A trip we will remember forever!!! Day one

 I know it has been a while since we have posted but things have been crazy hectic and we have been busy doing a lot of "unfun" things around the house. I had been looking forward to Dec 28th as for over the past year I have been planning a trip to the UP for us. At times it felt like it would never get here but  as Christmas came and went it was soon time to load up Pearl with all our gear and head north!
 Cindy has been trying her best to keep me positive over the past few months by telling me that they will have snow by the time we got there. Last year by the first of December they had 2 plus feet on the ground and lake Superior was already frozen over. This year things were a bit different as after a initial cold blast and 2 to 6 feet of snow in early November the weather turned warm again and all the snow had pretty much melted. Just a week before we were to leave they had no snow and temps in the 50's!!! I was really starting to sweat it but at last a cold front was heading their way and it looked like there was a chance that snow would return in time for us to go. On Friday the 26th of December, the Porkies received 8-10" of snow and temps were below freezing. Our trip was a go, we were headed to the Porkies!!!!
 We spent most of Sunday the 28th practice loading our pulks to make sure we knew how we were going to pack things for our ski into the Whitetail cabin. We then loaded everything into Pearl and parked her in the garage. All that was left to do was wait for the alarm to go off at 4 am on the Monday the 29th so we could take off. Needless to say I did not sleep much the night before. I have wanted to take a trip like this for as long as I could remember and as I laid awake in bed thinking over all the details trying to make sure I had not forgotten anything I thought about the real reason I was getting to take this trip. Without Cindy's willingness and encouragement I probably would never have gotten to go. Then Cindy and I found each other and now not only did I have someone to share fun things with but I also had someone who encouraged me to do things like this. I know this trip was really my dream trip, not Cindy's. I was going to have a great time just being there so my biggest goal of the trip was to do whatever I could to make sure Cindy had a trip she would always remember.
 The alarm finally went off and I sprang from my slumber to get ready to roll. The boys and I went outside and brought Pearl up to the house before I went in to wake up my sleeping beauty. Cindy was not quite as excited as I was but as I learned the night before at the Robert's annual Christmas party, we were traveling at a very un gentlemanly time of day. After packing up a last few items and giving the boys a hug and treat before we left it was time to point north and head off. At 5:02am we were heading down the drive off on our first UP winter adventure.

We are on our way!!!!

 The drive north up 65 went well and just south of the state line with IL we saw a billboard that warned of taxes increasing 20 miles ahead and to shop now as IL has higher sales tax. I heeded the warning and we stopped for McDonalds and gassed up. A few hours later and we were crossing into Wisconsin as we continued north and still no sign of snow. Finally, after 8 hours of driving north, we finally saw our first snow pile in a parking lot. I would have stopped and took a picture of it but a few hours prior my cell phone of the last 3 1/2 years decided to die on me. While it was a bit sad, kinda like loosing a good friend, the time had come to move on and upgrade. I would deal with that later. For now I was focused on finding snow!!!
 Once north of Oshkosk WI we finally started to see snow on the ground. By the time we reached Three Lakes WI there was a good ground cover of 6-8". We had to make a stop in Three Lakes as that happens to be the home of Three Lakes Winery!

 It was a really nice winery and we tasted several types wines we had not sampled before. We picked up two bottles of their red raspberry wine as it was really good.  After the winery stop we paid a visit to local antique shop and Cindy got a few small things. They had a great price on a nice pair of touring snowshoes but I resisted the urge. The fact we barely had any room left in Pearl helped me control me desire to get them.
 We continued north up 45 to Eagle River where we stopped at Trigg grocery store. What a neat grocery store. It was a one stop shop with food, booze, and all the essentials. We picked up what we needed for our New Years Eve dinner and our mimosas for breakfast. It was about Eagle River that the scenery really started to become breath taking. The snow they had gotten a few days earlier was wet and heavy and stuck to all the pine trees like powdered sugar.

 The roads were snow covered now and if you know me very well you know that I love to drive on snow covered roads! I grew up with a dad who probably missed his calling in life. I really think my dad should have been a snow covered road driving instructor. I spent many a mile listening to him instruct the person in front of us how to drive from our car LOL! I digress. Darkness was falling fast as it was about 4:30 local time and we were 600 miles north of Seymour. As we worked our way up 45 into the UP we made a stop for gas along with several snowmobiles, or sleds as the locals call them. They were everywhere. Just before dark we entered the southern edge of the Porkies and it was so pretty!!! There was a snowmobile trail along the side of the road and several passed us as they worked there way back to Ontonagon.

 It was about 20 miles out of Silver City that we came down a steep hill with a right hand turn at the bottom. As we rounded the curve we were looking down the hill at Rockland MI and what a pretty sight it was. It was a sleepy little town that made us feel like we just went back to the 1950's! They still had there Christmas lights up but unfortunately we could not get a good pic of it with Cindy's phone. We did not know it then but we would be paying another visit to Rockland a few days later.
 We continued on from Rockland and soon we were in Ontonagon and heading west along the shoreline of lake Superior to the Americinn at Silver City. We pulled in to more sleds parked in a line in front of the hotel. Sleds get all the good parking spaces. After checking in we unpacked and headed down to the bar to see what smelled so good when we came in. While the bar was a bit dated I felt right at home and of course we had to have a beverage or two!

 The food was really good and the drinks were cold and wet. Prices were very reasonable as well. There was a mix of skiers, snowmobilers, and locals and it seemed that everyone was getting along. After filling our tanks we headed off to our room so I could work out something with Verizon to get a phone. After a hour on the phone with a very helpful Verizon rep I  had finally arranged for a new phone to be dropped shipped to Tonya's house. Tonya owned the Lake of Clouds resort which is where we would be staying the 1st and 2nd after we left the rustic cabin in the park. She was kind enough to allow me to have my shipped to her while we were in the park. By now I to was getting sleepy after the 12 hour drive. Cindy had succumbed to sleep long before so I snuggled up to my little cuddle buddy and drifted off to sleep in my happy place, with my BFF by my side in the north country ;-)