ST. TRAVELS

Because our boat trip from Grand Portage, Minnesota to the Isle Royale National Park was cancelled due to ferocious winds on Lake Superior, we cooked up a Plan B in order to visit that National Park.  On Sunday, March 4, we drove from Minnesota, through Wisconsin, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the quaint town of Houghton in order to visit the other Isle Royale National Park Visitor Center the following day.  When life gives you lemons, it’s sometimes good to make lemonade!

We were the first people at the Isle Royale National Park Visitor Center on Labor Day Monday when they opened.  We saw a fabulous film to learn about Isle Royale and the glacial action that gave us an isolated gift of pristine beauty.  Now more than ever, we are excited about spending some future days on that group of islands.  But for now, Sue got her stamp from that National Park site.

While in the town of Houghton, MI., we found a hip brewery — selling beer for $2.75 per pint! — as well as a good fish and chips spot.  Then, strolling through the quaint downtown, Sue noticed an old wall sign for a business called Wilcox Studios, and couldn’t help but take a few photos.   Sue directed Ted into position (you have to realize that Ted graduated from Wilcox High School) and Sue had fun cropping the picture just perfectly!

Although we certainly hadn’t planned to add another 400 driving miles to our itinerary in order to get to the Visitors Center in Michigan, we are passionate about visiting the National Parks.  Because of this unexpected change, we were able to visit Wisconsin and Michigan — two new states on Sue’s 50 state quest — and we got a visitor park stamp from Isle Royale National Park for our National Park Passport.

It has been a good weekend, and it was also filled with midnight lightning/ thunderstorms, a serendipity trip across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which we would not have otherwise seen, and strong winds on a long Monday drive. In doing so, we met another of our travel goals:  flexibility and positive attitudes on an enjoyable journey.