VAN CHAPTER III – MINNESOTA-WISCONSIN-MICHIGAN (Part I)

September 28, 2024 from Beaver Island, MI
Our first stop in Minnesota was just east of Fargo, SD at the Buffalo River State Park Campground. For the first time, we were on Central Time (starting half way across South Dakota—one of 11 states whose time zones are split…very weird, but pretty easy to adapt to). We were more tired than expected after a long drive (including the Enchanted Highway detour)…and realized that the constant heat and perhaps the half-day of smoky skies were taking their toll. We did find a fun and fairly typical Saloon along the way (note our van parked just outside), with a sign that made us chuckle:

We slept well (as we usually do), and the next day we drove across the northeastern part of Minnesota, with endless acres of grasses and grains (above right), excited to see Voyageurs National Park just east of International Falls, along the Canadian border. All the campgrounds were “first come/first-served” and a lot of them were surprisingly full, but we found the perfect spot and got another good night’s rest, very ready for a boat tour to Kettle Falls and back the next day.

Named for the 18^th Century trappers who blazed the watery trails through this region, Voyageurs National Park spans nearly 350 square miles and little of it is accessible by car. That’s why we signed up for a 5-hour boat tour, which was the perfect way to see and learn more about this remote and beautiful water wilderness area. 40% of the Park is water—80,000 acres—and it is on the edge of the Canadian Shield, with its exposed granite (2.7 billion years old!) and tree-lined shores—mostly white pine, spruce and ash, in the heart of Minnesota’s North Woods and also on the southern edge of the Borreal Forest. It reminded us of Georgian Bay, where we cruised across the top of Lake Huron in 2022. There are over 500 islands (mostly uninhabited) and it was quite beautiful, very relaxing and peaceful. Gary really took it in, declaring, “Nothing like being on the water!” Ahhhh, yes indeed!

Learning about the French trappers (“voyageurs”) was really fascinating—men of legendary strength and endurance who paddled birch-bark canoes laden with goods between northwestern Canada through these waters (as well as the adjacent Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)—over 1 million acres) all the way to Grand Portage (our next stop) on the shores of Lake Superior (and sometimes on to Montreal). In fact, per the Treaty of 1842 between the U.S. and Great Britain, the international border in Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan follows the customary trade route of the voyageurs! We’re glad we were able to tour Voyageurs before our next stop on the shores of Lake Superior.
We had hoped to see a bull moose at Voyageurs—they are sometimes seen swimming between islands—but we did not, so our legendary “moose chase” continues! We did see several stunning bald eagles and their nests and that was very fun. (There are more than 50 pairs in the Park right now.) There are also many wolves on the islands, but we didn’t see any of them either, so we stopped by the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN on our way to Lake Superior, hoping to see some there, only to learn they are “crepuscular” animals (as are moose and many other species) who are most active at dawn and dusk, so all 4 “Ambassador Wolves” were not visible in their 1.5 acre compound (below) while we were there. We did learn a lot about their habits and howls and their relationship to the wildlands, so that was good.

We spent 2 nights at Grand Marais on Lake Superior’s North Shore and took the North Shore Scenic Drive all the way up to the Canadian border and Grand Portage State Park where we walked through the forest to High Falls (120’—highest in Minnesota). We could hear the roar of the falls way before we got there! What a beautiful way to spend a morning!

It was at Grand Portage (meaning “The Great Carrying Place”) that goods and canoes had to be carried over land to avoid waterfalls and rapids too dangerous to navigate. We’re very glad we stopped at The Grand Portage National Monument and Heritage Center where we learned how important Native Americans were to the explorers and traders. They furnished sought-after pelts, equipment and knowledge essential to the voyageurs, taught them how to build canoes and guided them along the water routes into the wilderness.

