My SO and I chose a trip around Lake Superior as our first long range (1500 mile) MINI excursion. Dingo, my MINI was packed and eager to go last monday morning. Our first stop, and the only scheduled stop was in Green Bay. There we took a guided tour of the refurbished Stadium that is the famous Lambeau Field. The tour included a stop in one of the new luxury boxes. Now that would be a great way to see a game! Too bad I don't have $100,000 dollars laying around for the seasons rent. Oh well!

We also checked out the Packers Hall of Fame, which was very interesting. I won't bore with too many details, but the Packer tradition and history is impressive. 12 World Championships, more than any other NFL team, and in the smallest market area. The Packers are the only professional sports franchise that is publically owned.

Here is Dingo with Lambeau Field in the background.


Since our route took us through the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, we had to stop at the Peshtigo Museum. The Museum has artifacts and remnants of the Great Peshtigo Forest Fire of 1871. The fire was the worst forest fire in United States History, burning 1.5 million acres and taking 1200 to 2400 lives. Some websites billed it as the worst natural disaster in US history. I guess hurricane Katrina now holds that distinction. An interesting note is that the Great Chicago Fire (of Mrs. O'leary fame) happened on the same day. The Chicago fire is remembered although Peshtigo had 5-10 times more casualties! Another interesting note is that Jerry, a local fellow who hangs out at the museum and helps with questions and stories is almost a ringer for Buddy Ebsen. I almost expected him to break out into an old soft shoe routine or a mountain clog.

The next picture is Tahquamenon Falls, in the State Park of the same name in Upper Michigan. This is one of the largest falls east of the Mississippi. 200 feet across and a drop of 50 feet, 50,000 gallons of water pour over per second. Also a picture of some vegetation along a trail.





Still in the UP is the Point Iriquois Light House. Operating from 1870 to 1963. We were able to climb up into the turret. And, the West Bay Diner (good chili dog) with the usual locals displaying the usual interest in the MINI in the parking lot.

 

We crossed into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, and begin heading west on Hwy 17, which is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. One of our first stops was at Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park. We took a short, rocky, trail down to the lakeshore, one part of which goes through a narrow rock fissure about 5 feet wide and maybe 100 feet high. Once at the shore, you travel at your own risk on huge boulders (very slippery when wet) to an area with ancient Cree indian drawings. Most were very hard to see, but I include a picture of the clearest. Looks like a dinosaur to me!



There are numerous waterfalls along hwy 17, all very beautiful. Unfortunately my pictures don't do them justice. There are also giant sand dunes. The area of Picture Rocks National Seashore is all dunes as far as the eye can see. They are mostly covered in vegetation now, which has stabilized them to a degree. I include 2 pictures of the area. Both taken from the same spot. The first is a distant lighthouse and the second are 200 foot high dunes starting right at the shore. Quite an impressive sight, and the water is beautiful! Years ago loggers slid logs down these dunes into Lake Superior where they were floated to saw mills.




Approaching ThunderBay from the east we made a stop at Ouimet Canyon. We first saw it over 20 years ago on a motorcycle trip. We just saw a sign and decided to check it out. At that time we drove to a parking area and then walked a small trail into the woods. Within a few yards we crossed a wooden bridge, fairly new and massively built, with a giant boulder in the middle that effectively stopped vehicles from going further. We weren't sure why the bridge was there but we kept walking and all of a sudden emerged from the undergrowth to find ourselves on the very edge of the canyon. It was a drop of 300 feet, down sheer rock walls with no barricades or anything. Quite a sight, but what really got us feeling a little queasy were the automobiles laying on rocks 300 feet below. Apparantely quite a few autos were sacrificed over the years, which explained the massive wooden bridge. I suspect they had to get a heavy duty crane in every once in a while to hoist out the carcasses.

Ouimet has changed in the 20 years since we first visited. The canyons the same, but now wooden walk ways and observation decks take you right out over the canyon edge. And there are no autos down below. I think I'll remember the first view a lot longer! Here are three pictures from the decks.







