Fall Color Tours: The Keweenaw Peninsula (Houghton, Eagle River, Copper Harbor)

Posted on by farlane

Quincy Hill in Fall Colors 5 by KaylynStar

Quincy Hill in Fall Colors 5, photo by KaylynStar

Kaylyn has a number of colorful photos of Quincy Hill in the fall. As the northernmost point of Michigan, the Keweenaw Peninsula would probably have been the logical place to start color touring Michigan rather than where we did start (Western UP – Ironwood, Silver City, Wakefild, Porcupine Mountains).

In any case, the Keweenaw, way up north and surrounded by the icy waters of Lake Superior, is one of the first places in Michigan to be touched by autumn’s paintbrush. Michigan.org’s Color Tour of Houghton, Eagle River, Copper Harbor starts you in the city of Houghton at the Quincy Mine (photo: Quincy Mine & Hoist by Coder). Quincy Mine by CoderThe mine is open from May through late October and is part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park and offers guided tours of the old copper mine, the largest steam hoist ever built and a whole lot more mining history. There’s a museum on site and they also have a passenger cog rail tram that takes you to the top of Quincy Hill (where I assume you can get some great photos).

The tour heads north on M-41 to Phoenix where you can apparently tour the Church of the Assumption. The copper mining ghost towns of the Upper Peninsula page from Exploring the North has a brief bit on Phoenix:

Phoenix is located on highway 41 at the junction of M-26 to Eagle River. Once (about 1872) a thriving mining town of around 500 to 1000 people, but today there are only a few old buildings and the Phoenix Church remaining at the site of the old mine. St. Mary’s Church was built in 1858 to serve the Catholic residents of the mining community of Cliff, the scene of the area’s first major copper discovery in 1844. In 1899 the church was dismantled and reassembled in Phoenix, where it was renamed the Church of the Assumption. The Keweenaw County Historical Society has purchased and restored the property so the Phoenix Church appears much as it did over 100 years ago.

Eagle River Falls by Jim SorboeFrom there, it’s west to Eagle River, once an important port town for the copper industry and now a resort community. Attractions include the Eagle River Falls (photo: Eagle River Falls by Jim Sorbie) and the Eagle River Inn (they have some cool old photos on their site). Keep heading north and you’ll come to Jacob’s Falls and the Jampot, where the good monks of the Holy Transfiguration Skete make jams, jellies and pastries from all kinds of fruits including their famous thimbleberry jam. Stop car. Go in. Buy jam.

Eagle Harbor is next, and I can never mention Eagle Harbor without mentioning the first blog I ever saw, George’s Eagle Harbor Web. It’s also home to the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Museums (detailed info from Seeing the Light). Samuel of the Mountain by Kyle RokosNot far past here is Brockway Mountain Drive, the highest above sea-level drive between the Rockies and the Alleghenies. From the lookouts you can see glorious views of the town of Copper Harbor where you can see their photo gallery & webcam, Lake Fanny Hoe & Fort Wilkins State Park and the northern Keweenaw (photo: Samuel of the Mountain by Kyle Rokos). It’s probably time for a bite to eat too and them you can take a boat tour to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse if you’re feeling a little adventurous … or the ferry to Isle Royale if you’re feeling a lot adventurous!

It looks like the folks at Travel Michigan got a little tired at this point, tailing off with:

Continuing south of Copper Harbor is the authentic Delaware Mine, which yielded eight million pounds of the metal between 1847-1887. The scenic route continues through wonderful forests and through the city of Calumet, which was the cultural and commercial center of the Keweenaw Copper Range. Take time to visit the restored Calumet Theater and the red sandstone buildings of the downtown business district. This is the heart of the Keweenaw National Historic Park, which recognizes the importance of the mining history of this rugged and scenic region.

I’ve been in the Delaware Mine and I have to agree with UPTravel.com who say “If you have time to visit only one attraction in the Keweenaw, make it Delaware Mine, the area’s premier tourist attraction, where copper was mined from 1847 – 1887.” It’s very, very cool.

