Day 063 - Munising to Ishpeming - Two Far 2023 - Oranges to Apples

June 17, 2023

Day 063 - Munising to Ishpeming

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It was a great day today. The weather was nice, the roads, while busy, were good, and the scenery was varied. In addition, I visited 3 attractions which always makes my day.

My first stop of the day was the Lakenenland Sculpture Park where Jeanna was waiting for me. This is a privately owned, but free-to-the-public, attraction that we have visited previously. When we arrived, the small pond in front of the property was ringed with kids fishing. We discovered today was the South Shore Fishing Association's annual Kids Fishing Day. Each child received a free fishing pole, courtesy of the SSAF, and enjoyed a picnic lunch provided by the local Elks Club.

Just a small portion of the crowd. At the previous event, the SSFA gave away over 300 fishing poles to kids.

Just a sampling (albeit a large one) of the sculptures created by Tom Lakenen.

Shot Point Iron Mine is a whimsical depiction of an early iron mine.

There was a live chipmunk in the pig's mouth, but it hid everytime I tried to get a photo.

After Lakenenland, we had lunch in Harvey and then Jeanna went on to the motel. I had 2 more stops to make.

The first stop was the Marquette State Fish Hatchery. They raise various species of trout that are then released throughout Michigan.

Indoor fish pens. The facility has a combination of indoor and outdoor pens. The outdoor pens were closed today.

Standing on a grating over one of the pens, trying to get a shot of adult broodfish. That's the reflection of the roof you see on the water.

After the fish are hatched, it takes about 15 months for them to grow big enough to be released.

The hatchery also had a small interpretive center which I visited. Below are the trout that the hatchery raises.

A splake trout is a hybrid between a male brook trout and a female lake trout. (I had to look that up)

Notice how different a brown trout from the Great Lakes looks compared to one that lives in a river or stream.

More info from the interpretive center, for those that just have to know.

After I turned away from the lake at Harvey, I encountered the hills. My Garmin registered four climbs today, one of which was slightly over 2 miles long.

My final stop of the day was at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum. This is another place we have visited before, but it's free, so why not take another look?

I'm glad I'd seen it before, because I got there with only 15 minutes to go before closing - just long enough to take a quick walkthrough to refresh my memory.

An early generation pneumatic rock drill.

After leaving the museum I had 7 miles to go, all of it on a very busy US-41. It was not a problem however, because it had a nice wide shoulder.

Teal Lake, just outside Negaunee, and near out motel.

It was after 5:30 when I got to our motel. I took a quick shower, then Jeanna & I walked over to a take-out Chinese joint to get something for dinner. It was then back to the room to write this journal and watch a little TV.

All-in-all, it was another one of those days where life is really good!

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 2,968 miles (4,777 km)

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Alain AbbateExcellent set of roadside attractions!
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1 year ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Alain AbbateI went back and looked at the Lakenenland pictures from our trip in 2018. We had a good time there.
Jeanna
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1 year ago