Wikipedia describes a pasty as "a raised semicircular comestible." It's meat and potatoes and seasoning in a pastry. The origin is apparently Cornwall, England. It's a miner's meal.
Most importantly, it is pronounced PASS - TEE, not PACE-TEE. We've been in the UP a couple of times, so got to know pasties and the UP sense of humor. On one of our trips I took a picture of Susie standing in front of a sign advertising Grandma's Pasties!
Folks up here refer to themselves as Yoopers ( U-P-ers), who are north woods rednecks. Or, north woods Duck Commanders, if you know about them. You can buy books and post cards, etc. featuring Yoopers and their activities. Lots of fun.
Here's Lake Michigamme at dusk.
A train track runs through it (the campground).
Oh, look! Here comes a train.
I was on my way to the shower house when I heard the train a-comin.' It was a long train, mostly carrying timber.
We and Miss GPS had done the math and decided that we would stay two nights here. So, Sunday morning we went to find the local Methodist church. Found it, but, except for one pick-up in the process of leaving, the parking lot was empty. Then, we saw the sign: services today were being held jointly with the Lutheran church in the Michigamme city park. The exiting driver said, follow us to the park.
Here's a glimpse of the scene.
Both preachers spoke, and the theme was water. We enjoyed the service and the setting.
We could have stayed for lunch, but we were on the trail of pasties. Earlier I had asked the campground manager about where to get pasties and he had referred us to a café about 10 miles east of the campground.
On the way there, the check-engine light came on in the pickup. I checked the oil, which was OK, and we continued down the way and got our pasty fix. Several young guys and one gal, stereotypical Yoopers, it seemed to us, ran the café and were doing a good business, mostly take-outs. We had come to the right place.
Going back to camp, the high-temperature light came on. I stopped and checked the radiator reservoir. Empty. I was at a gas station, so I bought coolant and put it in. A little further down the road, the high-temp light came on again. The reservoir was still full, though. We were close to camp, so continued on. No more driving today.
Monday morning we set off for a KOA in Oakdale, in southwest Wisconsin. Just before we exited Michigan, we stopped at a beautiful rest stop.
It had this strange contraption.
It was, the sign said, a stand for cleaning bicycles, in order to prevent invasive, non-native plants from being spread! Thus, there were hooks to put your bicycle on, brushes to brush off tires, chains, pedals, whatever. Also, an air pump for blowing minute seeds off of your bike.
But, but, but ... by doing this you're scattering non-native, invasive seeds all over this lovely park, we thought. The device looks new and/or little used - all a little strange. If anyone has info on this subject, please let us know.
After setting our GPS for Oakdale, I put in the waypoint of Rhinelander, WI. The map showed that the road through there was a scenic route, so I wanted to go through there. But, Miss GPS had originally picked a different route, so I put in the "via point" of Rhinelander to overrule her.
When we got to Rhinelander, the GPS had me turn off on a major city street, but not one designated as a highway or business route. The reason, I quickly realized, was that I had selected a meaningless street address in Rhinelander as the via-point. I stopped and checked the GPS map and could see, though, that the road we were on eventually connected with the highway we wanted, so we continued. Miss GPS told us when to turn right, but, that road was closed because of a bridge repair project. For several blocks, Miss GPS told us to turn, but they were all streets closed for repair. I could see us dead-ending in an awkward place, but I kept my cool (Susie later said she was proud of me.) I consulted the GPS map and found our way to the highway we wanted and we continued on.
Susie had said, shall we have lunch here in Rhinelander. I said, No, we'll find a roadside park down the way. Well, we kept driving and driving for two hours: no roadside tables or rest stops. Also, we were on four0-lane highways, limited access, so it was hard to pick an exit. Finally, in the GPS map I espied a cross highway. I took the exit. Turned out to be a new four-lane highway, not yet in my GPS memory bank. But, it was nice, trafficwise. We came on to the campground and had late lunch.
In Oakdale, I drove the pick-up to the nearby post office to mail a couple of letters. There and back, no indication of an engine temperature problem. But, when I checked the radiator reservoir, it was empty. The KOA manager referred me to a local mechanic and I called him. He said, meet me over at the truck stop adjacent to KOA and follow me out to my shop, which I did. It was quite a scene - a collection of several vehicles in various stages of decay, dogs and cats lazing about the yard, and a couple of Yooper-style mechanics working on a car and a pick-up. One of his guys diagnosed the problem as a leaking water pump. This was late in the afternoon. He had his office manager, I'll call her, drive me back to KOA. Said we'll come get you in the morning when we get the water pump installed. As this is written, it is Tuesday morning and I am waiting for the call.
The office manager had quite a story. She had been a Wisconsin Highway Patrolman for 20 years, had assorted jobs subsequently, and now was working part-time for my mechanic.. When I mentioned New Mexico, she told a border story. Friends of her daughter, I believe, two guys and a girl, had gone to Tijuana to party. They got separated and when the guys couldn't find her, they left. Approaching the border, they saw her in a car behind them, sitting between two guys. They told the border agents. When they stopped the following car they found that the girl was dead, but had been cut open and her body stuffed with drugs. Unbelievable, but maybe it happened. My driver said this episode served as a warning to her daughter about being careful who you associate with.
Late Tuesday morning, our pickup was repaired, so we loaded up and continued west and south.
Susie and Rob
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