2024-08-23: Hurley to Sault Ste Marie

Our night in the classy Love branded motel in Hurley, Wisconsin was actually much better than either Chris or I had expected. The beds were firm, but comfortable, and the shower was actually pretty great as I found out first thing in the morning. There was drizzle falling however, so Chris and I had a slow start to the day.

We walked down the street to Sharon’s Coffee Company and grabbed some cups of coffee to get us started, but as we took our hits of caffeine, the rain got more and more intense. On returning to the hotel, it looked like the rain was going to let up in about an hour, so I took the opportunity to knock out a blog article, and Chris had a chance to catch up on his social media. Once again I ask, who between the two of us is the millennial again?

Anyway, after a bit more than an hour, it was about 10:00 before we hit the road with the highways still wet. Gas up and out of Hurley we went on US-2. It wasn’t too long before we decided to skip on breakfast in Wakefield, Michigan about 30 miles up the road, and took to the northerly route of MI-28 to try to make some more distance before stopping again. Michigan Department of Transportation had some surprises in store for us, however, as they had a large resurfacing project underway, and while it was nice to see my friends the construction barrels out in force again, it was not fun to ride on the dirt surface they’d left on both sides of the highway, especially not after all the rain we’d just had, it got us worrying about slip-sliding out on the road and our bikes filthy with sandy dirt all over the place.

We pulled into a tiny town of Ewen, Michigan after finding a bar there and hoping for a bite to eat. As we pulled in, so did a pair guys on Harley Davidsons, one of which was wearing a vest signifying that he was a firefighter. Chris, of course, wanted to light up his pipe, so we’d have to wait to meet up with them inside. While the bar didn’t have any food, the wet, dirty conditions got us chatting, and you know what Chris has to do everytime he meets a firefighter — tell the little Johnny and the firefighter helmet story! The guys got a kick out of it, and on a recommendation from the bartender, suggested a place in the next town that would be serving meals.

A few minutes down the road, we arrived to Bruce Crossing, Michigan and sure enough there was a bar along the highway with a feather banner advertising their food. The Harleys were already parked out in front, so we joined in. The food wasn’t anything to write home about, but we had a chance to chat politics with the locals and learn more about the riding on the Upper Peninsula, or U-P, of Michigan. Not long afterwards we were telling some of our stories of the journey we’d had over from San Francisco keeping everyone entertained.

By this time, it was nearly noon, and we’d not even covered 60 miles of the planned 320 on the day. It was time to get a move on! We put the hammer down and knocked out the 60 miles to the Tioga rest stop. There was a nice footbridge over the creek as well as a path that claimed to lead to a waterfall. I went for a hike to stretch my legs while the Captain had a puff in the parking lot. The trail led back along the creek alright, but a few trees had fallen, and eventually it petered out, so I headed back to the parking lot to continue on down the road East.

Another 60 miles or so and we arrived to the town of Marquette, Michigan right along the shores of Lake Superior. By this point, the weather had mostly dried out, but not warmed up a lot. Between the cooler temps and us starting to get drowsy, we headed toward downtown to check it out and find a coffee shop. The town had a lively downtown with loads of neat shops, and what seemed like parents walking their new students around for the Northern Michigan University.

We stopped in at Doncker’s, a nice chocolatier that had been operating in the town since 1896. It was even older than Chris! We had some nice cups of coffee with a few choice pieces of chocolate on their bistro seating outside as we watched all the excited students and nervous parents go by.

Before we could finish however, Chris spied a distillery across the street, The Honest Distiller. Knowing we couldn’t let this chance pass us by, I stopped in to peruse their wares, and came away with a flask and bottle of whiskey for The Captain.

Now both caffeinated and well-stocked, we took of East out of town. By now it was after 4:00pm and we still had over 160 miles to go. Better get a move-on! Luckily for us, the remainder of MI-28 across the U-P was just about the straightest, flattest, longest road I’ve seen anywhere. We were easily able to travel at over 80 mph down the road. While I was disappointed to have to skip on going out to see the Picture Rocks National Lakeshore, I was happy that we were making good time and after the events in Circle, Montana and Jackpot, Nevada it was looking like we would make it to Sault Ste Marie to rendezvous with my brother on schedule.

At our final break stop, about 30 miles from the border crossing, I got my passport into a handy pocket, while Chris got his expired passport, several copies of his birth certificate and Real ID drivers licence together to present to the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) agent. We wished each other well and we mounted the bikes one final time before we’d learn whether Chris would be admitted into the Great White North.

Chris went first at the border, and from my side of the Bluetooth comms, I could overhear him being asked only the most general of questions before being waved through into Canada. The agent didn’t even ask if he had any alcohol on his bike! I came up behind him, and with only a few questions, I was through as well. Welcome to Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada!

My brother, also named Chris, I’ll try to make this easier by continuing to refer to Chris Weld as “the Captain” and my brother as Chris; had booked a hotel only a mile and a half from the border crossing, so we made our way there. I’d shared our location with my brother a few hours earlier, so he was waiting out in the parking lot when we arrived. It was great to see him and be off the bike for the day.

We hauled our gear up to the hotel room and after settling in for a little while, decided on a dinner location and were mercifully able to walk around the waterfront to the restaurant patio for dinner and a few celebratory drinks. We welcomed Chris into Canada, and were happy to have made our rendezvous in time!

Tomorrow’s plan is to make our way down to some new roads for my brother and I (Chris has evidently done these roads before, go figure!) on Manitoulin Island; the biggest freshwater island in the world and take the ferry from its southwestern end down to the Bruce Peninsula and Tobermory, Ontario.