Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Fayette the Iron Town

Hello all:

This morning we toured the historic town of Fayette, Michigan, named for Fayette Brown, the agent who founded the site. It sits on Lake Michigan, which is appropriate, since they used this lake to transport pig iron from here to all sorts of places from 1867 to 1890. I found out that "pigs" are like ingots to copper or gold. They melt these to ship them (sort of like blocks).
 
 
So the town was really bustling for the short time it was here. When they closed it in 1890, most people went down to Escanaba or other places nearby and set up as fishermen or farmers.
 
 
 the town overview
 
 hotel
 
 front desk check-in
 
 barber
 
 shave and a haircut, 2 bits
 
 school
 
 
 payroll office
 
 locked up, no freebies here
 
 the company store
(must've had a fire sale---literally; some stores burned in 1920)
 
 the working man's cabin
Apparently, there were at least 200 working-class people who lived on the back end of the town. They threw their refuse in the lake and everywhere else, so it stunk. They were also "downwind" of the factory. Some houses had at least 8 people in them (one house had husband, wife, 4 children, 2 boarders. EEEEK!)
 
 Yes, she's real.
She was "hanging out" by the side of the road, eating some foliage. At first I thought she was fake, put near a building to allude to the local flora/fauna. Until she moved. Her fawn was about 50 feet away in the woods further up the road. Super neat, since she let us get that close.
 
 
So you've seen the town. We are hanging out at the local eatery (The Garden House) and having perch, fried in beer batter (is there any other kind of batter??) and I'm drinking an import, G is drinking Blue Moon. They ran out of the local IPA yesterday. That was good, too. It went well with the whitefish sandwich. Yum!
 
Tomorrow we hit the road heading back home, taking our time, taking in most of the sites. We will miss this beautiful weather and green pastoral scenery. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Until the next trip, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars, and we'll keep living the airstream dream!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Monday, July 20, 2015

Lake Gogebic and other natural wonders

Hello all:

We spent 2 days at Lake Gogebic (pronounced Go-gee-bick). It is an inland lake, and the park is about 1mile of the lakeshore. It was pretty. Here is a picture of sunrise on the lake. It had rained earlier in the morning, and this is what greeted us.

 
 
Later on we went to the Porcupine Mountains (just high hills, since we know what mountains are) and saw the Lake of the Clouds. The lake is only 15 feet deep and fed by the Beaver River. Here are some pics.
 
 Lake of the Clouds
 
 the river and the "mountains"
 
 the King surveying his dominion
 
 
We were told that if we drive along the Southern Boundary of the park that we would see many waterfalls. They neglected to tell us that we would probably have to hike a short distance. This is the only waterfall we saw from the truck:  the Presque Isle River. (Presque Isle means "almost an island" in French; apparently when the river reaches flood stage, it isolates a part of it and becomes a little island--those French are canny!)
 
 
 
We managed to go to the Presque Isle site of the Porcupine Mountains State Park, and we took a small hike to the Nawadaha Falls (the name means "many falls" in Ojibwa). So here are a few pics of those. We had to stay on the trail, so you have to view the water through the foliage.
 
 
 
Because we finished what was to be seen around Lake Gogebic, we left early to come to Garden, Michigan, for Fayette State Park. There is an industrial village here from the 1880s. Iron smelting was big on this side of Lake Michigan. Our site is really pretty, too. We will post more of the village and other pics another time.  But we leave you with our digs from last night. Enjoy!
 
 
 

 


 


Thursday, July 16, 2015

History and the UP

Hello all:
Today we took a tour of Fort Wilkins and some local mining towns. We also stopped at Eagle Harbor and visited the lighthouse, still manned by the Coast Guard. Awesome! The house looks a lot like the McGulpin one (from an earlier post--Mackinac), so I wasn't going to bore you with more pictures.

The fort was only in business for about 3 years. It was built because of the copper boom and wanted to ensure peace between the Ojibwa Indians and the locals (not necessary, since they were a peaceful people). Then the Army was sent to Texas for the Mexican war, where the troops were needed. They used the fort shortly after the Civil War as a rehab facility, then locals would come here and camp. In 1923 it became a state park. Here are some pics:

 officer's quarters
 
 Officer's outhouse
 
 view out towards Lake Fannyhooe
 
 Sutler's store (the post's WalMart)
 
 married and enlisted quarters
 
 an aerial view of the fort
 
 
After the fort we went to Eagle Harbor. This is their lighthouse and some views from the harbor.
 
 
 
 
We finished by a little place called Central Mine. There are a number of buildings still available in this little boom area, including a school, fancy house, and church. We couldn't get to the school or powder house due to a steep hike over 1mi. Maybe some other time. So here's the history of the mine.
 
 
On the way back from Eagle Harbor to Central Mine, we saw these lovely natural features:  a falls off the side of the road and a grouse. Tomorrow is a travel day to Lake Gogebic State Park. We will be there till Monday. The Porcupine Mountains are the next adventure near the state park. There are supposed to be some pretty falls and lakes in that area. Enjoy!
 
the King is looking for Big Foot to take a water break
 
Why did the chicken cross the road??

