Honeymoon: You Say Quinoa, I Say Keweenaw

We didn't find any copper so we moved onto our next destination. 

Our tour guide said that there was still about half the deposit left. You'd have to be a daredevil-diving-mine spelunker to get anything out. Everything below the floor we were in is flooded.

Scott was excited to check out the town of Calumet. We parked downtown and paid 5 cents to park for an hour. Deal of the Century!

The entitre downtown is a national historic park. It was the copper capital of the world, but has seen better days.

The fire station is connected to the Calumet Theatre. I wish we would've went inside.

After a little while we walked on back to our car to head on north.

 On the way out I saw this old man sitting on this stoop. He made me wonder what the difference between a beautiful, but derelict small town like Calumet and say Detroit. You couldn't imagine the NPS declaring Detroit a national park, could you?

I had read about how there were abandoned ghost towns in the woods in our Moon Michigan book. I thought they were like a secret thing, but it was actually run by the historical society. 

"In 1854, John Shawson, an agent of the Cliff Mine, discovered native copper in the bottom of an ancient pit (apparently dug by Native Americans) several miles from Cliff Mine. The Central Mining Company was organized in 1854 for the purpose of mining copper in the Keweenaw. Mining began in 1856, and the mine's lode proved so rich that Central was able to turn a profit in its first year of operation. Between 1856 and between then and the end of the 19th century the company built over 130 structures for the mine and the community of workers. At the peak of production in 1868, the town of Central was home to over 130 people, primarily immigrants from Cornwall, England. The mining industry eventually contracted, and by 1887 the Central Mine was the only fully operational mine in Keweenaw County. In 1898 the mine ceased operation, and residents began leaving the town. The last permanent resident left in 1952, although some structures in the area are still used as summer cottages."

source

Despite being a less ghost town and more abandoned city museum, it was cool to walk around the city and see all the old buildings and the rubble left behind.

As you can see from the view above the view is a stunner. I can see why people vacation here.

We walked most of it even though you could see almost everything by car. The map we had was kind of confusing.

This open area was where one of the shafts was. 

These arctic plants crunched beneath our feet as we crossed the field.

No. 2 hoist

Clerk's House

Another occupied private summer home.

Boarding House

We then drove all the way to the tip which is the beginning of US 41. This was special to me because 41 runs next to my hometown and I've taken it many times. I had no idea it took you all the way to Miami, FL. 

We were going to eat at this German restaurant, but everything was more than $20.

When we saw that it was only 1,990 miles to  Miami a part of us was tempted to go there. We did still have a week left of our trip. 

We took the shoreline back and stopped at this wayside/picnic area. 

Because it was near the tip we thought we take some we're at the edge of the world and we know it pics.

Again I wish we had gone swimming.

Brooke was afraid of the rocks, so we didn't dive in.

We stopped back in Calumet for dinner.

This time we drove through the national park and entrance and were impressed by the fortress like entrance created by the large buildings along the edge of town. On that side of downtown there were less abandoned buildings. Everything looked pristine until you reached this Woolworth's turned Family Dollar.

I'd totally live here or Marquette. Brooke couldn't handle the 150 plus inches of snow.

There wasn't a whole lot in this town, but we did find a pretty good Mexican restaurant and the beer was super cheap.

That's a Keweenaw Widow Maker. Good, but not great.

Scott "interviewed" our waiter who grew up here with all his questions about the town and peninsula. 

Carmelita's was a great find and it was interesting to note that the city has embraced the national historic park designation. It's taking a long time to rehab and occupy all the buildings, but it's an overall plus for the city.

As we went on our way we passed one of the NPS buildings.

On the way out of the peninsula we passed the Quincy Mine again.

Then we drove into the sunset and ended our Michigan portion of our trip.

I really want to come back here next time we're anywhere near the UP.

Where did we end up?