Lake Michigan Road Trip Pt 2: Day 6

 Day 6

Start: Ironwood, MI
Finish: Rice Lake, WI

Miles: 210

States: MI, WI

I didn't make it all the way back to Madison today but for all intents and purposes, this was the final leg. My planning for the day was non existent but I started out driving west towards Ashland. I haven't been there since my youth hockey days but I stopped at the marina to stretch the legs and to take this generic lake photo.

See, pretty generic.

From there, I made my way up and around Bayfield Peninsula stopping when I saw something interesting. 

Memorial Park in Washburn.

Just north of Memorial Park was a place called Stoughton Falls State Natural Area that turned out to be pretty cool. The whole hike from the lot to Lake Superior was probably 1 mile but it was mostly along a gorge created by a meandering stream. Unless there's a snow melt or heavy rain, I'm guessing the stream stays pretty dry as it was today. I definitely did not break any rules when I hopped down there to check it out.

Looks like a shot from Isla Nublar (get the reference?).

View back to where I was standing.

Little sand bar for the people.

From the other side. Would have been a good place to swim but Lake Superior and I will tangle later.

Bayfield was the next stop just because it was on the way and because I needed gas. Fun fact, I went 500+ miles on one tank for the first time and I could have kept going! This little town is definitely a tourist trap as it's where you take the ferry out to Madeline Island. I remember going out there as a kid and it wasn't much to look at so I stayed away.

 

Annnnnnnd got some ice cream instead! How about that, Randy?!?!

I almost made a stop at the casino in Red Cliff but other than that, there isn't really anywhere to check out up north so I looped around to the west side of the peninsula. I was going to hike the Sea Caves Trail but I couldn't find out where it started! Turns out I was at the right place but it was so busy with kayak tours going to out the caves that I just left. 

5 minutes down the road was another beach and IT WAS TIME to take my first swim in Lake Superior. It was actually quite comfortable and I put in a little work on my backstroke.

Spent a bit of time here, got my swim on, and even cracked open my book for the first time on the trip.

Well folks, from here it was a 2 hour drive back to Rice Lake effectively ending the trip. It was another good vacation and I don't think it will be the last time I head up north. Where to next though? Colorado? California? Canada? Who knows!

Lake Michigan Road Trip Pt. 2: Day 5

Day 5

Start: Ironwood, MI
Finish: Ironwood, MI

Miles: 149

States: MI

 

The whole time zone issue caught me this morning as my phone was on central time so I got an hour late start but what can you do. On to the Porcupine Mountains! The first stop was the tourist trap known as Lake of the Clouds but you kind of have to check it out.

 

THE view.

Looking up river.

Lotta hikes around here but you're not going to get a better view than this so I went a different direction and hiked the 3 miles from the main road down to Lake Superior. Hiking is really just walking, sometimes with a slight incline or decline, and 90% of the time you're just staring at the ground but when the end game is a view or water, that's good enough for me.

On the way down.

Hanging out with Gitche Gumee.

Managed to get out here without dropping anything in the water.

I pulled that little guy on the top out then felt bad and put it back haha.

Spending 2.5 hours hiking was a bit unplanned but it turned out alright. I did miss the turn to get easy lake access so I had to machete my way through the forest, without a machete though. 

 

Next stop was a drive to Summit Peak. You can basically drive to the top then walk the remaining .5 miles to the lookout tower. The amount of complaining I heard from people about the "LONG" walk to the tower annoyed me so much. Just stay home next time!

Only 21 ft below the highest point in MI.

Because of that lost hour I had to book it a little to make my way to Copper Peak and the coolest/scariest item on today's list. 

Yup, we're going to the top! An 18 story elevator ride gets you up. The chair lift up to this point was also broken so you had to drive.

Looking towards Lake Superior. You could see 50+ miles and you can supposedly see Canada on a clear day.

A radio tower for reference.

Hey, there's New Hotness.

M'fers that go down these are crazy.

