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
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