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Island time!
As the sun was getting low, we arrived at our island getaway. A rustic, 100-year-old former railroad bridge provided direct access to Miscauno Island, as well as a good photo opportunity. Once across the aging iron structure, we discovered a large, deluxe resort, a beautiful place with a fascinating history.
The original Four Seasons Resort was constructed as a deluxe destination hotel by the Wisconsin & Michigan Railroad and enjoyed a lavish grand opening as the Miscauno Inn on Oct. 9, 1905. The original property, renamed the Four Seasons Club by new owners, burned down in November of 1923. The rebuilt resort reopened in May, 1925. Like many legendary venues, the resort has had its ups and downs over the decades and was purchased at auction by the current ownership group in 2002. Today the 100-acre island is a first rate property with a 9-hole golf course, for summer guests.
Supper was the kind of meal that tastes especially good when you’ve come by snowmobile. The dinner menu offered plenty of choices. I opted for pan-fried trout and it was delicious. When I discovered that the resort also had an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, I knew the Four Seasons was my kind of place!
After dinner we fired up the sleds and headed back in the dark, choosing to take a slightly shorter return route, known locally as the East Trail. This twisty route ran through miles of deep woods west of the Menominee River and carried us southward to Wausaukee.
Not long after departing, however, the headlight on Tim Peterson’s snowmobile went dark, causing us to stop and examine the lamp and bulb. No amount of wire jiggling could solve the problem, so we put Tim in the second position, with the lead snowmobile lighting the way ahead and my own sled providing light from behind.
It was a beautiful evening for riding, cold and clear. A crescent moon floated amidst a starry sky, giving us glimpses whenever we emerged from the tall timber into more open terrain. At one point, we stopped the sleds just to enjoy the sky for several minutes and marvel at its grandeur.
Resuming the ride, we cruised for several miles along a major power line, with the giant transmission towers looming over us. In the pitch black forest, tree stands appeared like apparitions in the night, lit momentarily by our bouncing, sweeping headlights, then disappearing again in the darkness as we passed.
We made it back to the Bear Point Lodge with plenty of happy miles on our odometers and satisfied smiles on our faces. Although we had only covered a small portion of expansive Marinette County, we had fully enjoyed the kind of riding that this area is famous for. Hopefully it won’t be long until we’re able to return!
For info on riding and lodging in Marinette County, call the Tourism Alliance at 800-236-6681. In season you can get a recorded message regarding trail conditions at 715-856-5092. Or visit
www.marinettecounty.com. You can get more info on the Four Seasons Resort at:
http://www.thefourseasonswi.com/