A sea serpent, a wolf and pasties. Such sights.

What a day for sightseeing. As I left the Ashland library I saw a sea serpent. Later in the day I saw a wolf, some pasties and even a couple of very clean hogs.

First the sea serpent. I've exaggerated slightly. I only saw the front third of the serpent. The serpent is the creation of Dave Gemszler, an Ashland artist, for the children's section of the Ashland library. The serpent was hauled to the library in a horse trailer and Dave (the large fellow without a hat) had plenty of help getting the beast into the library.

The fellow in the hat with the pink bill standing next to the serpent is another Ashland artist, Darl Wittmer. Ashland has a thriving artist colony, and Darl has a show of his drawings, entitled "Usual Suspects" at the Black Hat Coffee Shop in Ashland.

It was graduation day for the high school in Ashland and I saw more than a few happy graduates in their regalia walking down the street with proud parents.

Leaving Ashland I continued east on highway 2 until I reached Ironwood just inside the Michigan line. There I picked up Michigan 28 to run across the U.P. of the state. The folks in the U.P. take pride in their remote location and their unique position in the world. They speak with a distinct accent as reflected in a popular bumper sticker promoting the region, "Say ya to da UPA."

Rolling through the Seny National Wildlife Refuge I was riding parallel to railroad tracks to the south. The tracks were about 25 yard from the roadway and elevated slightly. I was surprised to see a wolf standing on the tracks. If the wolf was surprised by me, it didn't show it as it remained on the tracks as I rode by.

During the day I had several good looks at Lake Superior. Its size is difficult to comprehend. I rode along the south shore of the lake from Superior, Wisc. to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The ride took longer than six hours, and I was beside the lake the entire time.

I stopped for a nap at a Michigan rest area. We need some like this. A short walk takes you to a waterfall, and there is a stream running through the picnic portion of the area. The water was bronze in color leading me to believe it was water draining a swamp where there was a lot of decaying vegetation in the water.

While I was at the rest area I met Jerry and Judy Senske of Ishpeming, Michigan and their very clean hogs. As many black flies as there were in the air in the U.P., the Senskes must work hard at keeping their Harleys sparkling.

The Canadians let me in their country with a brief examination to establish that I was an American citizen. My mistake on the Alaska trip was to select a remote border crossing with a new customs agent being trained there. If George II and his evil empire learn I'm out of the country, I may have some difficulty getting back in as those folks seem to resent those who question their integrity, ability and intelligence. Always a brief examination as there doesn't seem to be anything to disclose in any of those categories.

Once in Canada I rode east until I reached Bruce Mines, Ontario. The mines were copper mines, but in the dark I saw nothing of the mines. I spent the night in the Bavarian Inn, a natural since I was on a motorcycle made in Bavaria.

The motel didn't have an Internet connection, but it was there when the rain started, and it had a good diner, The Bobber, next door.

Oh, about those pasties. In parts of the world other than the U.P. of Michigan the word is pronounced with a long a, and means those small devices pasted on by exotic dancers to cover those portions of their exposed flesh that would get them arrested unless covered. In the U.P. the a is a short a as in past. In the U.P. the word pasties is pronounced like past. In the U.P. pasties are pies with a meat and potato filling wrapped in a baked crust. The pies were a typical lunch for the European iron ore miners who worked in the area. So, the pasties I saw were pleasant, but not related to expressive, first amendment protected activity.