2014 Road Trip – Day Ten – Iron River, MI To St. Ignace, MI – 1

RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.

Countrymen.

Today we reached the Mackinac Strait, spanned by the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the MI UP (Upper Peninsula) with the large part of MI to the south. The area is VERY French in fundamentals and St. Ignace (Saint Agnes, a patron of Church Musicians) illustrates the point. Touristy crescent-shaped harbor facing Mackinac Island with Mackinac Bridge off to the left. I have stayed now two nights at the Driftwood Motel, which has a popular restaurant and bar for both locals and tourists. Open year-round. Not fancy but nice. Very many hotels and motels in the area.

Iron River, MI, back in the trip a day, is considered the banana belt of the UP, had 200 inches of snow last winter, normal is about 70. Copper Harbor normal is @300 inches for a year. Ste. Ignace last winter had 200 inches, a record for here. Meanwhile, Western WA has been baking the last several winters and especially this past summer.

Friday, coming to St. Ignace, I had the experience for which I was hoping, the full effect of Fall Leaves. Compliments of MI Roadside Parks, which are gems, nicest of any state’s I have seen. Other states call them Rest Areas. MI calls them Roadside Parks. They are that, and the first I experience is the first made, early 20th Century, and preserves virgin forest.

This colored forest is not news to east coasters, but to this west coast boy, they are very big news. I never got to see this when I was at school in NYC except in urbanized scale (Central Park) and ambience.