leo developed a cold which escalated into a sinus storm. I struggled for a few days and then joined him. Not one of our better visits to Iron Mountain. The weather the entire time we were there was gorgeous with cool nights and days in the 70s.
Despite the colds, we did get out in Iron Mountain. You can’t go to the Upper Peninsula and not have a pasty. This is the traditional meat and potato hand-pie miners took for their meal.
SKI JUMP
This area averages over 50 inches of snow per year and skiing/snowshoeing/ snowmobiling are popular sports. I look at this ski jump and wonder about people who do this for FUN. What must go through their minds while they wait for the signal to ski down that slope and fly through the air all the while hoping for a smooth landing. However, the view from the jump is really nice.
PIERS GORGE, NORWAY, MI
I have never ridden through the rapids on a boat. But, it is always fun to watch other people. We drove to Piers Gorge for a short hike and the views of the beautiful Menomonee River.
I always enjoy an interesting fungus.
LAWN TRACTORS AND BOCCE
On our last Saturday, we had an interesting tour. We started the day at the local Farmers’ Market. Then, we drove to Kingsford (yes, the charcoal was born there) for a car show. The event also hosted a lawn tractor pull. These lawn tractors may have mowed at one time but no more. I wish I had “hear-o-vision” so you could hear the volume of these little engines. We watched a few rounds and toured the cars.
We had planned to go by the “Flivver Festival” in Kingsford but wound up back in Iron Mountain at a Bocce Ball tournament. The iron mines in the area brought Italians to the area. With them, came the game of Bocce. The folks at the tournament were so friendly, offering us doughnuts, pizza, and drinks while we watched the games. We were so reminded of watching the French Canadians in south Texas play their game of Petanque. In bocce, the plastic balls are “bowled” while in Pentaque, the smaller, metal balls are thrown. Both are games of skill, with lots of practice and strategy.
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