Soo-perior September

Year 8(!) of the Superior September tradition rolled around again and it was time to get back to The Big Lake (on Twitter, Lake Superior is the GLOAT- Greatest Lake of All Time).  Every year since we have lived in Wisconsin, we take a fall weekend trip to explore the Lake Superior shoreline at a different spot.  This year, it was time for the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit Sault (pronounced SOO) St. Marie and Whitefish Bay.  We even saw Canada (socially distanced!).

We got ourselves together and headed up to the UP on the first Friday of October.  It was a nice fall day and we had to stop for some patio drinks at Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba, MI.  The drive north takes us up the full length of the bay of Green Bay, then east along the north shore of Lake Michigan proper, and then north across the peninsula to the town of Brimley where we would be staying on the Superior shoreline.  We arrived to our rental just as it was getting dark to check in.  Next was a whitefish Friday night fish fry at a bar across the street called the Cozy Inn.  Food was great and we caught it just in time before the kitchen closed.  Time to rest up for touristy fun and adjust to the temporary return to the Eastern Time Zone.

Saturday morning, we headed east about 20 minutes to the city of Sault St. Marie, MI.  Here, the St. Mary's River separates Michigan from Ontario, Canada, and is the only route for ships (Great Lakes ships are called "Lakers" whereas rarer ships coming from sea are called "Salties") to enter or depart the waters of Lake Superior.  We started with Original Soo Locks Boat Tours to experience the Soo Locks, the engineering marvel that allows these ships to traverse around the St. Mary's Rapids.  Ships have to rise or drop about 20 ft. while in the lock depending on the direction they are heading all based on a gate system and gravity/natural movement of water.  Smaller vessels can traverse the locks (including our tour boat), but the big draw are the hundreds to thousand-foot freighters and superlakers that come through the locks, sometimes with only 2 ft. of clearance between the vessel and walls of the lock.  The US Army Corps of Engineers has a visitor center and observation platform there where people can watch the ships pass though up close. 

Our boat tour moved upbound through the Locks and took a big loop around the Upper St. Mary's River looking at some landmarks including a historic hydroelectric power plant, a new, bigger lock under construction, and Algoma Steel production industrial site on the Canadian side.  We then returned downbound through the locks and toured the Canadian side of the river, which Scott commented looked a lot like Europe.  Due to COVID travel restrictions, we were not allowed to enter Canada (there is a vehicle bridge over the St. Mary's) without producing a negative test, so we had to settle for a distant view and a few waves to (presumably) Canadians while the tour passed by the sister city of Sault St. Marie, ON.  We also had to scramble a couple of times to turn our phones off since we were close enough to ping off Canadian cell towers!

Original Soo Locks Boat Tour dock

St Mary's Falls Hydroelectric Power Plant

Traversing the Soo Locks upbound (up to Lake Superior)

Algoma Steel in Ontario

Lock gates closing while traversing downbound to St. Mary's River level

The Soo Locks staff has the logistical challenge to manage both up and downbound traffic through the same locks and which lock a ship uses depending on availability and total length of the ship.  In the upper photo, the Laker in the background is in the Poe Lock and the tour boat in the foreground is in the shorter MacArthur Lock.

After the boat tour, we had to have lunch at Soo Locks Brewing Company of course and enjoyed sandwiches and brews on the patio.  Next we checked out the Soo Locks Visitor Center and watched some ships using the Locks.  It was kind of addicting at times to just "wait for one more."  It took each ship about 30 minutes or so to navigate through, but it was cool to watch them rise and fall and see the crews working.  Rain was in the forecast so we headed to the Museum Ship Valley Camp, a floating museum located right on a retired freighter.  Several floors of Great Lakes maritime exhibits kept us busy while it rained pretty hard.  A stop at Superior Coast Brewery for drinks rounded out the day in Sault St. Marie.  We swung by Superior Pizza and Subs in Brimley on the way back to the rental to take out a pizza for dinner, which was incredible!  Turns out it was their last weekend open for the season, so we lucked out.

