I left Superior around 9:00 a.m. and the roads between there and Ashland were great!

Speaking of "great"... here is a view of the bay at Ashland!

You're obviously looking at a picture of a marina but the structure in the background (right) of the picture below isn't a pier.

Evidently (according to a nice little lady who said "way to go" when I told her about my trip), they used to run rail cars full of ore down the structure and ships would go beneath the structure to be loaded.

I really liked this building (which is a gift shop) so I took a picture of it! (Also Ashland)

Was I ever excited to see these little pups walk out of the convenience store in Watersmeet! "A Cairn!", I exclaimed to the surprise of the owner... No one ever knows what her dog is, she said. I told her that it happened to me all the time, too, with MY Maggie Mai.

Maggie Mae (the Cairn) and Georgie Girl (the Westie White) were on vacation from Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

If the owner actually makes it "online", here's a (sorry, not so good) picture of MY Cairn, Maggie Mai.

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring Maggie on MY trip... no room on the bike!

Here's a view of Crystal Falls' town hall and post office (left). For some reason, the clock tower reminded me of the one in "Back to the Future".

And here's a view down the main street of Crystal Falls. I didn't see any "falls" near by, but maybe during a rainstorm, this street becomes one!

I believe (as in I can't actually remember) that I took a picture of this house and gazebo (I LOVED the ramp to the gazebo...) in Florence.

I had just seen a sign saying "Iron Mountain, 14 miles" when the skies opened up. I could barely see (pouring rain and fog) and on top of it, there was construction... mud, loose gravel, the whole bit. I thought it was timely to STOP at Mel's Diner.

I tried one of their "Scramblers". Highly recommended! Delicious!

Do you like the cool "50s" decor? I'm glad the visibility was so poor as I came into town. I avoided going to one of the chain stores which were just a block further into town. See? The fact that it was raining was actually a happy circumstance!

I was at the Diner for a while and had a nice chat with Russ (right) and his friend. Russ owns a Yamaha touring bike. Evidently it NEVER rains when he rides HIS bike!

Russ told me that he'd seen the weather map on TV. There was one small green spot (rain) on the map. You got it... Iron Mountain. But as I said, a happy circumstance because I really enjoyed my chat with these gentlemen and also with the very friendly staff!BTW: Past Iron Mountain, I didn't see another drop of moisture all day.

On the way out of Iron Mountain, I admired the Dickenson County Courthouse.

They grow bears BIG in Norway, Michigan!!

This is looking back up the highway towards Escanaba from a gas station in Gladstone. That's Lake Michigan making everything you see hazy.

I stopped at a very nice rest stop just before Manistique to stretch my legs and "Phone home, E.T.!"

The marina in Manistique was very scenic!

I stopped at Carl's Cafe in Naubinway for coffee. (If I hadn't, my knees would have been permanently locked in a 90 degree riding angle.)

I was greeted by a very friendly and efficient waitress who earned a very good tip!

I arrived in St. Ignace around 10:30. Good timing since the bridge is beautiful at night.