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Nothing was moving so we dropped the kick stands and turned off the bikes. From the ferry landing I looked out over the De Tour Passage and saw everything from small boats to an ore freighter working its way north towards Lake Superior. It was a hell of nice day for a ferry ride. If my brother-in-law hadn't come along, I would have made the trip myself, but it was nice to have someone to talk as we looked out over the passage. Neither of us had been to the island before. It's amazing how many people who grew up in one end of the U.P. never really know much about the other end, me included.
Finally a man came around a collect $4 a bike for the passage over to the island. It must have been the round trip price since they didn’t charge us for the trip back. Then again, when you think about the reasoning, it makes sense. How else was I going to get my bike off the island. It wasn't long before the man motioned us aboard so we fired up the bikes and drove onto the ferry. I’d say the ferry could probably hold between 20-30 cars depending on sizes and trailers. We sort of squeezed up into the front corner. Soon the ferry’s engines cranked over and we were on our way. I must admit it was a pretty cool feeling to be taking my bike on a ferry over to an island. In some ways it was the highlight of my whole Yooper Cannonball ride.
When we finally reached the other side I was sorry to see it come to an end. I could have easily went back and did it again. As we drove off the ferry, I really wasn’t sure where we were going so we just followed the main road. As we came around the first bend I saw a huge mansion being built on the shore line. I suppose it could have been a hotel, but somehow I got the feeling it was a house. It wouldn’t be the last time I saw some pretty impressive digs on the island. Riding further I notice signs for plumbers, cabinet makers and other home trade businesses. Soon we rode into what I would think you could call a town or at least the main district. I found out later its called Four Corners. There were several businesses, one being a grocery store and couple restaurants and bars. Deciding not to stop for lunch yet, we rode around eventually ending up at a Yacht Club. All I can say is that there were some mighty impressive boats in the harbor and up in dry dock. I got the feeling that there was real impressive money floating around on Drummond Island. After a quick tour of the Yacht Club, we cruised back into the town to find some place to eat. There weren’t too many choices, so we decided to try the Northwood Bar and Restaurant.
It was a rustic nice looking place with plenty of tables and a bar that ran the length of the place. I could tell it was place that probably catered to a lot of tourists when the sun went down. Later I found out it was the crossroads location for several snowmobile trails and the place drew big crowds during the winter. The bar tender told us an ice cutter keeps the water passage open so the ferries can bring across the snowmobiles to ride the island all winter long. I instantly pictured a few dozen snowmobiles firing off the ferry once the door lowered. My brother-in-law is avid snowmobiler and I could tell from the look on his face that he be back come snow fall. I suspect if more snowmobiliers from the Western U.P. and Wisconsin knew about Drummond Island, they'd be paying a visit as well. The bar had a decent menu so I opted for Turkey Ruben sandwich. What I got was half a turkey piled between two slices of dark brown bread. It was delicious. When I mentioned how good it was, my brother-in-law quickly chimed in that his hamburger was one the best he’d had in quite some time.
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Motorcycle Service U.P. State Parks - there are at least 19 good reasons to buy a park sticker.
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