Awesome Upper Peninsula

We've been on the southern shore of Lake Superior for several days now, working our way east toward Sault Ste. Marie, where we will cross into Canada.  
This is really nice country, and Superior is the prettiest of the lakes we have seen so far  (also the coldest ..... and in the winter the roughest - 20 ft. waves not uncommon).  The lake elevation is 602 ft. above sea level ... it seems strange to be climbing hills up to the lake.  Everything is so green and fresh ... almost like our spring; but the temperatures feel like our fall.  We are so happy to have at last found cool weather.

We also found unexpected friends here in Marquette, Michigan.  I had called a former co-worker/friend who grew up in this area .... to make sure I didn't miss any of the best sights. Not only did he give me a two page list of things to see, but his mother called us and became our tour guide for two days! She is a wonderful lady and took us to so many places .... it has been a real highlight.
We toured a iron ore processing plant, which was absolutely fascinating. Then we saw the iron ore being loaded into the ships to be sent down south to the steel mills.  It was so interesting; and we can't wait to get to Detroit to see how they make it into steel.
This town is very picturesque, and sits on the hills above the lake. They have made a nearby island into a beautiful park, where we saw a wedding taking place.  The old part of downtown has almost a dozen of the old stone churches with beautiful, tall steeples. 
We stayed two nites in L'Anse, MI, where all the town's main streets come down out of the hills into the downtown hub at the waters edge.   It seems like winter would be especially hard getting up and down these hills.  Of course if you overshoot downtown and end up in the lake .... no worries; it's frozen anyway.  But they say the vehicle of choice is the snowmobile; so I guess they have adapted.

And I have to mention "pasties" (the a pronounces like in patsy) ... which is a UP tradition.  They are individual pastry pies, hand held, with anything in them you like .... but traditionally ground beef/pork mixture with potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.   Kinda like a pot pie or empanada, but about the size of a sandwich.  They are delicious .... brought to this area by the tin miners from Finland .... as an easy way to carry your lunch to work.

And the UP people are called "Yoopers".  It really is a different country up here, with really friendly people ..... absolutely different from lower Michigan.

Tomorrow on to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, where we will take a lake cruise to see the famous rock formations and colors.
Our internet connections have been limited, but I'll report when I can.
Later, Marilyn