Our third consecutive day of driving in the rain.  Today, though we added snow to the mix!  Yikes.  We covered 526 km and were in three different states – Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Last night was spent in Iron Mountain at the border between Michigan and Wisconsin.  When we left the hotel we drove about 1/2 mile and entered Wisconsin, going north for about 5 miles we re-entered Michigan and drove northwest paralleling the border until we reached Ironwood where we left Michigan again and re-entered Wisconsin.  A bit convouluted, I think, but that is the way the road was built.

It was cloudy when we left but the rain started soon and continued all day, sometimes heavy, sometimes very light; sometimes it would even stop for 10 minutes.  We got very excited once when we crossed a 100′ strip of sunshine on the road.

The scenery hasn’t changed for days; straight roads bordered by lovely colored trees with slight undulations in the ground.  We see an occasional lake or pond or river, but generally it is open highway and trees – pretty trees, but trees nontheless.  We did see four wild turkeys eating beside the road.  That was cool.

We stopped briefly at the town of Wakefield, WI to see the lake and chanced upon the Visitor’s Center that had a very nice tribute to all the persons in the town that have served in all the branches of the American military.  They also had a huge carved statue of a historically well-known Native fellow.

Wisconsin is not very wide at the top and borders Lake Superior.  I considered – very briefly – standing in the water again to do all the Great Lakes within the week but it was so cold the first time and so windy and wet today I overcame the urge; quickly, I might add.

Superior, Wisconsin is across the bridge from Duluth, Minnesota.  Both are port cities, with Duluth being the larger. But Superior is proud to have the world’s largest grain elevator, iron-ore docks and coal-shipping terminal based on the world’s largest body of fresh water.

We drove right through Duluth then headed NW into Minnesota.  The heavy rain we had been driving through turned into horizontlly blowing snow!

By the time we drove into Grand Rapids for the night the snow had stopped and it was raining again, but the wind was very cold.  We dashed across the parking lot to the hotel next door for dinner and happily closed the door to our hotel room when we got back.  I sure hope we don’t wake up to six inches of snow tomorrow.