A Skip and a Hop to Houghton

We arrived at Ron and Terri's cabin early Friday afternoon.  A short time later, we were driving with them to Houghton, the closest town of any significant population and learning that this area of Michigan is dotted with scores of old copper mines. 

Our first stop was the A. E. Seaman Museum to look at the extensive display of minerals found in the Upper Peninsula.  The large piece on display is an enormous piece of "float" copper, aptly named since it's  found loose or "floating" on top of the soil.  

We stopped at a pull out to look on Houghton (pronounced here as Ho-ton, not How-ton).  Did you know that people living in the U.P. are referred to as "Yoopers"?  And the Yoopers refer to people living below the Mackinac Bridge as "trolls"?

Here is a photo of a "troll" and a "Yooper" by the overlook.  It looks like Don is telling another one of his fish stories  "I'm telling you it was THIS big!".  Actually, I don't know what he was saying, but I don't think he could talk if he had his hands in his pockets!

Although it was 5 PM and closing time at the Quincy Mine, we managed to sneak into one of the buildings still open.  We made our own "mini tour".   The Quincy mine operated almost 100 years, between 1846 and 1945.  It was considered a great place to work in those days because the management built and maintained housing for the miners.

No. 2 Shaft Rock House can be seen from all over Houghton, since it sits on a hill and rises stories above the ground.  At one point in time it was the world's deepest shaft and went to a depth of 9,260 feet.  That is a long way down!

Ron stopped for me so I could take a picture of the  Portage Lift Bridge, which links the Keweenaw Peninsula to the main part of the Upper Peninsula.  When the bridge got stuck in the "up" position a few months ago, it created a huge problem.  Not only is this the only way people can travel to and from the island, but both hospitals are located in Hancock, on the north side of Portage Lake.  People with medical emergencies had to be transported by boat across the water.

Our last stop on Friday was Misery Bay.  A brisk wind was creating white caps on Lake Superior.

There aren't many homes up here, but we ran across a dish satellite on the beach, with a long cord running back to a cabin in a nearby wooded area!  Guess this was someone who wanted to live in the wilderness, but have all the creature comforts the rest of us do!