For the non-Michigander readers who may not know the nicknames we use for folks living in the Great Lakes State, trolls are residents of the lower peninsula, because they are living below the Mackinac Bridge (pictured above). If you live in the upper peninsula, or UP, you are called a yooper, an easier way of saying UP-er.
Since last Sunday I have traveled through the troll territory of northern lower Michigan, across the Mighty Mac bridge, and westward deep into yooper country. It was easy to see that tourism is the main economic force in these regions. Signs for campgrounds, motels and area attractions litter the roadsides.
Last Sunday morning I left the Cherry Capital, Traverse City, where the annual Cherry Festival takes place in July, and rode through the surrounding orchards beginning to grow the sweet, red fruits. North of Elk Rapids I passed through the summer vacation lands of wealthy down-staters who have snatched up cottages on the shores of Torch Lake and Lake Charlevoix. Their elaborate driveway signs which proclaim their surname, sometimes the name of their cottage, and often feature a scenic painting, probably cost as much as a year's worth of property taxes.
Farther east I traded blacktop for finely crushed gravel on the North Central State Trail. This scenic rail trail took me through woodlands and marshes before bordering another large recreational lake ringed with summer homes: Mullett Lake (named after the man who discovered it, not the infamous hair-do).
Rolling into Mackinaw City, one can't help but be aware of three things: fudge, Mackinac Island ferries and the ever-present Mackinac Bridge. My sights were on the latter, so I hitched a ride with my dad over this vehicle-only suspension bridge which is the gateway to the UP.
It doesn't take long to notice some differences in yooper land. The trees become decidedly more coniferous, the ground is suddenly strewn with rocky outcroppings causing a large number of waterfalls, and da people sure do tawlk funny, eh.
Yoopers, speaking their Finnish-English dialect, love to sell specialty foods to trolls and other visitors: pasties (a sort of meat pie, not nipple covers), venison jerky and smoked fish to name a few. Of the people I encountered while traveling across the 300-mile long peninsula, everyone was very friendly and encouraging, even if they thought my travels to be a bit crazy. Drivers were considerate for the most part with many giving a wave or an occasional thumbs-up. This is a welcome change from the east coast.
The UP is also known for it's wildlife population. Deer hunting and fishing are very popular sports in the area and there are also a large number of black bear and moose that call this land home. Black flies and mosquitos are abundant too, and my spectacular timing landed me there right when the horse flies were emerging, according to a local. These rather large, flesh-biting bugs flew circles around me as I cruised down the road at 20 mph, though they rarely landed due to the wind fluttering my shirt.
The Seney Stretch, a nearly 30-mile straight, flat section of M-28 has a reputation for hypnotizing drivers and convincing them they've traveled twice as far. Admittedly there isn't much to see but endless tree lines (pictured above) and the dark mirage where the road runs into the horizon, however I was kept quite alert by the narrow shoulder and speeding log trucks blasting me with a shower of wood dust and bark scraps every fifteen minutes.
The reward for enduring the Stretch was a long downhill sweep into the town of Munising and my first glimpse of the icy blue Lake Superior. My dad and I stayed here for two days and nights during which we enjoyed a glass-bottom boat tour of several shipwrecks which had met their demise near Grand Island, a large mass of forest-covered sandstone sitting less than a mile from shore.
Upon leaving Munising I found a rare and welcome sight in today's world of interstate freeways: a roadside attraction. There are actually a few of these throughout the UP, but Lakenenland is relatively new to the game. Tom Lakenen creates massive sculptures out of scrap metal which blend several genres of art including folk, political and abstract, and displays them at his own park which is freely open to the public.
Shortly after viewing the sculptures, my route turned away from the lake and I found the elevation gaining as I worked my way inland. State Parks and National Forests, filled with the sweet scents of pines and wildflowers, consume much of the land of western UP. I slept my last night in comfort inside of Dad's truck camper at Van Riper State Park on the shore of Lake Michigamme. We parted ways the next morning and I rode an uneventful 65 miles to Bruce Crossing where I found a cheap township campground completely empty, but for myself.
Until now the weather has been pretty fantastic. However, I'm laying inside my tent this morning waiting for the rain to subside. If the storms pass soon, I could easily make it into Wisconsin by tonight.
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