Reaching the Upper Peninsula: October 21-24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Breakfast with a Tiger Keeper
I had breakfast with some of the residents. At the table was a man called Ray. As I talked about my travels he told me how he had been a tiger keeper for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Ray had travelled all over the States. He told me about a man who had ridden a buffalo from California to Washington DC. He also told me of how the tiger had escaped from its cage. A local police officer was going to shoot the tiger, but Ray and two other circus workers managed to 'shoo' the tiger back into its cage. Seeing the smile on Ray's face as he told his stories and shared his memories was fantastic. To be sitting there in Mackinaw City, chatting to a Barnum and Bailey tiger keeper, was a marvelous thing.
As I waited for a car to take me over the Mackinac Bridge I had a big smile on my face and a warm glow in my heart.
Over the Mackinac Bridge into the U.P.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan still had that wild and far North feeling. Pat Serwach from the Hospice of the Straits drove me over the Mackinac Bridge. We stopped by a lighted sign which said:
'The Upper Peninsula of Michigan Welcomes Dr Skinner', or something like that.
I gave a talk at St. Ignatius Church, then was dropped back near the bridge. Rain and wind fell, as I walked through the quiet streets of St. Ignace. At a small shop I bought fudge, to compare it to Frankenmuth fudge, but it turned out it was made by the same company...in any case it was good. The Mackinaw Trail took me all the way to Sault Sainte Marie. My first two nights stay in the U.P. were with Pat Serwach.
I stayed in a cabin by Pat's house on the shore of Lake Brevort, near the small town of Moran. Pat picked me up off the road and drove me back to Lake Brevort for the two nights. Wednesday 21 October and Thursday 22 October saw me eating pasties with Pat and her husband Ed and spaghetti on the second night.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Stomach Upset
The second day out from St. Ignace was notable in that I had nothing on me for lunch, but just as I was getting hungry, Deb and Tom from Tawas drove up in their purple PT Cruiser. They said they were visiting casinos in the U.P., but I secretly suspected they were checking I was still doing fine. As it turned out they had an apple. That kept me going. We chatted a little, then said our goodbyes, but I expected I would see them again.
Just outside the small town of Rudyard a farmer called Mark stopped to talk to me about the walk. As I walked on he drove up to me and gave me a baked potato, two tomatoes and some bread. The baked potato was warm and the food kept me going.
Unfortunately, I then stopped at a gas station and bought some candy which, after I’d eaten it, upset my stomach. Without a bathroom in sight, I was forced to take refuge in the woods, which I gratefully did.
Perfect Timing – A Phone Call from the Filmmaker
Just as I was making myself look respectable once more my Blackberry rang and it was Kimberly Paul, the filmmaker from North Carolina, who wanted to film me when I reached Duluth. We made arrangements to meet in Duluth on 15 November. That left me just over 3 weeks to cross the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Northern part of Wisconsin.
Not long after I hung up the phone with Kimberly I saw Pat Serwach's little white sports car pull up ahead of me. In no time Pat whisked me back to Moran for the spaghetti dinner.
A Lovely Evening with Pat and Ed
It was a good evening, too, as Pat's husband Ed regaled me with stories of when he worked in the local post office in Moran. When he first started there a letter had turned up addressed to E. Littzner, and there were 3 E. Littzners in town: Eddie, Everett and Eugene. Ed had asked the post mistress what to do with the letter.
“Give it to Eddie' Ed asked how she knew it was for Eddie, when all it said was E. Littzner, the old post mistress just smiled and said: “The letter is from ABC house hold supplies, it's a kitchen catalogue...and Eddie is looking for a new fridge.” It turned out that the post mistress knew most of what went on in the little town.
Ed now worked as the town Supervisor. As we ate dinner he also told me stories about his son, who was a border patrol policeman down near Mexico. His son had told him that he had caught a man with sponges on his feet. Ed was confused why they would arrest someone with sponges on their feet. It turned out that tying sponges to your feet made your tracks in the sand look like a coyotes, and confused the Border Patrol, who would follow tracks in the sand. Ed's son had also caught a man carrying 750 pounds of cocaine. Ed had asked how the man had carried 750 pounds, to which his son just said: “He had a mule.”
