We left home after work on Wednesday. We made it as far as Clam Lake Beer Co. before we stopped for dinner. Neat place with original architecture including the tin ceiling. I had the clam chowder, and it was so good I forget what I had with it. Tammy had the perch dinner, and it was also very good. We sampled the Logger’s Daughter and Iron City IPA. Both were very respectable beers.
We made it to our hotel, America’s Best Tahquamenon Falls a little before 10pm. I would have like to relax at Joshua James Bar & Grill next door, but it was too late. I got there in time to grab some carry out beers and retired to the hotel room.
The first stop on Thursday was Carp River Furnace in Marquette, a restored charcoal kiln that was involved in the local iron mining history.
We made a quick stop in Marquette and learned about pocket docks and how ships were loaded with iron ore.
Our next stop was going to be Black Rocks Cliffs and Beach at Presque Isle State Park in Marquette. We now know that the drive is closed on Monday and Wednesday from 6 PM till 8 PM and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 AM till 1 PM so pedestrians can enjoy the park. We’ll save that one for another trip.
We continued on to Michigan Technological University in Houghton and checked in. We went to the Ambassador for lunch. I had a sub and a famous 24oz fishbowl drink, just like 40 some years ago. I was amazed at how light the place was now that smoking is prohibited. The murals on the ceiling looked spectacular.
After lunch we wandered up to Calumet and hunted for agates at Calumet Waterworks Park. We found a few relics from the copper mining days on the way back.
Thursday night we hung out at the Douglas (Dog) House and Keweenaw Brewing Company and socialized with a few Tech grads before we went back to Independence Stay Hotel and ate our leftovers from the Ambassador and called it a night.
On Friday we started with an excellent breakfast at Copper Range Depot Family Restaurant. I remember the place as a boarded up old building. I found it strange not seeing any railroad tracks in that area going to the bridge. We continued on to Eagle harbor and continued our search for agates and lighthouses. When we finished there we followed Brockway Mountain Drive to Copper Harbor and then went back to Delaware for a tour of the remains of the Delaware Copper Mine. We finished the day back in Mackinaw City at the Sunrise Motel (the place had plenty of character and didn’t smell real good, but the price was right) and had dinner at the Dixie Saloon.
Saturday, we started out at Darrow’s Family Restaurant for a great breakfast. The next stop was Magnus Park in Petosky to search for Petosky Stones. We had to wander through the Mushroom Houses in Charlevoix as long as we were in the area. We found The Cellars at Royal Farms in Ellsworth and sampled some hard cider on our way through. Eventually we made it to our declared destination, Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve. We had a green heron pose nicely for us and we saw our first Merlin. The endangered residents had finished breeding and we could travel the whole length of the wonderful boardwalk. We finished the day back in Wayland and patronized our local McDonald’s.
