Day 2: September 27, 2023
127 in MI

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Here we go! I caught the first US-127 sign almost immediately after exiting I-75 a few miles south og Grayling.

Much of Michigan's share of US-127 is divided four-lane and much of that is lined with trees some of which are beginning to show their autumn colors. The trees combined with the north and south bound lanes often being widely separated means that there are long stretches where traffic going the other direction is simply not seen.

I did get on some two-lane by driving business routes. The business routes of most US Highways are often the highway's bypassed original routes. That is technically not the case here since the bypasses likely already existed when the road switched from US-27 to US-127. Something now signed BUSINESS 127 was probably never signed just 127.

I encountered this roadside park while driving the business route through Harrison and onto Clare. The park has obviously been there a awhile but I've since learned that the sign announcing it is only a couple of years old. It was placed there by the Clare Historical Society as it begins to draw attention to some of the local highway history. The Michigan Historical Society sign in the park does not concern the highway or even the park. It talks about logging and Shay locomotives. Read it here.


I recall hearing a story, possibly on NPR, about Cops and Doughnuts and decided it would be a good breakfast stop when I realized it was nearby. It turned out to be right on the US-127 business route. The cops part of the story begins in 2009 when all nine members of the Clare Police Department went together to save a 113 year old bakery that was about to close down.

It took me three tries to get inside. What look like a main entrance isn't and the natural second choice isn't either. But they are cleverly marked to direct customers to the proper door which opens on the gift shop. Clearly these cops are selling more than baked goods and the baked goods they are selling include a lot more than doughnuts. Those are sticky buns in the top left of that cabinet, and that's what I had for breakfast. Note that the area where old coots gather is labeled. The section of sidewalk seen through the old coot's window is also labeled to enhance the view.


Some buildings had caught my eye as I entered town and after eating my stick bun and licking my fingers, I walked back for a closer look.

The Ideal Theater still shows first run movies and has apparently only been idle one year (COVID-19) since opening in 1930.


It is hard for me to contemplate reaching a place like the Whitehouse Restaurant and not eating a cheeseburger -- so I didn't. Besides, I'd only had the one pastry for breakfast and I'd walked nearly a hundred yards since then. The 'burger, with its toasted bun, was great. It was more or less breakfast time when I was there so omelets, bacon, toast, and the like were being served along with hamburgers and such. One waitress and one cook, who often delivered what she cooked, kept all six booths happy, and all six booths were kept full. There is additional seating outside for warmer weather. Some online sources describe this as an around-the-clock operation and I imagine it once was. Right now, however, it operates from 8:00 to 8:00 but it does that seven days a week.

Rain began not long after I left Clare. It was never heavy but it never really stopped. It took me a while after passing the Sunset Acres Motel for it to register then find a place to pull over. When I did, a visit to the website made me instantly realize that this was exactly the sort of place I was looking for. Check out my room here. The rain kept me from better exterior shots.

When I asked, the couple at Sunset Acres suggested Shea'Nanigans for dinner and it was a great suggestion. Good food and friendly staff and extra friendly customers. I sat at the bar and from the instant I sat down I was engaged in conversation with a fellow near by and then with the group around him. When it came time to pay for my perch, I was told someone had already taken care of it. Although he refused to admit it, I'm pretty sure I know whom my benefactor was and thanked him anyway. Hudson, MI, has some really nice people.

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