Michigan is made up of 2 parts, the Upper Peninsula (UP) and the lower section (mitten). Those people living in the UP are called “UPers” (pronounced “you-pers”) and those living in the lower section are called “Trolls” because they live under/below the Mackinac Bridge that connects the Upper and lower parts of Michigan..
We both thought Michigan was mostly factories and industrial but to our surprise, it’s farmland! Not big farms but what looks to be privately owned farms. The UP area is not developed very much. It seems to consist of mostly forests and farms. The area around Flint and Detroit has factories but the surrounding areas are farms with great produce! Homes have big front porches, with long driveways, lots of grass and no sidewalks. The American flag flies high and frequently here. It’s even painted on roofs and walls. They like their guns and ammunition. There are gunsmiths, taxidermists, game processors, gun and ammo shows but they also have farmers markets, farm stands and craft shops.
As you enter a small town, often you’ll see “No parking on streets from 2am-6am”, year round. We don’t know why. In the winter, it would be to allow the snow plows access to the roads.
Michigan drivers like to pass and they don’t wait for it to be clear to do so! It doesn’t seem to matter if you are going their speed or not. They just like to pass. It is the responsibility of the on-coming traffic to move out of their way!
Roads in the Detroit and Flint area are in very bad shape. There are large chunks of concrete missing between lanes on the Interstate – large enough to cause serious damage to your car and tires.
We had a wonderful visit with family in Howell, MI before heading across Canada to Niagara Falls.