29th June – 12th July: Days 82-95
On the way from Madeline Island to Copper Harbour we stopped for a ‘one nighter’ in the small town of Houghton.
Things we achieved here:
- 3 loads of laundry in a big commercial laundrette called ‘Loads Of Fun’. It had free Wifi and everything. Such fun.
- Changing our mobile phone provider to one that actually provides cell reception and 4G anywhere but the Pacific Northwest.
- A nice evening out combining craft beer and dinner.
- Another trip to Walmart. This is a bit like eating a whole bag of Cheezels. Initially an excellent experience, followed soon after by the real certainty that you shouldn’t have.
The next day was a short trip up the Keewenaw Peninsula to the end of the road, Copper Harbor. The peninsula juts out so far into Lake Superior that it puts Copper Harbor almost in the middle of the lake. The day was gloomy. A dank drizzle that never really became rain, and it was cool. We have realised that summer in this neck of the woods is a fickle and shy creature and that we can’t put the woollies away yet. We pulled up to our campsite late afternoon and spent the next hour trying to find a site that we could fit into and was available for our planned 6 days. Because of a small local celebration known as 4th of July the place was going to be busy, and the only sites available were more suitable for tents. Very wooded, with low branches. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we finally squeezed ourselves into a site, and low spirits were instantly improved with ones that involved ice, lemon and tonic.
Copper Harbor is another small town at the end of a windy narrow road that reminded us a lot of the main SH 1 through NZ. It has a permanent population of 91 and a regular summertime population of about 300. As the name might suggest its’ past is dominated by copper mining but now it is a destination for mountain bikers, hikers, kayakers, campers and general lakeside moochers. The town also lays on one of the biggest 4th of July fireworks displays of the Michigan Upper Peninsula.
If you look at a map of Michigan it is split into 2 distinct parts: Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, or the UP as it is known. Locals are ‘Yoopers’, and are quite a distinct sub species.
Copper Harbor is also one of the few departure points to take a boat out to Isle Royale, an island National Park about 55 miles away. (It is much closer to Canada and Minnesota, but belongs to Michigan). Most people go out to the Isle for several days to either to multi-day hike and camp, or stay in the lodge. We had planned to do a day trip. We called into the office to book our place on the 3 hour each-way ferry, to be told that the next available places were on the 11th July. We had planned to leave on the 6th. Two choices: Either not go to Isle Royale, or extend our stay in Copper Harbour for 12 nights all together. We decided to stay put. It seemed a fine place to while away some time.
Things we did in Copper Harbor: in no particular order.
We had many cups of coffee from the bakery/smoked fishmongers down at the harbour front. We discovered the joys of a shot of hazelnut syrup in a coffee rather than sugar.
We spent many hours sat in the clubhouse of the campsite as this was the only place we could get wifi. Slow wifi. Copper Harbour has no cell reception and definitely no Gs.
We visited every shop and studio/gallery at least once. (About 8 in all)
We visited every eatery and bar (except one) at least once. (About 5 in all)
We cycled. Mostly for transport around town and to and from the shower block, but we did spend an excellent afternoon on the local trails. Over the past 5 years Copper Harbour has become a destination mountain bike park, with some world class trails. There is an amazing shuttle service that will take you up to the top of the hill and then a huge variety of interlinking trails that bring you back right into centre of town again. We did 3 long runs and were happy to finish the day uninjured and tired enough to warrant eating out.
We ran. Yes, you read that right. We. Some of you may remember that we have both entered The Hogsback Half Marathon. This is a small town event in Colebrook, Connecticut on 30th Sept, right at the end of our trip. This was mainly a damage limitation exercise to try and minimise waistline expansion by training for it during our travels. Running is an alien activity to Nick, but this was his idea and although he is not exactly loving it, he is soldiering on. 10 weeks to go. The second weekend we were here there was a trail running festival. One of the events was a 10km ‘fun run’. I entered this and after leading the field for the first 1km…here is the evidence..
