It rained all night at Bewabic State Park (I can so hear Elmer Fudd saying Bewabic), the first time since we’ve been traveling that neither of us got a good night’s sleep. (Bewabic means “iron” in Ojibwe, the language of the local Chippewa or Ojibwe Indians, and the area is full of towns with “iron” in their names.)  It wasn’t the rain so much as the drops from the trees that were over us which made un-rhythmic noises.

In the morning we decided, on whim, to change our route and explore more of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  While driving, we passed a sign for Canyon Falls and decided to make a side trip and walk the trail to the falls.  Due to all the rain, we followed the muddy – and I do mean muddy – trail to an exciting, quick moving river that fell over a tall rock formation into a waterfall.  We both agreed that it was worth getting our shoes and clothes dirty to see it.

Canyon Falls

Back on the road we headed to Houghton, Michigan, home of Michigan Technological University, a beautiful, large campus right on the shores of Lake Superior.  At the first RV park we stopped at, the owner proudly told us that Michigan Tech places almost 100% of its graduates, though it is probably not as well known as other tech universities – perhaps due to its remote location.  Though that RV park was full, the owner helped us call a park across the river; it had one space available and we took it for three nights.

We now had our place for Shabbat.  Since candle lighting this week was not until 9:36 pm, we had plenty of time to tour the U.P. and still return to make challah.  We also, thanks to Google, discovered that we had crossed over the time line from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone when we checked candle lighting time for our area.

Day 2: Tour of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Other than a light mist, it didn’t rain much last night but we woke up to heavy fog.  We took a chance and drove up to the northernmost part of the Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula, following a road that went right along Lake Superior.  This is “copper country” and we followed the Copper Country Trail National Byway, stopping in small towns along the way.  In the city of Calumet (which claims to have the best copper gift shop), we purchased a few items.  The gift shop was three stores long, and it was pretty nice, but the rest of the town seemed to be closed, except for the gift shop and a breakfast diner.

Across from the gift shop we visited a very nice visitor’s center, which focused on the history of the U.P.  Copper was first mined by the Ojibwe Indians, but as word spread of the riches of this area, people flocked to it, and towns grew up employing thousands of workers well into the 20^th century.  But as the price of copper went down (competition from mines in other areas, the need to keep digging deeper and deeper as more and more copper was extracted, union issues), the cost of mining wasn’t worth the investment.  As the main source of employment ended, many left the area.  It seems, however, to be starting to rebuild itself with tourism.

The 2010 census Kewennaw Peninsula was 43,200 people.  The record snowfall in 1978-79 was 390 inches; the average is about 240 inches. Burr….

On to Eagle River, not the one by Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, but in the U.P.  We caught two beautiful waterfalls (and we didn’t have to get our feet muddy).  Ironically, Waze took us directly to the first one and said “you have reached your destination,” but where was the waterfall?  We were in front of an old, closed visitor’s center, but no waterfall.  As we were about to drive away, we decided to have faith in Waze as it hadn’t lead us astray yet, unlike the Tom-tom GPS that came with the RV.  We got out of the RV and walked to an old bridge, and there it was, Eagle River Falls, so beautiful.  I’m glad we didn’t miss it.

Eagle River Falls

Jacob’s Falls

On the road to Copper Falls, at the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and as far north as we would go, we stopped at Jacobs Falls for a view of another one of the many waterfalls in the U.P.  Then, a stop for lunch at a boat dock; note the sign.

Copper Falls had an interesting agate stone gift shop, much of which was found in the area.  Although agate is mined throughout the world, this area is proud of the richness and beauty of its stones.  The woman who works and lives at the shop said it was only open for a few months in the summer.  Around the block was a picturesque lighthouse, American flag and all.  This lighthouse is one of many in the area as naval navigation was hazardous.

Friday afternoon back at the campground, it was time to prepare for Shabbat. The sun came out on Shabbat and we had a nice, relaxing day at the campground.