Hey Boof, I was just re-reading my U.P. journal and can't believe I failed to respond to this comment. I experienced a "Slush River" on a trail in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, and it was not fun at all. In my case, I was descending, and it was July, and the air temperature warmed up quickly. In your case, you were ascending from Lake of the Clouds, and it was March, and the air probably warmed up not one bit. You win!

I'm glad to hear you made it to Lawrey's. However, their traditional beef pasty actually DOES have rutabaga in it, though the pieces are rather small. So maybe that's why you missed it. It's true they don't have carrot, but that's fairly common in U.P. pasties. Personally, I like when they come with carrots.

And yes, cubed beef is weird. Interestingly, I don't remember that about Crossroads' pasties, but that's probably because it's been about 30 years since they provided about 150 pasties for a big Garceau Family Reunion.

We recently were in Marquette, MI and finally had a chance to try Lawry's pasties - the breakfast ones which were good but not traditional, along with the meat and veggie versions. We agree that the meat versions were good although they lacked the carrots and rutabagas. The veggies version were also good - they had the carrots, potatoes and rutabagas. The crust was good on all of those. We also had a beef pasty at a restaurant called The Crossroads. It was also good but the beef was cubed which was weird.

You just impressed a third person with your Latin knowledge. If I had tried to memorize "Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus" at age 19, the only thing I'd come up with now is "Ick-something."

Thanks, Boof, for all the new comments. To be sure, I felt nostalgic for my home country too while riding this route. The nostalgia hit a crescendo in Marquette, where I couldn't control myself.

After I retired, The Feeshko and I considered moving back to Marquette (which is where we met) or possibly someplace else in the U.P. near the Greatest Lake in the World. In the end, we couldn't justify the hassle and expense of moving. Man, I sure was regretting that decision while on this tour. But then I remembered something I had written in a different journal. It was about how everybody finds a cool place where they want to live, but when they've been there a few years, it's just routine, and they want to take a vacation in some other ideal place they've just read about. Or maybe back to the place they left in the first place. Honestly, I didn't really appreciate the U.P., or even Iowa, until I moved away from those places.

As for slipping a canoe into that bay, I say "amen to that." It was so calm that maybe you could have paddled all the way to Isle Royale with your bike to begin that epic tour we discussed.

Even these photos make me homesick.

Yes, Ictidomys tridecemlineatus, the only Latin I know. Someone told me the Latin for this ground squirrel when I was about 19 years old and for some reason it stuck. I've been able to impress only about two people with this bit of knowledge since I was 19. But, I let them thinking that I knew the Latin name for every living thing.

These photos are so nice. You are enticing me to ride this route. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic for my home country. I want to slip a canoe into that water.

I love this photo too. It has a dreamy feel to it. If you hadn't mentioned the highway I never would have even seen it in the photo. There's like a bit of soft focus feel to the bike that draws my eye away from that highway which is why I didn't notice it. Of course I can't hear the cars or I would have noticed it right away.

Quit your complaining. You sound like a Minnesotan. I think this is gorgeous!

What with all the smuggling the moderators would be mesmerized into realizing that it was one of the most adventurous epic bike journeys ever and would definitely accept it. Thank you for the suggestion. All I have to do now is find some shoulder padding.

Betty's Pies is a major north shore landmark--perhaps only 2nd to Split Rock Lighthouse. I had a pasty there maybe 20 years ago and I wasn't too impressed either. And, while I love gravy in general, I'm not a fan of it on my pasty. Gravy won't even be offered as an option in most western U.P. pasty shops. Ketchup is the preferred condiment there. I used to use ketchup all the time, but recently I've come to prefer my pasties straight-up.

By the way, if you make it back to Betty's, I'd recommend a slice of their Triple Berry Pie. That recommendation carries some weight because I normally don't care for pies at all.

Thank you for your pasty update, Marilyn, and keep them coming.

Well, we're camping here in Duluth and finally found some pasties to taste at Betty's Pies in Two Harbors.You'd think there would be lots of places that make pasties, but not in this area. We tried a beef pasty. It was ok but I thought the crust was too thick and the gravy too salty. We're headed for Marquette in a few days and plan to continue the pasty taste testing.

Nope, that's Mike the Tent. Jim the Tent was Mike's predecessor. It was replaced just before my tour of Idaho. Anyway, Mike actually likes view-blockers.

Well would you look at that. It's Jim the tent. Does his opinion of view-blockers match yours? Because he's definitely not getting a tan where he's pitched in the shade.