Tuesday, 20 January, 2009 We had planned to leave yesterday morning, but a prescription boondoggle held us up until late yesterday afternoon and then the OMG or the WTH light came on on the dash, so Kerry had to research on the internet how to find the code, then reset. This morning when we got up, it was 20 degrees out and snowing, with a dusting of snow covering the ground. We were more than happy to head south toward what we hoped was warmer weather. We kept seeing flurries until we were south of Florence, AL, but nothing sticking. Traffic all the way to Florida was light, even going through Birmingham and Montgomery. I guess everyone was in DC for the inauguration. We got to Bob and Gena's around 8 as planned. Wednesday, 21 January, ... read more

We drove over 475 miles today, from the middle of Michigan through Indiana to just south of Louisville, KY. We stopped for gas twice and stopped several times to stretch our legs (and unstretch our bladders.) It's been a long day for us, since we usually don't go more than 200 miles, and I took no pictures. So I thought I'd just share some wildflower photos that I didn't previously post, but I think they're pretty. We miss our family and are anxious to get home. It's making us think twice about our plans for a 9-month boat trip.... read more

We left Michigamme Shores after a fairly leisurely morning. It rained last night and we were hoping the camper would dry. It did, but the carpet didn't and my stove was full of water after being left outside. From Champion through Ishpeming and then Marquette, along the south shore of Lake Superior we drove, to Munising where we found the Visitor Center for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Pictured Rocks is a park that is best viewed from a boat, but there are overlooks, waterfalls and beaches. We started with Munising Falls, Sand Point, and Miner's Castle on the west side. Then we drove down around to the east side where we stopped at Sable Falls, the Log Slide Overlook with its views of the Grand Sable Dunes (500' high) and the Au Sable Lighthouse, then ... read more

We managed to leave the campground early and it still took us 4 hours to get the 80 miles to Duluth. First stop was Caribou Falls, with a 1/2 mile hike up to the falls. The falls were beautiful, but there were some brutal steps to the bottom. We pulled into the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, but after finding out that they wanted $8/person to see the lighthouse, we pulled back out and into a free overlook down the road where I got some pretty good pictures. At Two Harbors, MN, we saw the Agate Bay Lighthouse, the historic tugboat Edna G., and the iron ore docks before heading on. Once into Wisconsin, we took Rt. 13 up toward the Apostle Islands. We stopped in Bayfield and bought tickets to take a cruise through ... read more

This morning we took the Hwy 71 Loop around Bemidji to Northome where we expected to pick up MN Hwy 1. Somehow at Northome we got onto Hwy 46 instead and ended up taking about an hour and a half detour before finding our way back to Hwy 1. After that, it was fairly uneventful (woods, lakes, wildflowers, repeat) except for the road itself. For a state highway if was more like a country road, with 10 mph 90 degree turns . This road was along the edge of the wilderness, few towns, few houses, no hills to go around. It was as though they hired incompetent surveyors to lay out the road, coming from opposite directions, who never could seem to meet, so had to connect at right angles. This went on for about ... read more