• Date Circle Tour Completed
• Favorite Spot and/or Experience
• Member

August 2-12, 2006
Favorite spots: Pictured Rocks, Whitefish Point, the Soo Locks, Old Fort William, all the lighthouses.
Elizabeth & Peter Heehn, Hermantown, Minnesota

2000-2005
Copper Harbor favorite place.
Cindy Lutz, Two Harbors, Minnesota

February 9, 2007
I have circled Lake Superior, but not all in one trip. In 1970, my family and I went north by following U.S. 2 from Ironwood, Michigan, to Duluth, then north to Thunder Bay, east along the north shore of the lake to the Sault, Ontario, where we crossed the bridge into Michigan and then back down to our home in Ohio. In 1980, we went from Sault, Ontario, to Thunder Bay, having the sad privilege of witnessing the brave attempt by Terry Fox to cross Canada. After a few days in Thunder Bay we continued on south back into the U.S. then east on Highway 2, back across the U.P. of Michigan and south to home. In other years, we have gone from the Soo to Paradise, then Munising, Marquette and all the way to Copper Harbor. Another year we went from Houghton through Ontonagon to Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park. I’ve enjoyed all the country around the Big Lake. but I have to say my favorite place is Keweenaw Peninsula and Copper Harbor. As for when we completed traversing all the shore, I would say 1987, the year we went to the Porkies. As for my favorite experience on the Circle Tour, that’s a hard one. I guess I would have to say the first trip in 1970 when we stayed in Wawa on our way home. I heard an animal howling in the distance. Being a city girl, I thought it was a very loud dog. My husband, who had spent time in the wilderness before, informed me that it was not a dog. It was a wolf. At that point I knew I was really in the wild. My husband is gone now. I thought many times about joining the Lake Superior Circle Tour Club but wasn’t sure if such fragmented travel qualified. We may not have done it all in one swoop, but we did it and loved every minute of it. Although I live on the shore of Lake Erie, there is no other like Lake Superior. It is special. I do my best to get someplace on its shore at least every couple of years. In fact, I spent four days in Copper Harbor last September and hope to get up to Paradise this coming summer. I would be so proud to display the Circle Tour emblem on my car.
Phyllis Barnes, Toledo Ohio

September 2006
We did the Circle Tour from late August into early September, after 35 years of saying we were going to do it. What a shame we left it for so long! There was so much to see and such a variety of cities, towns and scenery - enough for at least another two or three tours without repeating. But we will repeat some experiences - especially Pukaskwa National Park, which to our minds is the biggest jewel in the Circle’s crown. If you ever find yourself in the park, be sure to join the dune tour at dusk. The giant, white sand dunes sweep into the forest to produce a breathtakingly beautiful sight. Thanks to all of the people and governments who through hard work, love and commitment of resources to the region made our trip a wonderful memory.
Ron & Nancy Perozzo, Thunder Bay, Ontario

• Date Circle Tour Completed
• Favorite Spot and/or Experience
• Member

Yearly since 1999
Where to begin on this lake I love so much. I first circled the lake in 1999 and have done it every year since. I’m planning to circle Lake Superior again this summer and make it my 9th consecutive Circle Tour. Born and raised in Wisconsin, I have always had a deep love and respect for nature. Yet, I never even laid eyes on the big lake until the age of 18 right after my high school graduation. That summer we took a road trip around the Big Lake and I was hooked. I had no idea that something so beautiful existed so close to my home town in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Since then every summer the pull of Gitche Gumee has been too strong to resist. In the eight Circle Tours I have done, I have taken nine different people around the lake for the first time. In 2004, we had seven people in three different cars! In the fall of 2005, I moved to Oregon but it still did not stop me and my girlfriend from flying into Minneapolis, renting a car and taking an awesome nine-day trip around the lake. My parents even brought their boat up and we were able to stay in the Apostle Islands one night. That was the first time I had ever been on the lake. Every summer for the rest of my life I will try to continue my pilgrimage to this greatest of the great lakes. We have even contemplated taking a summer to hike around the whole lake. It is an amazing and spiritual place that has a power to it that I cannot put into words. I can only hope we protect and preserve this amazing natural wonder for all to enjoy.
Dustin Waugh, Redmond, Oregon

October 2005
Stormy sunset off Brockway Mountain; watching the tankers make the run for Duluth; cheese and champagne on the deck at Fitger’s watching one of the most beautiful sunsets ever; walking the suspension bridge in the Thunder Bay area - WOW! The Terry Fox memorial - so unexpected, and so touching; our incredible nights in the Serendipity Gardens B&B, no power and wind that shook the building; Government Dock in Wawa - the storm followed us there, and the waves were 15 feet high. The entire trip was incredible. I’d recommend at least two weeks so you can spend several nights in each area. Three would be even better.
Dennis & Marilynn Bachorik, Dearborn, Michigan

June 2004
Circle Tour for honeymoon for seven days. Melinda favorite: the wildlife. Gabe favorite: Indian Trading Post north of Sault Ste. Marie at Batchawana Bay.
Gabe & Melinda Keway, Byron, Michigan

August 2006
Bicycled for 24 days east from Two Harbors. Loved the provincial parks in Canada. Minnesota was the prettiest part. Loved Copper Harbor, once you got up the hills. Was in Bayfield during the storm this summer. In Sault Ste. Marie, loved the bike shop and campground Veloration; enjoyed the people; 1,392 miles; liked the info at the Thunder Bay Visitors Centre.
Shirl Kenney, Cedar Rapids Iowa