September 29, 2010

We need to preface today’s entry with a brief bit of humor…towns having a public library operating within, and as a part of, a public school will shut you down right now! Since the Comfort Inn was experiencing problems with their WiFi, we decided to use the “public” library for internet service. After we finally were able to enter their system, the doors slammed shut (ACCESS DENIED!!) on every operation we tried…no access to banking, none to any blog site, and certainly none to email. The librarian said it was a real trick to keep the kids “honest”! Great for keeping the kids out of icky stuff, but not good for us! We thanked the librarian and decided to try one other option…looking for an unsecure site in the downtown area of Manistique. The strongest signal was received from Marley’s Bar, which we did not want to enter at 10:00AM…a bit too early to be tossing one back! Our only hope was that the Comfort Inn would be up and running upon our return from the day’s outing, and so here we go…

There was only one attraction on our itinerary today. The Fayette Historic Townsite, founded in 1867, was the home of Jackson Iron Company for 24 years. It was one of the UP’s most productive iron-smelting operations.

At the town’s peak, there were 500 residents and the smelting operation produced 229,288 tons of iron during the 24 years it operated. The site had two furnaces that stood side by side and over 900 feet of docks in Snail Shell Harbor.

The town was constructed on this site in order for it to be close to the limestone (now cliffs along the water) and large amounts of hardwood, both necessary to process the iron ore into pig iron.

There are 19 buildings remaining from the town. These include the blast furnaces, hotel, machine shop, company store, company office, town hall,

doctor’s home, superintendent’s home, several middle class homes, a kiln (originally there were eight),

and a newly reconstructed laborer’s cabin. The site is a true work in progress. Those buildings that are open allow a self-guided tour. There are informative plaques, and areas enclosed by Plexiglas shields displaying furnishings, and building construction. Interactive devices also provide additional documentation. Life for most people in this town was dirty, filthy, and dangerous. The one saving grace was the schoolhouse was built far from all the noise and dirt. It was a brief haven for the children who were allowed to attend school.

When we left the Townsite we drove to Fairport, a still operating fishing village. The photo is of part of the fishing fleet that operates from the Fairport Harbor.

Tomorrow we will be crossing back into the lower part of Michigan. This means another trip across the Mackinac Bridge.

September 28, 2010

This morning was goodbye to Lake Superior and all of her beauty. We are starting our trip back across the UP and are driving to Manistique, MI which is on the coast of Lake Michigan. But before we left Silver City, we stopped to take one last photo of Lake Superior; not for her beauty, but to record the red streak that was washing along the shore line. This is the first time we have seen anything but clear water in three years of visits. The red streak is coming from the Ontonagon River ten miles east of Silver City. Six days ago a severe storm hit the west coast of the UP and produced large waves and several inches of rain. All of this water washed red clay into the river upstream from Ontonagon Bay. As the river flowed into Lake Superior, the northeast wind pushed the red water west, along the coast. Yesterday there was a distinct line about 100 yards out into the lake where the water turned from red to blue. The lake was so rough this morning that the color difference was difficult to see.

Our first stop of the day was in Iron Mountain, MI at the Iron Mountain Museum. The museum is home of the Cornish Pump Engine. The pump, built in 1890, stands 54 feet above the engine room floor and the flywheel extends another 20 feet below the floor. It was installed at the Chapin Mine. The iron ore seam covered an area over 6100 feet wide and was 50 to 150 feet thick. Part of the mine ran under a cedar swamp which contributed to the mine being one of the wettest ever worked. The Cornish Pump was capable of pumping 3,400 gallons of water per minute (5,000,000 gallons a day!!) from a depth of 1,500 feet. It weighs in at 725 tons. The building that houses the pump is very large and the lighting is poor. Due to this and the sheer size of the pump, it was difficult to get good photos. You can go online to www.exploringthenorth.com/cornish/pump and check out this monster.

Our second stop was in Escanaba, MI which is on the Lake Michigan shore at the Michigan/ Wisconsin border. The Sand Point Lighthouse is a “schoolhouse” design.

This is the smallest lighthouse that we have visited except for the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. There is another very unusual feature of Sand Point… no back door! We have never seen this and are curious regarding what precautions were taken by the keeper in case of fire in the front portion of the house. Visitation for this lighthouse ended two weeks ago, so the backdoor situation will remain a mystery.