If you’re curious as to what the color looks like right now, I’d say “pretty darn good!” A final reminder, be careful when driving those back roads!

Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!

Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.

Fall Color Tours: The Western Upper Peninsula

Posted on by farlane

Mom's Vista from Tiffibunny

Mom’s Vista, photo from Tiffibunny

This is one of a large number of great photos from all over the US posted by Tiffany Follett that were taken by her mom (see her set From My Mom for more!). It’s a view of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park from M-107 that was taken in September 2003.

I thought this was a perfect photo to use to highlight Ironwood – Silver City – Wakefield, the first Michigan fall color driving tour from Michigan.org that I’m going to try and flesh out with photos from the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr and links to even more photos and information. View from Copper PeakI hope this isn’t seen as a rip-off – the tours they have developed are pretty cool and my hope is that this can be a complement to what Travel Michigan has put together. If you take the tour and/or have observations, photos or links to add, please do in the comments below!

This tour starts at the western end of Michigan’s stretch of US-2, in the town of Ironwood. Absolute Michigan’s page for Ironwood lists Copper Peak Ski Flying (MoodyGoat offers View from the Top – that’s over 1800′ up!) and the Western UP CVB as some notable sites. To those I’ll add the North Country National Scenic Trail, which enters Michigan at Ironwood and goes all the way to the Mackinac Bridge (explore the UP portion of the trail) and North Guide’s WesternUP.com (they are regularly posting fall color photos too).

They send you down U.S. 2 to Wakefield, one of many ore towns settled in the late 1800s, and then up County Road 519 to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park where you can catch staggering views like the one above (lots more from the Porkies on Michigan in Pictures). The photo below is Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains by J. Michael Ducey.

Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains by J. Michael DuceyNext it’s east to Silver City, about which Hunt’s Guide to the UP says:

Today Silver City is mostly a collection of tourist-oriented resorts and other businesses along M-107 near the entrance to Porcupine Mountains State Park. But for three years in the 1870s it was a silver mining boom town. At the fur-trading post that was the first settlement here, stories circulated about silver found by Indians back in the woods away from Lake Superior. Homesteader Austin Corser actually found the silver on the Little Iron River in the 1850s. He kept quiet about it until he proved his claim. In the 1870s he revealed the silver, sold his land, and left. Only one brick of silver, worth $723, was ever shipped from Silver City.

Then it’s south on M-64 to Bergland, located at the northern tip of the Upper Peninsula’s largest lake, Lake Gogebic. They suggest stretching your legs on the Gogebic Ridge Hiking Trail or Lake Gogebic State Park before heading back west to Ironwood.

You can check out more photos from this area on the Absolute Michigan group’s map on Flickr (and add your own!) and get your desktop in theme with the season with out Michigan Fall Wallpaper series!

More of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.

A Beautiful Gloom: Fall Vines

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Fall Vines

Fall Vines, photo by William Couch.

William Couch has a cool set of photos titled A Beautiful Gloom that he took last November.

I think these are especially nice for two reasons (in addition to the obvious “The photos are great!”):
1. He’s got them all “wallpaper sized” and
2. They serve as a reminder that fall is fleeting – get out and enjoy it!

Manabezho Falls in the Porcupine Mountains State Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Manabezho Falls, long exposure

Manabezho Falls, long exposure, photo by DA2Brian.

GoWaterfalling’s page on Manebezho Falls says:

The Manabezho Falls are part of the Presque Isle River’s spectacular final dash to Lake Superior. The entire 1 mile stretch is very beautiful, with lots of bare rock and rapids. It is easily accessible from the Presque Isle entrance off of CR-519 on the western end of the park…

Manido Falls are just short distance upstream. Nawadaha Falls is a bit farther upstream. Downstream of Manabezho the river plunges into a narrow gorge. The “falls” there have no name, but they are quite interesting.

The falls are located in the Porcupine Mountains State Park and you can see more photos of Manabehzho Falls on Flickr (slideshow) and also check out the Porcupine Mountains group!

