Saturday, November 03, 2012

Lured Into A Tourist Trap

Today we delivered some equipment to one of the mines in the area of the Upper Peninsula.  One of the towns we went through on the way out of the mine was Negaunee.  Through its painted train trestle...
Past old vine covered brick buildings...
And into town where the fired department was located; crossing streets named Silver, Copper and Gold, which reflects its mining heritage.
We've never been to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, but I always thought the "U.P." sounded kinda cool - part of Michigan, but a little disconnected.  I've always wanted to go to the U.P. - although, my ideal trip would have been to Mackinac Island - but when we got this load, I was excited that I'd finally be able to add this part of the country to my travels.

According to Wikipedia, the Upper Peninsula "contains 29% of the land area of Michigan but just 3% of its total population. Residents are frequently called Yoopers (derived from "U.P.-ers") and have a strong regional identity."  The economy is based on logging, mining, and tourism.  Which brings us to Da Yoopers Tourist Trap shop:
 
Where Ed proceeded to try on all the goofy hats he could get his hands on.  I can always count on traveling with Ed to bring a smile to my face!
Next up, Ishpeming.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2011: Dining At The Buckhorn
2010: Ancient Details
2009: Framed By Fake Fall
2008: Let’s Hope This Five Year Old Is As Accurate With His Predictions As He Is With His Aim For The Toilet
2007: Belated Greetings From The Great Pumpkin Pile
2006: Working Man
2005: Black And White

4 comments:

Gary Goulette said...

My Hometown is Port Huron, MI. I wonder if You knew that people in the U.P. call those of us that live in the lower peninsula "Trolls" ? Due to the fact we live "under" or south of the Mackinac bridge.

The Daily Rant said...

Gary: I did read that on Wikipedia. LOL Being up in the U.P. felt a little like being in Northern Maine or Newfoundland, Canada. For some reason, it seems *different*. And because of the little bit of "research" I do on every new place we go to, we were able to get in the eating of a pasty - that'll be in a future post.

Gary Goulette said...

Yeah, great observation ! A LOT of people will say somewhere "feels like up north" when encountering the smell of a campfire, or a quaint little town. It does have a certain "feel" to it. Glad your in tune !

Unknown said...


I also wonder how one should evaluate one's experience as a Tourist of a town one doesn't particularly like. Because equally, it could mean that the residential experience is actually a lot better than the tourist one.