Museum Ship Valley Camp

It rained most of the night and was expected to continue off and on through Sunday.  In the morning, we took an auto tour to the west along the Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway along Lake Superior and through and the Bay Mills Indian Community.  We stopped by Point Iroquois Lighthouse, several overlooks and beaches along Lake Superior, and at Mission Hill Cemetery and Overlook above Spectacle and Monocle Lakes.  Next was a short walk around part of Monocle Lake and through the campground which was closed for the season.  The weather was still iffy so we didn't want to start a longer hike as originally planned.  We went back to Superior Pizza for a quick ice cream snack and then back to Sault St. Marie in the afternoon to watch some more ships at the visitor center.  I didn't realize there is a fairly large Amish community also in that area of the UP and the drive was scenic through many farms.  We took a spin through some gift shops and had dinner at Maloney's Alley Irish Pub before calling it a night.

Point Iroquois Lighthouse

Whitefish Bay, Hiawatha National Forest

Spectacle Lake, from Mission Point Cemetery & Overlook, Bay Mills Indian Community

Monday morning was cloudy but at least the rain had stopped.  We packed up and hit the road to start making our way back.  Our waylay on the return trip was a couple of stops near Manistique, MI on Lake Michigan- Seul Choix Point Lighthouse (pronounced "Sis-shwa" or "Only Choice" in French) and Kitch-iti-kipi or Big Spring located at Palms Book State Park.  The lighthouse, said to be haunted, had closed to the public for the seasonal tours but had some decorations outside for their big Halloween haunted tours later in the month.  Very cool (and windy!) spot that we had entirely to ourselves.  Big Spring is an extremely clear and consistent temperature pool with a raft (including a glass window on the bottom) that visitors can pull along the surface to check out the springs and the fish and wildlife.  Luckily we caught it an off time since it was mid-morning on Monday- it was definitely really unique and worth seeing, but I imagine the lines get very long to load the packed raft with tourists.  We even had a few dogs that rode the raft with their people and of course didn't get along with each other in those cramped quarters.  We stopped in Escanaba and picked up Dobber's Pasties (pronounced PAST ees- think portable chicken pot pie) for lunch, which we ate at a roadside picnic area on the bay of Green Bay enjoying a more little beach time.

Seul Choix Point Lighthouse

Kitch-iti-kipi. Palms Book State Park

 

Another great trip to the Yoop and successful Soo-perior September adventure. 

*On the lands of the Bay Mills Indian Community, and Odawa and Anishinaabe peoples:  https://native-land.ca/ 

Porcupine Mountains

Despite the craziness of this year, another September rolled around and it was time to continue our fall tradition of visiting Lake Superior (i.e., Superior September).  It started unintentionally with some early tourist visits during our first few years in the area, and now it can't be missed.  This was the 7th Annual Superior September trip- hard to believe!

Camping was the name of the game this year due to COVID, so the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were on tap.  Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (locally referred to as "the Porkies") is a wilderness area in the western part of the UP of Michigan.  Designated wilderness describes an expansive roadless area where only light impact outdoor recreation (and non-motorized) is permitted in order to promote solitude and protect the natural resources.  The Porkies are located in a remote portion of Michigan as well, so we had planned to bring all of our food and mostly just relax and enjoy the sights and sounds as a last hurrah before winter.

I found out that Porcupine Mountains is also a frequently visited park despite it's remoteness- especially this year when everyone decided to go camping.  The only time I could reserve two nights at a campsite during a period that worked for us was beginning on Sunday, October 11.  Usually that second weekend in October is your last somewhat reasonable option to get to the northern climes before winter weather becomes a factor.  I jumped immediately when I saw there was one campsite left at the campground that was right on Lake Superior!!  Considering the late season, I remember thinking this is either going to be really awesome or I'm going to regret it...

We decided to extend the trip to one night earlier (Saturday) by booking a campsite in the Northern Highlands- American Legion State Forest in northern Wisconsin.  This way we already had the park pass for WI state parks and would be in a good position to get to the Porkies earlier the next day.  We got a later start from home thanks to a mouse in the garage situation, but the day was nice and sunny with pretty mild temperatures.  The leaves along our route north and west were absolutely fantastic- probably just at or just past peak.  We made a couple of stops to drop off some things to Scott's coworker, fill up on gas, and grab some last minute supplies before heading to the campground.  While in Woodruff we stopped at Rocky Reef Brewing Company for a drink on the patio.  Our campsite was located only a few miles away on Carrol Lake, which according to the state forest website was a great area for fishing.  We also had a campsite right on the lake which was beautiful.  We cooked a pasta dinner and enjoyed a campfire (and impromptu concert from the next campsite- which was really good, actually) before bed.  Temperatures dipped into the upper 30s and it was moderately windy, but it was comfortable with our winter bags.  The next morning we had breakfast, packed up the site, and Scott did some fishing before we hit the road.

