Notes from The Upper Hand

Sept 17: We headed out of the farm and pointed towards Houghton, Michigan. After Polonia we went through Shantytown, just missed Nutterville, through Doering, Gleason, Rhinelander, and Sugar Camp. We drove through Eagle River, where signs let us know that we were on the Chain of 28 Rivers, as well as the Snowmobile Capital of the World AND the Hockey Capital of of Wisconsin. Whew! On through Conover, Land O’ Lakes, and then crossed in the Michigan to pass through Watersmeet, Mass City, and South Range to quirky Houghton. We made camp in the city campground by the river.

The next day we spent several hours at the lovely Houghton Public Library, right along the river with great views. Like so much of this area, Houghton was once an important port and passage for lake vessels back in the heyday. Lots of old big brick warehouses and heavy pieces of rusting metal. Houghton has been rebuilding itself of late, and seems to have found a decent balance point. Having Michigan Tech as part of the town has to help. Oh, and Michigan Tech is crazy about their Broom Ball.

Houghton is also home to one of our favorite breweries, Keweenaw Brewing, located in a beautiful old building in downtown. Here’s the deal: they make great beer, lots of taps (ok, so far not different from a zillion other places) AND THEY SELL THEIR BEER FOR $3.50 A PINT! Yeah, you heard me right. We have no idea how they do it, but every hour is happy hour there, mate.

Sept 19: We spend the day touring through the Keweenaw Peninsula. There was a lot of copper mining here in the late 1800’s, so we see a lot of rusted metal and abandoned factories. Most of the small factory towns have some amazing school and church buildings that are still standing, though. We drove up and down the streets of beautiful Calumet, resplendent with lots of old buildings and history.

We wanted to find a new way back to Houghton, and Twyla showed us a shortcut. It started out ok, but then the asphalt gave way to dirt road, and then the dirt road gave way to more of a dirt path. Seems like Twyla wanted an offroad adventure. Things got a little sketchy, but we made it through!

Sept 20: We headed to Fayette State Park. This is a park that is “off the beaten path” in a part of the state that is already “off the beaten path.” What a place! We do some exploring that evening and are delighted we will be here for the next three days. Funny, when we booked this stint, we figured we would have some “just sit around the campsite” days, but we were busy exploring the whole time!

The park was once a mining town, with a school, hotel, and such. Many of the buildings are open for wandering. It is especially neat in the evenings, when the day tourists are gone and the park is left to the campers.

Sept 23: Time to move on to the eastern end of the UP. We drive through Mastinique, Gulliver, Newberry, then Paradise to lower Tahquamenon (rhymes with “phenomenon”) Falls. We have a fantastic site by the river – fairly removed from the other campers, though we figure it is about a 3/4 mile to the showers. That’s what bikes are for.

Sept 24: We went to the shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point, “The Graveyard of the Great Lakes”. Oh my goodness did we get to hear “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” a few times during that visit. Then we explored the park and dutifully saw some waterfalls.

Sept 25: Spent some time in Newberry where Kayla sought some minor medical care, then just a groovy day back at the campsite. Our camping meals are numbered, now, so we are focused on finishing what provisions we have.

Next stop, to the “Mitten” hand of Michigan. Stay tuned!