Alms for the suffering!

Saturday's cold temps didn't phase me one iota. Took in a movie and on the way there, with gloveless hands, I opened the fat package I had retrieved from the mailbox. Written on front of it was "Lake Superior Circle Tour." In it were "gifts" (i.e., travel stuff!) I had been bugging them about since November. Finally the new 2007 travel guide, a book mark, a gift catalog, a really handy map (my third of the region!) and a 308 page book called, Lake Superior: The Ultimate Guide to the Region. Look at those goodies! Christmas in January! Supposedly some of the stuff was free; the book was around $17. In the end, the tab was $30--but I'm not complaining. It's high quality and after the movie, I returned home and didn't move much the rest of the weekend. Now that's entertainment!
I now see why William Murphy in Motorcycling Across Michigan calls the Lake Superior Cirle Tour "the crown jewel" of the great lake tours. While circling Lake Michigan, I remember long stretches where only me, the machine, the road, and the lake seemed out there. I enjoyed those uninterrupted rolling miles. My stops were welcomed treats that I devoured.

The Lake Superior challenge? Be selective! There is so much to see and many of the sites are in close proximity to each other. There will be spots, where if I want to do the whole touring thing, I'll end up 'cycling two miles here and there. Lots of short jaunts. Lots of places where the info recommends that you "stay a day or so." Thus far, everything I've read about, sounds like a "must-see" to me. On the Lake Michigan tour, I aimed for as many lighthouses as I could. Circling Lake Superior, I'm adding visits to the falls, like Kakabeka Falls, Ontario and Tahquamenon Falls, UP Michigan, to mention two. National and State parks cover the trip and I'm thinking as I'm reading all this attractive info that I need more than a week. That's always the tension for me: ride versus tour. I know I can cover the approximately 2,300 miles to complete the journey. It's the touring that takes so much time, of which I have only a limited amount now that I've sold my labor to a corporation.

Oh well, now that I have all these goodies perhaps I can narrow my choices and plan my stops (which sorta defeats the whole idea of VACATION!). Everything on this tour seems so yummy, like a kid in a huge candy store.