From Iowa to Ishpeming- A backroads journey

I haven’t written much for the last ten days. I have been visiting family. We first stopped in western Iowa to see my cousins Scott and Greg at their weekend dune buggy cabin. Three days flew by as we drank beer, rode dune- buggies and played cards. I haven’t had so much fun in a long time doing something completely out of my comfort zone.

We then drove in to DesMoines to see Uncle Bob, the lone surviving patriarch of my dad’s generation. Growing up, I heard story after story about how Dad and his older brother Bob roamed the woods of Hiteman, stole watermelons from the neighbors field, and lived through the late years of the depression. Until now, the only times I have been to Iowa was for a wedding or a funeral. Being able to spend a full week with Uncle Bob and family was precious. Cousin Paula organized a mini- family reunion while we were there. 

From Iowa, we headed north to Hastings, Minnesota where my cousin Lisa lives. We toured the surrounding areas and cruised the waterways of the Mississippi and St. Croix.

I feel like we have been seeing the largest things - largest shoe, largest lake, largest chain saw...what next? 

I was able to carve out a little time to paint on Thursday while waiting for Lisa and Gary to get off work. They have a beautiful log cabin with lodge style decor. I added a bear picture.

We left on Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend to drive partway through Wisconsin. On the map I located a national forest with a sign for a ski area. I was raised next to a ski hill in Chewelah and anticipated a large parking lot that we could stay in for the night. I FORGOT that Wisconsin has NO mountains and the ski hill area was a wide spot in the road where cross-country skiers could start their trek. 


Do you ever do something and then later wonder what in the hell were you thinking? My colleague Kelly Puzio told me if we got to the Upper Michigan Peninsula, we should make sure and meet his brother Shaun and sister-in-law Jill. It sounded like a great idea at the time and Shaun and Gary exchanged texts and emails about fishing and the UP. We had arranged to stay on the street in front of their house for a few days. We were ten miles away from Ishpeming when I started wondering if this was such a good idea. The first thing I saw when we pulled up was a small hot pink and black car in the driveway with a pleasant looking woman waving at us. We got out of the RV, with both dogs in tow (I am not sure I mentioned that we had dogs...) and as soon as I walked around the back corner of the pickup, Jill said (at the same time giving me a full body hug) "Hi I am Jill and I am a hugger!" Gary stuck out his hand to shake and said as she was drawing him into a hug as well,"Nope, I am a hugger!"  From That first moment, I felt my anxiety melt away and after two days I have added another wonderful friend to my life. Jill was for a long time a semi-celebrity in town, as she was the morning local radio announcer for 19 years.  It is no surprise that when we went into town, everyone knew her. Shaun and Gary took a long day to fish and explore backwoods roads, while I introduced Jill to the "Doc Martin" series on Netflix. Left her with a little picture and our address and hope we continue to stay in touch.

So today was the first day in ten that it has just been Gary, me, and the dogs traveling. It felt good to get back to our routine. We parked the RV at Baraga Park and then drove the pickup to the far end of the peninsula. We saw the birthplace of professional hockey, endless copper mines, and stunning lighthouses. The dogs got to swim in Lake Superior and eat a hot dog for lunch. Happy puppies!  We will head east tomorrow. So far, from Iowa to Ishpeming was delightful! 


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