500 miles, is the distance from Houghton,MI to Lansing, MI.
Even they are in the same state, but Michigan has Upper Peninsula and Down state, which as divided by the lakes, bridged by the Mackinac bridge. If you start from Lansing, MI, and drive more than 100-mile distance than this distance, you can arrive Washington D.C., the capital of the United States. You can image how far is it from Houghton to Lansing.
Upper Peninsula was used to be a part of Wisconsin, but there was a border dispute between the state of Ohio, known as the Toledo War. In this condition, the Upper Peninsula was divided to Michigan. Most people would think Michigan only have the down state part. However, the Upper Peninsula is truly a part of Michigan, but farther north than it should be.
Lansing, is quite larger and denser than Houghton. At least, it is the capital city of Michigan state. We visited Michigan State University (MSU). This university is much larger than Michigan Tech. We also have a lab tour lead by professor K. Professor K has quite unique equipment for his research. Of these equipment, the more than 40 inch TV screen is very impressive.
It is quite a good trip, because I was "trapped" in Houghton for 4 months. It is glad to learn something different.