August 2019 - Day 19/21 Duluth, Minnesota to St. Ignace, Michigan

Monday, August 26, 2019 - drive Duluth, Minnesota to St. Ignace, Michigan (423 miles):

the jagged red line is the break between the Central Time Zone and the Eastern Time Zone.

I was sitting in my room about 6:45, thinking about how the day was going to unfold. I had a 5-hour-and-20-minute drive to get to Munising, Michigan, and I had a ticket on the 1 PM "Spray Falls Cruise" boat-tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. So I should leave at 20 minutes before 8. BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THE TIME ZONE CHANGE!, meaning I should leave at 20 minutes before 7 - I WAS ALREADY 5 minutes LATE!

So I just got all my stuff together and hit the road!

It changes to Eastern Time Zone just east of Wakefield, Michigan. There was a huge lake 20 miles farther east of Wakefield - Lake Gogebic - but no time for pictures!

Kind-of-speeding, I reached the Pictured Rocks Cruises at 12:45 (Eastern Time Zone):


Nice boat:


With a good view out the stern:



20 minutes into the trip we saw our first "Pictured Rocks":

with many more to follow. Perspective from the boat:

and with kayaks:

(I'm glad I'm in the Tour Boat).

One of the arches:



Cool Rocks:





and waterfalls:


On the way back we got a nice close-up of "East Channel Lighthouse" on Grand Island:


Back at the dock by 3:30. I hit the gift shop (postcards!), and then headed just up the road to "Munsing Falls Visitor Center", which has a little 1/4 mile hike to a waterfall:



I then drove a couple of miles farther up the road, to the "Headquarters":

It was raining, and I had already gotten my map/brochure, so I just headed back into town to mail Ellie's postcard:


My 122 mile/2 hour drive down to St. Ignace, was easy, and I went alongside the north shore of Lake Michigan



WAIT - what does that sign say?

Gee, I don't recall seeing any signs that said: "Watch for BISON on road"!!!!

Within sight of the Mackinac Bridge:

I checked into the Super 8 in St. Ignace, Michigan at 6:20 PM:


Thank You God for these great adventure days!

Driving music today:

Billy Joel - River of Dreams, 1993


Simple Minds - Good News from the Next World, 1995


Big Head Todd and The Monsters - Sister Sweetly, 1993


Spanky and Our Gang - Greatest Hits

a few nice hits on this album. And yes, one song ("Give A Damn") still gives me chills after all these years.

Tears For Fears - Raoul and the Kings of Spain, 1995

Great 1st song, lousy rest of album.

The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse, 1996


The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East-West, 1966

with Mike Bloomfield on lead electric guitar.

Mott the Hoople - All The Young Dudes, 1972

4 songs I culled from the extended cd.

The National - Boxer, 2007

I knew the lead singer sounded like someone - Leonard Cohen!

The National - High Violet, 2010

August 2019 - Day 18/21 Red Lodge, Montana to Duluth, Minnesota

Sunday, August 25, 2019 - drive Red Lodge, Montana to Duluth, Minnesota (914 miles in 14 hours):


A nice friend out by my car at 6:30 this morning:


45 miles down the road, I leave 90 East and get on 94 East:


As you can imagine, it is pretty desolate out here:


It is 316 miles to the North Dakota border:

and AT NO TIME was the speed limit not 80 mph - that is just an "urban myth" - "wow, man, out in eastern Montana, there are roads with NO SPEED LIMITS!"

Maybe I'm just a little jaded by the Wyoming/Idaho/Montana mountains:



At least I got to pick up some litter, and clean-up the world.

I stopped in Dickinson, North Dakota for gas/groceries/postcard. My method is to buy one of those pre-wrapped ham-and-cheese subs, and a quarter-pound of roast beef. Put half the roast beef on half the sub (getting rid of the top-half of bread), and that is lunch. Dinner is what's left. Works out well.

North Dakota looks a lot like eastern Montana:


12:55 = Entered Central Time Zone

It was pretty cool crossing the "Missouri River" in Bismarck, North Dakota:




There were a lot of times when the road narrowed (construction), and you had to drop down from 80 to 50:

maybe that's why my mileage was lousy, and the car only thought I could go 380 miles on a tank of gas:


Crossed into Minnesota at 5:50


HUGE number of lakes in that state!!!! Even though I was "on task", I just had to stop at one (Leech Lake):


NOTE: I did not stop at either "Toad Lake" or "Wolf Lake". (Just like I NEVER plan on swimming in "Shark Bay", wherever that is.)

I checked into the Super 8 in Duluth, Minnesota (the Land of 10,000 Lakes) at 10 PM


Wow - Thank You God for keeping me safe & sound across that whole space-time continuum!

Driving music today:

I finished "Pattern Recognition", cd 9:

Great Book!

Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills - Super Session, 1968


The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You, 1981

pretty cool BLASTING across Montana, listening to the Stones.

Tom Rush - The Circle Game, 1968

Tom Rush performed at St. Paul's (his dad had been a teacher there, but before my time) once-upon-a-time (?68, ?69), and did a wonderful job. ?My first concert?

lyrics: "Urge For Going"

I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And all trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown

Then it was "No Music" for an hour - because at 88 mph through northeastern Montana, with my driver's window down, even I cannot crank the music loud enough to hear it.

Note to Caroline: You do not want to watch any "Fast and Furious" movies at night when you are driving cross-country during the day.

11:12 - I just crossed over into North Dakota, and am down to 80 mph. Ok, I'm bored - music back on.

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - This Time It's For Real, 1977 second album


Allman Brothers Band - 2nd Set, 1995 live album

lyrics - "Back Where It All Begins"

Say you want to be a rollin' stone
'n get your sail out in the wind
Get out on the highway
And just let it roll on
Roll on back to someplace you ain't never been
Hey, hey
When I was younger
I was hard to hold
Seem like I's always goin'
Whichever way the wind was blowin'
Now that travelin' feelin'
Calls me again
Callin' me back where it all begins

Neil Young - American Stars 'n Bars, 1977


The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues, 1978 debut album


lyrics - "Soul Man"

Comin' to ya on a dusty road
Good lovin' I got a truck load
And when you get it you got something
So don't worry cause I'm coming

Emmylou Harris - White Shoes, 1983

I LOVE her version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"!

Hootie & the Blowfish - Fairweather Johnson, 1996 second album


John Scofield and Pat Metheny - I Can See Your House from Here, 1994


Evening has come on, and with my windows rolled up, I did a new book-on-cd:

I started "Spook Country", cd 1:


Richie Havens - Now, 1991