Copper Harbor, MI

Copper Harbor, MI

October 6, 2016

When we began this journey over a month ago, our original purpose was to travel to Copper Harbor so that Patti could visit her mothers’ graveside and meet up with her daughter and a few of her siblings… to share in this experience. Our long journey began in Cody, WY making the long trek to Copper Harbor, Michigan. At long last, here we are… Patti had timed this event for my photographic pleasure, to capture the fall colors. Thanks Patti!

We journeyed through Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and into Michigan. We saw some marvelous country, most of which I had not seen before and some that Patti had not traveled into, as well. Yes, we racked up some miles (nearly 3K)!

Copper Harbor is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on Lake Superior, the biggest of the Great Lakes and is just below Canada. In the Upper Peninsula locals are called ‘Yoopers’ and refer to themselves as such.

The drive from Ontonagon was a two-hour adventure through some of the best color we had seen in our search for fall festive displays. The only problem was, there was nary a place to pull over and snap some pictures of these magnificent displays. A video camera attached to the hood of the truck would have been the best way to capture the canopy of colors along the road: but alas, this blog is not set up for videos.

As we were driving along through the massive color scheme, we came upon this huge, towering, vertical sign… being curious we stopped. The sign looked like a thermometer, but alas, it was not. It was a record snowfall ruler – 390.4 inches of snow that fell during the winter of 1978-79! NOW THAT’S A LOT OF SNOW!!! We got cold just standing beside the ruler. One picture is worth a thousand words…

After marveling at this ‘ruler’ we came upon a small town by the name of Phoenix – either we were not as far north and east as we thought: or they couldn’t think of any new names for their towns. Too cold to think???

Arriving in Houghton, MI, the halfway point in our destination, we had to cross Portage Lake, which separates Houghton from Hancock. The Portage Lift Bridge connects Houghton and Hancock via the Portage Lift Bridge: the world’s heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. Its center span “lifts” to provide 100 feet of clearance for ships. After rail traffic was discontinued in the local county of Keweenaw (Ke-wee-naw), then the lower deck became the preferred method to accommodate snowmobile traffic in the winter. This is the only land-based link between the north and south section of the Keweenaw Peninsula, and is crucial. As luck would have it… a small ship needed to pass under the lift bridge, so we were able to see it ‘lift’ to accommodate the ship. Personally, from our vantage point, it looked like the small ship could have passed without raising the bridge, oh well, safety first. We wondered if there was a fee to lift the bridge and back up all the traffic that travels over the bridge.

Feeling adventurous we took the scenic route from Houghton, HWY 26, to Copper Harbor, which traverses along the coast. The drive wound in and around some gorgeous countryside and bayside. Around one curve a monastery popped out of the landscape.

It is the Holy Transfiguration Skete, a Byzantine Catholic Monastery in Eagle Harbor, MI. It is a beautiful monastery, and their back yard is Lake Superior!

Traveling on, we encountered the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse (which is still a working Lighthouse) just a few miles down the road.

As luck would have it… we encountered a Bald Eagle between the monastery and the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse (thanks to eagle eyes, Patti).

When I got out to take a picture of the Eagle, I noticed the unusual beach; instead of sand it had small rocks that wandered in and out with the tide, creating round and smooth surfaces so unlike the sand just a few miles up the coast by the Monastery.

Finally, we arrived in Copper Harbor. It is a small harbor town and much smaller than I imagined. Since copper was mined here, I thought it would be a bustling town… I guess the weather has a lot to do with how many people live up here in the dead of winter (around 100 people). NOT US!

As this was the end of the tourist season, there were only 2 restaurants that were open for business (and only one that served breakfast). Actually, it looked like there were only two restaurants in the whole town, or is it a village? There is one other resort that serves lunch and dinner just outside of town, with a golf course and maybe 20 cabins for rent. Most of the hotels and shops will close a few days after we leave, because they are not winterized and have no insulation, dah…

The harbor was beautiful, the water clear, and the sky was blue-blue, when it wasn’t cloudy or rainy. The day we arrived the skies were clear, the sun was out and just a tad of wind. That was the last day we saw the sun, except for an occasional appearance, and the winds seem to always follow the clouds. I guess the lake welcomes the wind to give her energy. This would have been the perfect place to rent a Kayak and tool around the harbor, but not with the cold wind chillin’ down your shirt and the temperature dropping.

So, instead, I took a bike ride up the road by Lake Fanny Hooe and to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse overlook. Later we would take a drive to the point of the peninsula and found the beginning of US HWY 41. Since it had rained the night before, there were large puddles that covered the entire backwoods, dirt, narrow road that, we assume, led to the Copper Harbor Light, but we had to turn around due to soft dirt under the puddles.

There was a wonderful cabin (maybe next time we will rent this one) on the harbor and its deck juts out into the water: we imagined ourselves sitting outside and sipping tea or maybe Guinness and communing with the harbor and the lake.

We explored up Brockway Mountain Drive that had an overlook of the harbor, Lake Superior and the vast color display, perfect timing. In one picture (Brockway 4415) you can see how small the town of Copper Harbor really is.

This drive is a loop through a small mountain lined with trees, a vast view of Lake Fanny Hooe, Lake Superior, and the splendid tree colors. At the top of the loop is a pull-off with a view of a small lake and Lake Superior.

I tried to catch the vastness with the panorama setting on my camera: you be the judge.

That evening we saw a sunset softly muting the water and the clouds.

BUT the next morning we were treated to a marvelous sunrise reflected on Lake Superior.

On the third day, we parted company with Patti’s family and started our journey south and west… “We’re out of here”. Back to warmer weather before the snow falls and we get caught in 390.4” of snow…