Hancock, Michigan, July 15 — Here’s the thing about Duluth: Its maps need a Z-axis. From I-35 near the riverfront, as you go inland, the streets go up at a 45-degree angle. It’s San Francisco with eight months of winter. I was glad I was there in July and not January.
I spent the morning and early afternoon at the Depot museum and then a train ride along the North Shore. The train had different cars from different eras. I recommend it for anyone interested in railroad history. All my driving for the day was done after 2.
Trains at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum
The seat backs on this car can be flipped back and forth.
Route: I-35, US 2, MI 28, MI 64, US 45, MI 26 (clinched US 2 in WI)
US 2 has smooth asphalt and plenty of passing lanes. Trees are plentiful throughout. It took three hours to go all the way across Wisconsin on US 2, including a prolonged photo stop at US 63’s north end. (More on that later.)
Got to the Michigan welcome center right across the river at 4:55, only to find out the hours were 8-4. Wisconsin’s welcome center is still bathrooms only, which in some respects isn’t that welcoming at all. This governmental misstep should be rectified.
Construction on bridges on MI 64 was controlled by stoplight.
Despite a reroute of M-64, US 45 still ends in Ontonagon. One block before the sign, there’s “To South 45” with right arrow, and then another, and another. East a block, north two blocks, then south, and voila, you’re heading south on 45.
My drive was bathed in golden sunshine surrounded by trees. Perhaps overdoing it on the trees for me, but otherwise perfect drive. I got a room at the Hancock Ramada, right by the bridge into the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Google is in on the theory that the Upper Peninsula is really Occupied Wisconsin — despite my being in copper country and the Eastern Time Zone, Google Maps focused on the Badger State when I loaded the page.
New counties so far: 27 (4 NE, 2 SD, 14 MN, 1+3 WI, 3 MI)