On the phone with someone today I said that the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan is unique, and I was asked what makes it so. This is a land that is very sparsely populated. It’s about 350 miles long, yet the entire population is just over 300,000. Today we are in Manistique, a town of about 3,500 on Highway US 2. Tomorrow we ride to St. Ignace, population about 2,700. St. Ignace is the next sizable town to the east. You’ll see a few other dots on the map, but they are little more than crossroads with a building or two. The U.P. is heavily forested, and hunting and fishing are major activities.
Perhaps more than anything, the U.P. is defined by the Great Lakes, which make it a peninsula. Windswept and cold Lake Superior is on the north, Lake Michigan on the south, and Lake Huron on the southeast. The Straits of Mackinac join Lakes Michigan and Huron, and join the Upper and Lower Peninsulas via the Mackinac Bridge. A vantage point that takes in one or more of the Lakes can be truly stunning.
Today’s 70 mile ride to Manistique was largely uneventful. We had a few views of Lake Michigan, but much better views will come tomorrow. A light but significant headwind for much of the day made it wonderful to have two riders together, so that we could take turns breaking the wind.
If you read the previous entry, you know that residents and/or natives of the U.P. are called Yoopers. Here is the Yooper perspective on creation:
In da beginning dere was nuttin. Den on da first day, God created da U.P. On da second day he created da partridge, da deer, da bear, da fish, and da ducks. On da third day he said, “Let der be Yoopers to roam da Upper Peninsula.” On da fourt’ day God created da udder world down below. On da fift’ day he said, “Let dere be trolls to live in da udder world down below.” On da sixt’ day he created da bridge so da trolls would have a way to get to heaven. On da sevent’ day God saw it was good, so he went huntin’.
Perhaps more than anything, the U.P. is defined by the Great Lakes, which make it a peninsula. Windswept and cold Lake Superior is on the north, Lake Michigan on the south, and Lake Huron on the southeast. The Straits of Mackinac join Lakes Michigan and Huron, and join the Upper and Lower Peninsulas via the Mackinac Bridge. A vantage point that takes in one or more of the Lakes can be truly stunning.
Today’s 70 mile ride to Manistique was largely uneventful. We had a few views of Lake Michigan, but much better views will come tomorrow. A light but significant headwind for much of the day made it wonderful to have two riders together, so that we could take turns breaking the wind.
If you read the previous entry, you know that residents and/or natives of the U.P. are called Yoopers. Here is the Yooper perspective on creation:
In da beginning dere was nuttin. Den on da first day, God created da U.P. On da second day he created da partridge, da deer, da bear, da fish, and da ducks. On da third day he said, “Let der be Yoopers to roam da Upper Peninsula.” On da fourt’ day God created da udder world down below. On da fift’ day he said, “Let dere be trolls to live in da udder world down below.” On da sixt’ day he created da bridge so da trolls would have a way to get to heaven. On da sevent’ day God saw it was good, so he went huntin’.
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