Circle Trip - June 29, 2020 - Day 3

Day 3: Traverse City to the UP

It is another beautiful morning in Michigan. While Magellan and Buttercup had a good night's rest, I spent the night poring over Harley service manuals trying to find a solution to the shifting problem on my bike. That is what I do.  

Buttercup proved himself to be a breakfast ninja. He found a breakfast restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. And as you can see, he is immensely pleased with himself - smiling over a 1,000 calorie plate of strawberries and cheesecake pancakes. 

The Appointment With the Harley Doctor

For all of my griping about poor Harley engineering, the one redeeming quality about Harleys is the Harley community. The Harley folks are wonderful and are tremendously helpful. 

We arrived early at the Harley Dealer - of course. And we started speaking with the person who turned out to be the manager of the store. Before the store even opened, he had wrenches out tinkering with the shifting arm. That didn't solve the problem, so we waited for the Harley "tech" to arrive. 

The Harley doctor took one look at the problem, and said "oh yeah, it is your internal shifting connection. If we have the part, you'll be out of here in an hour and a half. And we should have the part, as this is not an uncommon event." [My interpretation, bad engineering and bad quality control]. They had two mechanics out, but put us to the front of the line. It took an hour and one-half to fix, and we were on our way - the best $176.00 I ever spent.  

During that hour and one-half at the dealer, Magellan almost bought himself a new bike.

The Old Mission Peninsula

In the middle of Grand Traverse Bay is a peninsula, called the Old Mission Peninsula. It is the area in white on the map below.

This is another Scenic Byway, which traversed the vineyards on the wine trail. Did you know that Michigan produces wine in this area? 

https://www.ompwinetrail.com/trail-map/

This part of the world also grows loads of fruit, peaches, cherries, etc. There are orchards everywhere. And the fruit is really good. Check-out the orchards lining the highway. 

 At the very tip of the peninsula is a lighthouse, which is on the 45th parallel - halfway to the equator from the north pole. 

 The Drive to Mackinaw

The drive from Traverse City to Mackinaw is fantastic. The towns along the way are rustic, and delightful. 

We all have GPS systems on our bikes, so we can see when the roadway comes close to the water. You can feel the drop in temperature when the highway nears the water. It is something we look forward to given the heat of the day. 

The highlight of the afternoon was watching Magellan "navigate" one of the new fangled soda machines at a fast food restaurant. I admit I had a hard time figuring out that machine myself.

The bridge at Mackinaw is a sight. It is more of a sight when seeing Magellan riding in front on the bridge. 

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the Upper and Lower peninsulas of  Michigan. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long (4.995 mile) bridge is the world's 24th-longest main span and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. 

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The roadway along the top of Lake Michigan was terrific, scenic and fast. 

We stopped at a gas station. They not only sold bait, but they sold ammunition. They must have had six different types of shotgun shells ranging from rifled slugs to waterfowl loads. They had large caliber rifle ammunition, and they had large caliber handgun ammunition. Who but Dirty Harry goes to a gas station to buy .44 magnum ammunition? Really? Buttercup asked the cashier if this was a high crime area. 

My children had me watch the series, the "Tiger King." I think the Yoopers (people who live in the UP, or Upper Peninsula) have their own Tiger King right there in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan:

Maybe the Tiger King has an interest in the Garlyn Zoo? Who knows. 

The ride to our hotel took us through the Hiawatha National Forest. The roads are good, they are straight and the forests are incredible. But we have not seen any wildlife. 

Taps

We are spending the night in a little burg called Munising, Michigan. There is nothing here except activities for Lake Superior, and the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore. We'll drive through the National Lakeshore tomorrow. 

Today we did 320 miles. It is our longest day, but short in comparison to past trips.