Road Construction

Driving west on Michigan highway 28 near Marquette we encountered signs we dread seeing while driving the motorhome - Road Construction Ahead. Generally there is no problem but this was major construction. Twelve miles of the highway was being ripped out and six of those miles were dirt that had been wetted down. Since there was only one lane vehicles in one direction were stopped for a few minutes to allow the other direction to proceed, and then the traffic flow was reversed. Bright orange cones were placed about nine feet apart and many had been knocked over and were in the driving lane - not good for a motorhome eight and a half feet wide. Once Norm stopped backing up traffic while Linda got out and moved cones. But the worst part was driving through six miles of mud.

We stopped at Ojibwa Casino in Baraga where full hookup campsites are ten dollars a night and washing RVs is allowed. It had been only one hour since driving through the mud but it was dried and refused to come off. We had driven very slowly so most of the mud was in the wheel wells and on the mud guard that extends across the rear of the motorhome. We connected a water hose, set the nozzle to Jet, blasted the mud and it wound not come off. We used soapy water and a scrub brush followed by blasts of water and the mud refused to dissolve. Then we soaked and soaked the packed dirt until it turned to a soft mud and finally with a brush and lots of water it came off. Cleaning four wheels wells and one mud guard took two hours but we finally got rid of the mud.
 

Copper Country and Keweenaw Peninsula

The area of Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties in the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan is sparsely populated (large Keweenaw County only has 2,301 inhabitants) and is the western most part of the United States' eastern time zone. We loved having daylight at 10:00 p.m. The area is known for its' scenic beauty, copper mines and waterfalls. We read there are 118 waterfalls in the four counties and 50 of them have been named.

Copper was discovered in the area known as the Keweenaw Peninsula in the 1840's and it soon was settled by Germans, Irishmen, Cornishmen and Finnish who worked the mines. Copper mining has virtually closed but there are remnants of mines everywhere and several are open for tours. The Delaware Mine opened in 1847 and shafts reached a depth of 1,400 feet but tours only go 110 feet below the surface. The Quincy Mine, the largest in the area, offers underground tours to one-half mile underground in addition to many relics above ground. About two dozen other abandoned mines and smelters are available for viewing and picture taking.

For those not wanting to enter a mine there are many museums displaying mining equipment and explaining the copper industry in the Keweenaw Peninsula. There is the Houghton County Historical Museum, the Coppertown USA Mining Museum, the Copper Range Historical Museum, the Michigan Tech Seaman Museum and several others. For those who love visiting lighthouses the Peninsula is a delight with thirteen lighthouse all within fifty miles of each other.

The Keweenaw Peninsula is known as the Snow Capital of the United States (east of the Rockies). The lowest annual recorded snowfall was 161 inches and the average snowfall is 241 inches, but during the winter of 1978-79 a record 390 inches of snow fell. Snowmobile trails cris-cross the area with concrete strips across highways so the winter vehicles don't destroy highway pavements.

Houghton and driving in Keweenaw Peninsula

We settled in Houghton City Park Campground just a few feet from the Portage Lake Shipping Canal. Wow, what a campground. The paved area of our site measured 51' x 24' and each site had a covered picnic table and a park bench facing the water. Our first night Norm grilled fresh salmon and corn on the cob and we ate watching boats on the canal. Later Norm stood on the patio and fished. The campsites have full hookups including cable TV and free WiFi near the office. They also had something we have never seen before, a water filter and pressure regulator mounted on the water facet. Houghton has a paved walking trail of nearly five miles along the canal and it passes under the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, one of the heaviest lift bridges in the world. At the old Ambassador Hotel in town we ate lobster pizza, very good.

We spent two days taking scenic drives through the western, middle and eastern sections of the Keweenaw Peninsula and probably drove every paved road and a few gravel and dirt roads. On the recommendation of friends, Rich and Diane Emond, we ate lunch at the Copper Haus Restaurant in Copper Harbor. In 1843 the U.S. War Department built the Government House for selling land grants and it has been modified and upgraded and now houses the German restaurant. Norm ordered Konigsberger Klopse (German meatballs) served with Spatzle & vegetables & topped with a caper-hollandaise sauce and iced tea. Linda ordered Weiner Schnitzel, Spatzle & vegetables with strawberry lemonade. The food was delicious and we took our time eating while overlooking Lake Superior and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse. North of Copper Harbor we found the end of US highway 41 and later in Ontonagon we found the end of US highway 45. We stopped at the Gay Bar (oh, it is a bar in Gay, Michigan).


The old mining town of Calumet appears to be misplaced in the middle of Keweenaw Peninsula. With its old brick buildings and mining relics it would fit right in with Butte, Montana. We drove around town, walked downtown streets studying the buildings and bought some gifts at Copper World. We didn't feed the parking meters because we didn't see them until we were leaving. They don't set at curbside but are located against store fronts for snow removable.

Ontonagon and the Porcupine Mountains

The final stop of our Michigan trip was Ontonagon where we settled in for a relaxing 4th of July weekend. River Pines is a nice campground with pull-thru sites in either shade or in the open. They offer full hookups including cable TV and hot-phones for additional charges. They have free WiFi but it was not working the weekend we were there. We selected an open site so we could watch satellite TV but there was a problem, the KVH automatic satellite dish on our new motorhome would not work and the antenna could find only one TV station. Oh well, who needs to watch TV anyway.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is the largest of Michigan's state parks. It was established in 1945 to protect the last large remaining stand of uncut hardwood-hemlock forest remaining in the midwest. The park contains 130 miles of snowmobile trails, over a hundred miles of hiking trails and 30 miles of Nordic ski trails in addition to scenic drives. We stopped at the Visitors Center and bought an $8 day pass for the park. The center has multimedia shows, displays and maps relating to the natural and historic resources of the Porcupine Mountains. A seven mile drive and a short, but steep, walk took us to Lake of the Clouds and a panoramic view of the lake and surrounding old growth forest.

A long drive around the eastern and southern perimeters of the park took us to Presque Isle River. There are three beautiful waterfalls within a short distance, Manabezho, Manido and Nawadaha Falls. From the parking area there is a short trail to a stepped boardwalk for viewing the first two falls. But we wanted to hike some real trails so we wore our hiking shoes, carried water and "Newfie" walking sticks and packed bug spray. We hiked the 1.1 mile West River Trail, crossed the river on a bridge and hiked the 1.2 mile East River Trail. Then we hiked to Lake Superior and back to the parking lot.

The trails were among the most scenic of any trails we have hiked in the USA and Canada. In places the trails were straight up or straight down thirty feet which meant hiking on all four and most of the trails hugged cliffs. One misstep and we would tumble off the ridge and into churning water. The trails were an adventure we are glad we experienced. Back in the Honda CR-V and leaving the park a very large black bear ran in front of us. Wow, we didn't know bears could run that fast.

This wraps up our forty days of traveling in Michigan and most of the time was spent touring the upper part of the Upper Peninsula. We'll have to return another summer and tour the lower part of the state.