Easy rainy followed by brutal sunny

First two days are in the record books. June first we headed out of Sault Ste Marie at 8:15. The start was down hill for a mile or so and then some twists and turns and we were on the International Bridge to the US. We thought that would be a tough ride, not knowing traffic levels. And we were in the regular roadway, not a separate bike/pedestrian lane. Traffic was light and the ride was easy. We got over the bridge and down the road with no wrong turns and got to the lakeshore road we would spend the rest of the day on. There was a threat of rain right from the start but only a few drops until late in the morning. We stopped to look at the Iriquois Point lighthouse and chatted with some folks there. They said 'you guys are in for an interesting day' meaning we were going to get wet. As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot a steady rain started and we were soon in our full rain riding duds. It rained for at least a couple hours. The saving grace for the day, beside some nice scenery, was a tailwind, a cyclist's best friend. Because of the rain we decided to bag the planned state park camping stop and roll on to Paradise....Michigan that is. Got a room, dinner and slept well. Day two dawned sunny and we headed out for a long day Riding to Grand Marais, MI. Our original plan was to ride some back country county roads which would make the distance between 50-60 miles. A typical day for this trip. On my drive out I had scouted this route out because we could not be sure it was rideable. I consulted with the owner of Deer Park Lodge where those routes would end and he told me in no uncertain terms that was not possible on bicycles. The roads are sandy and soft. With a big fat tire bike it could be done. Not on our rigs. So that meant we had choices which included a route that would take 2 days or one which included 12 miles of a gravel road, which he believed would be rideable for us. I had driven that road on my way to his location and agreed that it looked challenging but doable. And, by the way, that route will be 74 miles to Grand Marais. That would make it the longest distance of the trip, on day two. Were we ready for this? So we started the day early, on the road at 7:10, and made good progress. But as the morning went on we had the opposite of the cyclist's best friend, headwinds. These persisted and wore me down. Jim does much better than I do in the wind. We kept on, not sure if we would find a place to eat. First good luck was the North Shore Baking Co. which had some wonderful cinnamon rolls. We got four (saved two for later) for $5, and we were refueled for the time being. When we had arrived there the sign said closed but we sat on their nice cushioned benches and very soon the owner appeared and we were in luck. Our next lucky experience was several miles later when we were ready for lunch. We rolled in to the Wolf Inn and again the sign said closed. But soon a nice woman opened the door and said 'come on in we are just opening'. So we had a fun time with locals and had a nice big lunch with mac and cheese for desert. They were amazed/puzzled by our plan to ride to Grand Marais, about 40 miles away, especially since we had to ride that gravel road. It turns out there puzzlement was not misplaced. The 12 miles of gravel took us between 2-3 hours. Most of it was soft and not accommodating of our relatively narrow tires. Jim rides tires much narrower than mine and I was able to negotiate it better. It was probably the most challenging section of road I have ever ridden, except for a detour on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we had to push and carry our loaded bikes on a rugged hiking trail. We got through it and now have set up camp and went to dinner in Grand Marais. Tomorrow is a new day and we ride exclusively on pavement!