U.P. West side

Iron Mountain - part one

We headed to the west side of the U.P. on June 9th. Grateful that we didn't have any mechanical issues this time. Man we were busy - so bear with us on this blog it might be a little long even though it is only part one - or just look at the pretty pictures! Thanks for following us. 

We got our flags up!

We are staying at the Summer Breeze Campground, in Iron Mountain. This is our favorite campground so far. Our site was huge, at least two other trailers could have fit on it. It was so nice not be crowed in. The grounds were well maintained, they have a pool and playground and hold an ice cream social every Saturday night. The bathrooms were very clean, as was the laundry room, which we had to use because our washing machine broke down mid load! The washing machine is still under warranty, so they are shipping a part to our next campground in WI and then a tech will come to our 2nd campground in WI to fix it. Jerry and Carol, the owners were great and ready to help with whatever you needed. The morning we pulled out we had a problem with the hydraulic jack again and Jerry came to the rescue with a heavy duty crowbar to help push it up. 

Think we need a bigger couch

One of the best things about being here is there are hardly any bugs. No mosquitos to speak of and very few black flies. We even laid in the sun a few days and Mielikki loved being able to stay outside all the time. Nancy has had a terrible summer cold so having a few days to rest was very helpful, when she wasn't outside, her and Mielikki were napping on the couch.
It's always interesting to see what other people do with their campsites. We see lots of flags of all varieties, the most being the American flag. We see a number of lawn ornaments and statues. This trip we ran across a cat lover. Their cat travels with them, which first off amazes us as most cats we know hate to go in the car. They have a small screened tent so the cat can be out on the lawn, but the best part is they had a cat door installed on the side of their trailer and they have a netted tunnel attached to it that sits on a table so the cat can come in and out. We thought our pet was spoiled.

Getting a couple of days rest is really important when you cram a million things into every other day. One of our longs days took us up to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the upper tip of the Upper Peninsula. "Top of the World" is one name for it, and Copper Country is another. It was the home to many copper mines back in the day.


To get there you go across the Lift Bridge, Houghton to Hancock. Of course there was construction but got a quick shot as we headed on. This sign is one you don't see everywhere!



We stopped at the Quincy Mines just outside of Hancock.                                          

#4 Boiler house 1882 ~~~ #7 Boiler house 1898
#4 Hoist house 1885 ~~~ #7 Boiler house different angle 

#2 Hoist houses - left used 1920-1931
and right used 1882 -1894

There are beautiful old stone walls from the original buildings dotting the
property, as well as a few intact buildings used on the tour.                                                                        The mine is now a National Historic Landmark. There is a museum and underground tours. The mine opened in 1848 during what was called the Copper Rush. It was the second largest mine in the region by the late 1880's. It closed it's doors in 1945.


                                            There was this wonderful old train.

Lots of rusty old equipment too - A photographers dream.

While there we discovered that Paavola, was less than a mile away. This is the town that Nancy's mom was born in. With this information we can safely assume that this is the mine that her Great-Grandfather Aho worked at. It was a neat feeling for Nancy to walk where her ancestors walked. We drove through Paavola but it is pretty small now. There used to be a couple of stores but they have all closed up.



               

Next stop was Calumet to see the Historic Calumet Theatre. Opening night was March 20, 1900. The town at that time was called the Village of Red Jacket.

Sarah Bernhardt performed here in 1911 in "Camille". Lillian Russell performed in 1909. The current use of the building is for local theater groups, as well as a music venue.

We stopped at a few other places while in Calumet. There are beautiful stone buildings everywhere. This one is the Historical Societies building, with a statue of the President of the Calumet mine on it's lawn. A piece of float copper and also, this snow train which we don't ever want to see in action.

Off to Laurium we went to see the mansion of the Copper Barron, Thomas Hoatson and his wife Cornelia. All over Keweenaw Peninsula mansions were being built by the wealthy copper mine owners but none as large and opulent at this one. No expense was spared in building this 45 room home. At the time miners were making just 25 cents per hour, and this house cost $50,000 to build and an additional $35,000 of furnishings were added. It is now a hotel and they offer daily tours. 
While Nancy was taking this picture, there was a older gentleman sweeping his garage and he stopped and watched every move she made. 

