Hayward WI to Munising, MI

June 17th, 2025

I awoke to a nice cool breeze coming in the windows of my cabin. After experiencing the thunder storms, I am very grateful that they let me stay in a cabin. The only downside to this KOA was that their bathrooms were out of order. There were many other campers here, but most were in motorhomes, which I assumue have their own bathrooms. The porta pottys that were provided were a poor substitute. I made my coffee, but managed to spill it, so I had to make a second cup. After coffee I packed up and looked at my phone to find a place to eat breakfast.

The Lakeview Diner had good reviews, so I Kim and I made our way there. I had a spinach, cheddar, and mushroom(mushrooms were not my addition) omelete with bluberry pancakes. I learned a lesson today. Do not plan your route while you are eating breakfast. I spent what seemed like an hour, NOT enjoying my yummy breakfast. I was trying to find places on the GPS map and was getting frustrated. I can do a google route on the phone so easily. Though I did fiqure something out today. If the GPS is taking me to a location stop on the map, and I see I can by pass it, If I click on the name at the top of the route, I can choose from the list given and it will restart there instead.

So my first stop today was a roadside attraction called Claire-de-Loon. It was a giant statue of a Loon, with audio clips of loon calls that you could listen to. It was about 2 1/2 hours away in Mercer, WI. I drove through a National Forest, and was happy to be following a car. There were signs that said Elk crossing next 16 miles. After the bear yesterday, I was being a bit careful. Eventually I did see an Elk crossing the road way ahead of me. Later in the day , I was in another forest area between lakes. I saw what I think, was two brown Herons crossing the road with one little baby following. They did make it safely across as did the trutle I saw a bit later, that was almost across, as I drove by. It was slower going, but at least it was sunny.

After visiting Claire de Loon, I stopped for coffee and ate my left over pizza. The weather was hot now, so I removed my pant legs to make shorts and wet my neckie to cool me. The next section of the trip was similar to the first. It was mostly wooded, with an occasional swamp or lake. There were several gas/pee stops as I went along. Eventually, I started to head north towards Ironwood. I realized now that I am in the Eastern Time Zone again. I also was officially in Michigan. This section went through a state park. This time I had to watch for Moose. I am glad that I didn't see any. The road became hilly and I went by two ski areas. I followed Route 41. It was a long ride. As I got to Marquette, there were many rest areas and parks to stop and get pictures of Lake Superior. I stopped at one of the parks for some quick photos. I then was on the road again as it was already 7pm. I was heading for Munising, MI. It was getting colder as I followed along the lake. A bit of paving, had me delayed more with its' miles and miles of barrels. When I finally reached the " end construction " sign I was able to pull over and put on my heated liner.

I set the GPS to go to the KOA. I was happy, when the GPS did it's job and found the KOA 20 minutes up the road. I arrived at the KOA at 8 pm. Luckily , the store was still open. Tonight they didn't have any campsites available, so I booked a cabin instead. It is a nice cabin with a queen bed and two bunk beds. It had an electric fireplace(I think it was there for looks) , a table with a chair, and a nice deck, this time with 2 chairs instead of a swing. Because of my late arrival time this is the first place where I have seen mosquitoes. The cabin was more or less in the woods surrounded by campers or other tent sites.

After putting my gear in the cabin, I went to do laundry and take a much needed shower. Now I am writing in the laundry room while my clothes dry, deciding to stay inside away from the mosquitoes. I also ate my dinner, a turkey sandwich on cranberry bread and some left over chips. A cookie for dessert finished the day with a smile. All I can say, is that like Lake Erie, Lake Superior is huge. By the shore it looks like a lake, but when you look across it, it looks like an ocean.

Till tomorrow......