Day Four
I woke up early, so I started my day thirty minutes early. I drove to Espresso Milano, but I arrived ten minutes before they opened, so I walked down the street and saw the Tridge. It is very odd; it is a triple bridge that spans three rivers. It was much larger than I had imagined. Then I went back and had a double espresso; it was okay, but as my friend from Venice, Stefano, would say, “It is a little watery.”
I drove up the M23 to Oscoda Township, MI, to see the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue (one of many in Michigan), and there was a farmer’s market where I bought a jar of lavender jam and a sourdough chocolate chip cookie. I was actually twenty-five minutes ahead of schedule.
There was a change in the people; suddenly everyone I met was very friendly. One fellow told me he liked my car, everyone I passed said good morning, and one of the vendors talked my head off.
The Tridge Midland, MI
My next stop was Harrisville Harbor; there wasn't much there. I just took a fifteen-minute walk before heading towards Alpena. The most interesting thing I saw in Alpena was a very impressive stone Victorian house that was for sale. I eventually found the listing, and they are asking 1.8 million for it, but at least it is fully furnished.
Alpena Marina was good for another fifteen-minute stretch before heading to Rogers City, MI, to see the largest limestone quarry in the world. It is called a calcite quarry, which grinds up the limestone and sorts it into various sizes. The stone is then transferred into self-loading ships at two docks. It turns out that Rogers City, MI, supplies the most Great Lake sailors of any city in the USA. While I was eating my lunch, two guys pulled up, and we struck up a long conversation. One was a retired postman, and the other was a county lawyer from Minnesota. I learned everything about being a postman. The postman was originally from Rogers City, but he lives an hour west. It turns out his father was a sailor and died in the 1965 crash of a calcite ship called the Cedarville that sank near the Mackinac Bridge. He took a look at my itinerary for the Upper Peninsula and noticed that I planned to see the Crisp Point Lighthouse. He took one look at my car and said it couldn’t handle the long dirt road to the lighthouse. He then recommended two other stops to replace it, and I thanked him.
Oscoda Township, MI
Stone House Alepena, MI
9/13/2025
Midland, MI to Gaylord, MI
420 Miles
Typical Michigan Rest Stop
I stopped in Cheboygan for gas, unaware I had pulled up to the full-service pump. As I was filling up the tank, the attendant came out and washed the windshield and talked for about twenty minutes about cars.
I bought a Michigan State Park Passport at Fisherman's Island State Park. The out-of-state price was $41.00 for a yearly pass, which was cheaper than the four daily passes I would need.
They poured a double espresso into my cup at Mundos HQ in Traverse City. When she gave me the coffee, she described the beans like a wine connoisseur, using a lot of flowery terms. I had no idea what she meant and downed it at the counter. It had an interesting taste, but it was just coffee to me.
Calcite Mine Rogers City, MI
Fisherman's Island State Park
I did a web search for a restaurant in Traverse City instead of Don's Drive-In, which I had planned on eating at. I ended up choosing the Little Fleet; the online menu listed shrimp tacos and smoked potato tacos. It took me a long time to find it because the website listed an odd address, but I found it across the street at an even address behind a bunch of food trucks. I sat down at the bar, and when I told the bartender I wanted to see the food menu, she laughed and said they don’t serve food. She told me to go order from the food trucks, and I could bring the food back and eat at the bar. I couldn’t find the shrimpor the tater tacos, but I did get Baja fish tacos and an order of loaded yucca (fried yucca with pesto and pickled red onion). They were delicious.
After dinner I walked up and down Front Street looking for dessert. This area of Michigan is known for cherries, so I stopped at a store where everything was made from cherries; there must be hundreds of different products. I ordered a slice of cherry pie; it was good, but I could only finish half of it.
