And it was pretty damn weird driving west out of Iron county into Gogebic county, from Central to Eastern time. When we passed thru Merriweather, I think we were in the westernmost community in the Eastern time Zone.
Are you sure it was a time-zone change?
In the past, Wisconsin has been known for having more lenient alcohol laws then some of the bordering states. Maybe Wisconsin bars just stay open later.
Bar close is 2AM in both Michigan and Wisconsin. When I lived in Duluth, though we always drove to Wisconsin for the extra hour of drinking.
As far as the U.P. goes, I hope you like snow. I’m not sure if Menominee gets as much snow as Marquette, but to compare, there was significantly more snowpack in Marquette when I visited last winter than in Vail! Get yourself a good pair of boots- Sorels or LaCrosse are the most common.
St. Urho
Born in Marquette
Boots? Get snowshoes!! Iverson snow shoes! They’re made in the UP!
While Iverson makes great snowshoe, I’ve heard that their quality has taken a nose-dive in recent years. I think they’re under new ownership. My parents (Marquettians (or whatever)) actually bought Tubbs when they bought new snowshoes this year.
hehehehe, yeah, back when I lived in Colorado I always loved telling the natives that my hometown in the UP got WAY more snow than most places in Colorado. They never believed me. I even had one guy swear up and down that Boulder got more snow than the UP. Boulder… the place where they don’t even bother to plow the streets when it snows because it’ll melt withing a couple of days.
Boot wise, there’s a LOT better boots than Sorels nowadays. Sorels are big and clunky and hard to walk in; the local sports shops carry lightweight, warm, comfy boots, good for snowshoeing, general around-the-town walking, and tromping out to the outhouse at 3 am while spending the night at camp.
I bought Tubbs snowshoes, too. They’re really, really nice. Not the snowshoes of my youth. Light and easy to walk in, and way, way fun. Snowshoeing has surpassed cross country skiing as my sport of choice in the winter.
We actually live near Boulder now. The locals’ ideas of cold and snow both make me laugh.
I remember driving up to Copper Harbor and seeing a marker along the roadside, showing how much snow they averaged every winter. It was 18 feet, 4 inches tall, if I recall correctly.
390.4 inches!!! (roughly 32.5 feet). It’s in the general vicinity of Mohawk, MI.
Yep, seen that too. That’s up there near them jam making monks I mentioned above.
I remember the first time I saw it. Scared the bejeebers out of me to think of that much snow.
That’s funny. I used to occasionally see cars with the “UP” symbol on them or the “Say ya to da UP” sticker and wonder just how many yoopers there were in Boulder. The other thing that those guys never understood is that when it starts snowing in the UP, it’s there until April (or May… or June…) We don’t get those 70 degree days in January where all the snow melts. Once it starts, it’s there for the duration.
That said, I can report that all the snow is indeed gone, and it’s been in the high 70s/low 80s and has been absolutely gorgeous in that summer-in-da-UP way that makes everyone remember just why we live here despite February.
Hmmm… I need to go visit those jammy monks one of these days. They make good jam.
As far as the snow thermometer, lest we scare poor PatriotGrrrl away altogether, remember that it measure the actual snow fall, not what’s on the ground. It’s not like 250 inches of snow equates to a 20 foot covering of snow in all places. Some melts, much of it gets packed down, etc.
God, this reminds me of an article I read once that had an old photo from a blizzard that hit in the 20’s (I believe–been a while since I read it). Showed some guys standing on top of a snow drift. Poking out of the top of the drift were some telephone poles. About two feet worth, to be exact. 
You won’t want to miss the Outhouse Races in Trenary.