Day 8 started off soggy. We had started getting rain early in the morning, early enough for me to wake up freaking out because I realized the side & back windows of the Jeep were laying on the picnic table. We had pulled everything under the awning last night in case of rain, but I had been holding out hope that it would miss us. After zipping in the windows and crawling back into bed for a bit, I was still hearing raindrops.
All I could envision from trying to ride these trails in the rain was re-enacting every single crash from this video.
Luckily, a local was loading up his bike with the guy camping right across from our site, so I asked him about my previously planned route and got his thoughts on riding On the Edge and Stairway to Heaven in the rain. His response pretty much sealed it for me, I will sanitize it. He basically said, if you are asking that question, you should not ride those 2 trails in the rain. Fair enough. With the female contingent settled in the Big Truck enjoying their rain day, I decided to explore with a little hike until the trails hopefully dried out a bit.
This little loop is straight across the street from the Fort Wilkins State Park campground, and is roughly 2 miles. There was almost no one but me on the trail, and the views were better around each bend. And so many rocks!
The route I took ended up right in the historic fort. If you make it up here, do some wandering in the park, it is so cool to learn some of the history of this region and how much the mining of copper defined the entire way of life.
Back at the site, Kimberly and Jordan had come up with a plan. We would head south to Calumet, grab a late lunch, and check out a couple of the shops to pick up some gifts & souvenirs. We chose the Michigan House Cafe, had a decent menu and some local craft beers. Looked great from the approach.
....aaaand fail. This was probably the 5th place we've looked up that says they are open, then upon arrival:
We looked up a few more places, found 2 that said they were open, but upon calling found out they were closed. Finally found Offshore Fish & Chips, they claimed on both the internet and on the phone that they were open.
The 4-5 block walk there revealed that this town had some really cool architecture and must have been a grand scene back in its day, but the buildings had really seen some hard times and neglect.
When we found our place, we were excited to see how nice it was - nestled right in an area of pretty dilapidated old buildings.
The food was delicious (get the whitefish basket!), and we learned a little local history about the building and what it had been in previous incarnations.
Next up - Calumet Mercantile for the full tourist experience. We bought somewhere between nothing and everything they had on their shelves.
On the walk back to the Jeep, we noticed this little handwritten note in the window of one of the closed storefronts. It was a welcome message in these somewhat unprecedented times, and it reminded me of the Finnish 'sisu' mindset that you see so prevalent up here.
On the drive back to Copper Harbor, we passed through Eagle River. We spend a weekend at the pond hockey tournament in Eagle River, WI every year, and hijinks ensue with regularity. I imagined this being a museum for just our shenanigans, and it would have some very popular and controversial exhibits. Probably for the best that this version does not exist.
The weather had taken a turn for the better, but I still didn't feel comfortable trying the wet boardwalk bridges, so with the help of the local rider I had reconfigured my route. This is the overlook on the way up Brockway Mountain Drive. Copper Harbor is such a small footprint of a town, in such a beautiful setting.
Kimberly had promised me 2 shuttle runs, so this was #2. Raptor to Woopity to Bullwinkle to Garden Brook. The plan was executed to perfection.
This brief 2 part photo essay is entitled "Features I did not ride"
Finishing up right in the main park in the center of town. I don't want to leave this place.
While we were slowly getting things in order for our departure tomorrow, we snuck across the street to catch the lighthouse view at sunset. Incredible. Great way to close out our final night in Copper Harbor.
Tomorrow - weather permitting, an early ride and then relocate to the Porcupine Mountains.
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