Pasties! De're Yooper Good

Art

After a very cold night with little sleep in the tent, our original destination today was Newberry. When David originally mapped out our route, he had trouble finding places for us to stay without our having to ride unreasonably long distances, so he solved the problem by routing us through Newberry. As we set off from St. Ignace this morning, we started seeing little motels and cabins along the way that he didn't find on the Internet, so David figured that if we could find a hotel in Naubinway, we could shorten our ride tomorrow and avoid some hilly roads.

When we arrived in Naubinway, the motels weren't immediately apparent. The one actual former motel in town was closed, and we found out that there were rooms to stay in above a diner. So tonight we'll be in a warm place at least. It's kind of like staying at your grandparents' house if they decorated each room one area at a time during different decades.  For example, the floors would have been done maybe in the '60's, the curtains are from the '70's, the wallpaper is from the '80's, the dining chairs are from the '50's, etc.

I'm not sure who Larry is, but our bikes are locked in his garage out back. The really great part about Naubinway is that they have a snowmobile museum. We haven't taken advantage of this attraction, but I'm sure we'll regret that fact. For days.

We're also really missing out on Newberry. I've been there once, so I feel sufficiently qualified to provide a little background on the place. Originally, Newberry was founded by a group of literature enthusiasts. Their reputation as book critics spread far and wide, and to this day, newly published books are sent to the citizens of Newberry for their expert reviews, and annually, books are selected to receive  the distinguished Newberry Honor Award. The town's traditional greeting when one is first introduced is to loudly announce what book you are currently reading and then demand to know what  your new acquaintance is reading. Failing to do this is immensely insulting to the residents.

The Upper Peninsula is an interesting place to ride. While not as quiet as riding in the countryside, as the traffic is heavier, and everyone seems to be in a hurry, possibly to get out of the UP, it still feels isolated. What qualifies as civilization is different here. For example, after miles of seeing nothing, we came across a diner with a large sign advertising pasties, and we felt we had reached civilization. There are no signs announcing how far it is to anything- perhaps they don't want anyone to feel discouraged.

 Places selling pasties are more abundant than roadside bbq's are in Texas. For those of you who are not familiar, pasties is pronounced with a short "a" rather than a long "a". These delicious pies, once prominently featured in the critically acclaimed documentary about life in the UP, "Escanaba in Da Moonlight", are the original inspiration for the Hot Pocket. We sampled this unique cuisine for lunch today and found veggies pasties enjoyable. Also of note, everyone listens to old country music. Possibly there's a law I'm not familiar with.

We still haven't figured out why there are signs advertising wild rice everywhere.

Tomorrow we ride to Manistique, a real town with actual hotels. Hopefully Larry will return our bikes in the morning. Before we leave the UP, I'll be sure to explain why you really aren't hearing banjos.