Aside from this gargantuan dried meat-making facility, Minong is small and unassuming. Highway 77 runs through the downtown, which features several bars including Fluffy's (an interesting name for a bar) and Longbranch Saloon & Eatery, which just looks interesting. Pop inside and I guarantee people will stop what they're doing and turn around. Friendly people, though. The Wild Rivers Trail cuts right through Minong, too... so if you're biking, ATVing, cross-country skiing, etc., feel free to load up on beef jerky here.

Load up on gas and snacks in Minong, because it's a long haul to civilization again.. and I mean even a gas station, which won't be seen again for more than 20 miles. You wind through a remote paradise into Sawyer County before hooking up with Highway 27 and heading into Hayward.

Hayward (pop. 2,129) is one of northwestern Wisconsin's most popular vacation destinations, being located amidst a vast array of lakes with some of the country's best fishing, forest in every direction, and a knack for hosting a series of participatory events. Hayward also lays claim to the hotly-contested title of "Golf Capital of Wisconsin."

Brewpub Alert. Along U.S. 63, less than a mile southwest of Highway 77, lies an old brick building that simply says "Brewpub" on the side... at least that's the only part you can see from the street. Inside is the Angry Minnow Restaurant & Brewery (10440 Florida Ave. (U.S. 63), 715-934-3055). The building itself was constructed in 1889 and once housed a sawmill operations office; today, it's probably the nicest restaurant in Hayward, with rich, dark wood and brick everywhere. The oval-shaped bar and iron chandeliers help create a cozy, warm atmosphere. The food is terrific (try the Black Pepper Seared Tuna appetizer) and the craft beers are quite good. More on the Angry Minnow's beers will be discussed when we finish creating our beer and brewpub section of the State Trunk Tour website.

Lumberjack Championships, Birkie Skiing and the World's Biggest Musky. Hayward does it up in every season. The annual Lumberjack World Championships hold events in Hayward, so expect lots of axes, saws and flannel. Scheer's Lumberjack Shows are highly recommended. Watch lumberjacks "speed climb" up trees, throw axes (not at you, don't worry), and perform things like logrolling and canoe jousting. Can you get more up North than this?? In the middle of winter, Hayward hosts the American Birkebeiner, an annual cross-country skiing race from Cable (30 miles away via the trails) to the "main street" block in Hayward, just off U.S. 63 several blocks southwest of where it intersects with Highway 77. About 9,000 skiers participate every year. About 2,500 bikers head through the wilderness every year in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival; it's one of the most popular off-road bicycling events in the nation. And trust me, when you wander into town doing the State Trunk Tour on that weekend, the hotels are full and/or pricier than normal. So watch the Events calendar here carefully! The National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame (715-634-4440) is probably the most consistently visible (100,000 vistors per year) attraction, thanks to the World's Largest Muskie. Standing 143 feet long and 41 feet tall, the muskie holds names of world record-holders in fishing across the world. You can check out the names and climb the steps to show yourself from the muskie's mouth, 4 stories off the ground. It's a popular place to get your picture taken... how can one resist??

The World's Largest Muskie at Hayward's National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame: 143 feet long, 41 feet tall, with a mouth you can hang out in... or wave from for no particular reason.

From Hayward, it's once again miles and miles of natural beauty and little of anything man-made. It's 47 miles from Hayward to the next State Trunk Tour route, through the Chequamegon National Forest, with only little Clam Lake in between. Clam Lake is the "Elk Capital of Wisconsin", mainly due to a successful reintroduction program that began with 25 elk in 1995; those numbers are now closer to 175.

Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin DNR

Elk replace deer as the animal to watch for on the roads in and around Clam Lake along Highway 77 just inside Ashland County.

The 29-mile stretch from County A in Sawyer County to Highway 13 near Glidden is known as the Great Divide National Scenic Highway, designated as such by the U.S. Forest Service. The "divide" they're talking about is the watershed boundary between the Great Lakes (emptying into the Atlantic Ocean) and the Mississippi River (emptying into the Gulf of Mexico), which runs just north of Highway 77 for most of the ride. The tall pines and dense forest of the North Woods envelopes you the entire way. Upon reaching Highway 13, you turn northward and actually cross the "Great Divide" on your 13-mile journey into Mellen.

