Day 7

Felch, Michigan must be the horseshoes capital of the world. At their combined town park/civic hall/post office, they had a line of what must have been at least fifteen horseshoe pits. It seems like that would be enough to allow every person who lives within a twenty mile radius to play simultaneously, so the only logical conclusion I could come to was that the World Horseshoe Championships must be held there.

And maybe they all arrive in Felch in Model T Fords, because some miles later while traveling down another empty road, I saw a line of about fifteen of those old-time cars going the other direction. It was a rare occasion where we were probably equally curious about each others' mode of transportation, so there was a lot of waving, and one guy even blew his braying-donkey old-time horn for me.

As I approached the Wisconsin border, I stopped off at Piers Gorge, which is an area where the Menominee River (that forms the WI/MI border) tumbles quickly through the valley. After hiking there-and-back on the 1.25 mile trail, I was amazed that the area isn't some kind of state park. The natural beauty of the area was stunning (especially with the perfect weather), and even without the river, the challenging trail and dramatic rock formations are enough to capture your interest. But add in the river, which can often be viewed straight down from nearly sheer rocks high above it, and it's truly a top-notch natural area. So it's remarkable that it's just site run by Wisconsin Electric Power, with not much more than a sign on the highway letting you know of its existence.

I made it to the cabin in Pembine at about 4:30, emptied my bags, and headed into town to pick up groceries for me and Dan and Dave. Then I napped for a while, eventually Dan and Dave showed up, and we sat around the campfire and out by the railroad tracks long into the night.