Sand Point is one of a very few lighthouses that still has its Fresnel lens still in the tower. This is a fourth order lens and is about 3 ½ feet tall. The smaller the number of a Fresnel lens, the larger the lens would be.The largest lens on Lake Superior was a second order. You can stand inside of a first order lens.

We are staying in Manistique, MI tonight. The internet in not working in the motel so we will send this out ASAP. We learned when we checked in tonight that tomorrow night (Wednesday) the electricity will cut off over a very large part of the UP for at least two hours starting at 10 P.M. Oh goody…

Tomorrow we will be going to the Garden Peninsula, and the old mining town of Fayette, MI.

September 27, 2010

Today we said good bye to the Keweenaw Peninsula and headed west to Ontonagon, MI. The Historical Society of Ontonagon County has accomplished somewhat of a miracle in its renovations to the Ontonagon Lighthouse. They have replaced most of the floors and the heating system. At a cost totaling $80,000 in grants and donations, the entire outside of the building has been renovated. The lighthouse was built in 1853. It remained in service until 1963 when a new automatic fog horn and light were placed at the end of the river pier.

The fall colors along M-64 were magnificent today. We passed through several areas that exhibited bright reds and yellows.

We are staying at the foot of the Porcupine Mountains tonight. It is the beginning of the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park which totals nearly 60,000 acres. Virgin timber still accounts for 35,000 acres of the park. One of the biggest attractions in the area is the Lake of the Clouds. The lake is fed by the Carp River that starts high in the Porcupines. It is surrounded on three sides by the mountains, and the valley runs for miles. The average depth of the lake is 15 feet.

This is our third year in Michigan and we have always been 2-3 weeks ahead of the colors. What we are seeing this year was not expected, and many of the local residents tell us that this is a very early fall. Looks like the third time was a charm!

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Manistique, MI.

September 26, 2010

We awoke this morning to blue skies, no wind, and cool temperatures…yea!! This would be a great day for our drive to Brockway Mountain. But first we had to make a phone call to Jacobsville, MI. The lighthouse in Jacobsville is privately owned and it is open “by chance”. We had talked with the owners before we left Hardy and knew that it was about a 50/50 chance of being able to climb the tower. The owners answered the phone and we were off, detouring to Jacobsville before we started our drive north to see the fall colors.

Jacobsville Lighthouse, on the Portage River, operates as a B&B and does not offer tours of the keeper’s house unless you are an overnight guest. The lighthouse was built in 1870 and is 45 feet tall. It was decommissioned in 1920 and was sold several times until its present owners bought it in 2004. The lighthouse is in dire need of extensive repairs. With no handrail, Cheryl decided it was in her best interest NOT to climb the tower!!

After leaving Jacobsville, we headed north. Our drive today took us along M-41 and the “covered highway” to Copper Harbor, MI. The covered highway is about 8 miles long and the tree canopy covers the highway the entire way.

From Copper Harbor we turned onto Brockway Mountain Drive. The drive is nine miles of steep, twisting roadway which climbs 1000 feet above Lake Superior. Today the sky was not as clear as we would have liked, but we were still able to see Isle Royal which lies 48 miles off the coast of Copper Harbor. The fall colors were beautiful. We hope that you enjoy the photos!

Our sign of the day returns. This was spotted on M-26 just north of Calumet.

Tomorrow we will be going to Agate Beach and Ontonagon, MI.

September 25, 2010

After two days of rain and high winds it was nice to see some sunshine today. As you can probably tell by now, we like lighthouses. Last year we drove within 150 feet of the Eagle River Lighthouse and never saw it. The lighthouse was built in 1857 and was vital to guiding ships into Eagle River Harbor, which was the home port of the Cliff Copper Mines. In 1873 the price of copper fell drastically and the Cliff Mine closed. Very few ships were sailing by Eagle River Harbor and in 1908 the lighthouse was decommissioned. It became the first lighthouse on the Keweenaw Peninsula to fall into private hands when it was auctioned off on August 2, 1908. The winning bid was $925.00. As you can see from the photo, it has been added on to several times, and without seeing the top of the light tower, is not recognizable.

Eagle River Falls is on M-26 just east of Eagle River. With the recent rains, the falls were quite impressive.

Just west of Eagle River the waves were running about 4-5 feet, left over from the past two days of storms. Yesterday they were running 6-8 feet in this same area.

In this area of Lake Superior, the beaches can be very different in a short distance, some with fine sand and others with large rock formations. This beach falls in between, with small stones covering the beach. Most of the time, the colors are varied but on this beach they are a reddish color and are very deep.

