A Ride With A Bit of History

It was my turn to plan a Harley ride.  This summer has been great and we have gone many places, put many miles on our Harley-Davidson and met lots of new friends.  I asked my husband about doing something outside of the thumb but still fairly local and he said to plan it out.  I wanted to stay near the lake shore but wanted to go somewhere other than the thumb and that is when it hit me.  Now I just had to do some research and figure out our route.  Since I wasn't the one who normally planed the routes I had to google everything.  I wanted to make this a great ride so everyone who went would have fun.

Once I had a few locations and stops figured out I showed my husband, who sent out a group text.  He liked the plan and wanted to see if anyone else would be interested in going or if we would just go ourselves.  Tom and Cindy were the first to respond with interest.  Mike and Linda didn't have any free time for the next 5 weekends and said they would sit this one out.  Bob and Stacey were in and so was Jim.  Joey was working mandatory overtime and didn't think he would be able to go but to let him know when we decided to go just in case.  We decided on the following weekend and Joey said he would have to catch us on the next one.  

We met Tom and Cindy early Saturday morning at the corner of M-46 and M-53 at Scott's Quick Stop for gas before heading out to Saginaw to meet the rest of our group.  We arrived at McDonald's near M-46 and I-75 just ahead of the rest of our crew.  We grabbed some breakfast as we were waiting for them to arrive.  Once everyone was full and ready to go I explained the route I wanted to take.  We would head up I-75 to Bay city and then head up M-13 towards Pinconning and into Standish where we would follow US-23 along the shoreline to Oscoda for lunch and then through the National Forest for our final destination.

It was a short ride on the express way but even that was more than I cared to do.  Once we were off I-75 and on to M-13 heading out of the blustery city atmosphere I began to relax and enjoy the ride.  The view was nothing special and I was starting to feel defeated.  We traveled through Pinconning and on towards Standish.  There were some cool houses and a few cute little shops but it wasn't until we reached Au Gres that I felt like I made a good choice.  US-23 opened up to show Lake Huron and a very scenic view.  

The lake is always a beautiful sight.  The waves rolling and capping in such a splendid white, contrasting the deep blue of the water is a view almost anyone can appreciate.  As we rolled through Tawas City and into East Tawas we decided it was time to take a leg stretch.  We walked along the bricked street and checked out some of the craft shops and gift stores.  This is the part that always gets me in trouble.  I wanted to buy everything but thankfully being on the motorcycle helped to keep me in check.  I did buy a couple small things for the house and stowed them in the saddlebags, to keep them safe, until we got home.  

We continued on to Oscoda for lunch.  I had heard about this Mexican/Spanish food place called Desi's for us to try.  I had made sure that their menu offered American style food as well. There was always one in the crowd that wouldn't want Mexican/Spanish food.  I chose the Chicken Quesadilla and was not disappointed.  The food was good and the service was friendly.  I couldn't keep my mind on the food, I was distracted by our end location.  

Outside and on the Harley's again we were heading into the Huron-Manistee National Forest.  We headed down River road deep into the National Forest.  It was a quiet relaxing ride through the wooded road.  The trees were thick and tall covering the view in splendid green, a hint of red and some orange with the changing colors of fall.  When we turned off on to Monument road I got some confused looks from the others in our group but I knew we were almost at our destination.  We pulled into the parking lot, that is when they saw it and finally understood.

The Lumberman's Monument is a 14 foot tall bronze statue of a log and three men standing around/on it.  Time had turned the statue a green color.  One of the guys is holding an old fashioned compass, one is holding a saw and the other is holding a big long stick thing with a hook on one end (I later learned this was called a Peavey).  The purpose of the statue was to honor the Pioneer Lumbermen of Michigan and their labors making the development of the Prairie States possible.  I know this might make me seem like a bit of a history geek but I like old monuments.  I wasn't the only one in our group that enjoyed seeing it either but most of them were just about the ride.  

We did a couple pictures before getting back on the motorcycles to head home.  I explained that if we had time I had one more stop I wanted to make on the way home.  We headed out down Monument road and into Tawas City.  From there we were back on US-23 and back along the lake shore.  Following this route to M-13 back through Standish and into Pinconning to my last stop, The famous Pinconning Cheese Company and Fudge Shoppe.

I will apologize in advance but in my opinion you can't pass through Pinconning and not get some of their amazing cheese.  This place is the ultimate deli with the added bonus of Fudge.  They have been open for over 70 years and if you have ever had a sample of their products you will know why.  The flavor and quality speak for itself.  I was almost worried I was buying more than the saddlebags could hold but then I remembered that our Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide also had a tour pack that I had emptied, before our trip, for extra room.  With the cooler weather I knew my purchase would be fine until we got home.  

This is where Stacey, Bob and Jim would be heading in a different direction to get home.  We weren't going back to I-75 to go home like they were, we would be heading towards the thumb.  We said our farewells and went our separate ways.  Tom and Cindy rode their Harley-Davidson next to ours down M-13, into Bay City and on into the thumb and familiar territory.  Tom and Cindy went all the way back to our house with us where we played cards and laughed the evening away.