Laurie Bashaw was with her hubby recently as he completed his 100 mile challenge on the North Country Trail in Marquette and she captured his celebration of reaching his goal, despite having a bum knee. That’s quite an accomplishment and lots of miles when you have a sore knee...Congratulations Ed!! The North Country National Scenic Trail is 4,800 miles long and stretches across eight states from Vermont to North Dakota. It is the longest trail in the U.S. National Trails System. More than 500 miles of the trail span across the U.P., with 110 miles running directly through Marquette County.

A variety of other photos were snapped by Laurie, including some interesting items and critters they saw along the trail there in Marquette that day. So you’ll not only have great views of Lake Superior on the downtown Marquette section of the trail, but there are so many other things to see as you walk along.

Next we travel to the Hanka Homestead Museum with Visit Keweenaw and Nathan “Invincible” Miller. He takes us to this preserved Finnish pioneer farmstead where time stands still. It is a designated Keweenaw Heritage Site and part of the National Register of Historic Places. Hanka offers a rare window into 1920s Finnish-American homesteading life - complete with original log buildings, antique tools, and that essential “savusauna” (wood-fired smoke sauna).

Way to go, Ed. I can attest to that
being quite the feat with a bum knee.
And nice scenery along the way too.

Congrats Ed! Way to go! The pics are awesome. The
pine tree flowers look like future pine cones.

If you haven't been to the Hanka Homestead, and
don't live far away, you HAVE to go and see it. A
friend and I were out cruising one day, and came
across it by mistake. What a wonderful mistake. We
had a personal tour, and what an awesome place.
You HAD to be self sustaining in our winters in
the woods like that. And they sure were....what an
impressive place to experience. And it is an
experience. Gets my vote~

Hi
Walking a 100 miles is impressive--
congratulations, Ed.

There was a piece on TV recently about the high
population of the geese. The reporter asked the
expert he was interviewing if the name is Canada
geese or Canadian geese. He was told that it was
NOT Canadian geese, they didn't have passports or
Canadian citizenship.

I'd have liked a little narration on the video to
explain what I was seeing/confirm my guesses.

Ed was pretty happy to complete his 100 miles challenge this year.
This is our third year doing the challenge. You first register with
the North Country Trail Association online. This is completely an
“on your honor” challenge. If someone wanted, they could walk
the same mile 100 times. But that would be boring. We have done
some “unique miles” which are miles that are new to us. Once
completed, go back to the NCT website and tell them that you are
done. About 6 weeks later, you will received a “completion
certificate”, a patch for the current year, and an NCT sticker.
Pretty neat. I completed my challenge earlier this year and am
currently at 302 miles. My goal is 600 miles for 2025. I am
hoping that Ed and I can get off the Lakeshore trail soon and into
the woods!

Very impressive, Ed!!!
And I I wish you well in
the future with more
exciting challenges
to come. Nice scenery
along the way too.
Rustic video!