2026 Michigan Trip, Day 9 - Grand Marais to Sault Ste. Marie

 Day 9, Saturday, 19 September 2026 – Grand Marais to Sault Ste Marie

I woke up early as the motel was very much lacking in attention to detail and the stars were bright; Grand Marais isn’t bothered by a bunch of nearby light pollution. So I leave before 5 AM! I consider going to the beach & star gaze or to hit the road early. There’s my turn-off – the road wins. It starts off paved, but soon turns to more-dirt-than-gravel. It’s headed eastward, so I’m committed. Almost an hour of seemingly wandering and I finally hit pavement again. County Rd H-37 takes me to MI-123. It’s still very dark out at 0600, so I run into Newberry looking for breakfast; I find only a snack at a gas station..

I head north again and arrive at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Falls unit. The parking lot is rapidly filling up despite the early hour, so I grab my cameras and head for the overlooks, only ¼ mile away. The falls are spooky; mist shrouds the view of the falls. The water lacks the color most associated with them – it will soon regain the leaf-derived tannin that supplies the color. 

 

Impressive even at seasonal minimum flow.

Yesterday’s excursions for waterfall viewing required over 300 steps each way, down & back up. The view I need today only requires a boardwalk and a 900 foot ramp. The boardwalk sports decorations and a natural archway.

View from rim of the falls

Now I drive to the lower falls unit, a few miles away. No climbing here, just a lot of walking, about 2 miles worth.

Falls are done. It’s time to head for Whitefish Point, one of the major ship graveyards of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is hosted in a now-inactive Coast Guard lighthouse and lifesaving station, its featured exhibit is the Edmund Fitzgerald’s ship bell. The light is now automated and rescuers no longer need to face the storm in an 8-oared boat.

A beach shot - my last view of Superior! Can you make out Canada in the distance?

Another long (and rather boring) drive on MI-28 and I’m at the Soo. I can see the industrial build-up at the locks area, but can’t park nearby – the meters are app based and I allow no financial apps on my phone. I’ve been there before, even taken a tour boat through the locks. I occasionally check out my HIE hotel window in case a ship appears.

Supper at Don Jose’s, revamp a suitcase, and review Sunday's routes.

Tomorrow: I-75 to St. Ignace for a look at the bridge, then US-2 along Lake Michigan’s north shore and US-41/I-41 to Oshkosh.

For the day: 178.4 miles, for the trip: 1737.6

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 8 - Kearsarge to Grand Marais

 Day 8, Friday 18 September 2026 – Kearsarge to Grand Marais

I woke up early, as usual, and was on the road in grey pre-dawn at 0630 EDT (aside: this part of Michigan uses Eastern time, although it’s directly north of Milwaukee – in effect, on double DST). I get through Calumet & Houghton OK, and am soon on US-41 heading east. At Chassell I say goodbye to old Portage Lake; it was always sad to take our last look from the window of the Copper Country Limited.

Soon I’m driving next to Keweenaw Bay as I approach the head area, A little wait in a construction area give me chance to shoot the sunrise.

Baraga was named for an early bishop who served the area. L’Anse is home to a tribal reservation; are those white columns steam or maybe smoke signals? I pass turn-offs for Dynamite Hill Road and Northiron Church. I’m now passing south of the Huron Mountains.

The road leads through the 3-lakes area; I see Ruth Lake & Lake George, but not the 3^rd one. Here’s Michigamme. This whole area appears to be igneous rock of some sort, probably iron-rich since Marquette ships a lot of ore. Here’s Ishpeming and the Sku & Snowboard Hall of Fame. Negaunee was a small town when we visited in 1978; it’s busy now.

Marquette is the largest city in the U.P., with a bunch of roundabout junctions that few seem to understand. I leave US-41 here and continue east on MI-28; I am amazed that the speed limit is up to 65! MI-28 follows the shoreline; it draws some unusual lodging choices – one place has tepees and yurts for “glamping.” I think it was near Christmas, Michigan – yes, that’s a town.

