upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Just getting around to writing up this trip from a few weeks ago. My girlfriend Alyssa and I planned a little getaway up into the UP's Keweenaw Peninsula to spend a few days recreating.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the large protrusion of land that juts off to the north into Lake Superior from the mainland. It is rich with history, old mining towns, undeveloped shorelines, an old mountain range, and is comprised of a National Historic Park, a great State Park and alot of conservancy lands. It is simply put, one of my favorite places anywhere. A must see place for many reasons.
Day 1
We got on the road later in the day on Friday after Alyssa wrapped up some work she had to do and I got the vehicle packed. From Marquette we drove via highway up to Houghton/Hancock then stopped in the town of Calumet to grab dinner on our way to camp.
Red Jacket Brewery is one of those places I tell everyone to check out. In the old historic downtown of Calumet. Calumet was once a booming mining town, so booming in fact that it was in cosideration for the state capital back when Michigan was being formed. The dowtown still retains an old brick street and many of the buildings sit empty though, happy to report that many of the old buildings are being refurbished and taken care of through funding from various sources. It is definately worth poking around town and check out the old churches, store fronts, and architecture. The brewerey itself is very old with the original painted mural on the ceiling above the bar. They have great food and if you are a beer lover.... well I need say no more.
After eating we continued north. Right around Calumet are a handful of tiny towns, all within a mile of each other and all service different old mines none of which are still in operation. Many of the homes have seen better days but most are occupied and still retain the very original look and feel. We darted up US 41, peeling off for the requiste drive along Cliff Drive, then dropped down along the west coast of the peninsula to drive through the towns of Eagle River, Eagle Harbor, and ultimately, the end of the road Copper Harbor. The drive along this stretch is probably my favorite in the whole state. The pavement is sinuous, winding, climbing and diving constantly through a narrow passage of trees or along the rugged coastline. It is THE quintensential sports car road..... we had to make do with a Land Rover Discovery, still fun don't get me wrong, but not quite the same thing ;-)
Evening at the mouth of Eagle River.
One of the must see stops along this stretch is definately Brockway Mountain Drive. It is a narrow paved road that drives along the ridge of Brockway Mountain affording spectacular views of Lake Superior and the town of Copper Harbor to the north. The view in the evening is hard to beat with the sun getting low over Lake Superior, the curve of the earth is visible as you see the broad expanse of freshwater stretching to the horizon. It never fails to awe me, this largest lake in the world. A couple of freighters, one 700 footer and one 1,000 footer can be seen pushing their way towards Duluth Minnesota making the mandatory detour around the large peninsula. They look like tiny children's toys, dwarfed by the freshwater sea.
Jason (Northern Explorer) and his wife Blythe were meeting us out at the tip of the peninsula. The location is familiar to those that follow the UPO trips. Highrock point is the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula and requires one to push past Copper Harbor on dirt roads and a rough two track out to the end. Its worth the drive and despite having a couple of other vehicles out there camping, you have a sense of seclusion knowing you are WAY out there.
An evening mist hangs over the water.
Our camp.
We cooked dinner over a roaring campfire. We had premaid some food, potatoes and veggies in foil, corn cooked in the husks on the fire, and shishka bobs. Jason and Blythe joined us for s'mores later after the sun set. The full moon began its climb over the eastern horizon above Manitou Island. Soon a large frieghter came between the island and land, a rare sight as most go around the north side of the island. It is a surreal feeling seeing something so massive passing by so close, yet being out in such a remote place.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the large protrusion of land that juts off to the north into Lake Superior from the mainland. It is rich with history, old mining towns, undeveloped shorelines, an old mountain range, and is comprised of a National Historic Park, a great State Park and alot of conservancy lands. It is simply put, one of my favorite places anywhere. A must see place for many reasons.
Day 1
We got on the road later in the day on Friday after Alyssa wrapped up some work she had to do and I got the vehicle packed. From Marquette we drove via highway up to Houghton/Hancock then stopped in the town of Calumet to grab dinner on our way to camp.
Red Jacket Brewery is one of those places I tell everyone to check out. In the old historic downtown of Calumet. Calumet was once a booming mining town, so booming in fact that it was in cosideration for the state capital back when Michigan was being formed. The dowtown still retains an old brick street and many of the buildings sit empty though, happy to report that many of the old buildings are being refurbished and taken care of through funding from various sources. It is definately worth poking around town and check out the old churches, store fronts, and architecture. The brewerey itself is very old with the original painted mural on the ceiling above the bar. They have great food and if you are a beer lover.... well I need say no more.
After eating we continued north. Right around Calumet are a handful of tiny towns, all within a mile of each other and all service different old mines none of which are still in operation. Many of the homes have seen better days but most are occupied and still retain the very original look and feel. We darted up US 41, peeling off for the requiste drive along Cliff Drive, then dropped down along the west coast of the peninsula to drive through the towns of Eagle River, Eagle Harbor, and ultimately, the end of the road Copper Harbor. The drive along this stretch is probably my favorite in the whole state. The pavement is sinuous, winding, climbing and diving constantly through a narrow passage of trees or along the rugged coastline. It is THE quintensential sports car road..... we had to make do with a Land Rover Discovery, still fun don't get me wrong, but not quite the same thing ;-)
Evening at the mouth of Eagle River.
One of the must see stops along this stretch is definately Brockway Mountain Drive. It is a narrow paved road that drives along the ridge of Brockway Mountain affording spectacular views of Lake Superior and the town of Copper Harbor to the north. The view in the evening is hard to beat with the sun getting low over Lake Superior, the curve of the earth is visible as you see the broad expanse of freshwater stretching to the horizon. It never fails to awe me, this largest lake in the world. A couple of freighters, one 700 footer and one 1,000 footer can be seen pushing their way towards Duluth Minnesota making the mandatory detour around the large peninsula. They look like tiny children's toys, dwarfed by the freshwater sea.
Jason (Northern Explorer) and his wife Blythe were meeting us out at the tip of the peninsula. The location is familiar to those that follow the UPO trips. Highrock point is the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula and requires one to push past Copper Harbor on dirt roads and a rough two track out to the end. Its worth the drive and despite having a couple of other vehicles out there camping, you have a sense of seclusion knowing you are WAY out there.
An evening mist hangs over the water.
Our camp.
We cooked dinner over a roaring campfire. We had premaid some food, potatoes and veggies in foil, corn cooked in the husks on the fire, and shishka bobs. Jason and Blythe joined us for s'mores later after the sun set. The full moon began its climb over the eastern horizon above Manitou Island. Soon a large frieghter came between the island and land, a rare sight as most go around the north side of the island. It is a surreal feeling seeing something so massive passing by so close, yet being out in such a remote place.
I'll do some late fall weekend trips hopefully. The UPO convoy is unbeatable tho.....
