After leaving Calumet, Tom and I headed up to Eagle Harbor. We wanted to see the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, one of the partner sites for the Keweenaw National Heritage Park. We had already seen a bunch of lighthouses, so we weren’t expecting much. But the site exceeded our expectations and became one of our favorite …
From National Parks
Keweenaw National Historic Park
After visiting the Grand Canyon of Michigan, Tom and I headed north to see the Keweenaw National Historic Park in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The peninsula is all about copper mining, milling, smelting, and shipping. Every town of any size has some connection to the copper industry. When mining stopped in the 1970’s, the people in …
Driving Tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
The day after Sandy, Tom, and I hiked around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, we took a driving tour of the same area and included Eric and Bob. They were rested and ready to get out after their quiet day at the campground. Unfortunately, while the day before had been sunny and in the 70’s, the …
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Our primary reason to visit the Upper Peninsula was to go to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We stayed at Muskallonge Lake State Park because it was on the eastern end of Pictured Rocks. The day after we arrived at Muskallonge Lake, Tom, Sandy and I were eager to get out to see Pictured Rocks. Eric …
Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island
The most important place for us to visit on Mackinac Island was Fort Mackinac. This island fort is not to be confused with Fort Michilimackinac, which I wrote about last week. Fort Michilimackinac was built by the French and was a center of the fur trade with as many Native Americans and European Americans in …
Straits State Park in St. Ignace, Michigan
While we were in the Mackinac area, we stayed at Straits State Park. We stayed there four nights, which was the most we stayed in any one place. We had made all our reservations beforehand, based on what we wanted to see in the area. Mackinac Island was a big item on our list, and …
Pierce Stocking Drive in Sleeping Bear Dunes
Our final activity at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was traveling the Pierce Stocking Drive. I picked up a brochure at the Visitors Center that has a description of each of the stops on the drive. The brochure labels Pierce Stocking Drive as “America’s Most Beautiful Scenic Drive.” I’m not sure I agree with that …
Glen Haven in Sleeping Bear Dunes
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1970, which means that much of the land along the 35 miles of designated lakeshore was already privately owned. In order to preserve the land, the park service gradually bought up the private properties. One of these private properties was the town of Glen Haven on the …
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was our primary destination on the shore of Lake Michigan. As you know, I’m all about collecting the national park stamps and I didn’t have any of the National Park site stamps in Michigan except for River Raisin. When we put together the trip, my priority was getting the stamps …
Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail
Last Friday Tom and I met some friends to ride part of the Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail. This beautiful trail runs for 87 miles from Cleveland to Bolivar. The trail goes through five counties and is administered and maintained by four county park systems and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. For our ride …