I arrive in Munising at 1015. The welcome center suggests 2 places for a good breakfast. The likeliest one’s line extends out the door. Dogpatch sounds questionable but it has no line and a solid breakfast.

Now, it’s time for serious sight-seeing. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has more than just rocks – it has water! Munising Falls is closed, but Miners Falls is tallest in this park – which means more switchbacks and steps to get to it. It’s a nice .6 miles each way, with the last 200 feet or so consisting of steps. The pictures are worth the effort!

I survive that little expedition, so now it’s time to see the Miner’s Castle rock formation. Did I take pictures? Of course!

The Grand Sable Dunes start where the pictured rocks leave off. They rise precipitously from the narrow beach. Lumbermen in the area found it convenient to slide the logs down the dune to the be shipped to their destination, hence the “Log Slide” view point. This view shows the Au Sable light, about 2-3 miles west.

 

My last stop of the day, and it’s a doozie – a short walk followed by 168 steps down to the Sable Falls view point, then that 168 stair steps back up.

I make Grand Marais about 1500 and find my motel. I will cast judgment upon it tomorrow. I explored the town, saw some classic cars at a meet-up (Studebaker – wow!), then went rock hunting on the beach.

Supper at The Breakwall cost a tad more than I’d been spending on food, but the chicken Caesar salad filled a need for protein and for salad. Back to my room – I hope to get an early start tomorrow!

Tomorrow: Sault Ste. Marie via Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point.

For the day:228.8 miles, for the trip: 1559.2

2026 Mchigan Trip, Day 7 - Relaxation Day

 Day 7, Thursday 17 September 2026 - Relaxation Day

In other words, I have essentially seen and done all on my list thus far, so I wandered a bit, took very few pictures, prep for two more intense days of sight-seeing and photography, and just relax.

I enjoyed (?) a quick waffle & eggs at a local cafe, then came back to the cabin with a chance to meet the owners; I had nothing bad to say. Then, I made a run to the large Lake View Cemetery to find where my Finnish ancestors are interred. Management is absent, so why not make a run to the lake and pick up rocks? Lake Superior has lots of pretty rocks and I doubt that it will run out of them for a few millennia, so I fill another small bag and take a picture of the light guarding this end of the Portage channel.

Back to the cemetery, staff still absent. Let’s top off the gas tank. Whoa! It’s $4.69/gallon, up 40 cents overnight. Sure glad my RAV-4 is getting 45 mpg!

I think I’ll run down to Houghton visit the rock museum – that’s rock as in minerals, not music. Too bad I forgot the brochure with its address. Guess I will settle for the Isle Royale National Park visitor center – I can find it, such as it is. The small room has 2 desks, one selling boat tickets for a trip to the island, the other selling t-shirts, etc. I buy a zip-up light hoodie. I am now fully equipped for winter.

I’ll return via Lake Linden. Ice is half price at a local grocery store, perhaps it’s on clearance? Then, why don’t I check out the museum run by the Historical Society? The docent tells me how to find Hungarian Falls. I fail to find it/them. I guess I’ll go up to Calumet & try the chicken salad croissant at Jen’s. Plenty of chicken, very little salad, and lots of squishiness.

Back at my room – I organize my suitcases for the return trip and test my loading plan (I got rid of those bug, space-taking pictures yesterday). It’ll work, and the clock hasn’t hit 4, so maybe another Bootjack run? Another stop in Lake Linden, this time for locally-made Jilbert ice cream. Then it’s a back road up the hill to Calumet & Kearsarge, finish the blog, and call it a night.

Tomorrow: Grand Marais (Michigan) via Pictured Rocks.

For the day: 84.2 miles, for the trip: 1330.3

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 6 - Genealogy Day

 Day 6, Wednesday 16 September 2026 - Genealogy Day

Today I set aside for some research, and maybe a pasty. I arose before my 0700 alarm, had a shower, checked emails, and headed for Lake Linden about 0800. I had breakfast at this cafe/soda fountain which looks much as it did when I first saw it in the early 1950s.

