September 3, 2012 1:04 AM PDT
I treated myself to a nice, long ride in the Upper Peninsula yesterday. It was cool when I started out- 46 degrees F- but warmed up nicely later in the morning. After swinging through Marquette, MI for lunch and a few other things, I headed down M-35 towards Gladstone and home...
Once you're through the little town of Palmer (surrounded by the massive tailing piles of the Empire Mine), you ride a little ways through some of the most beautiful forest in the Upper Peninsula before hitting Gwinn, MI... formerly the home of the 410th Bomb Wing and K. I. Sawyer AFB:
http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/K_I_Sawyer_AFB.htm />
I was just curious if any of the CF community had ever served at K. I. Sawyer? Unfortunately, the old air base is only a shadow of it's former self. The UP is a hardscrabble place as it is, and the decommissioning of K. I. Sawyer in 1995 didn't help things any. Despite the state's best efforts, Sawyer is still pretty much a ghost town. While various businesses have tried to make a go of it on the former air base grounds, and a few small commuter airlines are still hanging on at the airfield, the place is largely vacant and falling into ruin. Here's a photo of me standing in front of what I believe is the old Bachelor Officer Quarters... briefly turned into a motel after the base closure. Now the place is locked up and weeds are sprouting from the crumbling pavement:
