On the Road: Devil's Lake, North Dakota to Ashland, Wisconsin

It was 70 miles to Minnesota, but there is a little NWR 3 miles off US2 just west of Grand Forks, North Dakota which is the last town before Minnesota. The refuge is named Kelly's Slough. Maria and I stopped there one time, and I have returned at least twice since then. It is a watery place in the middle of farm country on a gravel road. Of course I had to check it out although there were very few birds around as the prairie potholes were mostly still frozen in spite of temperatures in the 50 and 60s. I saw only occasional ducks and many pairs of Canada geese who seemed to be patiently waiting for open water as they were usually perched on ice that was soon to disappear

As I neared Kelly's Slough, I saw a man with a spotting scope and binoculars near his car looking out over some actual open water. However, as I got closer, I realized it wasn't a gentleman after all but a woman close to my age. We chatted a bit about what she was seeing (tundra swans, some ducks) and I drove on, turned around and as I passed her (she was now in her car heading towards me) she motioned for me to roll down my window and told me about some more ponds up the road. I told her I "had to get home" and she asked where. When I told her Holland, Michigan, she got a look on her face and said, "You've GOT to be kidding!"

Her son teaches organic chemistry at Hope and her daughter-in-law is a physician in Holland. So it goes on the road. I often met people who either knew Holland directly or some place else in western Michigan.

On into Minnesota with a stop in Grand Rapids at a great coffee shop to get espresso along with an almond praline bar and a piece of feta-fennel quiche which I would eat for supper later (thinking ahead and not wanting vending machine food).

Through Duluth, over a high bridge, and into Wisconsin for 80 miles before the UP. Ashland, Wisconsin is a pleasant town on the shores of Lake Superior with many motels, about 50 miles after Duluth, and is the access point for Chaquamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands. I passed a large lodge-motel on the west end of town and drove on, but pulled into a parking lot to scout out where to stay. I was doing this more and more often: stopping and calling on my iPhone for rates. On a whim I called the lodge and they were very reasonable. I also called a motel in the first town in the UP (Ironwood) and was put on hold and then "the computer froze up" and then, after I patiently waited an hour (just kidding, but it seemed way too long) was told that perhaps the rate would be $85 which was a lot more than the nice lodge right on Lake Superior and which is where I stayed of course. I had a bit of a glitch getting Internet as I needed an Ethernet connection rather than WiFi and finally found out the cable they gas me did not plug into the port on the desk lamp but into the wall instead. A young girl at the desk came up and showed me this.

So I worked 4 hours and ate my feta-fennel quiche after I went back to the desk for a fork.

I actually set up my spotting scope and could easily see the golden "tears" on the swans out on the lake confirming they were Tundras, along with displaying Common goldeneyes. The males would suddenly and repeatedly throw their heads all the way backwards and then jerk them forward again. All to impress the females....

There was the lake to the north and a marsh to the south across the road. Of course, the rates in the summer go up considerably, but what a nice place to stay.