 

At 0900 I meet the staff at the Houghton County Historical Society and turn over the family & friend pictures I promised them. They, in turn, showed me where my relatives’ graves might be in the local Catholic cemetery. Sure enough, I found marked graves in two of the plots; the third stone was unreadable because it had once hosted a hornet nest, one that was destroyed by fire. This is a family group stone for my French Canadian 2G grandparents.

My next stop was Bootjack where my grandpa’s cottage was, to scatter my mother’s ashes in the lake near it. Then I walked up the road, talked to a neighbor doing some yard work, and with his assent, walked around the old cottage taking pictures.

Next stop - the area tourism visitor center and a nice chat with the young lady running it. I learned of the pasty house I need to visit. Alas, they only have fresh pasties on Thursday, and I wanted one today (so I’d have time to recover if alpha-gal reacted to the beef & pork in one). I end up taking a frozen one and cooking it in the very-efficient retro-looking microwave in my cabin. Turned out OK.

It was early yet, so I head for the beach to do some rock picking. En route, I stop at another cemetery to see if I could find my Finnish ancestors. It’s really large cemetery so I will need to find a caretaker to locate the graves. It does have a bronze, well-mustached Union soldier on its CW memorial.

They say one can see Isle Royale from this beach, Do you see it?

 

The art of rock picking is trying to keep your feet dry to grab that pretty one between rollers breaking at the beach. I don’t think sitting down will work too well.

After a nice visit with the staff at the Keweenaw National Historic Park, I’m back at my cabin.

Tomorrow: depending on weather, I may make another stab at the big cemetery, and/or visit a geology museum in Houghton.

For the day: 68.1 miles, for the trip: 1246.0

2026 Trip to Michigan, Day 5 - Around the Copper Country

 Day 5, Tuesday 15 September 2026 - Around the Copper Country

I got moving about 0600, not sure what I would do. It had rained overnight and was still cloudy, and the forecast said partly cloudy & lots of wind. I looked out the window, saw some blue sky, and said “Copper Harbor, here I come.”

I pull out at 0706, without breakfast, and head north on US-41. I pass through several small former-mining towns and past establishments like The Last Place on Earth and Prospectors’ Headquarters, then I turn off on questionably-maintained Cliff Drive. There once was a prosperous mine under these cliffs.

MI-26 takes me to Eagle River, once a shipping port for the Cliff Mine. A bridge gives me a decent view of Eagle River Falls.

Jacobs Falls is down the road a bit; I always associated them with the hymn.

One stretch of MI-26/Lakeshore Drive along Great Sand Bay has some pretty significant dunes, enough to require a stairway to access.

Eagle Harbor is well-protected by a line of rocks that leave break up storm waves. It also has a scenic lighthouse – I’m trying to find an ideal spot to shoot from, when a gentleman wearing a ‘Vet’ cap says, “follow me, I know the spot.” So I do, he is right.

We got to talking. Small World alert: He was a close friend of my two summer friends from almost 70 years ago! I dig out a few pictures I plan to donate to the local historical society, he tells me his son is an officer on a laker. He tells me one will pass in view shortly, so I head for Brockway Mountain Drive. The road is ill-maintained and I hurry carefully. I arrive, and there it is, MV American Century, a 10000 foot ore carrier. Picture time:

Enough of that gale force wind on the mountain top, I head down to Copper Harbor & Ft. WilkinsState Historic Site. It was established on 1842 to protect miners from each other and the Ojibwa (who were promptly relocated elsewhere). It’s nicely restored and well interpreted; even better in summertime when 1^st person living historians greet you.

I drive through Copper Harbor, noting that the Isle Royale Queen IV did not sail today – rough weather creates clean-up problems. A store advertises gear for Isle Royale hikers, and breakfast pasties. For non-Yoopers, a pasty is essentially a self-contained meat-and-potato pie and is the U.P.’s national dish. I get a veggie pasty while cursing that lone star tick. It’s good! I also pick up a fleece vest & a T-shirt while waiting.