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 



Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Quincy Mine tour

Hello all:

This morning the King and I went on a hike. There was a trail outside of our campsite that took us mainly around the lake. It was very calm and cool (50 degrees), and very quiet. Here are some pics.

I like the way the sky reflects in the water.
 
 
 
 the contemplative King
 
After our hike, we went 1hour down the road to a place called Quincy Mine. It was an active copper mine until 1945. Most mines in the UP were active in copper until 1993. Fantastic! Anyway, here are some pics from another lovely day in the UP.
 
 

 

 shaft house
 
 steam train to move the copper
 
 main guy's house
 
 equipment graveyard
 
  King Copper ready to inspect the mine
(Quincy Mine Historic Association)
 
 entrance to the mine
 
 
The rock underground is basalt:  hardened magma. Pretty cool. Unlike other caves, we could actually touch the rock. The temperature is a constant 43 degrees, so they encourage us to wear the jackets. They are fleece-lined and heavy duty, and trust me, they were welcome. We also had to wear hard hats, and wipe our feet on disinfectant mats for the bats that hibernate (to keep out diseases we may carry for the bats). There are 92 levels in the mine, but we only went to Level 7. The rest is flooded with water. The deepest amount is 9K feet. Wow! It was an interesting tour, so thanks to our Michiganders Chris and Andrew for recommending it.
 
We are taking it a little easy tomorrow:  the fort, pics of the lighthouse, and a ride to Eagle Harbor (picturesque drive). Friday we head for Lake Gogebic. It should be a pretty drive. Enjoy!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Michigander Musings

Some things I've learned here in the UP that I thought I'd share with you all.

1) "Yoopers" do not move fast. Unless you are in a fast food restaurant, you usually seat yourself. Within 5 minutes, your server shows up and takes your order. Your food is usually cooked right after you order, so expect a wait, and comes out hot and delicious.

2)  They have a "dialect" here; since they are close to Canada, they talk a little closed-mouth (ruff instead of roof, howose instead of house). There is a Finnish influence here, since a lot of them came to settle here. Their "dictionary" says they don't use proper English digraphs of th- and sh-. They say "dis, dat, deese, doze, and sit" instead of "this, that, these, those, and ---t. For "the" they use "da." But I really haven't heard anyone really talk like that.

3) There are a lot of older people here; those must be die-hard Yoopers.

4)  I think Yoopers are just rednecks living in a colder climate. They are a hearty people making do with what they got.

So we are now in Ft. Wilkins Historic State Park. Here is our crib and our digs.

 Our crib
 
 Our digs
This is just outside our door, less than 25 feet, and the only thing in the way is foliage.
It is called Lake Fannyhooe (pronounced "Fannyhoe"). I guess the Finns drop the last "e."
 
 
Not to brag, but this was the time and temperature about 1 hour away from our campsite, and we were still driving north. Oh well, someone has to do it.
 
 
The town near our campsite is called Copper Harbor. We will probably tour the fort and take pics of the lighthouse tomorrow. I just thought it was neat that a small town and a one-room schoolhouse still exist. Cool!
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Shipwreck Museum

Hello all:

This morning we visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. It is also a Coast Guard Station. They used to train coasties here for their hours in ship and crew rescue. The lighthouse is manned in Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced "Soo Saint Marie"). The last major shipwreck was the Edmund Fitzgerald, November 10, 1975. It was pretty eerie listening to the song and reading/seeing the video about the wreck. They brought up the bell and replaced it with one that had the names of the crew and captain engraved on it. Pretty spectacular! There is even a model done in Legos for you fanatics out there.

So here are some pics I took at the museum. The tour consisted of 5 buildings, the last was the video on the Edmund Fitzgerald and the bell recovery/replacement.

 Whitefish Point Lighthouse
 
 Recovery
This group stopped what they were doing to pose for me.
 
 Lightkeeper's house
 
 My favorite, the library
 
 the lightkeeper's son
 
 lightkeeper's daughter
I don't know what she was looking for; she was supposed to set the table for lunch.
 
 Mrs. Lightkeeper
She asked us to stay for lunch, but we just ate breakfast. The berries look good, though.
 
 Mr. Lightkeeper
Shhh! He's working!
 
 The Coast Guard Station
It is 3 stories and houses crew here for training.
 
 an old-fashioned paddle for discipline
(just kidding; it is a rudder from a 19th century ship; but I'll tell my students to watch out, just the same).
 
 
It was a great visit. The house was relatively large compared to most lightkeepers' dwellings. However, it was pretty isolated here, so they brought their families. The family that posed for us are the Carsons. He was born in Sweden, and he served for 40 years. Wowza! His wife also manned the radio and raised their 3 children.
 
Tomorrow is a travel day to Marquette, then to Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. I am hoping there will be a copper mine we can go tour at Copper Harbor. That would be awesome! The only copper I know is that in wires, tubing and plumbing (under my house), and in pennies. It would be great to see it up close (after all, I teach this stuff, too). Enjoy!