Doreen and Laura's Excellent Adventure: The UP!

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

(Sightseeing and genealogical research)

August 4, 2017 - August 25, 2017

Goodbye Wisconsin, Hello Michigan!

I was born and raised in the lower peninsula of Michigan (aka the mitten) and it wasn't until I had a roommate in college who was from the UP that I even made it across the Mackinaw bridge to this beautiful part of the state.

Our first night in the UP proved to be an auspicious one. We stopped at a motel in Ontonagon which our campground app said had several RV spots. It turns out they had quit providing RV spots about 6 years ago but I guess they felt sorry for us so they told us we could stay out behind the motel by one of their cabins. Laura relayed to me that he had said to "just park anywhere." I drove over behind the motel and, not wanting to block their driveway, I drove onto an area of lawn that proved to be supersaturated with rain water. In very short order I was unable to go either forward or backward. We went in to talk to the owners, telling them they were going to wish they had never seen our faces much less told us we could stay behind the motel. They were incredibly nice about the whole thing. He got out his Kabota tractor and tried to pull us out but it was no match for our heavy motor home. Finally they called a towing company and, with some effort, we were pulled out of the muck. Unfortunatley I was so stressed out about having gotten stuck I completely forgot to take pictures of the huge ruts we made in their nice green grass. I insisted on trying to patch the ruts up as best I could and, although they were still visible, they looked much better after I worked on them for awhile. We also asked if there was something else we could do to repay them for their kindness and, with a little persuading, they agreed. I helped them paint two windows in the kitchen of one of their cabins and Laura pruned a rose bush and lilac bush, both very much in need of help. That made us feel a bit better for all the hassle we caused them. If you ever get to Ontonagon, stop and stay at the Sunshine Motel and Cabins and tell Bruce and Kay we sent you. The cabins are delightfully decorated in North Woods decor. I know you'll enjoy staying there and you won't meet two nicer people anywhere.

"The lake" would be Lake Superior, the largest and most northern of the Great Lakes.

The Sunshine Motel and Cabins

The big circular driveway surrounds a wonderful area all set up for relaxation.
There are also grills scattered around the edge for people to use.

The path to their private beach on Lake Superior.

Looking East

Looking West

Our Hosts: Bruce and Kay Perkins and their staff.

Near Ontonagan are the Porcupine Mountains (actually mountains is probably a bit of a misnomer but I digress) where beautiful Lake of the Clouds can be found along with several other beautiful locations. We spent so much time at the lake, we ended up not having time to see the other sights!

Beautiful Lake of the Woods in Porcupine Mountain State Park.

The walkway from the parking lot to the scenic view of the lake.

Next, we drove to the Keweenaw Peninsula, camping at McClain state park near Hancock. The next day we drove out to Copper Harbor to the end (or beginning depending on which way you're traveling) of US 41. If you followed it from here to it's end you would end up in Miami, Florida and you would have driven from one peninsula to another.

This finger of land, sticking out into Lake Superior, was the scene of a huge copper strike in the mid 1800's. Miners came from everywhere to get in on the action. Even today, long after the copper mines have played out, this area is called copper country. It is also one of the few area were native copper (i.e. copper that we can immediately recognize) existed.

There are hundreds of waterfalls in Michigan and all but one are located in the UP. It's a great area to go waterfalling!

Eagle River Falls just outside of the town of Eagle River.

This is the bridge over the Eagle River.
I took this because it's supported by wood trusses which I think is fairly unusual.

Jacob's Falls

The Jampot near Jacobs Falls
This wonderful bakery is the only source of income for the
Society of St. John, a Byzantine Catholic monastery located
in Eagle Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
They make a huge variety of jams and delicious baked goods.

View of Lake Superior from the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Part of Historic Fort Wilkins near the end of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Had never seen this particular method of making a corner with logs.

Typical quarters for an officer.

Enlisted men's quarters.

Some of the many buildings on the Fort.

The infirmary.

The quartermaster's supplies

More of the quartermaster's supplies

The sutler's store. Had to look sutler up and found the following:
A sutler is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters.

Another view of the sutler's store.

Copper Harbor

Sunset at McClain State Park.

My father and his family lived in various areas of Marquette County so we drove on to the city of Marquette so I could do some genealogical research. They originally came from the Isle of Man, an island located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. My 3rd great grandfather, a miner by trade, brought his family to the UP when my 2nd great grandfather was just 5 years old. He was their oldest child at the time, having already lost their first and fourth born children. They eventually had 12 children, only 8 of whom lived to adulthood.

I spent about 4 days at the courthouse, getting some very interesting probate and land records but forgetting to get a picture of the courthouse which dates from 1904. The picture below, from Wikipedia, is by Calvin Beale. It's built of red sandstone which was quarried in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

The courthouse is notable for a case that inspired the book and later the 1959 Otto Preminger movie "Anatomy of a Murder" which was filmed at the courthouse and the surrounding area. I'm sure some of you remember the movie.

Since we were in 2003, the harbor area has gotten quite a facelift.
We found these units especially appealing.

All over the UP we saw flowers used to great effect, often lining ordinary streets, softening and brightening the scene.

This is an actual ore dock which still stands in the harbor at Marquette but
the portion used to move the the rail cars into position has been removed. They would move the ore filled rail cars out on the dock, a lake freighter would pull up on either side and the ore chutes would be lowered into position. The railroad cars would then be dumped and the ore would slide down into the hold of the waiting ship.

A view of the second harbor at Marquette where there is a working ore dock.

A picture from the internet of a freighter pulled up at this ore dock.
Here you can see the train carrying the ore on top of the dock to the waiting ship.