Our last leisure day for awhile; our last day with wifi for awhile.  Just getting odds and ends done around home.  It's starting to rain, too; supposed to get cooler, too.  Stay well and happy.

Six months to Christmas Day – just a reminder.  Another sunny and warm day – this is getting to be a habit; the evenings are still cool in the 50’s and last night we had some rain.  The next few days are supposed to be cooler with the possibility of scattered thunderstorms – although I haven’t heard thunder up here.  We drove to Calumet to see another mining museum and an old city; many homes date to the 1880’s and early 1900’s.  The sandstone buildings here are just magnificent and seem to need less upkeep than the wooden homes, i.e. they don’t look like they’re falling down or in need of paint.  Did you know that the Gipper of Notre Dame fame was born in Laurium just up the road?  There are parks designed by Manning, an apprentice of Olmstead.  Most of the building architects were local, though.  A few of the towns are developing historical preservation plans; there are signs of continued enhancement everywhere.  The history here is well explained in the variety of historical and mining museums.  The Keweenaw Peninsula is a good place to spend a week or so – from Copper Harbor down through Houghton and onto Ontonagon.  We are staying an extra day to just enjoy the ambiance.  It is so quiet and peaceful along here.  We will be sad to leave the UP.

Just in from our day out and about in Houghton: A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, the Mineral Museum of Michigan, on the campus of Michigan Tech, the 1880's Michigan Mining School; Carnegie Museum, formerly the Portage Lake District Library; and the Copper Country Historical Photo Exhibit covering the floor of Dee Stadium, on the waterfront where the 1880's amphidrome gave rise to the birth of professional hockey in 1903.  Visit the web at www.cityofhoughton.com  for much more.  Still enjoying the 70's, sunshine even though the wind is pretty constant at 8 mph with gusts to 21 mph.

Yesterday we spent several hours at the Quincy Mine with it’s shafthouse, the world’s largest steam hoist (it is BIG), and a cog rail tram ride down the hill at 50 degrees to get to the underground mine (9000+ feet underground, but we went a half-mile into the side of the mountain).  BTW, we can see the shafthouse and steam hoist building from our campsite several miles away!  This was a good excursion for a dismal day; we did need our two jackets (and the hard hats) for the 43 degrees in the mine.  Regina wore her gloves, too.

We left this morning in jeans and two jackets since there were clouds and cool winds; by noon the sun was shining and we only needed a light jacket to brave the coastal wind and shade.  As we drive up US 41 through Hancock we marvel at the turn of the century (1900’s) sandstone buildings, their beauty and design.  We have also found a health food store with a deli: hummus, tabouli, and vegetables!   Our travels today were a series of stepping stones: two eagles flew above us along the wooded highway; a stop at the old Phoenix church, the old Bammert blacksmith shop; then on to Jacob’s waterfall near St. John’s Abby and it’s cottage store with jellies, jams, and muffins; a 1915 bridge next to the ruins of a fuse factory, a school house where Justus Rathbone conceived the idea for the Knights of Pythias; two woodpeckers were making a home along the wooded roadside; the Eagle Harbor Light Station with a lighthouse, a fishing museum, and a maritime museum showing the sinking of two ships offshore (one of which had 220 1927 Chryslers) and how the cars were driven over the ice and back to Detroit; the Delaware Mine, and the remnants of the Central mine and the town it produced.  We drove almost 80 miles to these various historical sites but it made an interesting day.  And there’s still more to see.  The Keweenaw County Historical Society is the impetus to many of these locations.  We will be sad to leave this area.  Keweenaw Peninsula is surrounded on three sides by Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world – and 600 feet above sea level.  It was a very good day – and there’s more for the next few days.

On this Sunday morning – another sunny day but many clouds appearing – we are catching up.  We’ve seen the final resting place of Father Marquette in St. Ignace; did you know he traveled and mapped the Mississippi with Joliet?  Father Baraga is entombed under the Cathedral in Marquette; he has statues and parks all along the UP.   A good site we’ve found for visiting the towns of the UP is www.exploringthenorth.com/townsmi/townsmi.html

We’ve seen less road kill in the UP.  We have seen buck and doe, doe and fawn, raccoons, squirrels, wild turkey, but no moose; mostly crossing the roads but also in wooded parks and campgrounds.  BTW, the main roads are two-lanes and tree-lined. 

Just had to let you know that we are at Houghton City RV Park and it's beautiful.  We are camped along the Portage River on blacktop with a covered table, bench, and a view of the bridge that opens for sailboats.  Wifi at 54 - fast, cable TV, friendly neighbors, and 82 degrees - we are wearing shorts!  We'll be touring the Keweenaw Peninsula from here up to Copper Harbor and Ft. Wilkins, copper mines, lighthouses, and all sorts of museums.  Paul should be able to get a few work days, too; he's been putting off monthly tasks because of rain, drizzle, mosquitoes, and muddy ground.  Hope you all are having as much fun as we are!

Sunshine!  First in almost a week; there are shadows; pictures today will be better; went back into Marquette for the walking tour of homes and historic buildings - drove it, though.  There are beautiful sandstone buildings and architectural features throughout town; still impressed by those coal loading buildings.  Yesterday (when it was 53 degrees, cloudy and drizzly) we took the Cliffs Mine Tour through the towers, underground walkway, dry houses, etc.  Check it out at http://marquette.org/museums.html  Tomorrow we head to Baraga and Houghton to camp; will do day trips to Calumet and Copper Harber.  Later -

Tues: 6-17   Clouds and rain most of the day with maybe 15 minutes of blue sky; sure are tired of under 70 degrees; friendly yoopers everywhere.  Negaunee – Michigan’s Iron Industry Museum:  excellent presentation of the history of the iron ranges and the people who worked them;  Ishpeming – US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum:  good video and photographs showing the development of skiing, trophies, memorabilia and Hall of Fame inductees. 

