Upper Peninsula Trip

To Big Bay To Ontonagon

To Marquette To Hubbard Lake

On our way to Big Bay Lighhouse Bed & Breakfast for the night, we stopped for lunch at The Jolly Inn in Germfast. Nancy's choice was a BLT with a order of fries.
Next to the inn was a small park in which sat a tank so Douglas had to investigate. This is like something you would see in Europe.
Reaching the north border of the UP, we started seeing senic view places and had to stop just to see the attaction. For us this "rescue station" was the most interessting.
Finally arriving at the Big Bay Lighthouse we enter and were greeted with this on the door.
This was on the door to our room. This is our room or at least the half with the bed in it. Behind the sink is the toilet
This is the sitting half of the room and the toilet in what was proabably a closet (hence the term "water closet".) We were surprised to see the wallpaper border as we have the same in Copleyi
Here is the shower and the view of Lake Superior from the window next to it.

In the morning while we waited for breakfast, Douglas wandered outside to get a look at the grounds. The sun was rising in the northeast over Lake Superior and light up the lighthouse. Our room was the bottom two windows.
This was an interesting sculpture on the grounds. On the other side of the lighthouse he found the outhouse used by the assistant keeper and his family. The lighthousse, built in 1896 did not have modern plumbing.
This is where the oil to light the light was stored in five gallon drums which had to be carried up to the top when needed (every two weeks or so). It was assumed that the assistant keeper had this task since it was on his side of the lighthouse which was built as a duplex housing the keeper's family and that of the assistant keeper.
AFter breakfast we headed out for Ontoganon. We knew from MapQuest before the trip that we had to go back to Marquette before we could head west to Ontoganon. We programmed our destination into the car's GPS and headed out. After about twenty minute we thought we were in new territory and when the pavement ended we knew that to be true. From prior visits to the UP we knew that many roads in the UP were gravel or sand and decided to continue one and give Max (our Ford Edge Suv) a test. We were treated to displays of autumn foliage that we hadn't seen the day before.
Soon the road narrowed to one lane but there was nice fall foliage.
The nice foliage continued but then the road became a two track.
Signs of lumbering and we did encounter dump trucks and lumber machinery working. But when we hit the stream to cross Douglas said, "If we hear banjos, we're doomed.
But soon the road widened and looked more hospitable, like the road leading to a southern plantation
Finally after an hour and twenty minutes, we hit pavement on Dynamite Hill Road and shortly thereafter M41, the main road from Marquette to Ontonagon. And the object to the quest, the Ontonogan lighthouse seen from across the river because the property is closed except for guided tours which we did not need. We encountered another couple also there to see the lighthouse and, like us, not having time for a tour.

To Marquette

On the way back, the first stop was lunch at The Drive-in in Baraga. We took advantage of the nice weather (70s) to sit at tables and enjoy the warmth.
This is the entrance to the shrine of the Venerable Arch-Bishop Baraga who lived in the early 1800s and was a master of indian languages. The county and town are named for him.	This greeted us upon arrival at The Landmark Hotel in Marquette. It is from Knoxville TN only twenty odd miles from Douglas's hometown of Oak Ridge. We think they were on a autumn color tour but a bit too early unless they wanted to take our route of earlier that day.
This is the view of Marquette harbor from the bar/lounge at the top of The Landmark Hotel where we had beer and dinner that night.

To Hubbard Lake

This is a colorful tree in the parking lot of Jean Kay's Pasties where we bought some for dinner they night and they were delicious.	Heather, our stylist, had told us about the springs at Palms Book State Park near Manistique. You board the raft see here and move it across the spring by turning a wheel which moves the raft easily by means of cables.
This is the view from the pier while we were waiting for the raft to return.	There is a cutout in the middle of the raft for viewing. The water is forty-five feet deep and spring fed.
Lots of big fish but no fishing permitted in the springs.
The fish that you can see (and their shadows are brown trout who migrate back and forth from the springs to Indian Lake.
Douglas wished he could "wet a line".	Here you can see the indian name for the spring. We think that name would make a better title for the park rather than Palms Book.