Next up was the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1871. The tower is 44 feet tall. It is unique in that it is red brick on one side, and the brick is painted white on the opposite side (note colors in the photos.) This allows ships to identify the lighthouse in the daytime. At night the lighthouse also has a unique way to be identified. It has a white light and a red light (see the red light in the photo) with a 10 second alternating flash of the lights.

The Monks make it, and it is oh so tasty…that is Thimbleberry jam from the Jampot! We heard about it last year and purchased a jar. It didn’t last long. When we stopped at the Jampot (check it out online) today, they still had a few jars on the shelf. The Monks of the Holy Transfiguration Skete Society of John, all five of them, run the Jampot. One of them told us today, “Some days we work 36 hours non-stop”. They make all kinds of pastries, breads, jams, and jellies. They sell out of the store from Mother’s Day until the last day of October. The rest of the year they sell online. Great stuff!

We have a sign to share with you today. This was spotted at Cat Harbor, just west of Eagle Harbor, MI. Most of the area is very, and I mean VERY, sparsely populated. We met a lady (a volunteer) at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse who said she was known as number 23 because she was the twenty-third, and last, person counted in the census!!

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Brockway Mountain by way of the covered highway. We hope to have some good photos of the fall colors to share with you.

September 24, 2010

The rain was still falling this morning, but should end by Saturday morning. With waves of 6-9 feet, Lake Superior is hammering the coast. Our plans for today were all inside; and, we only had to make one change, replacing Michigan Tech Mineral Museum with the Opera House in Calumet.

The Opera House, opening on March 20, 1900, has a lot of history. (The contained photos were taken in very little light and without a tripod. The area of the auditorium was so large that a flash was insufficient to get good photos.) It was the gathering point for the entire area. Tickets to events were so hard to get that a portion of the tickets were auctioned off to the highest bidder. The box seats carried a price of $25.

This theatre was one of the first municipal theatres in the country. It attracted the attention of some of America’s finest actors and actresses including Frank Morgan (famous for his roles in The Wizard of Oz), Douglas Fairbanks, Sr, Sarah Bernhardt, and Madame Helena Modjeska.

But the theatre was doomed and with the price of copper dropping sharply, in 1920, the theatre was turned into a motion picture house. As the copper mines closed and more and more people moved from the area, the end was near. In the early 1950’s, use of the theatre came to a standstill.

For almost 20 years the theatre gathered dust. In the early 1970’s the Summer Stock Theatre returned for a performance and continued to perform in the Opera House yearly. Slowly the theatre was reborn and in 1975 the auditorium was restored for the Calumet centennial. The exterior was restored in 1988-89.

As you can see, the theatre is now a very beautiful house. All of the restoration, past and ongoing, has been accomplished in a town of only 800 people. In its early years the Opera House could seat nearly 1200 people in its three levels. Now, due to its very steep layout, the third level is not used. (Cheryl can attest to the VERY, VERY steep angle!!) The theatre now seats close to 750 people, and holds 60-80 events a year.

Our other stop of the day was at the Carrousel Winery in South Range, MI. Basically, Carrousel is South Range since most of the other buildings in the town are vacant. The winery makes over 30 varieties of wine, ranging from semi- dry to sweet fruit wines. They also offer personal labels for all of their wines. So, if you want a T&C Wild Blueberry and don’t mind paying the labeling fee, you are in business.

Tomorrow we will be heading north to visit the Jampot and Eagle Harbor. ..yum-yum!

September 23, 2010

I know you have heard of the old saying, “Sometimes you are the fly and sometimes you are the windshield”. Well, for most of the day, we were the flies! The day started out with a fine drizzle and looked, for a while, like it would clear up. It never happened.

Our first stop of the day was going to be Cliff’s Shaft Mining Museum in Ishpeming, MI. The museum has a lot of outdoor exhibits and includes an underground tour. Due to the continued and sometimes heavy rain, we decided to bypass Ishpeming and continue on to our second destination, the Sand Point Lighthouse.

On our way to Sand Point, we detoured into Negaunee, MI home of the largest antique mall in the UP. There were several nice antique shops and we enjoyed every minute.

When we started back west on M28, we did get just a few miles of semi-dry weather, and were able to get some photos of the fall colors. The colors are at 70-90% in this part of the UP with a lot of red, orange and bright yellow. The mist made it very difficult to get any good photos.

The Sand Point Lighthouse is in the Ojibwa Recreation Area near Baraga, MI. When we started down the road to the point, the road was closed due to construction. Scratch the lighthouse tour.

