Saturday, June 17, 2023
Plan A for the day was originally the trip out to Isle Royale National Park. So, I looked at options.
Plan B was a long drive down Brockway Mountain Drive, named after D.D. Brockway who built the first hotel in town. It begins with a steep climb to an overlook over Copper Harbor. From there it takes you past numerous overlooks, preserves and waterfalls. The road is currently closed shortly beyond the overlook.
Plan C would be another scenic drive along the lakefront on Hwy 26 to Eagle Harbor. A long section of Hwy 26 is also closed.
So, Plan D for the day. The drive along Hwy 41 is through a light forest canopy and quite the pleasant ride.
For reference...
For those of you geologically curious, no, this isn't normal. The story begins 1.1 million years ago. The continent started splitting apart. Imagine a rift forming as far south as the Kansas/Nebraska border, arching up to northern Michigan and then back to central Ohio. Today, this is known as the Mid Continent Rift.
As the continent split, the faults were filled with lava. This went on and on as the continental split continued. Scientists named it the Greenstone Flow and estimate at least two hundred lava flows piled on top of each other, making it the largest known lava field on the planet. The estimated volume is 1,400 cubic miles of lava. While the surface cooled, the deeper levels took closer to a thousand years to cool.
As the layers of lava stacked up, they began to compress and collapse from the weight. This resulted in what we now know as Lake Superior. The compression also created enough heat that lava released its copper, creating rich veins. The Greenstone Flow was eventually pushed upwards to what we see today. This is why you still see mountains of black volcanic rock up here.
A road off to my right was named Washington Mine Road. I was thinking an old mine site. It was. The Washington Mine Company was in operation from 1853 to 1907.
I get that it's now private property. I get they want their privacy. But, the sign needs to be prominent at the corner to save folks like me from having to back out. How am I supposed to see that before pulling in?
I drove on until I came to the turn towards Eagle River. As you might have guessed by now, it was another copper mining boom town. On the far side of the bridge into town are the Eagle River Falls. True to the name, as I walked onto the old bridge overlooking the falls, an eagle flew across the top section of falls. No, I wasn't fast enough.
Just up the road sites the Keweenaw County Courthouse.
In front of the county museum sits the pilothouse from the freighter Tioga. The freighter was built in 1885. Two years later, the ship was offloading naphtha(much like kerosene) in Chicago when the ship exploded. It was raised, towed to Buffalo, repaired and put back in service. In 1919, the ship hit a reef and sank. The pilothouse tore off and floated towards shore where it was rescued with a tractor.
Down by the waterfront is the Eagle River Lighthouse, built here in 1855.
Twenty minutes up Hwy 26 is the town of Eagle Harbor. Along the way, I stopped at the pullout for Jacob's Falls.
And a large, empty parking lot by the Great Sand Bay. It seemed weird that here it was the middle of June and I had the place to myself. It's July 7th as I write this. However, according to a website that tracks these things, the water temperature today is 51 degrees.
Edward Taylor saw Eagle Harbor's potential and built the first dock in 1844. It turned the town into a depot to ship ore out, and bring supplies in. With the increased traffic, he lobbied for the money to have a lighthouse built.
There's a shelf of jagged rock just outside the harbor, so getting in and out can be tricky. This is another place they use the front and rear range lighting system. When I went looking for the rear light, I was surprised to find this.
Hwy 26 is closed four miles out of town, so I took the scenic route back to Hwy 42. Besides, there was something called Copper Falls Park. The name made it seem promising. Finding the park is easy.
Finding the waterfall was a different story. I didn't see or hear any running water. I even walked down the one trail leading out of the parking area. I don't think it gets much use.
The actual waterfall is off a road further up that isn't marked.
I was a little excited when I saw the tower. But, not the ladder laying on the ground.
Back on Hwy 42, I backtracked southwest a bit to the turnoff for Cliff Road. Legend has it an unnamed prospector slipped, grabbed a rock outcropping and it turned out to be high grade copper.
This would lead to the first copper mine in the Upper Peninsula. The Pittsburgh and Boston Copper Harbor Mining Company started pulling copper out in 1848 and closed for good in 1887. The mine would eventually pull thirty-eight million pounds of copper from these hills.
There's very little left beyond the cemetery. It's up this road. Yeah, I chose not to go across.
A few miles back up Hwy 42 is the site of the Central Mine. The mining town once supported three hundred people. The mine was in operation from 1854 to 1898. The county owns the site now and there are apparently ruins scattered about the property. Unfortunately, the Visitor Center was closed. However, I did find a Central Mine Trail that led back into the trees.
I did follow it. There were a few arrowed signs, and one pointing out the foundation of the old school. That's as far as I got. Not that far beyond the school site, there are multiple splits in the trail.
The National Park Service also runs a historic park at the site of the Delaware Mine. Between 1847 and 1887, the mine produced eight million pounds of copper. For a $12 fee, you can do a self guided tour of the top level of the mine.
Once inside, you go down 90 steps to the first level. From there, you can explore 1,700 feet to the barricades. Bring a jacket, you will get dripped on and it's a steady 48 degrees in the mine. Since I had the place mostly to myself, I was having some fun playing with the low light.
Ruins from the mine offices and living quarters.
The lower levels are all flooded. In 2012, a group of divers explored them. You can watch their video here:
There's also a short trail to a trench that was used to mine copper here as far back as five thousand years ago.
Before calling it a day, I took a drive out to the trailhead for the North/South Point Loop Trail. The loop is just under a mile. But, you can continue a little further to the actual point.
That's Porter Island. When the lake levels are low, you can actually walk across. In the early days of Copper Harbor's expansion, there was an office on the island. Every ship in and out had to check in there.
Across the bay, you can see the Isle Royale ferry and my motel.
From the walk back...
Sunset from behind the motel...
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