June 24, 2009 Classic Auto Show

The Locks; Down the Upper Peninsula; Classic Auto Show; CR PP

Last night, we watched a ore carrier go through the St. Mary’s Lock in Sault Ste. Marie. It came from Lake Michigan, entered the lock, the gates closed behind it and the pumps pumped 22 feet of water into the lock to even it with the level of Lake Superior. Then the gates at the Lake Superior end opened and the ship exited - one of 11,000 in a year passing through the locks and for FREE. It’s fun to watch and behind the ship was a great sunset in the 80 degree temps.

After leaving SSM, we took Route 35 then down to Route 2 to follow the shoreline of Lake Michigan. When we left, it was sunny and promising to be hot, but we immediately ran into low clouds that, together with the lake, kept the temps cool. After an hour or so, the clouds burned off and it was beautiful looking out across the lake. The U.P. is pretty, forested, with lots of camps, a place to go to get away from the stress of city life. The towns that are there are very small, and there aren’t many gas stations, always a concern especially when the trip meter gets up around 100 miles. And then a pleasant surprise - along came a long line of old 1920’s-1930’s cars in vintage condition. It felt like being in Bonnie and Clyde.

The temps really shot up (100 degrees according to Billy’s temp gauge on his bike) as we left the lake and turned inland, riding past Green Bay on Interstate 41 to Oshkosh, and then thankfully turning onto Route 21, a two-lane country road that became our path for 70 plus miles, passing through Wautoma, Coloma, Negedah to Route PP, an even more country road that led directly to Interstate 90. Pretty slick thanks to Griff’s tip (and also the GPS’s tip). Although there were many farms, there were fewer than I expected, with much of the land being forestland. And the towns would give their population on the sign, 1000 for example, and we would enter what appeared from its Main Street to be a town of much greater size, with lots of stores, restaurants, motels, etc. Apparently that was the entire population on that one street.

And how are we doing? Billy is gaining confidence every mile and has done a really good job getting through congested cities, being aware of stoplights and staying close so that he can get through the light with me, recovering his second position after getting separated by other cars or trucks, and just having a great time. He’s still learning about his bike - for example he just found out he has a trip meter. Bobby is also doing very well, and his bike is holding up. He traveled all day today without a coat and has been using suntan lotion to prevent burning up. He is always in good humor and a fun person to be around. Both are in good health and showing great stamina, but we take fairly frequent breaks (every 100 miles or so - 1 1/2 to 2 hours) to rehydrate and gas up, and we also include a sitdown lunch. Although it’s slower traveling, I think we feel a lot better. And me? I’m doing fine but I have burned knuckles and a dark halfmoon on the backs of each hand - the result of fingerless gloves with holes in the knuckles of the glove and a halfmoon-shaped hole on the back of the gloves. It makes me look like my hands are very dirty in those areas. I wear a coat all the time, although it’s light, it’s also lined. I do so to avoid being burned to a crisp.

So we have about 600 miles to go and hope to make it tomorrow, God willing and the creek don’t rise. Bon soir.

PS And the Imposter? We learned he was held up in Albert Lea, MN by vicious thunderstorms and a hailstorm, taking the break to change his oil to synthetics and having his bike washed. So we’re slowly catching him but I fear he will beat us there. Bill will call the museum tomorrow to warn them of the Imposter and his approach.