Carrol Lake Campground, Northern Highlands- American Legion State Forest, Woodruff, WI

Photo by Scott

Carrol Lake. Woodruff, WI

Next we made our way to Ironwood, MI the last town we would encounter before the Porkies.  We also stopped for a patio drink at Cold Iron Brewing- great berry shandy!  There wasn't much around as far as local restaurants so we brought camping food in to make lunch.  Then it was on our way to the Porkies and into Eastern Time (i.e., "real time").  We hit the Visitor Center first to get some information and a map and viewed their exhibits.  One described how Aldo Leopold, a prominent figure in the conservation world, advocated for this area to be designated wilderness for the American people in his essay The Last Stand.  Pretty cool.

We stopped at an outpost to buy firewood and arrived at the campground to set up- it was really busy with check ins.  As we drove in we realized the campground was largely an open field layout without too many trees.  Different, but okay- I was expecting a forest!  We eventually found our campsite right on Superior as described.  The winds were starting to pick up but the temperatures were really mild- in upper 50s and comfortable.  We cooked dinner over the fire and enjoyed that until dark.  Time for showers and bed- definitely listened to Lake Superior all night long.

Union Bay Campground, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon, MI

The night for me was kind of restless despite how relatively warm it was because of the loud whipping winds and waves picking up in response and crashing on the shore.  I realized why there aren't many trees in the campground...winds off the lake!  I am pretty sure gusts were upwards of 50 mph at times.  I was in and out of sleep all night.  Then around 7 AM raindrops started to fall as rain was expected for the day.  Moments later, a series of 3 loud booms of thunder and lightning REALLY got us up, out of the tent, and into the truck.  The thunder quieted 15 minutes later but rain and winds remained steady.  After grabbing a quick breakfast, we drove up to Lake of the Clouds, the signature viewing area of the park.  As we approached, signs posted indicating a crowded area ahead and long wait to see the views.  Luckily, that wasn't a problem due to the weather, but they must have been experiencing high volumes of leaf peepers in recent days.  The leaves were still beautiful, even in the rain.  When we got to the viewpoints, the winds were ripping pretty ferociously and rain was pelting us sideways in the face.  Surprisingly, our photos turned out pretty good despite how wild it was! As we were heading back to the truck, the rains really let loose.  Despite wearing rain jackets, we were soaked.  

Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

We returned to the campsite and asked for the weather report at the check in station since we couldn't get data service on our phones.  Rain all day, which was also confirmed by my dad via text.  We sat in the truck for awhile and debated what to do.  We had the campsite for another night, but we were already soaked and expecting 6 more hours of the same.  We wouldn't have enough time once it ended this evening for a hike as we had planned to do for the day, and no way to dry clothes and other gear.  Based on the forecast, we probably would have a hard time getting a fire going for dinner as planned too.  Also there wasn't much to do for indoor alternatives in the area instead, plus of course COVID.  The winds were still pretty wild and we had to jump out of the truck and into the rain a few times to hold onto the tent as it bent over sideways.  So, we made the tough decision to leave early and make our way home.  We were both so disappointed, but it seemed like a better option than being miserable for most of the day.  It rained the entire 4 hour drive home too.  At least we got to see the Porkies, although hiking will have to wait for another time.  

A memorable Superior September indeed.  Northern Wisconsin just received snow a few days after we visited!  The Lake does it's own thing, and you can take it or leave it.  That was my first time leaving a camping trip early and now our second trip of the year (2 out of 2) that was shortened due to weather issues (Winter escape that went south).  

"To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste: to others, the most valuable part. " - Aldo Leopold, Conservation Esthetic, A Sand County Almanac

The Porcupine Mountains are located on the tribal lands of the Anishinaabe people (Lake Superior Chippewa).

Keweenaw

Superior September rolled around again so it was time for a weekend getaway to Lake Superior! This year we opted for the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. Keweenaw is believed mean "portage" or "place to portage." The Portage River runs through the middle of the peninsula, which juts 60 miles out into Lake Superior and is the northernmost county of Michigan (also includes Isle Royale National Park, which is an island nearly 50 miles out into L. Superior).