I’m pretty sure that “Manabehzo” is Manabozho, the Ojibwa/Algonquin trickster and messenger of the Great Spirit. For more about this colorful figure, check out Manabozho, the Mischief-maker by Rick Walton.

Autumn in Michigan … and fall color tours

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Ready for Carving

Pumpkins: Ready for Carving, photo by simply, Diann.

Diann writes:

Autumn is definitely my favorite season. Boxes of pumpkin line the roadway leading into the local pumpkin patch. Which one should I choose?

This photo is part of Diann’s Autumn set is one of many photos in the new Autumn in Michigan group on Flickr (slideshow).

Click over to check them out and/or add your own. They also have discussion on fall topics that included a link to Michigan Fall Color Tours.

Michigan Fall Wallpaper series

When one door closes

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

When one door closes

When one door closes, photo by chinkon.

I don’t know anything about this photo other than that I love it, that chinkon has a whole lot more where this came from and that it broke all speed records in going from web to wallpaper!

Not much remains of Grindstone City

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

grindstone03.JPG

grindstone03.JPG, photo by smartee_martee.

Marty Hogan writes:

One of the few remaining grindstones on the beach. This one is about 3.5 feet in diameter. The beach used to be covered in the old Grindstones; from 1.5 feet to six feet in diameter. Bad, bad thieves plundered them all away.

This photo is part of Marty’s great Huron County, Michigan photo set (slideshow)

I went looking for a photo and details on Grindstone City so I could feature a site I found the other day, but there was little to be found from Michigan.org’s page on Grindstone City or the Port Austin Chamber.

UPDATE: March 2012: The best resource I found at the time of this post was willett.org, which featured piles and piles of photos and information about Michigan and its history. Among their were some postcards and old photos from Grindstone City, from which I learned that Grindstone City had a quarry and stone mill and made and shipped a whole lot of grindstones. Nothing at willett.org seemed to have been updated, and it felt like going up to an attic in an abandoned farm and poking through partially labeled boxes. Sadly the digital room has since fallen in, leaving nothing.

Fortunately, there are other resources, so check out today’s post Truing up a 3 ton stone in Grindstone City.

If you have anything to share about Grindstone City, post it in the comments!

Reflections of the Past

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Reflections of the Past

Reflections of the Past, photo by the pentax hammer.

Gary says:

Yeah, I know… everyone in Grand Rapids has taken a photograph of this. But how many of them did it the way I did? Leaning against a lamppost, hand holding a camera to capture 3 RAW shots, without a tripod? NOW you are only talking about half of the residents of Grand Rapids!

The old building is the beautiful McKay Tower. The new building is… well… just another glass building :-)

See the same building in winter…

The Zipper

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Zipper

The Zipper, photo by Hooks Pix.

Don took this photo at the 2007 Allegan County Fair.

Check it out bigger, on black.

Fall Wallpaper: Up North, 1975

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Up North

Up North, photo by _PaleBlueEyes_.

A ton of the visits to Michigan in Pictures come (unsurprisingly) from people searching for all kinds of things. Some from the last 2 days include the specific (Hessel boat show, Henderson Castle, Hartwick Pines – must be “H” week) and the general (surfing michigan, pics of detroit, nature photos). One thing remains constant: people are always looking for something nice to adorn their desktop. I’ve noticed a spike in people searching for “fall backgrounds” and “fall wallpaper” over the last few days that mirrors the changing of the trees, so it must be time to start rolling out some of the fall color photos I’ve found.

If you’re looking for fall color photos, try the fall tag. I tag any photo that’s large enough to make a nice background with the “wallpaper” tag – just look at the bottom right of the post to see that!

About this photo, PaleBlueEyes writes:

So, my grandpa has a ton of old slideshow photos that I’m helping him convert to digital pictures, then make into slideshow DVD’s. The pictures are mostly of the family and various vacations in Europe, India, and around the US. This picture happened to be one of my favorites. It was taken on my grandparent’s property in the UP in the fall of 1975…I think even with all the technology on cameras today, I’ll never be able to take this beautiful of a picture.