There and back!

September 27, 2006 (12:10pm)
52º F, Cloudy Rain, N wind 7 mph.

Good afternoon,

So .... the price of gas dropped to $2.259/gallon, so we decided to celebrate by driving to the Upper Peninsula to see the color change on the trees. They were supposed to be close to full color. Not! We were about a week or two too early. Oh well, we really did have a good time looking around the countryside and there was some color change.

The price of gas in Iron Mountain was $2.149/gallon and were surprised to see that just a few miles away in Iron River, it was $2.549/gallon! We expected it to be higher in Wisconsin than Michigan, and it was - $2.399/gallon across the border, but not that much difference in such a short distance in the same state. We did fill up in Iron Mountain on the way home. It is a bit far to drive for an 11¢/gallon savings though.

We stayed at the same motel we stopped at earlier in the summer. It is a very nice, Mom and Pop motel. Not too many are sitting on the edge of a lake, Ice Lake, or had real knotty pine paneling on most of the walls. This time it was a lot quieter with very few folks staying there. During the summer there were a lot of kids and adults fishing from their shore and dock. They were catching fish too! The kids would let out a squeal when they brought one in. Those kinds of "noises" we don’t mind at all and in fact enjoy them. They also serve a "continental breakfast," but with a nice twist. They have only one large diningroom like table to sit at, so everyone gets a chance to chat with the owner, other guests, and who ever happens to show up. It was really nice and probably could have continued for much longer than we stayed at the table. Probably did too!

The room had a small "desk," more like a shelf, at one window looking out on the lake. It was really neat to sit there and do my devotional at sunrise (my head alarm clock keeps working too well) and look out at the lake. The lake was smooth as a mirror as the sun started to peak over the horizon. As it came up, fog formed on the opposite shore, advancing toward our side of the lake, eventually enveloping the entire area. You couldn’t see more than 20' in front of your nose. As the sun rose higher, it burned off the fog, returning the lake to a mirror, but this time in brilliant sunshine. Beautiful. The sunrise and sunshine was a limited picture though, as clouds and rain were moving in from the northwest.

We did wander around the city of Iron River and Crystal Falls a bit, as well as the countryside surrounding them. Found the Paint River and it too was beautiful. Also a world class trout river among other fish in it. Was some surprised at the size of it, thinking it was about ¼ the size it actually is. Have to find out what a fishing license costs and maybe try to catch supper or breakfast next time we are up there. ;-)
Looking at the weather before leaving, it looked like there would be a break in the rain for a couple of days. That more or less happened. There were a few rain drops and a shower or two, but for the most of the time, it was nice, but a bit on the cool side. What else would you expect - up nort’? The countryside in that area is very similar to that around the deer camp I hunted from. The major difference is that there are not nearly as many washes and gullies scaring it. The tree cover is also similar, with much hardwood covering the land. Sure would not miss walking, or trying to walk, up all of the cliffs as around deer camp.

Since arriving home, the rains have returned again. Started to spritz on the way from Green Bay and really got serious about 2:00 A.M. this morning. Not too sure how much fell, but bet it is close to an inch, judging by the size of the water puddles in the driveway. It sure put the kibosh to the outside work. Probably a good thing to take a day to recover and get caught up on inside stuff for a change. Looks as though tomorrow will be nice again and I can get back outside. Lord knows there is enough to do.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><