Alpena State Road

Alpena State Road never went to Alpena and has never been a state highway.  It got its name from being originally built by the Alpena State Lumber Company back in the old logging days.  I don't know anything else about that particular company.  The road crosses several sections of state land and links with several other roads that lead out to county roads with houses on them.  There are also a number of two track trails that branch off, meander around, and eventually dead end in the swamp.  The whole network is primarily used by hunters in the fall and snowmobilers in the winter.  There used to be a dump, which would be called a landfill today, that was closed before I moved here in 1967.  Apparently some people never got the word about the old dump being closed and continue to deposit trash and junk at several sites along the road even unto this day.  Volunteer groups have been trying to clean these sites up for years, and they have made significant progress, but have not been able totally stop the practice.  Citations are issued occasionally, but I haven't heard of the Burning Bed Bandit being apprehended. 

Round Island is located between Mackinac and Bois Blanc islands and is quite small.  There is a lighthouse on it and not much else.  Perhaps Old Dog is referring to Isle Royale National Park, which is located in Lake Superior near the Canadian border.  That one is maintained as a true wilderness area.  I understand that it's the least visited and least accessible of all our national parks, but I have never been there.

Hunting ammunition was really hard to come by last fall.  All the stores were sold out and I couldn't even find the type I use on the internet.  I did file several requests to let me know if and when they come back in stock.  About a week ago I was notified by one of the sites that my bullets were now available, limit two boxes to a customer.  My order arrived in a few days, so I should be all set for next season, provided one or both of us doesn't get sick or die by then.  I guess I should have stocked up during the Trump administration.

The war in Ukraine has now entered into its second month.  I never thought that the Ukrainians would hold out this long, and neither did Putin.  I don't know why there has been such an uproar over Biden's statement that Putin should be removed from office.  I said the same thing recently and nobody got upset about that.