Where s that time zone?

Trivia time: If the State of Michigan is in the Eastern Time Zone and Wisconsin is in the Central Time Zone, where is the line drawn where you change your clock?

I awoke this morning anxious to get on the road and put some miles behind me. I had some sight-seeing to do and hopes of making it to my Uncle Jim's house for dinner with Jim and Judy.

First on the agenda was finding the road to Miner's Cove near Munising, on the south shore of Lake Superior.

I was rolling the tires by 7 and, shortly came to the road I needed. To my surprise The Girls told me to turn onto the road. Surprising because it was a dirt road, a first for The Girls! I guess even they figured that the one mile stretch of dirt was a better alternative than the 50 miles of paved alternative. 

When I emerged from the dirt I was on a county highway, another first I do believe. I followed the highway around the south of the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline park. Before going north on Miners Cove Road I stopped to eat at a nice eatery named the Bear Trap. 

A stop here was worth the time just to see the decor, an eclectic mix of animals (stuffed or photographed) and NASCAR. They also had a world map on the wall with hundreds of pins sticking in it. I confirmed with my waitress that the pins were indicating where their customers had come from. To my amazement the entire State of Idaho was bare (bear?). When I mentioned that they could place a pin in the map for Boise she handed it to me and invited me to do the honors!

Besides the decor the restaurant was notable for it's food too. My ham and cheese omelet had more ham in it than any I have had before! Sooooo good!

Miner's Cove had a upper and lower overlook. I took pictures at both and determined that I should take the tour boat to see the area from water level.

From here I went only a few miles west to Munising where I quickly located the tour boat ticket office. The price of tickets was reasonable but the time was not, for me anyway. The next tour departed at noon and would last for 2.5 hours. This would put me back on the road at 3 or so, with another 2.5 to 3 hours of riding ahead of me. With pictures taken and my perception of a better use of my time I quickly decided to skip the boat (even though it would have been another form of transportation)!

The ride from Munising to Marquette was listed by AAA as 48 miles of scenic byway. It was more like 43 and the scenery was, uh, pleasing to the eye but, IMHO, not worth the ranking. I was disappointed when I rolled into Marquette, but now had the opportunity to make up time on the way to Jim's place.

In Sagola I stopped for lunch. As I rolled through downtown I spotted a restaurant right on the Main Street. I parked and locked the bike, taking off helmet and gloves first. I then walked a short distance to the front door, only to discover the establishment was closed. A survey of the other store fronts showed no other eateries. As I put my helmet and gloves on I heard a voice coming from down the block.

"Are you looking for a place to eat?" asked a lady as she walked across the street. When she reached where I was she told me in great detail where other local diners were located. I asked her if she often flagged down strangers to see if they were hungry. She laughed and said she volunteered on a business development committee for the town. So I went as directed to an otherwise undistinguished restaurant and had a suitable meal.

When I came out I found that the sky had sprung a minor leak. It had just begun to sprinkle. I looked skyward to evaluate the odds of my needing my rain suit soon. I opted for the rain pants, but by the time I had them on it was obvious, even to me, that the coat was likewise called for. It never rained hard, but sprinkled long enough to make me glad I took the precautionary step.

One thing I noticed while in the restaurant was that they were operating on Central Daylight Savings time. The answer to the question above is that, like the rest of Michigan, the U.P. Is on Eastern Time except the counties that touch the border with Wisconsin, which are on Central Time.

I was shortly passing into the State of Wisconsin, where the rain became somewhat more persistent despite being forecast for near perfect for three days.

Within only a few miles I hit another milestone as my Tripometer flipped over to indicate my 13,000 miles (12,000 without U-Turns).

I soon was going through St. Germaine where I spotted this enthusiastic fisherman.

I will spend a couple of days with Jim and Judy before taking a side-trip to my home town of Beloit, Wisconsin. I suspect that I will be there awhile visiting with my 90 year old mother. There may not be much on the agenda for a week but, you never know!