Day 30 – 31 Black River Lodge to Ironwood (Total Miles = 484.2)

We left the Black River Lodge feeling like we were leaving home. But, we also knew our ride into Ironwood was going to be short, with only a few hills. On top of that, the weather was cooperating. We took all back roads and relished the joy of having little traffic. We tooled along, appreciating the countryside and farm homes. Ken and I had not seen a deer in at least a week! We still didn’t see any on that day, but we did see a family of sandhill cranes. The cranes always seem to hang out in fields, so getting a good view is difficult. As usual, they were out in the field, but I could see that there were little ones…a lot of little bitty cranes! Oh how I wish I could have snuck up on them to get a closer look at the babies! I couldn’t count all of them, but there had to be over half a dozen.

Before we knew it, we were in Ironwood. We had another reservation at the Budget Host Inn. Again, this was another one of those old family run motels that is a gem. Friendly owners, staff, and patrons. The rooms were huge and clean, and inexpensive.

We had a lot to do in town. We had to do laundry, get Ken’s bike fixed (his derailer turned out to be bent), go to the post office, and go to the thrift shop. I also wanted to check out the Ironwood Museum. We went, but sadly, it was closed.

Ironwood has a lot going for it. It is near skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, ATVing, and waterfalls. There is a small downtown area that is very quaint. We ate twice at Ben’s Place. We stopped in because they had ice cream (what do you expect), but the lunch was delicious. We spoke with Selena, the owner. She grew up near me, downriver from Detroit. We shared stories of Allen Park, the AP Theater, Sears & Roebuck (with their hot peanuts), and why not, ice cream (Selena was a Calder ice cream fan, I am a Sanders ice cream fan)! She mentioned that, right across the street from her restaurant, the town is putting in a park with water fountains, picnic areas, and a winter ice rink that would actually encircle the park area. She was excited about the future, and that was so refreshing to hear in these times of uncertainty. Yes, they were already hard at work on it and I would love to be able to come back and see it finished. I would definitely ice skate around the park, stay at the Budget Host Inn, and eat at Ben’s Place.

Let’s pray for our service men and women, our police officers, and firemen, current and past. Without them, we would not enjoy the life we have today. Please, let’s not forget that!