	The Great Divide National Scenic Highway stretch of Highway 77 never actually crosses the "Great Divide", but you do cross it along the stretch with Highway 13 between Glidden and Mellen.
	Mellen City Hall, featuring a charming bell tower on its corner.

Mellen (pop. 935), Highway 13 splits off toward Ashland and Highway 77 shoots northeast toward Hurley. Mellen itself sports a charming city hall building, constructed the same year the largest tannery in North America opened here (1896). It would be seven more years before the telephone would come to town. Mellen peaked in population around 1920 when it had almost 2,000 people, but in 1922 the tannery closed and since then it's been a small, pleasant burg that considers itself the Gateway to Copper Falls (a short drive up Highway 13 and then 169). Ernest Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man was filmed here in 1962, when the town welcomed the likes of Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy. Today, it welcomes recreational seekers of all kinds... but you can also catch a movie here if you want.

From Mellen, it's back to the wilderness, with some great views thrown in as you navigate the Gogebic Range, which features a series of high points and ridges marking the final drop toward Lake Superior, less than 15 miles away. At Upton, watch for Upton Town Park, where you can catch the 18-foot Upson Falls on the Potato River, a nice little waterfall where one can camp, picnic, and have physiological reactions to hearing the water running. Further east, through Iron Belt (remember, mining has been historically HUGE around here), you reach the City of Montreal (pop. 771, a bit smaller than its Canadian counterpart.) Named for the Montreal Mining Company, the town was home to numerous mine workers, many of whom rented the early versions of pre-fabricated homes in a program started by the company in 1918. Several of those homes live on today in the Montreal Company Location Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. For waterfall lovers, a 15-foot waterfall - Gile Falls - is accessible from town via Kokogan and Gile Falls Streets. A snowmobile bridge crosses the falls at the top; just more evidence this area is "Big Snow Country."

Beyond Montreal, you approach the Montreal River and the infamous City of Hurley (pop. 1,818). The county seat of Iron County, Hurley has a reputation from its wild days as a prime headquarters for lumberjacks who would race into town on weekends to spend their paychecks on fast booze and hard women... and sometimes vice-versa. Highway 77 in town is Silver Street, once home to a long line of speakeasies, saloons and sundry sinister situations. Much lore has been told about Hurley... most of it true.

Hurley is the Wisconsin counterpart to Ironwood, Michigan, and together the two towns host tens of thousands of snow skiiers, snowmobilers, ATV riders and outdoor enthusiasts every year. The annual Pumpkin Run ATV Rally is held in October in Hurley, and a Guinness world record has set in 2005 when 687 participants took part in the Largest ATV Parade ever. The Red Light Snowmobile Rally also takes place in mid-December, marking the "first ride of the season."

Highway 77's unassuming eastern end - looking westward at its beginning - is at the crossing of the Montreal River between Ironwood, Michigan and Hurley, Wisconsin. In Hurley, Highway 77 is Silver Street and many stories have been told about activities along its path dating back to the 19th century.

World's Largest Corkscrew. Some places in Vienna, Austria and Bangkok, Thailand may beg to differ, but Hurley, Wisconsin lays claim to the World's Largest Corkscrew. You can find it by heading north on U.S. 51 briefly before heading west on U.S. 2. It's right in front of - fittingly enough - a liquor store. A picture will be taken on the next State Trunk Tour trip up there!

Highway 77 crosses U.S. Highway 51 (which ends just one mile north at U.S. 2, 1,286 miles from its start in Laplace, Louisiana) as Silver Street, past the aforementioned bars and entertainment venues, and ends just as it began: crossing a river (this time the Montreal) into another state (this time, Michigan.) Clocking in around 140 miles, it's a great cross-section of Wisconsin's northwest.

CONNECTIONS

West Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: Minnesota Highway 48
Can connect nearby to: Highway 35, about 3 miles east

East Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: U.S. Highway 51
Can connect nearby to: U.S. Highway 2, about 2 miles north

Upcoming events in places along Highway 77:
Famous Dave's October Blues Fest, Hayward, October 27, 2007
American Birkebeiner, Hayward, February 23, 2008

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