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After checking out downtown Mackinaw City, we went back across the bridge and followed Highway 2 along the north shore of Lake Michigan. Here we saw some of the best fall colors of the trip. On one stretch, it was like driving through a tunnel of gold. Simply stunning! We would be as close to the lake as 100 feet for a while and then head inland for a while through several national forests and tourist towns.

[DJ56]

After checking out downtown Mackinaw City, we went back across the bridge and followed Highway 2 along the north shore of Lake Michigan. Here we saw some of the best fall colors of the trip. On one stretch, it was like driving through a tunnel of gold. Simply stunning! We would be as close to the lake as 100 feet for a while and then head inland for a while through several national forests and tourist towns.

Wow!  This picture is suitable for framing.  Thanks for the report.  Nice job!      DJ

[naitram]

Whenever we would pass a rock outcropping along the highway there were almost always these stacks of stones on a flat spot on the outcropping. We finally asked the locals what they were and got a nice history lesson about the Inukshuk. Here's a link for those interested:

http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html

i remember see those when we were up there. not always big, sometimes there were a bunch of little ones grouped together

thanks for sharing your trip

[Jock]

Reads and looks like an awesome time...thanks for sharing the trip and keep it comin'

[sadunbar]

We've done this ride (and variations of it) several times over the years....  Even did a ride around all 5 great lakes once.  Beautiful scenery and nice accomodations/food/friendly folks along the way!   

Thanks for sharing your trip!   

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Well, to finish this post, I have to tell the story of the last 2 days. The plan was to spend our last night, Sunday, in Eagle River, WI and then head back to St. Paul on Monday morning. After hitting Macinaw City and driving the north side of Lake Michigan for a few hundred miles, we stopped for fuel in Rapid River, MI. Ray said he thought he smelled gas but I figured it was just because we were following a big RV. We filled up and did a pit stop and came back out to the bikes. His had some fuel pooled underneath. We just figured he overfilled and drove on.

When we pulled into Eagle River, Ray said he was losing fuel and when we stopped at the gas station, we saw that he was leaking gas at a fairly alarming rate. He looked around underneath but couldn't find the source. It was Sunday evening and we considered our options. He put in a few gallons, we went and had dinner and came out to another pool of gas under his bike. By this time we were getting a bit nervous about a fire. Fortunately, we were only 3 miles from our lodging (photo of the view out the window below the following morning) and it was dark so we headed for the the lodge.

[Buy early]

Monday morning we got up and found a large pool of gas under his bike and the fuel gauge on 'E'. We ended up calling AAA (the option we felt was the safest) and had the bike hauled 20 miles to Northern Lights HD in Arbor Vitae, WI. Thirty minutes later, Ray found out that his stainless steel braided throttle cable had worn a hole in the underside of his fuel tank. Apparently the cable had never been routed correctly and was rubbing on one of the edges of the underside of the tank. The rubbing frayed the cable and the frayed cable wore a hole in the tank. This happened over 40,000 miles. The fine folks at Northern Lights put an epoxy patch on the tank and 5 ours later, we were on our way. Getting out of Arbor Vitae at 4:30 in the afternoon meant we either had to haul a** the remaining 215 miles home or extend out trip by one more night. Initially we felt we could get home but, at 55, my night vision just ain't what it used to be so I called a halt to the ride in Thorp, WI. We had one more nice dinner and spent the night at the AmericInn. Got up Tuesday morning and were on the road by 9 and back in the Twin Cities by 11:30.

It was an unexpected end to a fantastic trip. We were fortunate there was no fire or more serious damage to Ray's bike. Overall, I would give the trip a 9 out of 10. The only things that could have made it better would have been seeing the fall colors in Canada and not having any mechanical problems.

I would recommend this trip to anyone looking for beautiful scenery, relaxing riding, no crowds and a bit of international travel.

[DoubleD]

Awesome trip you too had makes me want too make the same one soon but not sure this year the weather will permit this we will see. By the way great pics of the trip and yes happy that you had no fire and that you made the trip home safely. I lived in Minnesota for the past 13 years and have never made the trip up north too enjoy the beautiful scenery, this will differently be a tripped planned for next yr.
Thanks again,
DoubleD