We hit the road early on Friday and had a downer right away- a FIB (if you don't know, look it up...hey- my grandma reads this) sent some road rock flying into my windshield, which immediately cracked and spidered pretty badly. Ugh- looks like that needs replacing.  Eyes peeled for moose, but none spotted.

We got to Houghton, MI (pronounced: HOE ton) at lunchtime and had soups, salads, and beers at The Library followed by after lunch beers at Keweenaw Brewing Company.  We also passed two universities that keep the area bustling- Michigan Tech University and Finlandia University (yes, FU) in neighboring Hancock.  I had a little reminder of my Midwest journey since I had been offered an interview at MTU and turned it down (What if? Bet it's cold there...).  After replenishment, we visited the Keweenaw National Historic Park up the road in Calumet. We toured the visitor center to learn more about Copper Country and heritage of the UP.  Very interesting stories, including strong cultural influences from European immigrants who came to the area to work in the copper mines.  After the museum, we swung into another brewery right down the road for a beer and appetizers for dinner- Red Jacket Brewing Company. Calumet used to be called Red Jacket, hence the name of the brewery.  Breweried out for the day, we headed for our rental cottage in Eagle Harbor, my first Air B&B rental experience!  I was excited to see how close we were to the water and literally right next to the lighthouse- perfect!  The evening was spent watching the sunset and viewing the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. Listened to Lake Superior waves all night long.

KBC in Houghton, MI

A series of historical sites, including former mines, churches, museums and lighthouses, became Keweenaw National Historic Park in the 1990s.

Sunset from Eagle Harbor

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, this building est. 1871

Couple of lighthouse enthusiasts do the Keweenaw.  

On Saturday morning, we took a scenic ride up to Copper Harbor, the most northern town in MI. I didn't realize that it's a major mountain biking destination, so there were lots of bikes and bikers all over town. We went to Fort Wilkins State Park, featuring a fort built in the 1840s to keep the peace in Copper Country. They never saw any battles, and life was very lonely at such a remote post. The fort saw major restoration to rebuild some of the buildings that were lost with time. The park was well designed as an open air museum, allowing visitors to walk in each of the buildings to see displays, read signage, and get close to rooms that depicted what life would have looked like. Some of the buildings included the hospital, bakery, jail, mess hall, and officers quarters. It was easy to lose track of time. The state park also included the Copper Harbor Lighthouse. The park has worked hard to renovate it, but unfortunately the boat tours required to transport visitors to the island to go inside the lighthouse had ended for the season. Next it was time for lunch- we selected Mariner North for sandwiches, and then stopped in to Brickside Brewery for beers. Then it was time for the scenic drive back to Eagle Harbor to tour the Eagle Harbor lighthouse and museums. The tour docent was from Green Bay, of course, and gave us a primer on the lighthouse and some of the keepers. Very informative!  One of the keepers was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. The skies were looking cloudy and it got windy and drizzly, so we walked back to the cottage and opted for some R&R through the late afternoon. After it cleared, we took a walk to the Eagle Harbor beach and then watched the sunset. Windy all night long.

Fort Wilkins State Park- the fort was a remote outpost established in the 1840s to "keep the peace" in Copper Country.  Amazing the conditions and isolation these soldiers experienced.

Sulter's store at Fort Wilkins

Copper Harbor Lighthouse

On Sunday, I watched my second sunrise over the lighthouse and we visited the Eagle Harbor Life Saving Station museum before we had to hit the road. The Life Saving Service was the precursor to the Coast Guard- they had some restored lifeboats and other life saving equipment, told the stories of heroic rescues of ship crews along Keweenaw Point, and highlighted the motto of the Life Saving Service: "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back."  We headed south again to Houghton for brunch at Suomi Home Bakery & Restaurant- we had Finnish breakfast pancakes and got some pasties (rhymes with the word nasty) to go for dinner. Our next stop was Alpha MI Brewing Company for some beers and the first half of the Packers game.  Alpha Brewing is located in the small town of Alpha almost on the Wisconsin line- it's in a repurposed building next to a big old school which was a pretty neat setting.  Rain started as we made it back to Wisconsin. Pasties from Suomi were delicious for dinner- a great finale to a great trip.  Oh, and the Packers won.

Good morning from Eagle Harbor Lighthouse!

