IIN4MU has a good point--Nobody has attempted to answer Realist's question about possible WJR remote broadcasts "Up North" this week.
My favorite search engine found me this page on WJR's website: https://www.wjr.com/2023-pure-michigan-tour/
So yes, Paul W. Smith's show is "on the road". With this morning's location being the casino by Standish, the witnessing by Realist of the WJR-themed auto on M-13 put it less than 15 miles from the apparent destination.
I could share my own opinions about what's the dividing line for "Up North". But instead in the last few years I've tended to adopt the guidance that MDOT uses in the spring for the lifting of weight restrictions on the "Seasonal" routes. Most recent example being "Update #5: Annual spring weight restrictions changing again Monday" issued 3/24/2023 (https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outr ... ain-monday) :MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Mon May 01, 2023 3:33 pm...
US 10 is a decent dividing line from Clare County westward.
"...including US-10 from the intersection of M-116 in Ludington, east to US-127 in Clare County, north to M-61 in Clare County, then east on M-61 to the intersection of US-23 in Standish...".
I'll rationalize that the use of M-61 is to mitigate how US-10 has the ESE trend from Clare into Bay County. Per various comments above, this definition causes the city of Clare to not quite be "Up North" (but Harrison is, as well as West Branch). Meticulous me also notices that the casino visited by the show this morning isn't quite "Up North", since it's a bit south of the M-61 / US-23 intersection in downtown Standish. By time of my typing this though, their vehicle has likely been driven north of M-61 en route to the Tip of the Mitt for getting the occupant(s) to Mackinac Island for tomorrow's show.
Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi