Days 5 and 6 in the UP

Sunday, August 12, 2024

Day 5

We stepped out of BB Saturday morning to go into Walmart to buy some groceries and we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow. Thank you, God, for such a wonderful start to the day! It was a rainy and dreary day after that beautiful rainbow, but all was okay. We have been going and going and needed a little more rest and time to catch up on the blog and other stuff. We drove out to Presque Isle Park, parked where we could look out the window at the lighthouse and Lake Superior and enjoyed our day. We started out the breakwater to the lighthouse once, but after the concrete walkway turned into very large boulders, we decided that with a very strong wind trying to push us over we should concede to our years and just go back to BB.

Saturday morning at Camp Walmart in Marquette. There were at least 11 RVs there for the night.

We just happened to meet another Beyond family at the park.

We decided not to walk across the wet rocks in the high wind.

We hoped to see a ship at the Marquette Ore Dock, but none came in while we were there. To give you an idea of the size of the dock, those little box-looking things on top of the dock are train cars

As we were leaving the park we stopped to watch some surfers on Lake Superior.

BTW, I know we have complained about the heat in Alabama but… in the UP the second week in August and we are now wearing three layers – short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt and our hoodies. And, with the wind we had today, we weren’t very warm. We even had hot chocolate and turned on the furnace! We had to buy some hot chocolate because we didn’t expect to want hot chocolate in August. The high Saturday was 63 and the low 52 with a really blustery wind all day. The forecast does appear to be improving and the locals think they may get a little more summer – highs of 75 maybe.

Day 6

Today (Sunday) after breakfast, we pointed BB northward again. We left Marquette, headed toward the far northern tip of the Keweenaw peninsula. Today we again had sunshine and mild temperatures, even though we began the day with the furnace and sweatshirts. It was a beautiful day. To make the day even better, we were able to meet up with Suzan and Kevin, dear NOMADS friends, for lunch in Houghton. Suzan had been reading our blog and knew we were in close proximity, but we had been running behind on the blog. She reached out to us yesterday afternoon and we discovered that we were only about 1.5 hours apart and we were planning to be in the same town today. We both will be moving in different directions tomorrow but for a short time today, we were able to reconnect. So thankful for the blessing!

After lunch and hugs, we continued traveling northward to Copper Harbor. There were several small towns to drive through and interesting things to see along the way. We spotted a snow gauge that indicated there is way too much snow in this area for this southern couple.

Snowfall pole in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Even the lowest total is three feet above the van.

We visited another lighthouse, at Eagle Harbor, that was very well restored. It is still an operating light, just automated now. It’s been operating since 1851. The Keweenaw County Historical Society now operates a museum at the site. Admission $8.00.

A picture of the lighthouse after a winter storm in 1938

We also visited Fort Wilkins located at the tip of the peninsula. The fort has an interesting story. The primary purpose of Fort Wilkins was to maintain order and protect the interests of copper mining companies from the Ojibwe. After its establishment, Fort Wilkins served as a military post for only a short period. Due to declining copper prices and improved relations with the Ojibwe, the fort was left in the hands of Sgt. William Wright, in 1846. The rest of his fellow soldiers were sent to Texas, he was the only man to remain. However, Fort Wilkins was reactivated in 1867 after the Civil War and remained in service until 1870. The fort was used as a place for men to serve out the rest of their enlistments from the war. The fort has now been restored by the state of Michigan.

The fort hospital held several displays of period medical equipment.

The Bake House. According to the signs, the garrison ate a lot of potatoes, meat and bread.

One of the character actors that was on site to tell the story and answer questions

While returning to Houghton this afternoon, we saw an interesting memorial in the town of Kearsarge. There was a battleship, made of bricks, to depict the USS Kearsarge, a ship of the Union Army during the Civil War. The boat was famous for sinking the CSS Alabama, a Confederate ship that wreaked havoc on the Union merchant and naval ships during its 2-year lifetime. The USS Kearsarge later sank in the Caribbean. The memorial was later built by WPA during the great depression and still sits at a prominent location in Kearsarge, MI. The interesting things you learn when traveling around the country.