Whitefish Point

Our unintentional tradition has been to visit Lake Superior every fall for a weekend getaway.  Partially, fall is a favorite time of year to travel in the late season after the whirlwind summer crowds have been through and the weather is still reasonable.  I also think sometimes it takes that long to make summer plans these days!  Summers are busy times for me at work, and we had some travel arrangements this year in addition to lots of house projects and yard landscaping work.  Nonetheless, fall showed up and Lake Superior was calling...

We took a Friday off of work and headed north along the west shore of Green Bay.  Aside from getting stuck behind trucks and campers (it's a one lane road each way), I love riding the backroad highway with all the bay views.  Makes one realize how huge the bay really is (1,600 square miles, if you were wondering).

We were in the UP in no time and headed for Tahquamenon Falls State Park to view the Upper and Lower Falls and take in some early fall foliage.  Upon arrival and payment for our day pass, we parked and walked the short distance to the Upper Falls views.  It was running quite high due to lots of recent rain, and the leaves were just starting to turn near the river.  It was a pretty cold day with temperatures in the 40s, moderate winds, and sprinkling rain, so the park was not very busy at all.  After viewing the falls, we headed to Tahquamenon Brewing Company right at the end of the trail for some delicious early dinner and beers.

Then it was off to Whitefish Point, another 35 minutes down the road.  We had reservations to stay at the Point at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum's Crews Quarters B&B for the weekend right on site.  A unique opportunity to sleep right next to Superior and a lighthouse?  I'm in!

We arrived at the museum just in time to check in to the B&B and took a cold, windy evening walk on the beach.  Because of the location of the Point, many large freighters and superlakers pass by very closely as they enter or exit Lake Superior via the Soo Locks.  We had fun using binoculars to read the names of the ships as they went by, and later discovered an app that shows all of the shipping traffic (including the Great Lakes, check out marinetracker.com).  It was a cold blustery night, but waves from Superior all night long.

The next day we had continental breakfast at the Crews Quarters and went for a walk again around the grounds.  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum includes exhibits in several buildings plus the Whitefish Point Light Station, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service Seney National Wildlife Refuge- Whitefish Point Unit is adjacent, along with the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.  It was really nice to have so many different things to check out all in one place, and be able to stay right there too.

Next we checked out the museum buildings and watched a film about the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sunk just 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Canadian waters the 1970s.  Hard to imagine the force the Lake has to take down a loaded down ore freighter.  The wreck was found in the 1990s and left undisturbed, aside from the bell that was brought to the museum.  It was replaced with a memorial bell with the names of the crew.

The birdwatching at Whitefish Point was phenomenal even though it was late season for migration.  Many warblers, woodpeckers, a couple of peregrine falcons, loons, and others were using the shoreline and the sand dunes, and even walking around in the grass right outside the buildings.  I was scrambling at times to identify many of them, all in winter plumage and some that were entirely new to me.  It was a lot of fun, and despite the cold and got in several rounds of birding throughout the day.  I also joined the waterbird counters from the Observatory for a little bit on the shoreline.

We took at ride to Brown's Fish House in the nearby small town of Paradise for whitefish fish fry dinner- so delicious!  I got a kick out of our server telling everyone after they paid their bill to "have a nice day in Paradise!"  We did.  After dark, we went back to the bird observatory for an owl banding program about their long-term banding and monitoring work.  They even captured a saw-whet owl in the nets while we were there and we had the chance to watch the banding operation.  It was really cool to talk with the researchers and share some of the bird-related things going on in Green Bay.  It's a small world in wildlife, so usually people have heard of other projects or know people working in those areas.  There was a huge difference in wind that night- no waves whatsoever all night long.

The next day was incredibly calm on the lake- almost no waves at all.  We ate breakfast, said goodbye to Superior and headed southwest.  We stopped at Seney National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center & gift shop, voted in their annual photography contest, and took a nice ride around the Wildlife Drive throughout many of the impoundments looking for waterfowl.  Still some tundra swans and ducks (ring-necked ducks, wood ducks, mallards) hanging out for some good views while auto touring.

Next stop on the return trip was Manistique to grab some beers at Mackinaw Trail Winery and Brewery and check out the Manistique lighthouse.  Manistique is located at the north end of the bay of Green Bay, about 120 miles from the City of Green Bay.  Another short ride to Escanaba, and a stop for lunch (mmm..pasties!) and beers at Upper Hand Brewery before the drive down the west shore of Green Bay back home.  Always fun up der in da UP!