Again today, as we drove west from Newberry to Munising, we were reminded that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is an area of contrasts.
With an area of 16,377 square miles, or 29% of Michigan’s land area, but a population of only 299,184 people—only about 3% of the state’s population (a density of roughly 18 people per square mile).
The Upper Peninsula is one of the few regions in the United States that experience population decline. Although not every county in the Upper Peninsula has a declining population, this phenomenon does have a significant impact on the social and economic aspects of many of its communities and citizens. Some of the contributing factors to the Upper Peninsula’s shifts in population are the boom and bust cycles of the timber and mining industries, as well as the severity of its winters
On the one hand, there are vast forests bordering the few roads between communities … making the trip almost visually serene and very calming.
There are areas of predominantly deciduous trees, others where evergreen pines, spruces, cedars and hemlocks are prevalent 
while still other sections which are reminiscent of the black spruce tundra areas we traveled through in the Yukon and Alaska.
At the same time, seemingly the vast majority of homes are modest, and many appear to have been abandoned …
as were all too many retail and food services establishments.
It’s probably a combination of the area having a relatively short “summer season” (with the fall colors showing up in still small but increasingly numbers),
still not having fully recovered from the recession of 2008 and having been relatively weak economically beforehand.
All in all, however, we still enjoy this area very much!
Shortly after we arrived at our campground, we noticed an empty space between our coach and that of another of our traveling companions. The woman, Alice Miller, who pulled in (yes, she is single and solos all over the US) is a friend whom we met enroute to, and was also attending the Tournament of Roses Rally in Pasadena, which was our destination, too. The world seems to get smaller and smaller!
We took a short ride around Munising where, from an over look, we had a great view of Grand Island Bay and, in the distance, the Painted Rocks cliffs which we’re scheduled to see from a lake tour tomorrow evening.
This evening, we had a “pot luck” supper … the food was fantastic, particularly the corn on the cob which was among the sweetest I’ve ever tasted. 