They said you can walk down the steps instead of taking the elevator so I did. As you can see, the actual steps stop about 2/3 of the way down.

The whole thing wouldn't fit into one shot!

From the elevator shaft to the very top is all metal steps that you can see through. I was pooping em a little as you can feel the whole thing swaying in the wind. Beats the one in Lake Placid, NY because you could go all the way up.

It was time to keep my feet on the ground so I drove on down the road to the Black River Harbor Pavilion. This was a cool little park area divided by a suspension walking bridge.

There's a nice beach right around the corner. Couldn't take a picture because it was busy and I didn't want to look like (more) of a creep.

Limit of 2 on the bridge at any given time.

Between Copper Peak and here I passed like 5 different signs for waterfalls so I gave one of them a shot on the way back. This was the Gorge and Potawatami Falls loop.

Potawatomi Falls.

No sure what this was.

Gorge Falls. This was actually closed but a co conspirator and I hopped the barricade. Anything to get a shot for the Gram.

30 minutes later I was back in downtown Ironwood at the local bar & grill. You already know I ordered that bacon cheeseburger and fries along with a little local flavor.

Tasted like Blue Moon.

Annnnd the local ice cream joint was open tonight!

Hey look, another Miners Mural.

Right around this area are 3 ski resorts as well and I have to say, it may be worth taking a winter trip up here some time. Any takers?

Upcoming: Bayfield Peninsula and heading back to Rice Lake.

Lake Michigan Road Trip Pt 2: Day 4

Day 4

Start: Wells, MI
Finish: Ironwood, MI
Miles: 181
States: MI, WI

I woke up bright and early today as I had an 8:20 tee time at Sweetgrass Golf Club. There are actually 2 courses at the Island Resort & Casino but I played Sweetgrass as it was hyped up as one of the best in the UP. I could describe it but I'll just post the pics I took instead.

 

Hole #1.

Hole #8.

Hole #10.

Hole #12.

Hole #15. Their "famed" island green which I parred!

The gallery watching me par hole #17.

I'd give the course an 8/10. It would have definitely been higher had it not been so soggy but we'll put that one on God. Holes 9 and 18 were both par 5's that shared a green which was a cool concept other than the monstrosity of a casino hotel looming in the background.

 

I didn't really have anything planned for the rest of the day but I began my journey west nonetheless. I can't think of ANY particular reason to stop in Iron Mountain but I did anyway and came across The Ice Cream Station.

 

The waffle cone was wack but the ice cream was great. I also spilled all down the front of my shirt. I then dumped water on myself to "clean" it up. Didn't work.

There were no more stops until Ironwood where I'm staying for the next 2 nights but this place turned out to have some great spots to check out. Let's start with this interesting item.

The "World's Tallest Indian" statue which stands 52 ft high and is made up of mainly 18,000 lbs of fiberglass. It depicts Chief Hiawatha as he gazes toward Lake Superior.

Across the street from the statue is this rail car to commemorate the regions history of mining. I checked inside, nothing but leaves and sticks.

A few blocks away in downtown is this Miners Mural.

The next stop was at the top of the Mt. Zion Scenic Lookout. There are mountains like this all over which lead to iron ore mining being so prominent in the area.

From the side.

From the other side.

The main view. Panorama style.

I know what you're thinking. How could this little town in da UP get any better? Well, let's take a look at this 1/3 mile hike to the 18 ft high Interstate Falls. Fun fact, the Montreal River, which flows over the falls, is one of the rare rivers that actually heads north! Technically, you park in WI and hike to the falls which ARE the border. About 75% of Ironwood is in MI and 25% is in WI. That has to be annoying with the time zone change if they actually follow it. I haven't been able to keep track of the time the last few days because my phone keeps jumping between central and eastern time zones.

Upstream.

She's coming into view.

 

Above.

 

Up close and personal.

From the middle of the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downstream.

This just smelled really good.

 

 

And to finish the day off, the local spot was closed so we had to settle with this. They're back open tomorrow though!

Upcoming: a whole day in the Porcupine Mountain area.