The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Across the top of Michigan

It was almost 10:00am when we headed out from our couchsurfing hosts in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Thanks for having us Sue and Jeff! You're welcome to come stay with us in Saskatchewan at any time!

But on the downside...we woke up to a dusting of snow!!!

The little blue car was NOT looking happy. In fact, he was looking a little...blue...

Hey, get this white crap off of me!!

Jeff, Sue, Ruth, and Kevin

We didn't have any firm plans on where we would be staying last night. Only that we were headed across the top of Michigan and towards Duluth, Minnesota. There's lots of cheap motels across that area, but most of them are actually closed for the winter.

Filled up with gas at $3.729 per gallon, which works out to about $1.08 Canadian per litre. Gasoline is still about 25% cheaper in the U.S. than it is in Canada. Checking out www.gasbuddy.com it looks like we should be able to buy gas today on the other side of Duluth for $3.499 per gallon (about $1.02 CAN per litre). You can save a lot of money on a road trip if you plan your gasoline stops!

Hardly anybody on the road.

Coming into Marquette, MI. Still lots of ice on Lake Superior!

This is Lake Ruth!

Driving along, we saw the sign at the side of the highway pointing to Lake Ruth! They must have had a cold winter, and apparently it's not over yet up here in northern Michigan. The high yesterday was only about 40F (3C) and Lake Ruth is still totally frozen over.

As we came into the town of Ironwood, Michigan we started looking for somewhere to stay. The first place we stopped at looked nice enough, and they wanted $58 plus tax. We decided to keep looking. The next place wanted $110, and when I balked, he quickly came down to $75! Sorry, not low enough. The third place was the Indianhead Motel. This guy wanted $48. 

Sold!

Turns out it's a nice little room, and spotlessly clean. And with superfast internet!

The little blue car. We were in room #10.

Old style roadside motel. But totally clean, and with a nice countertop computer desk for two.

We had bought a roasted chicken and salad at Walmart's deli. That was going to be dinner for the two of us, and it was actually really good. The whole roast chicken, and a huge deli salad cost $10. Not bad!

Yesterday's drive, 310 miles (500 kms).

Today, we're headed for Grand Forks, North Dakota. A little bit of a longer drive, at around 370 miles (600 kms). 




18 comments:

  1. Great deal on the motel and on dinner. We are headed that way (Michigan. Sure hope they get rid of that snow. Good grief, it's almost May.

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    1. Sherry, you and David will love this area. Lots of outdoor things to do.

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  2. You are making good progress and looks like the roads are pretty good to.
    Nothing like a roasted chicken and salad for supper, one of our favourites.

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    1. Both the chicken and the salad were delicious!

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  3. you got some great deals!! gas prices here in Vancouver?..$1.51 a litre!!

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  4. I like the maps you show on your adventures. It helps quite a bit to see where you actually are and are headed. Looking forward to seeing some pictures without the snow in the coming weeks?

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    1. We like the maps too! They will be nice to look back on in years to come. We are also looking forward to seeing no snow!

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  5. I also like the maps for reference. Where do you find them on the Internet? Hope the snow doesn't hamper your progress. Happy Sunday

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    1. Hi Mary-Pat. It's just google maps...https://maps.google.com/ and then I use a snipping tool to take a screenshot of the map.

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  6. Thanks for sharing the gasoline website! I will definitely use that here in the lower mainland!

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    1. Kevin uses this religiously in Canada and the United States.

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  7. Hey K&R - The roast chicken dinner package has long been a favourite of ours too! The grocery store where we used to live sold a full chicken, two side salads and a fresh baguette for $11. One of our summer pleaser meals after working all day, or even after being retired all day! Benefit is it lasted for lunch the next day too!! Cheers.....Doug

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    1. This actually wasn't a package but it was still great and yes we had leftovers fort he next day.

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  8. Just want to say we like the maps also - helps us old foggies to picture where you are and where you are heading!!!!!!! Also, we always enjoy your photos!

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