Marquette, Michigan - Sat., Oct. 4, 2014

Before moving on from Houghton, Michigan, Bob and I want to tell you how much we liked the town. After being in the sparsely populated Keweenaw Peninsula with very few amenities, we felt like we returned to civilization. Not only that, but it's a great base for exploring the mining history of the area.

From the first day we pulled into Houghton on our way north to Copper Harbor, we have nothing but wonderful things to say about the town. We needed somewhere to have our 5th wheel and truck tires filled with air, saw a billboard that advertised a tire company behind the McDonalds. We pulled in to the tire company and were helped immediately. No problem to check and fill all the tires with air. The service man who helped us was so friendly. He and Bob chatted the whole time. The service man let us know our tires are in good shape.

On our way south from Copper Harbor, the City of Houghton RV Park fit the bill perfectly for our two-night stay. As an added bonus, it was on Portage Lake so the view out our back window was of water, fall colors, and the city of Hancock across the water. It felt like a scene out of New England. Just down the road from the RV park is Roy's Pasties and Bakery where we made ourselves right at home for a couple of meals. We enjoyed being in a town with all the major fast food chains, good grocery stores, and a Walmart. Houghton could very easily become a destination for us if we travel the Upper Peninsula of Michigan again. Who knows? We might come back in the springtime some year.

Before we checked out of the RV park at noon, we headed to Roy's for a pasty lunch and a side of cinnamon roll and Bismarck for the road. Then we were off a whopping 99 miles to Marquette, Michigan, my father's birthplace. I don't know how long he lived there, but I will ask my Aunt Flora when I see her.

Marquette is another town we both liked. Our plan, after we checked in to Marquette Tourist Park, was to do one of the two Volksmarches in Marquette.

Drive going into Marquette Tourist Park

Our 30 amp, electric-only site in Marquette Tourist Park

This is the time of year to travel if you don't want to make reservations for sold-out RV parks! Hardly anyone is around.

We drove to the Landmark Inn which is the start point for two different Volksmarches in Marquette. It was rainy, windy and cold. As Bob was parking the truck and I walked to the door of the Inn, I thought to myself, "What are you doing? You know you hate to walk in the rain. Do you really want to walk for two hours in frigid temperatures with rain blowing sideways?" Absolutely not when we could drive around town in the nice warm truck. Bob had just finished parallel parking The Beast when I came back. I hopped in the truck and off we went to see what Marquette has to offer.

Freighter filled with iron ore

Old sandstone church

The Ridge neighborhood

Marquette County Courthouse

Another beautiful church

City Hall

Marquette Harbor Ore Dock with pockets.

History of Marquette Harbor

Marquette Power Station

Presque Isle Ore Dock

Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University

Presque Isle Park view of Lake Superior

 Bob asked me to take the next two photos because he couldn't believe what he was seeing...a surfer on Lake Superior!

Catching the wave

and surfing!

Iron ore train on top of ore dock. Iron ore goes down chutes
to be loaded onto waiting ships.

James L. Kuber ship being loaded with iron ore.
Notice the tugboat right behind it.

We were tired of the cold and rain, so we retired to the 5th wheel for soup and chicken salad sandwiches. Ahhh!

Travel Bug out.

Heading South (A Little) - Thurs., Oct. 2, 2014

Grand total for our drive today is 49 miles. That must be a record for us for the shortest driving day ever. We moved from Ft. Wilkins Historical State Park in Copper Harbor, Michigan to City of Houghton RV Park in Houghton, Michigan.

On our way south on U.S. 41, we stopped at a Roadside Park to look at the snowfall record for the area. What do you think of these numbers?

And check out the graphic display below that Keweenaw County put up. The red line is the total number of inches of snow they received in the winter of 1978-1979: 390.4 inches (that's over 32'!!). And if you look just below it on the close-up photo, you can see that this past winter's snowfall (2013-2014) almost reached the record at a little over 28'. The lowest snowfall year was about 14'. Yes, folks, it gets cold and snowy here.

What 390.4 inches looks like

Bob and I would like to personally thank all the RV bloggers who recommended City of Houghton RV Park. What a great place/base to use for our explorations of the southern Keweenaw Peninsula. Also thank you for recommending Roy's Pasties & Bakery. We ate there twice during our stay.

Site #16 at City of Houghton RV Park

View from our dining room window

Roy's Pasties & Bakery

After we set up our 5th wheel, we headed 12 miles north on U.S. 41 to check out Calumet, Michigan, which is historic for its role in copper mining. Our first stop was the National Park Visitor Center to learn about the area's rich copper mining history. It was 3:15 p.m. and most museums and local points of interest closed at 4:30 p.m.

Keweenaw National Historical Park Visitor Center

In poking around the Visitor Center we learned that copper mined on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan is 99% pure. Over the course of 150 years the Keweenaw produced over 11 billion pounds of native copper. Wow! Because we were limited on time today, we decided to do our own walking tour around downtown Calumet and return tomorrow to see Calumet Theatre and Coppertown USA Mining Museum.

Swimsuits from another era.

Churches for every denomination

The following photo is to show how far away from the curb the parking meters are. We figure this must be to keep them out of the way of snowplows in winter.

See how far parking meters are set back from the curb?

In the photo above, Bob is looking up at the beautiful brick and stone work on the building's upper floors.

Love the arches and all the windows.

Street level brick work

The Calumet Theatre (more on this tomorrow)

Firefighters' Museum

Downtown storefronts

Expecting a cold winter! Look at all that firewood.

Another gorgeous church

Eagle detail on the Post Office

Train track snow plow.

Float copper weighs 9,392 lbs. See sign below.

History from a scenic viewpoint sign: The "Copper Range":

"The dominant geological feature of the Keweenaw Peninsula is the "copper range," a 4 to 12 mile wide central highland extending from the eastern tip of the peninsula southwest along Lake Superior for more than 150 miles and extending into Wisconsin.

"The precambrian lava flows and conglomerates of the Keweenaw form one of the most unique mineral ranges on earth. The copper mined here was found in a pure metallic form ranging from tiny particles to large masses weighing many tons. The copper removed from this area since the rush of the early 1840's amounts to more wealth than all of the gold mined in California."

After our exploration of Calumet, we headed back to Houghton for dinner at Roy's Pasties and Bakery. I had chicken and veggies pasty and Bob had the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberry pasty. I'll tell you what, those were very, very tasty pasties!

Below is the lift bridge between Houghton and Hancock, Michigan.  The boat in the foreground is very interesting. We have no idea what kind of ship/boat it is.

Also tied up at the Houghton dock: Isle Royale Queen IV

With our appetite curbed, we did a little drive around downtown Houghton. We found the former Amphidrome location which is now Dee Stadium. (The original Amphidrome burned in 1927.)

Dee Stadium

Then it was back to the 5er to snuggle in out of the cold, rain and wind. Yes, fall weather finally caught up to us. It's bone chilling.

Tomorrow: Museums and copper mining tour.

Travel Bug out.