Keweenaw Peninsula

Not being sure if our future route would include the upper Keweenaw Peninsula,  we decided to rent a car and check it out by land.  We passed several waterfalls, one that passed under a wooden bridge with interesting arched construction.

We had been told to keep our eyes peeled for the Jampot, a bakery run by the monks of St. John, known for its breads and jams.  We were not disappointed!  Yum!

Too funny!

A little farther up the road we came across this snow gauge.  Now this is some serious snow!!!

Last year's mark at 26 feet!

The record is 390.4 inches in 1978-79.

We veered off onto highway 26 which ran along the west coast by Lake Superior.  There we came upon a beach full of smooth, red pebbles which of course required a stop so I could fill my pockets.  Poor Raydiance is getting heavier with each stop.

Pebble Beach?

Mostly rhyolite and granite.
Agates are supposedly here, too, but
we did not find any.

A few miles farther up the road we turned onto Brockway Mountain Drive,  a panoramic ridge drive that offers great views from the summit.

View of misty lake from the summit

Signs at the summit explaining
 the importance of copper mining
to this area.

Part 2 of the copper mining sign.

Beautiful lilies alongside the road.

Wildflowers were in bloom everywhere.

We reached Copper Harbor around noon and chose to have lunch at The Pines.  We later learned this was one of the bars in Tom's "Yooper Bars"  book.  After lunch we followed the Gay Road and ventured onto a few back roads that I'm sure the rental agency would not have liked.  One led us to the Delaware Mine, a copper mine that was active from 1847-87.  Eight million pounds of copper were removed from five shafts that reached a depth of 1400 feet with ten levels.  The self-guided tour allowed us to explore the  first level, 110 feet down.  Sparsely lit by electric lanterns, I found myself wishing we had brought along a flashlight as we wandered farther and farther back.

The yellow hard hats are a good look, eh?

The finale of our day was a drink at the Gay Bar in Gay, Michigan.  We had read about this in Tom's "Yooper Bar" book and decided it definitely had to be on the agenda.

Linda at the Gay Bar

We kept the car one more day and headed south to Firefly  Lake outside of Eagle River, WI to visit with Pat and Jim (my sister and brother-in-law).  They were camping there with several families from Wausaukee, WI.  We toured the area on bikes and enjoyed a game of Five Crowns before heading back to Houghton.