Marquette, MI
September 6, 2023
Happy to be on the road again! Andi and I worked non-stop the past two days closing down our house and packing the RV for a road trip this September. We’re planning to drive a big loop around all five of The Great Lakes, and looking forward to introducing Canada to Tory and Aden for the first time. In true Andi and Heather form, we don’t have a set plan for our adventure, but we do have a rough outline of places and experiences we’d like to see & do along the way. Dipping our toes in all five great lakes is a must.
We left our home in northwest Wisconsin around 8:30am Wednesday morning and drove to Balsam Lake, WI. The kids and I did schoolwork in the RV while Andi attended a meeting there.
Afterwards, our travel adventure began. Andi and I weren’t exactly sure where we planned to stop for the night, but we did know the first few days of our planned route take us through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula — also known as the U.P. — is the northernmost part of Michigan. It’s a special place sandwiched between Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron with over 16,000 miles of scenic wilderness. “Yoopers,” as the locals are called, are people who fully embrace the outdoors and all that the seasons bring. (Yes, they get a lot of snow up here!)
From Balsam Lake, WI we traveled north through the town of Hayward, WI stopping for lunch at Miller’s Market for quick sandwiches and salads to-go. Then, we continued driving northeast, crossing into Michigan at the town of Ironwood. While Andi and I drove, Tory and Aden contently devoured hours of screen time in the back of the RV. Every time I looked back at Aden, he was munching on a different snack.
Now officially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we continued driving east along Highway 2. We contemplated stopping at Lake Gogebic for the night, but the weather was crummy today (58 degrees and raining), so we decided to keep moving toward civilization. We arrived at Tourist Park Campground in Marquette, MI around 7:00pm.
One of the best things about RVing is that it takes you to all kinds of places you never dreamed of visiting. Neither Andi or I had ever been to Marquette, Michigan — honestly, we didn’t really know that much about it. Marquette is home to Northern Michigan University and one of the largest towns in the U.P. with a whooping 20,000 residents. It’s an adorable college town located along the shores of Lake Superior with many popular hiking and skiing trails nearby.
After selecting a camping spot for the night at Tourist Park, we unhooked the Jeep and drove into town to see what Marquette had to offer. Downtown streets are lined with old, historic buildings and beautiful college grounds nearby. The fall semester of the school year started a few days ago, and Andi and I got a kick out of seeing a long line wrapped around the block of one of the buildings. Is there a concert tonight? A really good restaurant? Why are all these students standing outside on this chilly, wet evening? Ah, they’re waiting to get into the cannabis shop within walking distance to campus.
The four of us were hungry, and decided on Lawry’s Pasty Shop for dinner. There’s tons of restaurant options to choose from in Marquette, but Andi and I felt like we’d better try the local specialty. A pasty is a savory pastry filled with meat, potatoes, rutabaga, and onion. It’s similar to a meat pie or Runza you’d find in other parts of the country, but bigger in size and with a more dough-like crust.
We also ordered a cudighi which is a sandwich filled with seasoned Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce served on a hard roll. This signature sandwich is primarily sold in the U.P.’s Marquette County and was originally introduced by Italian immigrants hence the pizza-like ingredients.
Lawry’s is rated the best in town for both pasties and cudighies, so we figured we couldn’t go wrong stopping there for dinner. The beef pasty was tasty and filling — especially with a side of brown gravy for dipping. Andi took it one step further and added cold coleslaw to his bites. Tory liked her beef pasty best with ketchup. Aden, who isn’t a fan of his food mixed together, didn’t care for it at all.
The cudighi sandwich was not our favorite. It was very messy to eat and tasted like a pizza sandwich with chunks of sweet sausage in the middle. Neither Andi or I like pizza very well, so this menu item was a miss for us.
We rounded our evening with a stop by the local co-op for some breakfast essentials.
The kids were liked caged animals at bedtime with lots of energy still left in their tanks to burn. We definitely didn’t have enough outside time today to stretch our legs on this long drive day. As we snuggled into our beds for the night, I read chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Great Lakes aloud to everyone. It’s a cute story of a boy and a girl traveling around all five of the Great Lakes with their grandparents. We’re sure to see many of the sites they talk about in the book during our RV trip.
Tomorrow, we plan to see a little more of Marquette in the morning, and then continue heading east along the shores of Lake Superior through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
