It's hard to make progress on a road trip when you stop at everything interesting, but it sure is fun! Before we even left Munising, we stopped downtown to look at some murals; then again at an overlook just down the road; and, of course, Christmas, MI, demanded a photo op as well.
History of Munising
Grand Island Harbor Scenic Turnout
Christmas, MI
Lakenenland Sculpture Park is a free roadside attraction on M-28, east of Marquette. You can drive through most of it, but for better contemplation of each piece, we parked and walked the approximate .75-mile loop of scrap-iron fun.
Lakenenland Sculpture Park
Rusty Chain Band
Jana hits the jackpot!
Evel Knievel's ring of fire
The sculpture park was created by retired construction worker Tom Lakenen, who said, “I quit drinking 25+ years ago and started recreating the things I saw when I was drinking. If you haven't seen stuff like this before, you haven't drank as much as I have.” Bwahaha!
Animal-friendly elephant ride
Super-sized snowmobile
Dr. Seuss-like trike
In Marquette, we sidetracked through Presque Isle Park, a small peninsula with many scenic views. The sky was gray and hazy from low clouds and an abundance of wildfire smoke coming out of Canada. I hope it rains on those fires soon.
Clark Lambros Beach Park, Marquette, MI
Presque Isle Park
Tom at the water's edge
Sandstone beach
Trip state high point #1, overall state high point #30: Mount Arvon, Michigan, 1,979 feet. It took almost a week into our Upper Midwest High Points trip to reach the first one, but here we are! Although it's not that high and we drove to the top, it wasn't as easy as it seems.
Our 30th state high point!
Michigan accomplished!
Mount Arvon is in a remote area of Michigan's north-central U.P., among a maze of logging roads on land owned by a paper company. The unpaved road to the peak is marked with a series of signs, but if you take a wrong turn, you could have a real bad day. I wasn't sure how the Buick would handle it, but the road was reasonably graded, and the car made it like a champ! I wouldn't want to try it after a rain.
Jana sets up a self-portrait
Swarmed by mosquitoes
We took our triumphant photos quickly due to the mass of mosquitoes. Nice place, otherwise! Then we headed down a path from the top to a clearing where we could get a view. You can see the Keweenaw Peninsula from here, but the visibility wasn't great today due to the smoke.
Hazy view
The Keweenaw Peninsula is part of Michigan's Copper Country region, home to the first major copper mining boom in the U.S. It was close to 5:00 by the time we reached the Painesdale Mine and Shaft, where the small community of Painesdale has preserved the historic Champion Copper Mine Shaft House #4, built in 1902. To our surprise, a volunteer was still onsite and offered to show us around. Private tour!
Champion Copper Mine Shaft House #4, Painesdale, MI
Hoist House
Ore skip
Lodging: Magnuson Copper Crown, Hancock, MI. Okay, but nothing to write home about.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is bisected by the Keweenaw Waterway, part natural and part man-made. The north side of the waterway is known locally as “Copper Island.” Houghton and Hancock, the two biggest towns on the peninsula, lie on opposite sides of the waterway. Our hotel in Hancock is on the “island” side.
Hancock, MI
Houghton, MI
Portage Canal Lift Bridge
Historic Quincy Smelting Works
Dinner: Quincy's Restaurant in Dollar Bay, popular with the locals and recommended by our Painesdale Mine tour guide. Very fresh whitefish for me and spaghetti for Tom. Good place!
Quincy's Restaurant & Lounge
After dinner, we drove 15 miles north to the Village of Calumet to see its cool old buildings. Calumet was once the center of Michigan's copper mining industry. The village is part of Keweenaw National Historical Park, with its downtown listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Calumet Art Center, in the "Big Green Church"
400 block of 5th Street (east side)
Calumet Theatre
Copper Country Firefighters History Museum
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
On our way back to Hancock, we stopped to check out the canal part of the Keweenaw Waterway. Unfortunately, we didn't make it out to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula on this trip. Maybe next time.
Keweenaw Waterway from the Lily Pad Boat Launch