Upon arrival at the Americinn in Calumet, MI we were informed that their electronic keys were not working. The only way we could get into our room was for the desk clerk to let us in with the master key. They are in the process of trying to fix it.

Now comes the kicker of the day. For exactly 365 days I have been waiting to go to the Irish Times Pub in Laurium, MI for Guinness Braised Beef. When I went to order…I really don’t have to tell you, do I?!!

Tomorrow we are going to the Carrousel Winery, and the Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech, both indoor activities. We sure could have used some of that wine today!

September 22, 2010

When we started out today, we had two places on our list to visit. It’s funny sometimes how a wrong turn can lead to something very good. That was how our day began. We were going to downtown Marquette, MI to visit the Maritime Museum and the Marquette Lighthouse. On the way, we made a wrong turn and ended up in the 323 acre Presque Isle Park. The park, with some of the oldest exposed rock formations in the US, was designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted. Olmsted was the designer of Central Park in New York. The peninsula survived the clear cuts of the early settlers. Large trees and rare vegetation can be seen along with high cliffs, wildlife, hiking trails, and beautiful views.

One exhibit in the park is a 28 ton glacial float piece of solid copper. It was torn from the earth by glaciers and was dropped near Horton, MI. It was found in 1997 by two men using metal detectors. The AAPS/Ancient Artifact Preservation Society purchased the “nugget” for $350,000 and moved it to the Presque Isle site.

Because of time restraints, we had to bypass the Maritime Museum (would come back later in the day) and head north to Big Bay, home of the Big Bay B&B. The Big Bay B&B, only open for tours on Saturdays and Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., was originally the Big Bay Lighthouse, built in 1896. After decommission in 1928, it has been sold several times and is now for sale once again. The interior has been altered several times and is now a 5 bedroom B&B.

On our return trip to Marquette, we once again searched for the Maritime Museum and Marquette Lighthouse, this time turning in the right direction. We were able to get back in time to make the last tour of the day. We visited the lighthouse two years ago and were interested in the progress being made in its restoration. Operating from admissions, donations and grants can be tough in today’s economy and many the lighthouses we have visited in the last three years need a lot of work. The Marquette Lighthouse falls into this category, but we were glad to see that they had opened the second floor, and the tower steps half way up.

The lighthouse was painted red about 50 years ago to make it more visible in the daylight hours.

Marquette has a beautiful downtown area with a lot of greenways, parks, beaches and attractions. One of the attractions is the retired ship loading facility in the lower harbor. Freighters used this facility to load ore that was carried to Algoma steel in Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Calumet, MI on the Keweenaw Peninsula, home of copper country.

September 21, 2010

We started the day with a big BOOM, lots of thunder and lightning. We have been very fortunate this year in our ability to avoid the rain and today was no different. By the time we arrived at our first destination, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through the clouds. The drive from Whitefish Point to Munising, MI is a peaceful journey. Mile after mile of trees starting to turn fall colors, small lakes and large areas of wet land, filled with birds and other small game, are soothing sights. With very little traffic to contend with, the miles rolled by quickly.

Munising is a small town overlooking Lake Superior and is home to Ma & Pa type stores and restaurants. One of these, Main Street Pizza, was recommended to us two years ago by our Pictured Rocks tour boat captain. Today, once again, it lived up to its reputation.

After lunch we stopped by the Munising Range Lights, a combination of two lighthouses that guide ships into Munising Harbor. They are separated by about two blocks, one behind the other. When a ship approaches from a distance, the captain can determine his location by the alignment of the lights. We also visited the Christmas Range Lights in Christmas, MI. They operate in the same manner.

Our third stop was at the Bay Furnace on the shore of Lake Superior. There were 29 blast furnaces on Lake Superior that operated between 1858 and 1940. Only two, Bay and Fayette, have remains that are intact.

Our last stop today before heading to Marquette, MI for the night was at Lakenenland Sculpture Park. This is a one man (Tom Lakenen) Sculpture Park with no admission and nothing to buy. There are about 60 sculptures in the collection and it is growing. Some sculptures are fanciful, Seuss-like creatures. Some are political. Some are both. Tom had to move his park to its present location after the town fathers of its former location decided it did not fit into the town ordinance. Most of our photos today are from the Sculpture Park.

We will be staying Marquette for two days. Tomorrow we plan to revisit a museum that has been added on to since we were here two years ago, and travel to a lighthouse that we have never seen.