From there we headed down into Minnesota and then home. It was a great trip, and lots of fun. Dingo took it all in stride, including a nasty 30 mile stretch of washboard gravel road in the UP. I thought I was going to lose my fillings.:impatient The people were friendly and very interested in the MINI. I think most had never seen one before. At one restaurant, we sat at a window directly in front of where Dingo was parked. Two local guys left the restaurant and began to check Dingo out. I mean they did everything but crawl under it, pointing out things and nodding in approval. They knew we were watching also, and gave us thumbs up gestures and hand signal questions on if it was fast or not. That was a lot of fun, and then one of them saw the "Actual Size" decal I have on the rear side window. He started laughing so hard he almost dropped to his knees and his buddy too when he saw what caused the commotion. That simple encounter made our whole day!

A few other notes. No speeding tickets, although I thought I was a gonner on one occasion. Hwy 17 is mostly 2 lane, with a third lane added for passing on long upgrades. On one particular stretch I was behind 2 semi's, and a couple campers. We crested a hill and there was a wide open road ahead so I downshifted and poured on the coals and passed them all very quickly (JCW going downhill), as I ducked back into my lane I checked the review mirror and saw 2 mounties also attempting to pass the same vehicles. A quick glance at my speedo revealed over 100 mph (I said it was a quick pass!). I immediately backed off the throttle and settled in at 70 mph which seemed to be the OK speed on that road. The two mounties fell in behind me, and I watched for the lights to come on... they never did. They passed me at the next opportunity and went on their merry way! Whew!

Crossing into and out of Canada was easy. Probably too easy. They didn't ask for ID or passport or anything. Just wanted to know where we were going and why, and what kind of mileage I got. They probably figured what-the-heck, how much could they smuggle in a MINI?

And finally, I've done a considerable amount of traveling in my time, and I must say the MINI is the most fun way to travel I've ever tried. And also the most comfortable. The sport seats seem to be perfect for both of us. The air conditioning was great. And the music was phenomenal. I had made up three cd's of our favorite music with 150 mp3's each. In 1500 miles we only had to change the cd once! We averaged 29.84 mpg for the trip. All in all, it was GREAT!

 

Beautiful write-up! I grew up in Duluth, spending my summers swimming in Lake Superior - brrr.

I have thought about taking a trip like yours. Thanks for the awesome pictures and the great stories.

 

Thanks adame! I'm glad you enjoyed my travelogue. I really enjoyed the trip, and the MINI made it extra special. There is still time for you before the snow flies.

 

Well, this thread is about as obscure as Millard Filmore. If I need to hide out I know where I'll go!

 

Thanks for the travelog and pics of America. Some of the scenes reminded me of Fenimore Cooper and text of "Deliverance" (thankfully, not quite). Beautiful places. So civilized. And nearly 30 mpg! Perfect.

PS: I noticed the wheels (SSR?) and were you on runflats?

 

Your welcome! It was a great trip, and I just love driving Dingo. We did cut it a day or two short because of a run on gas. The run dissolved but we felt a little guilty burning up gas at such a time.

The wheels are SSR, I love them, and even the lack of hub covers adds a certain toughness to the look. No runflats anymore, my back didn't like them, those are BF Goodrich g-force sports. They seem to stick like glue, are quiet, and I dropped 8 pounds per wheel. A mini-spare fit behind my seat for the trip. I think I'm going to get some steel wheels and all-seasons before the snow starts.

 

^ I shoulda realized a seasoned MINI NAMmer would have a mini spare for a mini vacation.

Best wishes.

"If you lived here you would be home by now." Firesign Theater circa 1971.

 

Funny how we can remember a line from 35 years ago and still can't remember to take out the trash!

 

Ran, fantastic travelogue! I've not been up to that part of North America. Now I want to go, too!


Clover

 

That's another reason why I live in an apartment building, but I had forgotten it.