Houghton, Michigan
4 June 2025

The travel between Marquette and Houghton was the only foggy night (at least I think it was this night). The captain apologized, but turned on the foghorn, which serenaded us until dawn. It didn't bother us, but some folks complained bitterly. Better to listen to the foghorn than risk a collision! I expected significant fog throughout our time on the lakes, so one night wasn't bad at all.

That morning the ship traveled through the last remnants of the fog. Numerous islands dotted the entry to the Portage River section of the waterway.

The ship tied up at the docks adjacent to downtown Houghton. I'm sorry I didn't have time to explore either Houghton or Hancock, but my excursion was all-day and left early.

Jim did some exploring on his own and found that the town had arranged a shuttle bus to various points -- including WalMart for those who needed to stock up on sundries.

Early European settlers of the area were Finnish and Cornish miners. Their traditions are still strong, and until 2023, Hancock was the home of Finlandia University.

Among other distinctions, Houghton is designated the birthplace of professional hockey. The Michigan UP embraces winter!

Our first stop on the bus tour was Fort Wilkins, at the very tip of the peninsula. The fort was originally built in 1844 to keep peace between the local Ojibwe people and the copper miners. There was no need to worry, because the miners were well behaved and the Ojibwe were happy to have additional trading partners.

Soldiers garrisoned at the fort were sent to join the Mexican War in 1846 and it was left in the hands of a single caretaker until his death in 1855.

After the Civil War, the Army again posted men at the fort in order to put them somewhere until their enlistment time was served. The fort was abandoned in 1870.

The Army eventually gave the land to Michigan and the fort has been restored and is operated as a state park. The historical interpreters were not on site at the time of our visit so we had the place to ourselves.

A short walk across the road from the fort took us to a bay where we could see the Copper Harbor Light. We also saw a family of merganser ducks and got to ssearch for Lake Superior agate.

I didn't find any agate, but I did find some basalt stones with various inclusions that I brought home. I hope to find someone with a rock tumbler who can shine up the smaller one for me.

From Copper Harbor our bus climbed Brockway Mountain, 1328 feet above sea level and 726 feet above lake level. Fort Wilkins is located on the long lake seen on the right.

All of this land has been clear-cut in the past. Much is now protected. The second growth is going through a phase of mixed hardwood forest before reaching the climax white pine forest, which will be many years in the future.

There are some pockets of old-growth forest still around, but we didn't see any.

A group of birders was hanging out at the mountain for the annual hawk watch.

After winding our way down the mountain, we visited Eagle Harbor (population 69).

The Eagle Harbor Light is on the northern shore of the peninsula. There was extensive interior and exterior renovation underway so we were not able to go inside, but the volunteers who met us were as enthusiastic as could possibly be.

One of the local residents had complained about the light shining inland where it wasn't needed, so the Coast Guard agreed to put a blackout curtain on the landward side of the light.

The welcome committee was hoping to show us a laker scheduled to be in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen.

This view of the harbor from the lighthouse point shows the rocky ledge that once kept out larger ships. A narrow channel was blasted open in 1870. It is the spot just to the left of the trees.

This portion of Jacob's Falls is beside the road. This is the lower of several drops.

The falls are near a Ukrainian Catholic Monastery. Not something you expect in the wilds of Michigan. The beautiful building shown at the web site was not visible from the road.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Fitzgerald's Restaurant, on the Lake Superior beach.

Although Superior has a nasty reputation for unpredictable weather and ugly seas (think Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald), this was as rough as we encountered during the week on Superior. Smooth sailing was the norm.

Our next stop was Eagle River Falls near the settlement of Eagle River.

Across the street from the falls is the pilot house of the steamer Tioga. The ship, built in 1885, sank (for the second time!) outside Eagle River in 1919. It broke up and the pilot house washed ashore. A local couple salvaged it and added the mock-up ship's hull as a playhouse for their children. The family gave it to the Eagle River museum in 2015.

Our guide TJ called this the obligatory tourist stop. It's a gauge of the annual snowfall on the peninsula. The record is 390" (that's over 30 FEET) in the winter of 1978/79. Last year they got not quite 27 feet. The 54-year average is around 20 feet and the all-time low in 1999/2000 was MERELY 14 1/2 feet. My kind of place. Of course, the snow melts and packs down so there might only be 6' or so on the ground at any one time.

TJ was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic leader. We had a running guessing challenge about his day job, and it wasn't until the end of the day that he let on he was the pastor of a church congregation in Hancock. He has only lived in the area for about 14 years, but has embraced it with enthusiasm. He relaxes by wilderness canoeing and was already looking forward to his summer vacation.

Our bus driver for this trip was Beth. She calls Pennsylvania home, but spends so much time on the road, that she has sold her house and bunks with her son's family when she's not traveling to the far reaches of the country.

Our last stop was McLain State Park where we saw the Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light. We saw this light again that evening as we passed on our way to Duluth.

The park was crowded, relatively speaking. I enjoyed meeting a California couple who were biking around the US. Actually, they were traveling in their RV visiting notable biking locations, of which the Keweenaw Peninsula is one.

The park also had tasty ice cream, just in case I hadn't had enough food already.

One couple at the park was searching for agates. That water was coooold. I wouldn't want to wade in it, agates or no agates.

The local ski area, Mont Ripley, is in the background. It opened in 1934 and is now owned by the Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Nowadays it has two chairs and a T-bar -- and snow-making in case that 20' isn't enough!

TJ told us that the students at the university skate across the waterway, which freezes in the winter, to the ski area. Based on the amount of snowfall the peninsula receives, I expect the conditions are pretty good. Alpine skiing is a varsity sport at the school.

The buildings in the foreground are the historic Quincy copper smelter. It is the only remaining industrial site of its kind in the world.

If I were 30 years younger, I'd strongly consider moving to this area. It was really appealing. Might be a tough place to keep a horse, though.