Les Flâneurs

Keweenaw Peninsula

September 22.

A very leisurely morning in L'Anse. After breakfast, coffee and then a shower and getting dressed (important for traveling among strangers) we headed into town in search of a market. While we had planned for and were all set for food, our house's water system produces a very noticeable and somewhat unpleasant odor of rusty iron (although it doesn't taste like the old well water I remember as a kid). We soon found Pat's Foods and stocked up on water for the duration.

From Pat's Foods it was back onto Route 41 heading north. We zipped around the bottom of Keweenaw Bay then up through Baraga, Chassell and the twin cities of Houghton and Hancock. Separated by a dramatic looking lift bridge across the Portage River, Houghton is the home of Michigan Technological University and Hancock the home of Finlandia College. That's right, for those of you not in the know, this part of Michigan was settled by a lot of Finns in 19th century and it still shows in the names of villages and even people running for office today.

Leaving the twin cities we made our way up Route 41, the central artery of the Keweenaw. At Allouez we turned east in the direction of Gay and the eastern shore. Naturally we got lost. After asking directions from one of the rare human beings we passed along the way we found our way to Gay and a lovely drive up the eastern shore. We stopped at Brunette Park and Point Isabelle before turning back inland skirting Lac La Belle and back to Route 41.

Brunette Park

rocks rich in iron

Susie on the hunt for interesting stones

Susie continues the diligent search for stones

It was a short drive to Copper Harbor where we stopped for lunch at the Mariner. Copper Harbor is not quite the tip of the Keweenaw but close enough for us. And we were comforted by the fact it is the northernmost city of Michigan.

From Copper Harbor we took Route 26 heading south but quickly turned off onto the Brockway Mountain Drive. Definitely one of the high points of our day, literally and metaphorically. We enjoyed sweeping views from several turnouts.

view of Copper Harbor

colors starting to change, lots of reds abound

from West Bluff

the West Bluff overlook is the highest point on the drive

After making our way back to Route 26 we zipped into Eagle River and checked out the village's main attraction, a lighthouse. It was closed but we chatted with a couple of lovely staff folk working the nearby museum and gift shop, Peter and Amy. Worth the stop just for those conversations alone. Friendly, funny and committed to the UP way of life. The town also had a lovely spacious sandy beach.

From Eagle River we continued on Rt 26 to Eagle Harbor (another nice sandy beach) and then to route 41. Retracing our earlier ride north we headed south and home for supper and relaxing by the lake.

It had been a perfect a day for traveling up and down the Keweenaw: The sky was blue, the air crisp and clear, the water lovely to look upon just about everywhere. Wish you could've been here.

Tomorrow we hope to explore a bit of Houghton and maybe Hancock as well. We have tickets and signed waivers for the Quincy Mine tour and we're excited to see what all the fuss has been about copper!

Arrival in L'Anse

September 21.

It was a gorgeous day for a road trip and for us that trip would take us to the wilds of the Upper Peninsula, to L'Anse at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula to be precise.

We packed the car with our bags and a cooler full of food and left Grand Rapids about 9:30 a.m. We stopped for our packed lunch at the welcome center just across the Mackinac bridge (not very welcoming, though, since the information portion was closed). Once we'd fueled up just outside of St. Ignace, Susie spelled me at the wheel for the next couple of legs as we pushed on westward.

The trip was pretty uneventful although Susie did experience two different eagle sightings overhead. Love that.

We pulled into L'Anse a little before 6 PM and drove along the lake shore for a few miles outside of town before finding our house for the next four days.

the bench in the center is now up against the tree on the right and there are now chairs by the firepit

After unpacking and settling in we opened a bottle of prosecco and grabbed a seat to watch the sunset.

Back inside we enjoyed a bowl of chili brought from our home larder, accompanied by a glass of Beaujolais, then settled in for the night.

Tomorrow after a leisurely morning it's off to Copper Harbor so stay tuned!

Trip to the Upper Peninsula and Beyond

Monday to Monday, September 21-28.

Tomorrow we leave for L'Anse, Michigan where we will spend four nights at a house rental along the southern shore of Lake Superior. OK, if you're going to get technical, it's along the Bay of L'Anse which empties into Keweenaw Bay which empties into Lake Superior.

After exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula (the peninsula within a peninsula) we'll drive five or six hours to Minneapolis where we will visit our niece Rachel and her husband Steve. After two nights in the Twin Cities (really Bloomington) we head south to the suburbs of Chicago to meet up with my brother Greg and his wife Joyce for a night and then back to Grand Rapids.

Should be about a week altogether.

Family gathering in Manistee

We hadn't been home two weeks from our trip visiting family in New England before we were back on the road again, this time catching up with the extended Bergman clan.

The Bergman family -- consisting of nieces Christina, Melissa, and Rachel and nephew Jonathan, their spouses and their various children (ages 5ish to 20ish) -- have been gathering together (along with their parents) for reunions for some years. This year they planned to gather at a VRBO rental just north of Manistee, MI thanks to dad Carl's intrepid searching for a place to accommodate all of them.

photo courtesy of Joyce Caldwell

So we grabbed our backpacks, toiletries and sundry items and headed off to Manistee. It was a nice, short (2-hour) drive up US 31 and, notwithstanding the frequently terrible roads here, we zipped right along on a gorgeous afternoon. Once we arrived in Manistee we searched for our hotel and found it right on the beach overlooking Lake Michigan.

After checking in we made our way to where the clan had settled in for the better part of the week.

It turns out that Tuesday night was taco night compliments of Jonathan and his wife Naomi. (The siblings had divvied up the cooking with each family group responsible for a night of cooking.)

We had the great privilege of joining them for dinner followed by a laugh-filled round of Bernice Game sitting outside next to the fire pit.

The next morning after a walk down the beach to the lake we checked out of our hotel and returned to the Bergman apartments for a serious round of Bingo with Prizes.

Eventually we had to say adieu and, a little after noon, we headed east to McBain in Missaukee County to catch up with Harvey Lucas and his wife Ev. Cousins of Susan's mom, we had not seen Harv and Ev for perhaps a couple of years or more and needed to spend some time sharing news and stories.

After plenty of warm conversation we said our second round of adieus to family and headed back home.

There's nothing like spending time with family: from cute kids to lovely seniors it was a truly wonderful 24 hours on the road!

Skip the John Ball Zoo

June 22.

The John Ball Park Zoo in Grand Rapids has been around for a very long time, maybe too long. The space itself is actually built up a hill and although they provide a funicular to get folks to the top so they can walk down, when we were there in June it was not working and the staff members we spoke with didn't know why it wasn't functional and one person who worked at the park seemed confused by the word funicular.

The grounds are also peppered with advertising billboards. Not the kind that might highlight the name of a company or organization that donated for a particular exhibit but just straightforward billboards placed here and there along the walkway.

And the overall feel of the grounds seemed very tired -- the aquarium smelled bad and barely lived up to its name.

That said, the kids -- and there were a LOT of families about -- the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. And the otter exhibit was pretty cool it must be said.

But Susie has such fond memories of going there as a child so the tip was worth it for that alone.