eastern UP and Algoma district

I heard on the news that lake Superior is 11" above average, thought I'd ride out and see, when you think about how large Superior is, 11"is a shit ton of waters,


this is today



real close to the same spot awhile ago

If i took Gus down there today he would be under water



The news said that by the end of the summer it will at a all time record high.

Wow that is a lot of water. Riding back home to the UP since the 1970's I have seen Lake Michigan levels along US2 go up and down from time to time.

Yes indeed, and Lake Michigan shows it more on account of the shallow slope of the beaches, I was over in Rapid River this week and Michigan is getting close to US2 in spots

I guess I will see it first hand in a few days. I am heading to Brevort Lake to go camping with my younger Brother.

I used to log all along the North shore of lake Michigan and you can go a mile inland in places and find large sand dunes where the lake shore used to be... Yotes like them for den mounds...

The way it's rising it may make it to those dunes again.

Some of the UP dirtbike trails come to that campground, get hungry run up to Epoufette and hit the Bay View restaurant, it belongs to my brother Harry & his wife... Best is the Friday night all you can eat fish fry...

Yummy. That's sounds like a good plan. I love a fish fry.
No dirt bike trails this trip, Wing and Rollahome pop up camper

Hmm been by there 100's of times, maybe I'll stop in sometime.

Mid O VMD postscript

Honda had demo rides this year, so thought I'd try an Africa Twin Adventure sport DCT, I have no intention of every buying one, but that transmission is intriguing, so off on the AT once I was moving sometimes I didn't think it was shifting, even when using the paddle shifter, it's that fast, other than that it's a nice bike, nothing special to me, I have to admit that in previous years I rode the KTM's and they were a hoot, and that might be a lot to do with how they handle their demo rides.

The Honda demo ride was about as lame as you can get, the lead rider wouldn't go very fast, would have liked to rode the Gold wing but there was no use in it going that slow.

So my Buddy Tim and I were standing there looking across the parking lot, and I said, Tim let's go try out one of them Harley Davidsons, hardly anyone there, what do we have to lose.
Tim jumped on a street glide and I on a fat bob, no stinking guided tour just try to be back in a half hour, thanks Harley.
Not a bad bike really brakes where good, didn't ride to bad, decent power,fairly comfortable, but hot on the right leg when you put your feet down. It'll chirp the tire in second in case you need to know these things.

Then came back and tried a street bob, I couldn't wait to get off that thing, way uncomfortable, legs all jacked up, bars too high, I know they are the same basic bike but what a difference, even the transmission wasn't as good on the street bob, strange.
Thought about riding the road king, but it was getting hot, and I'll never buy one and we had more bikes to look at.

I have to say HD knows how to at least treat people well.

Took the KLR out for a spin Sat. haven't rode it much since doing some work on it, KLX needle, main jet, airbox drilling and snorkel removed, now she no longer surges at highway speed.


Had to duck under some trees and wait out a little rain squall.


Didn't stay out to long, rain showers popping up everywhere.



After this picture there was a downed tree on a slight hillside I had to get around and of course the ole swamp donkey had to lose its footing and land on top of me, good thing I wear mx boots, she had me pinned down for a minute,with most of the weight on my foot, but with all the soft ground and old bark My foot was extracted unscathed, jeez this things heavy when it's laying on its side.

A friend of mine picked up riding again this year, after many absent, he rides to work a lot and we've been able to go for a few rides, when schedules don't get in the way, so today we rode over and around the far east end of the U.P.

Old meets new the in the Detour Passage, 740 foot Algoma Conveyor and I think the sailing vessel ( I think but not sure 100%) Dulcibella






Detour Village Botanical Garden, well it seemed more like a memorial garden, and that's ok, it is a little unnoticed park alongside of M-134.

Enter the garden

Thanks for the updates, Doug. The KLR looks good out in it's element.

How old is this tree, maybe 2,3,or 4 years old, I guess it was far enough away from the water line back then, not so much now.


Many of these bushes and small trees are under 1 to 1 1/2 feet of water.




Someones ole puppy dog is discreetly memorialized here.

The 500 foot Alpena, down bound for, of course Alpena MI



Indeed



Is he giving me the salute?, no respect for their elders anymore.

As usual I'm wrong, I was using AIS to identify that sailing vessel, and mistook the Dulcibella as the Huron Jewel.


http://michiganbackroads.com/Quickie/HuronJewel.aspx

The first schooner to be built and launched in the great lakes in over fifty years.

I remember it now after reading this stuff, too much information floating around in my cranium.

That tree is 10 plus years old.

I guess that makes sense.

We've had some really nice weather the last month or so, mosseys,flies and ticks seem to be abated for now, at least in most places.

Last weekend against my better judgement I took the Valkyrie for a ride around the neighborhood, I don't particularly like to ride on the street on weekends around here with all the irresponsible, ignorant drivers, but the summer is coming to a close, and all too soon.

Rode from Brimley down and around to Engadine, back up thru Curtis and out ten curves road to Germfask, then stopped at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

Seney NWR approx 95,000 acres, it was instrumental in saving the canadian goose from near extinction in the 30's to early 50's.
I never knew they were scarce at one time, also they played a part in saving the whooping crane.
The NWR was a reclamation project of the CCC.




What was I saying about bugs, after stopping at the nice visitors center I thought I'd take a stroll on one of the trails, there was a good breeze blowing so figured it would be safe, well after about 15 min. the black flies found me, so made a fast retreat to the bike, and rode the 7mile one way gravel road that goes thru part of the refuge, it's hard packed and you can do it on any bike, and there are free spotting scopes scattered along so you can check out the area.




Back on M-77 north to Grand Marais, then SW to Wetmore and forest hwy 13.

The ORV parking lot at Kingston Plains