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.
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