Across the Mackinac Straits to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island

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In this part of Michigan, the indigenous Odawa (or Ottawa) and the French fur traders have conspired to turn the spelling of words and the pronunciation of those words into concepts that are loosely related, at best. Trust me when I say that everything is pronounced “MACK-in-awe” and that it’s easier to just say “Mac.” … Read more

Rounding Out Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks

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Our final stop along the Lake Superior shoreline was at Munising, the gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The federally-protected property stretches over 40 miles along the southern shore of Lake Superior between the towns of Munising and Grand Marais, and contains a variety of natural wonders. The highlight of the bunch, and the … Read more

Mining and Lake-Looking in Remote Copper Harbor

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Before the California Gold Rush, there was the Lake Superior Copper Rush. Elemental copper was so bountiful in places along the southern shores of Lake Superior, especially the Keweenaw Peninsula, that it was widely harvested by the native inhabitants and became part of the trade networks in pre-Columbian North America. Even in prehistoric times, Lake … Read more

Apostle Islands and Wisconsin’s North Shore

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Our eastward trek across the southern shore of Lake Superior will involve several relatively short stops, and the first of these was in Bayfield, WI to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The Apostles are a group of 22 islands clustered around the tip of the Bayfield peninsula in northern Wisconsin, and they have been … Read more

Dismal and Delightful Duluth

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We arrived in Duluth on a cloudy Friday after a long (350 mile) relocation from Green Bay. Our introduction to the twin ports of Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota involved rolling through poorly maintained streets lined with tired 19th century brick buildings, past mountains of ore and graffiti-covered rail cars, alongside towering industrial port facilities, … Read more