Wednesday & Thursday July 21 & 22

Wednesday morning Bruce and I woke to the first clear morning we had seen in Munising. It was beautiful to look out over Lake Superior as we left for Copper Harbor up in the Keweenaw Peninsula of the U.P. We stopped in Marquette, MI to check out the Marquette Harbor Light and then headed further west.


Our next stop was at the Da Yoopers Tourist Trap. I must explain that most people who live in the UP, refer to themselves as Yoopers, believe that the U.P. should be the fifty-first state, separate from the lower peninsula of Michigan. Believe me, it is worlds apart from the rest of the state. At any rate, we had to stop at the Yoopers Tourist Trap. Most of the stuff was the typical tourist trap kitsch, tailored to the U.P. There were lots of silly items based on tacky jokes. Keeping to its name, it had lots of “interesting” items out along the road. Bruce will include some self-explanatory photos. It was a kick.
The Gun really fires a projectile, using propane!
We continued across the U.P. and through a couple of pretty upscale towns, Houghton and Hancock, mirroring each other along the Portage Lake and Portage River. Calumet was the only other town of any consequence after that. As we traveled up US Route 41 there were a number of little towns that amounted to junctions in the road occurring occasionally. Otherwise, there was woods, for miles.
US Route 41 runs from Miami, FL up to Copper Harbor, MI. The length is approximately 2000 miles and it runs through seven states. I would imagine a lot of it resembles our Route 9 in CT – four lanes, limited access, etc. The part of US 41 we were driving on was two lanes of tar and chip and although I am sure this road sees its share of RVs, it probably hasn’t seen anything as tall as an eighteen wheeler in years. The trees felt like they were going to hit the top of the trailer. We traveled on this winding, tunnel-like road for what seemed like forever, but it was really only about ten miles, before reaching Copper Harbor.
Bruce tells me that Copper Harbor has 75 full time residents. Tourism is a significant chunk of their economy up here, but from what I can see, there currently appears to be only a hundred or so folks in town. It is a cute, touristy town on the very end of a small peninsula off the northern shore of the U. P. of Michigan, jutting out into Lake Superior. Looking out at the water, it is so vast you would think you are looking out over an ocean. There are the requisite gift shops, restaurants, motels that look like they’re out of the 50s, a couple of general stores and a passenger ferry that will take you the fifty miles over to Isle Royale, a mostly wooded island in Lake Superior, that is particularly popular with hikers and primitive campers.
If you continue through town you will arrive at Fort Wilkins State Park. That’s where we’re spending Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. It was an Army fort that was established to keep the peace in copper country in 1844. It was not long in active use and became part of the state park program in 1923. The fort was rehabbed in the 1930s under the Work Project Administration. During summer months it has interpreters to educate visitors about the fort. On the property are two campgrounds done to usual Michigan park standards: nicely wooded, clean, well maintained, electric on site, shower house and laundry nearby. There are a lot of empty sites, but people are starting to arrive now that the weekend is approaching. Considering the distance from the “real world,” I don’t imagine they get too many weekend campers up here. They will probably be full next weekend because they are having a Civil War encampment. It’s too bad we’ll miss it.
Thursday, Bruce and I went out to wander and to see if we could get a cell phone signal. We drove down the northern coastline of the peninsula to see the Eagle Harbor lighthouse. The Marquette, Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor lights are all rather small lighthouses compared to those we’re more familiar with down in Hatteras. They consist of a light tower that is only a bit higher than the adjoining building structure and are very quaint in appearance.
Driving a bit further, we came to a beautiful monastery called the Holy Transfiguration Skete, of the Society of Saint John. The monks make baked goods, and jams and jellies from locally picked fruit. All to support the monastery. The order, at least at this location, has existed for 25 years, but seven years ago built a lovely monastery. It sits immediately on the coast and is probably the most beautiful manmade sight on the peninsula. The gardens of flowers were obviously tended with devotion. We stopped to get a few jars of goodies and some delicious spice cookies to munch on as we drove.
We stopped several times at little roadside parks…rocky beaches, all extremely picturesque. Michigan has the best roadside parks we've seen. Most are small little turnoffs, with a picnic table, fire pit and a great view. They are scattered all over the state, on small two lane roads such as US 41, as well as Michigan's state highway system.
Liz had found a virgin growth forest, Estivant Pines, so we took a hike through it. There were a number of magnifiant old trees, mixed with a lot of younger trees. From the picture you can see a section of a tree that was alive when Columbus came to America in 1500! The trees were big, but because of the cold winters and tough environment, they don't grow as big around as the Calif. redwoods. The older trees were mostly white pines, but hthere were a few virgin growth hardwoods such as oak in the mix.