Three things we’ve noticed in our travels through Minnesota and beyond that we’ve not seen elsewhere: lots and lots of cars, jeeps and campers carrying canoes and a huge number of yellow snowmobile and cross-country skier road signs. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are known for both summer and winter sports. In fact, friends from the Loop who live in Cable, Wisconsin are very avid cross-country skiers and have helped for years with Cable’s annual American Birkebeiner, North America’s largest cross-country ski race. They met us for lunch in Bayfield, Wisconsin overlooking Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands National Seashore (where they used to keep their boat). What fun it was to visit with them!

From the Apostle Islands, we made our way into Michigan (and Eastern Time) through the town of Houghton to the very remote Sunset Bay RV Park and Campground, once again on the shore of Lake Superior. By the way, Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world by surface area—31,700 square miles—350 miles long and 160 miles wide. It borders 3 states (Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan) and 2 countries. By volume, Lake Superior contains 10% of the world’s fresh water by holding 440 trillion cubic feet, second only to Russia’s Lake Baikal. We felt very blessed to stay on her shores in 3 different campgrounds, in 3 different states. We especially enjoyed stopping at Split Rock Lighthouse and seeing the sunset (and storm front) at aptly-named Sunset Bay RV Park.

Driving across the Upper Peninsula (U.P. to locals, who also call themselves “Yoopers”) was a treat as we continued on mostly 2-lane “roads less traveled,” through lots of small, very rural towns, including Manistique, where we stayed on the north shore of Lake Michigan and enjoyed a walk on its sandy beach overlooking its lighthouse. (The beaches we saw on Lake Superior were mostly pebbled.) We visited the fascinating old Seul Choix lighthouse nearby (center) built in 1895 and pronounced “Sis Shwah,” meaning “only choice,”) where boaters sought refuge from a giant storm on the Lake. We also began to see wild turkeys and more monarch butterflies that migrate here each summer. It was very fun to drive OVER the Mackinac Bridge (that we had boated UNDER 3 times) that connects the Upper Peninsula to the main part of Michigan (aka “The Mitten”) as we made our way to the western shore of Lake Huron. We spent a night there before arriving in Ann Arbor. (We do like camping on lakes!)

On September 20, after driving a total of 4900 miles (!), we finally arrived at our most-eastern destination on this Van Adventure and settled into a Red Roof Inn not too far from the huge (25 square mile) University of Michigan campus and some beautiful old neighborhoods. We knew parking for the USC v. Michigan game would be a problem, so we were thrilled when we found out there was a driver nearby who could shuttle us to and from the game the next day. He picked us up at the hotel, dropped us off at the stadium, picked us up afterwards (a bit of a walk) and drove us back to the hotel. Attending this game in “The Big House” was quite the experience!!! We got there early and were a bit overwhelmed by the acres of tailgate parties going on everywhere we looked—90% Michigan. It was a joy when we’d see another USC Trojan fan, always exchanging “Fight On!” chants as we passed. And once in the stadium we did our best to hydrate and stay cool in a very hot sun (92 degrees) as both teams warmed up and more and more people arrived. (Did you know that the officials do warm-ups too?!? We watched one go through all his hand signals!)

The game itself was quite a trip! We had great seats (10^th row, on the goal line), and we knew Michigan fans love their football, but we were not prepared for everyone standing most of the game and screaming (yes, not just yelling but screeeeaming) every time USC had the football. It took some getting used to, but frankly I saw most of the game on the huge Jumbotron screen above the end zone. USC didn’t play that well in the first half, but we both perked up quite a bit (after a fun halftime performance by the huge UofM band) when they started scoring in the second half and we exchanged high-5’s with the few USC fans around us as we finally went ahead. The game got very exciting and came right down to the wire, with Michigan winning in the last 35 seconds. AND, what we liked best was that the Michigan fans all around us couldn’t have been nicer! There were several couples and several families nearby, and we all congratulated each other on a great game. Even on the way out, Michigan fans were gracious and some went out of their way to make sure we had a good experience. That felt really good! Toward the end, they announced the attendance: 110,702!!

I don’t think we’d ever do this again, but it was very fun to experience USC’s first football game as part of the Big Ten. Fight on!