Mon: 6-16   Marquette Maritime Museum exhibits in the old city waterworks building:  shipwrecks, the development of sailing, the ships, and the ports, the safety features of lighthouses and the Coast Guard;  Marquette County Historical Museum from an Ojibwa village, a fur-trading post, a survey party in the UP to pioneer, mining, and lumber artifacts. We also drove around town and saw the wooden Superior Dome (made of 781 Douglas fir beams, 108 miles of fir decking, five acres of space under roof - WOW), several deer in Presque Isle Park, trains unloading ore into the dock chutes of Cleveland-Cliff Mining, historic homes and buildings.  Exciting too – our first Walmart in weeks and Culver’s custard! 

Sat: 6-14  Munising and all the waterfalls were quite impressive; of course, this is the area of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; Miner’s Castle and Falls, Sand Point Beach, Bridal Veil Falls, and more falls.   Another rainy day – really need some sun. 

Fri the 13^th:  Made it to Tahquamenon Falls both Upper and Lower; boardwalk and many steps down (and up) to each fall; good interpretative trails; some sun, many mosquitoes.

We went through Paradise today – now we can say we’ve been to Hell and Paradise!  We spent most of the day at Whitefish Point going through the lighthouse keepers home, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, and three other buildings of nautical interest.  This is where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank; as did hundreds of other ships in these rough seas.  At 40 some degrees, cloudy, and a 25+ mph wind we could certainly imagine the problems sailors have out in those waters.  There were whitecaps on Lake Superior, which is the coldest water of all.  Just a mile south we went to Centennial Cranberry Farm which has been in the same family since 1876.  The guys really do stand in the fields like that commercial on TV.  We had planned to do Tahquamenon Falls but the mosquitoes were so bad after the rain that we came home and will attempt again tomorrow, armed with bug spray.  Speaking of Friday – the 13^th – happy day to you all.

Sault Ste Marie, MI & ON:  both have much to offer for the sightseer and history hound.  We have so very many pictures but can't get them all online - we'll have a disk for anyone willing to watch with us.  The Agawa Canyon was spectacular, if desolate; the scenery on the four hour train ride was magnificent - and then the canyon was filled with waterfalls, trails and lakes.  The day before we learned some Soo history at the museum and all about fire-fighter bush pilots at that museum.  Soo, ON, has a paper mill, steel mill, and tourism.  BTW, we had a few lovely, sunny days along the way.  Not today, though.

Sunday afternoon - having dinner at Frank's again and using the wifi this time!  Dreary day but we just finished 3 hours at the Valley Ship Museum.  Later, food is here.

Even though we are not beach people we do like being near water.  We have had whitefish, walleye, smelt, and other local fish.  Restaurants don’t serve many vegetables, though, and there’s not a good selection in the grocery stores (when we can find one…).  Grapefruit are 99 cents, and the Ezekial brand is non-existent as are some of our supplements.  This is good preparation for our Alaska trip next year:  get a good supply before we leave the populated states.  Today we spent a couple hours at the River of History Museum, took pictures of historic buildings in town, and spent 2 hrs on the Soo Locks Boat Tour: up the river, through the locks going up 21 feet from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, along the Algona steel mill in Ontario, and through the Historic Canadian lock (down 21 feet) along the shore, past St. Mary’s Rapids, and back to dock.  Dinner was at Frank’s, a local eatery.  Our next stop was a few miles up Lakeshore Drive to the Iroquois Lighthouse.  Did I mention that we saw a windmill farm in Ontario – we saw it again from the shore.  Hope to get some pictures up soon.  We need wifi…

June 6^th we arrived at the Soo.  We are camped at the Bay Mills Casino RV Park in Brimley, about 12 miles outside Sault Ste Marie, MI; we take 50 amp and sewer whenever it’s available.  Yes, yes, the campsite is more but well worth it, in our opinion.  We can shower and do dishes for a week and not have to dump.  We had planned to stay for a week but “Biker Week” starts on Thursday so we are heading west then.

Our first afternoon we went up the 21-stories of the Tower of History; from the three levels of observation towers we saw the several other venues that we plan to tour, across St. Mary’s River to Canada, and the International Bridge.  We checked out historical Soo and had whitefish dinner at Goertz’ Locks View Restaurant.  Across the street we went into the Corps of Engineers Locks Park and Overlook Bridge; the guard was a local but he vacations in Stuart and Flagler Beach - small world.  The display area is very good but best of all was the opportunity to see two ships upbound and one downbound; that’s two going from Lake Huron up to Lake Superior and one the other way; and the locks really do make the difference of raising the ship 21’ to Lake Superior or lowering a boat 21’ to Lake Huron.  It’s amazing how these ships take only 20 minutes to pass through when before 1855 it took days to cross the land because the rapids were so treacherous.

This has been a busy week:  we'll let pictures tell the story.  Not only did we tour Colonial Michilimackinac, Mill Creek, Mackinac Island, Father Marquette National Memorial, Museum of Ojibwa Culture, Castle Rock, Mackinac Bridge Museum but also saw deer through the woods, ate whitefish, and walked and climbed more than we expected.  All in all, it has been a very good week.