We came across an historical sign for the Lutheran Church, the Suomi Synod. The word Suomi is thought to mean land or swamp. Next to the sign was this bell, but it is all in Finnish. So no idea what is says.

We found a sign meant just for us

We drove Hwy 41 all the way to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, to Copper Harbor. Stopped for pictures of the lighthouse and to wander the rocky beach of Lake Superior.  

Still a little early in the season for much to be open.

                                                                         


We found a Lilac bush filled with butterflies.







We discovered that this is where Hwy 41 starts and it runs all the way to Florida.











On the way to Cooper Harbor we came across this snow measuring stick - insane!
This is why they have mailboxes like this and doorways on the second floor of their homes.

We took Hwy 26 out of Copper Harbor which took us to Eagle Harbor lighthouse. The grounds had a number of artifacts and an information wall.

                                                                                                                        Metal Bell Buoy - we could hear one ringing out in the lake while here.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                      Iron Stock Anchor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Wood Stock Anchor

                                                             Ship and lake information

We came across two delightful roadside waterfalls. 

                                                        We helped a turtle get across the road safely. Remember if you help a turtle cross the road, always move him in the direction he is heading even if it doesn't make sense to you.









We stopped at the coolest red rock beach after leaving Eagle Harbor. As we have been driving across the U.P. we kept commenting on the pink roads and wondered what made them that color. Well, now we know, all the red rock there is up here. Red rock bluffs pop up all along the shore on Hwy 26.

 

One last stop of the day was to see the Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest.
Abandoning a rich inheritance to serve God, Frederic Baraga came to America in 1830 and devoted the rest of his life to the Indians of the Great Lakes region.
He mastered the language of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indian nations and developed their written language. In 1832 his first Indian Prayer Book was published in Detroit. His Chippewa grammar and dictionary are still used today.
He was known far and wide among the Indian nations and was welcome in all of their villages. He moved to the U.P. in 1832 and traveled to Wisconsin and Minnesota between 1835 and 1836. Baraga County, the site of his last major mission, was established in 1843. He remained here until he was elevated to Bishop in 1853, the first bishop of Upper Michigan.
Snowshoes helped him to travel despite heavy snowfall. He was known to travel over 700 miles in one winter. Hence the name Snowshoe Priest.

The metal sculpture rises six stories in the air. The cross he is holding is 7 feet high and the snowshoes are 26 feet long. The sculpture of Bishop Baraga is 35 feet tall and weighs four tons. It floats on a cloud of stainless steel supported by five laminated wooden beams which represent his five major missions. 

There is a small candle hut where you can light a candle and a large rock wall with donor plaques on it.

The entrance welcomes you and the exit sends you off to have a nice day.

This was just one day! The rest of our week will follow in the next post. 

Until we meet again...

Happy Trails to you


Tips and things we have learned along the way
Ants - the bane of our existence. Don't ever let your guard down. 
Hadn't seen any for weeks. When we arrived here Les opened the front panel to fill the washer fluid container and discovered that the engine was covered in ants! You guessed it we sprayed the heck out it and also inside in the cockpit area. 

Clothes drying rod. 
We bought a tension rod that fits in our hallway, just outside our bedroom door. The perfect spot to hang clothes to finish drying. The rod stays up all the time - it is up and out of the way. If we need to get into the bedroom while the clothes are drying they easily slide aside. 

The U.P - East side

Newberry

As we headed farther north we came to the realization that we are chasing spring. We experienced spring in Holland with the tulips and lilacs and then again in Monroe and Farmington at the end of the lilacs and dandelions. When we hit Grayling we found the dandelions almost gone and now that we are in the U.P. (Upper Peninsular) we are seeing the start of lilacs and dandelions all over again and even a few tulips. 

The Mackinac (Mac-in-naw) Bridge opened
 in 1957, and it is currently the fifth longest
suspension bridge in the world and the
longest in the western hemisphere.
It is five miles across from the lower
 peninsular to the upper.

That blue dot was us
Yikes!

To get to the U.P., you of course have to cross the mighty Big Mac Bridge. While, Nancy admires all the splendor of the bridge she is not in general a fan of bridges.                                                                                                                                                                               

So, crossing this in our big rig, with the view point of her passenger seat was making her a little nervous. When we arrived at the bridge we discovered only one lane was open due to road construction - shocking that there is road construction in Michigan. Nancy was thrilled to find that the outside lane was closed and not the inside one. 









