OK - so we had an unusual adventure on that exotic finger of land which sticks so far out into Lake Superior it almost reaches the Canadian border running down the middle of the lake. Now, we're back on the mainland headed West back into Wisconsin. Maggie (our faithful GPS) had been having a real hard time and we thought she was about to have a stroke. Back on the Keweenaw we left US-41 and came down US-45. As we reached Wakefield and turned more directly westward
we found that, somehow, we were back on US-41 again. That didn't last long, though, because when we pulled out of Wakefield, we found we had joined up with US-2 which would take us all the way to Duluth. Not far down the road, at Ironwood, we left Michigan and re-entered Wisconsin. The highway across this part of "The Badger State" was well inland and except for when we elbowed our way back to the coast somewhere near Ashland
we didn't see much of Lake Superior until we got to Minnesota. All this gave us lots of time to ponder the numbers of the fascinating byways we were traveling. I'm not going to try to do some kind of seminar but, the numbering system began in about 1924 and U.S. highways go from 1 to 830!!! Seems like the country was pushing for companies to publish maps and they mapmakers responded ... "How the hell are we supposed to tell you where to turn?" Clearly, in a huge country directions such as "... turn left at the first tree past the Jones farm..." are not going to work As most of you might know, our North-South highways have "odd" numbers and the East-West ones are "even." You get into some variations around towns where Interstate highways form loops but, by and large, our Interstate Highway System is an engineering marvel. But, there
is a price to pay - blandness!!! They have standardized much of the scenery across the land and, for that, I regret them. But - that's OK - that means there are less folks out there on the "...roads less traveled.." and that's nice. If you ever get a chance there are three books related to spontaneous travel in our country and I highly recommend them. They are getting quite old now but do consider them. First - the seminal U. S
. travel book is "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac written in about 1951. It was then that coming out of WW-II the U.S. found its young people searching for new identities. Kerouac became the spokesman for that generation, creating the term "..
the beat generation.." to describe them. (Beatniks!!) The second
one is by one of my favorite people of all time - Charles Kuralt (a North Carolinian). He titled his book "On The Road" also but he gave us a bonus. He chronicled his travels with a series of videos that were incredibly poignant. The third one is by an author that I feel has to have one of the neatest names of all time ... William Least Heat Moon ... who wrote the marvelous "Blue Highways." I feel an obligation to add two others authors you should take a look at - John Steinbeck, particularly in his last book "Travels With Charlie" and James Michener who has chronicled the development of our country - and others - like few other authors. Steinbeck and Michener
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| Tamarack |
are probably my two favorite authors of all time and their matchless prose will make your heart cry - and sing!!! But OUR objective right now is
to get this buggy down the road to Duluth, Minnesota where we will stop for a while. There is much to tell about before we hit the sack tonight but all this rambling about roads has probably worn you out. So, I'll let some of the sights we saw on the way to - and as we entered - Duluth do their own talking. But, first - take a look at this really neat tree. I know you folks from about Virginia on up to Canada are very familiar with the species but us "sandlappers" rarely see them. It is a "Tamarack" and it is not only beautiful but the range of
medicinal and nutritional uses it has are extensive. (Yes, its foliage is, indeed, changing for the winter.) Although it is also known as a "Larch" in many places I like its "real" name because it is the Abenaki Indian word for "... wood used for snowshoes!!!" We think you'll find Duluth a cool place to visit and the folks we'll tell you about were fascinating - so - rest up and come on back. See ya.
we found that, somehow, we were back on US-41 again. That didn't last long, though, because when we pulled out of Wakefield, we found we had joined up with US-2 which would take us all the way to Duluth. Not far down the road, at Ironwood, we left Michigan and re-entered Wisconsin. The highway across this part of "The Badger State" was well inland and except for when we elbowed our way back to the coast somewhere near Ashland
we didn't see much of Lake Superior until we got to Minnesota. All this gave us lots of time to ponder the numbers of the fascinating byways we were traveling. I'm not going to try to do some kind of seminar but, the numbering system began in about 1924 and U.S. highways go from 1 to 830!!! Seems like the country was pushing for companies to publish maps and they mapmakers responded ... "How the hell are we supposed to tell you where to turn?" Clearly, in a huge country directions such as "... turn left at the first tree past the Jones farm..." are not going to work As most of you might know, our North-South highways have "odd" numbers and the East-West ones are "even." You get into some variations around towns where Interstate highways form loops but, by and large, our Interstate Highway System is an engineering marvel. But, there 
is a price to pay - blandness!!! They have standardized much of the scenery across the land and, for that, I regret them. But - that's OK - that means there are less folks out there on the "...roads less traveled.." and that's nice. If you ever get a chance there are three books related to spontaneous travel in our country and I highly recommend them. They are getting quite old now but do consider them. First - the seminal U. S
. travel book is "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac written in about 1951. It was then that coming out of WW-II the U.S. found its young people searching for new identities. Kerouac became the spokesman for that generation, creating the term "..the beat generation.." to describe them. (Beatniks!!) The second one is by one of my favorite people of all time - Charles Kuralt (a North Carolinian). He titled his book "On The Road" also but he gave us a bonus. He chronicled his travels with a series of videos that were incredibly poignant. The third one is by an author that I feel has to have one of the neatest names of all time ... William Least Heat Moon ... who wrote the marvelous "Blue Highways." I feel an obligation to add two others authors you should take a look at - John Steinbeck, particularly in his last book "Travels With Charlie" and James Michener who has chronicled the development of our country - and others - like few other authors. Steinbeck and Michener 
to get this buggy down the road to Duluth, Minnesota where we will stop for a while. There is much to tell about before we hit the sack tonight but all this rambling about roads has probably worn you out. So, I'll let some of the sights we saw on the way to - and as we entered - Duluth do their own talking. But, first - take a look at this really neat tree. I know you folks from about Virginia on up to Canada are very familiar with the species but us "sandlappers" rarely see them. It is a "Tamarack" and it is not only beautiful but the range of
medicinal and nutritional uses it has are extensive. (Yes, its foliage is, indeed, changing for the winter.) Although it is also known as a "Larch" in many places I like its "real" name because it is the Abenaki Indian word for "... wood used for snowshoes!!!" We think you'll find Duluth a cool place to visit and the folks we'll tell you about were fascinating - so - rest up and come on back. See ya. 
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