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.

View from our campground just outside of Marquette.

Neat picture taken by Laura of the clouds reflected in the lake by the campground.

Guardian of a neighbor's campsite.  He's actually chained to the pole!!

Part 2 of the UP coming up next.

Northern Wisconsin

Wisconsin - Bayfield, the Apostle Islands and Ashland

(Sightseeing)

July 30, 2017 - August 3, 2017

We left our friends just outside of Green Bay as they headed west to the Winnebago factory in Iowa and we headed northwest to the Apostle Islands.  We stopped and stayed several nights in Arbor Vitae, WI so we could do the mundane things that have to be done whether you are at home or traveling - laundry, bills, checkbook, haircuts, etc.  We found a nice campground situated on Big Arbor Vitae Lake.

Big Arbor Vitae Lake

This lovely stream ran through the campground.  It was very popular with the kids.

We located a laundromat in the town of Minocqua so we headed there to get this always fun chore over and done with.  We couldn't believe our eyes when we found that the laundromat was situated right next door to an ice cream shop.  What a perfect combination - a captive audience doing drudge work and ice cream.  Who's gonna pass that up?

As you can see - this was no ordinary ice cream!  Wisconsin is, after all, the dairy state!

 As we were wandering about the town doing some errands we spotted these fanciful bovine statues in front of a paint store and just had to laugh.  Would love to have these standing out in a field on Whidbey.  Someplace where you could see it from the highway.

With laundry and errands done we headed up to Bayfield for a look at the Apostle Islands which our friend Sandy (from "Dosh") told us about.

Bayfield is a scenic little harbor town with some wonderful old buildings and a nice deep water port.

Looking down the main street toward the harbor.

A bit blurry but this is the harbor taken from the pier as it was getting dark.

Nice boats docked in their harbor.  Some of them advertise day sailing trips. 

This little Scandinavian troll decorated the outside of a Swedish shop.
Took this is for Harriet because her great aunt looked remarkably like this! (the face, not the body)

These two beautiful buildings are both hotels.  Aren't they wonderful!

Bayfield is the gateway to the "Apostle Islands National Lakeshore".  For the most part these islands are visited only by hikers, backpackers, kayakers, fishermen, etc.  The largest island, called Madeline, is inhabited by some permanent and some semi-permanent residents and has ferry service to it on a regular basis. You have to get to other islands on your own (kayak, boat, etc.) or via water taxi or charter boat.  One of the big tourist draws is a trip around part of the area on a cruise boat.  You get a narrated look at some of the more interesting parts of the islands. They also have a sunken ship cruise where you can look at the remains of several ships that have gone down in the area.  This is possible because the waters of Lake Superior are very clear (and they use a glass bottom boat).

It was initially a bit choppy but the did finally come out and the wind died down.

One of the many lighthouses in the Islands.

This is an old fishing camp on one of the islands.  It's been preserved for historical purposes.

Another lighthouse.

Laura taking pictures!

I look like I'm holding on for dear life.

During storms the waves crash in with tremendous force and gradually wear away the softer pieces of sandstone.

Dramatic sculpturing wouldn't you say?

From Bayfield we drove east towards the upper peninsula of Michigan, stopping in Ashland, WI to see another attraction recommended by our friend Sandy from "Dosh".  Not unlike Toppenish, Washington, they have lots of murals painted around their business area, all the work of two women from the local area.  Here is a small sample of their work.

These three murals are all on the side of one building.

Three waitresses at a local cafe.

Panorama of the old Ashland Ore Dock which is now gone.
It looks as if this building and mural is curved but that is due to the camera.

Close up of part of the Ore Dock.  On top you can see the railroad cars which carried the ore from the mines to the dock.

Railroad track and cars on top of the Ore Dock.

Great Lakes freighter picking up a load of iron ore.

The famous Edmund Fitzgerald which went down in Lake Superior in November 1975.  All 29 crew members were lost.
She was launched in 1958 and at that time was the biggest ship on the Great Lakes.
She is still the largest ship to have sunk in the great lakes.
Some of you may remember Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
which made the sinking even more famous than it already was.

Railroad workers on the "Soo" line (short for Sault Ste. Marie).  One of 2 railroad murals.

Remembering the logging industry (about 1/2 of the full mural)

A small portion of the "Storefront" mural.

About 1/3 of the Veterans mural.  Every person was taken from family pictures of
locals who served in the Armed Services.

This mural celebrates the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Dhooge's Store in Ashland, circa 1910.

A tribute to the many lighthouses in the area and the men and women who maintained them.

The 1950's in Ashland.

Celebrating Oredocker high school football.

There were other murals but it seems redundant to try to show them all.  The two women who did all these murals have also done some for other towns.  We really enjoyed seeing them and having the opportunity to look back into Ashland's past.