This made crossing so much easier. Lucky for us there was very little wind and it was a beautiful day. Nancy took lots of picture to distract herself and she did just fine. 



Once we were safely across the bridge we headed to Kritter's Northcountry Campground. It is a small privately owned campground in Newberry. The new owners Larry and Kathy have just purchased it, in fact just closed on the sale in March. They were tired of corporate life and never getting a chance to see their young daughter grow. It was fun watching Larry do work around the grounds with his daughter tagging along and chatting up a storm. The grounds are well maintained, they have WiFi, but like most places it is not very strong, they also offer cable for an extra $2 a day, we didn't use it so don't know how well it worked but a nice offer anyways. They are centrally located and close to many local attractions, which of course we took advantage of. They have a lodge, cabins and an RV to rent as well as regular sites, and they plan to be open all winter for the snowmobilers. The only draw back was the unbelievable amount of mosquitoes - which of course they have no control over. 

Soo Locks and White Fish Point 
and a lot in between

Freighters going both ways

We have both been to the  Soo Locks many times before, but it is just too cool not to go see. We got there just in time to see one boat being raised to head into Lake Superior and one being lowered to head into Lake Huron. Both freighters were Canadian Lines. It is just amazing how they can get into that narrow channel and out again. It takes such a short time to accomplish.



                                                                                            


After the one freighter pulled out to Lake Superior a small tour boat was waiting to head in. It was such a contrast in size. 

The locks, which are 1.6 miles long, are located on the St. Mary's River and they bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 feet. They share a name with the two cities named Sault Ste. Marie (shortened and anglicized as Soo) in Ontario and Michigan, located on either side of the St. Mary's River. There is also an international bridge for vehicular traffic. 

We stopped at the St. Irocroe Lighthouse on the way to White Fish.

That's a lot of stairs

Check out the replica in the roadside oddities 

The lighthouse keeper reminded us of a typical Yooper. It was great fun talking with him. Nancy tried to climb the stairs to the top but only got about half way, she has made it to the top of two others, but just wasn't brave enough this time. Or maybe it was the horrible summer cold and sore throat she has that stopped her - that's the story she is sticking to. 

The keeper and his wife live here year round -
they are trying to get a position in North Carolina next - hmmm maybe our next adventure?

When we got to White Fish Point we found out it would cost us $30 to get into the buildings and lighthouse, seeing we have done it before we decided to save the money and just explore outside.

 

















We did get to go out on the observation deck and walk along the beach which we loved. 
Nancy got her feet into Lake Superior and found another rock for her collection.

We started this day with breakfast at Pickleman's. Well, Nancy had lunch and her first U.P. pasty. It was good, but not quite up to her standards, it would have been better if they hadn't microwaved it, which made the crust spongy. 



We ended our long first day with dinner at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery.  It is located in the Tehquamenon State Park at Barrett Camp 33.
Both Les and Nancy had pasties, these were much better than the earlier one, but still no rutabaga. The beer was good. The Brewery is beautiful, large wooden beam ceilings and lots of nature as art. 

A Little History

The current owners grandparents, Jack and Mimi Barrett's (no relation to us) favorite thing to do was to canoe and camp as they traveled from their home in Newberry to the falls. They loved the area so much they purchased the land adjacent to the falls. Jack dreamed of a time when the falls and forest could be experienced by everyone. In the mid 20th century, you could only get to the falls by boat. Jack orchestrated the construction of a road to the site then negotiated with the DNR for the gift of his land to be used specifically for a State Park. A restriction in the deed directed that the road and parking lot would terminate 3/4 of a mile from the falls and that visitors would proceed on foot, thus preserving the parks natural beauty. The name "Camp 33" came from the names given to logging camps and this was the 33rd logging camp of the Barrett Logging Company. In 1950 a replica of a camp was constructed on this site to serve the public as an eating and resting place. In 1990 his grandchildren rebuilt Camp 33 and dedicated the structure to the man whose foresight and philanthropy made possible the experience we all enjoy today. The brewery opened in 1996 and in keeping with the founders vision the focal point is the fire, a logging camp must. 