…I eventually finished 2nd. This would have been a slightly more impressive if there had been more than 5 entrants, one of whom brought his dog. Still. My best result ever.
I attended a meeting of the Copper Harbor Ukulele Group. Having got to know a lovely lady called Margaret, a photographer who runs one of the galleries and the library, I wangled an invitation the uke group that she was a member of. Fun to play some different tunes (my current repertoire is getting a bit boring) and quite nice for Nick and I to have a couple of hours of separation.
We had LOTS of campfires in our cozy private sheltered wooded spot.
We celebrated 4th of July on US soil for the first time ever.
We spent the day with a family from Detroit that we actually met whilst doing laundry in Houghton on the way here: Todd, Keta, kids KJ and Coen, and Penny the dog. We started the day watching the parade line up and set off. This consisted of the sheriff in his car with the siren going, the 3 area fire trucks and volunteer brigade, a fleet of decorated ATVs, a band playing Country music from a trailer boat, the boy scout brigade, kids in tutus, the uke group all in the back of a pick up and 2 horses.
I was competing with KJ and Coen for the thrown candies/lollies/sweeties. They were amateurs. The rest of the afternoon was a relaxed affair with hotdogs for lunch, cooked by the fire brigade, sitting in the sun and a few pints from the local microbrewery. After a power nap by one us, (apparently 2 pints of 8.8% IPA in the afternoon can make a chap a bit sleepy) we reconvened with family Thelan for dinner, and eventually at 11pm it was dark enough for the main event. The reputation of Copper Harbor’s 4th of July fireworks spreads far and wide, and suddenly the town was chock-a-block with people who had driven from far and wide to watch them. It was a beautiful clear windless night, perfect for the half an hour long display which really was amazing, considering this is such a small place so far from anywhere.
It had been a great day, with a new friendship made. Hopefully we will be able to catch up with these guys again in Detroit.
We hired a row boat one afternoon and explored the smaller lake that our campsite was situated on, Lake Fanny Hooe. It was initially a foggy day, but by lunchtime it was hot and glorious.
We packed water and books and spent 2 hours messing about on the water. Just before our return to the dock and a planned swim (smaller lake, so much warmer than Superior) the fog returned, dropping the temperature by 15 degrees within 30 seconds. Swim cancelled.
We (eventually) visited Isle Royale. The least visited, but one of the most re-visited of the National Parks, and one of the most northern parts of the Lower 48. It used to be a summer playground for the well-to-do of Lower Michigan, and has been logged and also mined for copper in the past. Now it is a hiking mecca, with a moose population of 1600 (the largest herd in the US) and 2 wolves. The boat trip over takes 3 hours, and sometimes has to contend with 20ft waves. Happily our ‘sea’ condition could have been described as ‘mirror’. It was eerie to be out of sight of land, but there be not a single ripple on the water.
We arrived into the small harbour on the Isle, which is actually an archipelago of over 400 islands, and with picnic packed, set out for a walk. The downside of only day tripping was our limited time ashore. Only 3 hours. This was plenty of time for a good walk with a stop for our lunch, but being obsessive about not being late for anything, and really not wanting to miss the boat home, we were back at the dock with an hour to spare. If we come back, we will stay at least one night. We did spot one of the moose, a big male, close to the harbour. Quite unusual apparently.
We celebrated the Halfway Point of our trip on 7th July.
Things we didn’t do much of in Copper Harbor: in no particular order.
- Sunbathe
- Go anywhere in the truck. Nowhere. On the last day, when we were sorting out to leave, Nick found mice and a nest under the bonnet. Luckily there were no babies, and they were evicted.
- Get out of bed before 10.30am. Getting lazier and lazier.
- Regular blog updates. Sorry folks. Will try harder.
We stayed in Copper Harbour for 13 nights all together. We have developed a real affection for the town and felt like we temporarily became a small part of the fabric the of place. We leave with fond memories and an invitation from Margaret to come back in visit her in the winter one year. Now there’s is an idea.