Marquette MI

The last three weeks have been crazy. We were in Wisconsin for Alex's wedding and while there did a lot of visiting and reconnecting with friends. It was wonderful seeing so many friends that we

Lake Michigan shoreline
in Point Beach State Forest

haven't seen for too many years. We stayed at a campground near Two Rivers so we walked over to the lake a few times and walked along the shore. We went to a Packers minicamp in Green Bay and as we drove around the city marveled at how it has changed since we lived there. We went to Stevens Point to visit more friends and give Ann a chance to see the changes at UWSP. 

County Courthouse

With that leg of the trip complete, it is back to the U.P. eh. We spent three days in Marquette checking out a city that we've driven by on the edge many times but never stopped and checked it out for all it's glory. The area has a rich (pun intended) history in iron ore mining. As a result there are some nice old buildings dating back to the glory years starting in the late 1860s.

County Courthouse

St Peters Cathedral

The county Courthouse and St Peters Cathedral are amazing and not what we expected to find. The downtown area isn't very big but is kept up nice and we enjoyed walking around. The first three days the wind was blowing off the lake resulting in high temps in the 50s (yes, the end of June). However, as long as the sun was out locals were easy to spot in their shorts and tank tops and people were even at the beach in bathing suits - brrr. 

Some areas we enjoyed are the lower and upper harbors and Presque Isle Park. We drove a few miles out of town and hiked up Sugarloaf Mountain for some great views. We had a very nice stay. Here is a link to read more about Marquette: Wiki on Marquette MI

County Courthouse

County Courthouse

City Hall

View from Sugarloaf Mountain

View from Sugarloaf Mountain

Indiana and Illinois

We completed the Michigan lower peninsula portion of the trip and headed to Indiana for some repairs on our home. We had a great time visiting and reconnecting with old friends in Michigan!

While waiting for repairs we visited the DRV plant in Howe IN. We enjoyed seeing the insides of our fifth wheel as they are built. We killed time in the town of LaGrange where our repair facility is, we visited the David Rogers Historic Village near by and visited my cousin in Middlebury. We kept pretty busy.

LaGrange County Court House

Authentic log homes (1844)
at David Rogers Historic Village

Next we moved on to a place in Sublette IL. We have enjoyed walking the many miles of improved paths they have. We took a day trip to Starved Rock State Park (Wiki). The area has a high rock bluff with canyons, streams and waterfalls. Out in the plains, this is unique and thus has attracted inhabitants for hundreds of years. It is on the Illinois River so we also learned some about the Illinois Waterway (Wiki) and its system of locks and dams.

Walnut Canyon

Starved Rock

Illinois River from Starved Rock