Annual Michigan Snowmobile Run

This blurry blackberry photo is the reason we went to Michigan this past weekend. That and Sara's birthday, of course. In the center is a two story building that Sara and her partner Jack bought last fall. It has 4 apartments upstairs, a tavern called the Iron Inn and a small retail storefront destined to be a pizza shop. It is in downtown Nagaunee, Michigan................

.......we had the usual great time on Friday as we all arrived and drove around making all our connections, motels, meetings in Neil's big red suburban....

....Friday night we spent at the Iron Inn. The blackberry does not like pictures at night. We went back to the Inn early the next morning to "help them open". We started out with Neil behind the bar..............

.....Jake and Hannah (both bartenders in the past) jumped in and the drinks were flowing..................

....Negaunee is "quaint". That's the politically correct way to say it is depressed since the mining petered out in the 70's, has lots of plywood windows, and looks decayed. This is the bank, now partially occupied by a print shop. The people have a lot of pluck and life goes on there. The bar business is one that always seems to muddle on even in slow times complicated by a recession.........

 
 
....after we successfully "opened" the bar we got the ambition to go snowmobiling. We had hauled 5 sleds, and put them on the ground...........

 
 
....We assembled 8 hardy souls and we were off, with the suburban as a chase car.....

....Neil and I learned this summer on our bike trip that Michigan suffers from a severe shortage of taverns. In Wisconsin, there are bars all over, and the trails are marked with signs and directions. We rode 24 miles before we scored..........

....the sign said we were welcome.......

....but they had no food so we had only a couple drinks (?), ate a whole pan of Kathy's mom's delicious peanut butter/Special K/chocolate bars, and headed back to Negaunee to attend a benefit spaghetti feed put on by the motorcycle club for an accident victims young family at the Eagle's Club next to the Iron Inn. Hundreds attended, like I said, these shabby old mining towns have some pluck. It really felt good.........

....the ride home the next day had Renee, Jake, Laurel, Hannah and I in some beautiful scenery and the roads were great...........

.........the road goes, of course, through Hurley and right past the Munch tavern, famous for it's tacos.......

.....they must be having a problem with under aged in the bar so they put up a new sign in typical Yooper fashion........

.........Jake bought some Munch taco sauce as he was out at home..........

.....but all good trips come to an end and we unloaded the truck and trailer and put the toys all away. Back to work tomorrow, but we can dream of the motorcycle season opener a few short weeks off. Coming through town we got the greatest uplifting news..............

The Dairy Queen re-opened while we were gone!! The surest sign of hope that spring is not far off...........

Uncle Hans