My two nights stay with Pat and Ed were wonderful.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Rain and TV
As I set off on, the skies were cloudy. Pat dropped me just beyond Rudyard and I hugged her goodbye. By 10 am the wind picked up and rain began to fall. I walked on in waterproof trousers, jacket and gloves.
At midday a TV crew from Petoskey arrived. The reporter was a young woman in her early twenties. With wind blowing, rain falling and trucks spraying mist everywhere they had me walk up and down and stand with my hood down to give the interview. Amazingly it went well.
As the TV crew disappeared I had to carry on walking in the wind and the rain. The plan was that Mary Jo Duvall from the Hospice of the Eastern U.P. would come and pick me up at around 4 pm. As it turned out she showed up at 3:30. I was glad to see her. In the wind and the rain I was chilled and my cold still made my nose sniffly.
Mary Jo drove me about 3 miles into town to a motel. A hospice nurse called Carol Campagna was due to pick me up at 5.30 to take me to an event called Pink in the Rink. As Mary Jo drove off I walked from the motel over to a Pizza Hut and ordered Pepperoni Pizza and the salad bar. It was good to sit in the warm, as I could feel that I had become chilled in the wind and knew that being cold and wet would do my cold no good.
Pink the Rink
The Pink in the Rink event was good. I talked to people as they came up to a table that had been arranged with a Hospice of the Eastern Upper Peninsula display. Using a laptop I showed several people pictures from my walk back in 1988 and I also sold three books.
The local ice hockey team, the Lakers were playing and the event was to raise money for breast cancer research. I met the Hospice of the Eastern U.P. director, Tracy Holt, and a volunteer called Dee Musgrave. At 9 pm I was dropped back at the motel by Carol. It was good to close my eyes and sleep.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
From Sault Sainte Marie I headed West on Route 28. As I did this I had a phone number on a piece of paper to contact a lady called Patty Hopper. I hoped that the rain wouldn't get the piece of paper wet in my leaky coat pocket. I also hoped that my blackberry would be able to connect as I moved beyond Brimley.
At 4 pm I was at a small place called Raco. There was no phone signal.
I walked until 6 pm. Dark would come at 7. I tried the number for Patty and Daryl Hopper. It worked. Relieved I told Patty that I should reach Strongs by 7 pm. We arranged for Daryl to pick me up one of the taverns in the small town of Strongs.
As dark fell a woman came out from one of the bars in Strongs to offer me a place to stay in a motel that she owned. I explained that someone was coming to pick me up. It was just a few minutes later that Daryl Hopper pulled up in his white car. Daryl had a cousin called Aisla who worked with the hospice group in Sault Sainte Marie.
It was cold as we drove through dark woods to reach Daryl and Patty Hopper's house. Daryl worked with the local road commission, maintaining and repairing roads.
Do All These People Live Here?!
As we pulled up in front of Daryl's house, then walked inside, I was taken aback. Inside the house were 13 people. I thought they all loved in the house, but it turned out there had been a birthday party. Daryl's Mum, Pauline, and his Dad Lyle were there, along with Patty's Mum Betty, and Patty's Dad Charlie. Daryl and Patty's son Ben, his wife Bridget and their three children were also there. The family group was completed by Daryl's sister Joy Marske, her 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter Jennifer.
After introductions were made I was sat down at a table and given chicken and vegetable soup, along with cornbread.
Surrounded by a Warm and Friendly Family
It was wonderful. As the temperature outside fell, I was surrounded by a warm and friendly family. They laughed and joked. The two sets of grandparents and Ben, Bridget and their children left. I had a shower and then talked to Patty and Joy until around midnight. Patty told me of how they called the people who lived in Lower Michigan “trolls”, because they lived “below” the bridge. She also told me that people who lived in the U.P. were called Yoopers. (to be continued….)
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