Road Side Oddities

On the way to White Fish Point we came across a few roadside oddities. First was a replica of a freighter floating in a small lake and a replica of the St. Irocroe Lighthouse on the shore. 

There is a shoe tree just about everywhere we go

We also found a bowling ball tree and a shoe tree. While getting a picture of the bowling ball tree we shopped at the yard sale they were having. The lady there had a bee keeper's hat on because the mosquito's were so bad. 




Seney Wildlife Nature Refuge 

We woke up on our second day to rain, fog and clouds. A little bad weather can't keep us down. We went to the Seney Wildlife Nature Refuge as we could pretty much stay in the car. It is a beautiful drive along  7 miles of winding road through wetlands and forests, with observation decks to stop at. 
Seney was established in 1935 and encompasses  95,238 acres of swamps, bogs and forests, which are habitats for over 200 species of birds. 

We came here with Katrina when she was in high school and we saw a guy jogging and he had flesh colored shorts on and at first glance we thought he was naked - so the phrase naked man running became a joke in our house! No naked men this time - but we did see snapping turtles, loons, geese, swans, muskrats, red winged black birds, egrets and chipmunks.  




Drummond Island 

A little bit of  fog.

Once again we woke to a rainy, dreary day. As we headed east on Hwy 2 we wondered if the day would be a wash out, or a fog out, but the closer we got to Drummond Island the nicer it got and it turned out to be gorgeous. 

Drummon Island from the Ferry

Neither of us had ever been to Drummond Island before. The last time we were in this area we missed the ferry. This time we pulled into De Tour just in time to drive on before they took off. The ferry ride is very short but fun to do. Les chatted with an older gentleman who was wandering around the cars, while Nancy stood up through the sunroof to take pictures.

Once on the island we headed out to explore. Our first sighting was a very large rocking chair along side someones driveway. 











We stopped at Big Shoal Bay Beach, just a small patch of public beach nestled between private beaches. There was still a little fog out over the water and the beach was a mixture of sand and large rocks. The rocks looked like they came from the moon. 

 
We chased a small frog - he wasn't feeling very photogenic but you might spot him in the picture. 

We found a tiny little skeleton  - not sure what it is, looks like a miniature lobster!

It was so windy it took a number of tries
to get this picture and Nancy still
ended up with a blond streak

Mielikki had a blast trying to catch the waves. 

In the parking lot Nancy found an interesting nest full of caterpillars. 

Nancy got her feet into the Huron River. 

 

We stopped for coffee on our way back to the ferry and the place we stopped at served Zingerman's coffee! Ann Arbor coffee on Drummond Island. They also had a large wooden boat in their yard. 

Just before getting on the ferry we stopped for a picnic dinner at the Drummond Island Township Park, they have a number of camping sites and a small beach, where we had a beautiful view while eating. 

While waiting for the ferry we got to watch two freighters pass by. One heading north and one heading south.

If you look closely you can see a small white spot to the
right of the freighter - that is a small fishing boat
and the dark spot next to that is the other freighter.

South bound 

A Few Random Things

We kept seeing these signs everywhere we went and there didn't appear to be any consistency to them, so we Googled them and discovered that they are part of the Michigan Society of American Foresters. It is an auto tour that guides you through the vast land of changing terrain and helps you learn about the forests. Which there are more than 19.3 million forested acres in Michigan with 8.7 million acres in the U.P. You can pick up brochures at varies places or use the references on their website

Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires

Nancy has always had a love affair with Smokey the Bear. Her sister Linda had a small stuffed Smokey Bear when they were little and Nancy bit the nose off of its plastic face, something Linda has never let her forget. It was fun seeing these all over the U.P. 









Until we meet again....

Happy Trails to you!


Tips and things we have learned along the way
~ When it is time to fill your propane tank - check prices. We found a range of prices from $1.43 to $3.85 a gallon. That's a big difference.
~ Make sure you have lots of bug spray and spray or fogger for your site. We encountered even more Mosquitos than we over thought we would. Surrounded by 40 or 50 at a time.
~ Grocery shop before leaving one place and heading to the next. You never know if the next place will have a store close or not and you can find yourself with no milk, eggs, coffee cream or other breakfast essentials the first morning.