That pasty is hot from the oven, so I drive to a little park in Lac La Belle to enjoy it after it’s cooled a bit. This is Haven Park, home of Haven Falls; it also has a picnic shelter named THE HeAven.

I’m now on the Gay-Lac la Belle Road along Keweenaw Bay’s shoreline. The water is rough, even in this relatively-sheltered bay.

The water glitters by act of sun and wind.

If your town is named “Gay” after some old mining exec, you have to have The Gay Bar.

I now head toward Lake Linden, but first I turn off on the Bootjack Road. I pass the Dreamland Hotel, a restaurant/bar long established even when I was a child in the ‘50s. I pull off in the boat launching area and look in the brush for foundations of my Grandpa’s cottage. Wait a minute! They didn’t take it! It’s still there, two lots away!

I stop at the HCHS Museum in Lake Linden to chat about my research visit tomorrow; a visit to the recently-accessible Houghton-Douglass Falls, highest in U.P., complete my day.

 

Tomorrow is breakfast at Lindell’s in Lake Linden and several hours of research in the morning; afternoon TBD.

For the day: 175 miles; for the trip: 1177.9

2026 Michigan Trip, Day 4 - Ironwood to Kearsarge

 Day 4, Monday 14 September 2026 - Ironwood to Kearsarge

Not a lot of writing, just a lot of pictures, mostly focusing on water. Here’s a Lake Suprior shoreline:

After the traditional QI waffle, I headed out 0705 CDT, temperature 37 degrees cold. I’m driving eastward on US-2, fighting that big orange ball again, but only for 11 miles. Then it’s northward on Presque Isle Road. This road leads me to a portion of the Porcupine Mountains WildernessState Park. I have a nice chat with the lady at the entrance gate as she convinces me to part with $42 for an annual pass good at any state park, equivalent to the price of 3 daily passes.

I take a quick hike to the closest fall overlook, get a picture or twenty, then head for the next overlook.

This one requires a descent via a 100+ step stairway. I take a bunch more pictures, then ascend the same steps to return to my car.

Now I’m driving through woods (again) heading for the real attraction here – Lake of theClouds. A 30-mile drive & an easy walk are followed by some rock climbing then a nice boardwalk to multiple overlooks, each presenting a slightly different view and requiring more shots. The lake is a mile long but only 15 feet deep.

The last overlook presents a panorama of the mountains & forests to the southwest, forests showing very little color yet.

MI-64 follows Lake Superior’s shoreline. One gas station is charging $4.65/gallon. A motel sign reads, “Will Canada’s Geese Become Donald’s Ducks?” Ontonagon is the northern terminus of US-45; the other end is in Mobile, AL. I skip site-seeing here and take MI-28 to MI-26. MI-26 passes Boondocks Golf & Cabins and Twin Lakes State Park. Towns along this route include Toivola, Painesdale, Trimountain, and South Range. A sign painted on a barn: “Please don’t feed the mosquitos.”

I finally get to Houghton, largest city in the area, about 1300 EDT, and have lunch at … Culver’s. I’m now on US-41, crossing the drawbridge and stopping at Hancock to visit the Finnish-American Heritage Center, all that remains of defunct Suomi College/Finlandia University. I now the correct pronunciation of my Ammala & Juopperi ancestors’ names.

With time to kill, I took a side trip to F.J. McClain State Park, walk its beach looking for interesting rocks. A couple of Monarch butterflies didn’t make it to the migration; this one was on the beach.

The park also has a life-saving surf boat on display here.

I head back toward my cabin at Vic's; it’s tiny but well thought-out. I may decide to cook something (and then wash the dishes), but not tonight.

 Tomorrow: Up in the air, depending on weather. If clear, I may head to Copper Harbor; if not, I’ll visit some local memories (& maybe get tires rotated & oil change – my Rav4 just crossed 40,000 miles).

For the day: 174.9 miles, for the trip 1002.9