Ishpeming MI

FRI., JULY 28 thru MON., JULY 31, 2023

Travel is always an adventure when you’re RVing… We arrived in the afternoon on Friday, July 28th (2023) to Country Village RV Park in Ishpeming, Michigan to learn that our site and 2 others had been flooded by last night’s storm that dropped an inch of rain in 35 minutes and continued with rain, thunder, hail and lightning from about 8 in the evening until midnight. They were “drying out” our site with pumps when we arrived. They said it should be ready in 30 minutes or so. Hmmmm…. we decided to spend the night on the grassy knoll they put us into temporarily because Gary’s afraid we’re going to sink if we move to the site we’re supposed to be on. Freddy, a work camper, bless his heart was trying to help by driving his truck back and forth to help with the drying process. Unfortunately our tiny home is way heavier than his truck.

We’re getting water and electric from a nearby site. One of the work campers loaned us extra hoses to facilitate that. Apparently this type of flooding hasn’t happened in the 20 years the manager has worked here. Of course it happens when we’re here, and naturally they are sold out this weekend. Although it could be worse, there could be no grassy knoll for us!

We decided to remain on the grassy knoll and not move to the other site which appears to us to still be drying out. We have no sewer, but since we’re only here for 4 nights, we should be able to manage with the holding tanks. With that decision made we headed out for some sightseeing…

Mining is a big thing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Sat., July 29th (2023), we visited the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum in Ishpeming. At one time this mine was the world’s largest producer of Hematite Ore used in the production of steel. The first two wooden mine shafts (A&B) were sunk in 1867. A newer C shaft was constructed in 1955 utilizing better, more efficient technology available at the time. The newer shaft was only used for 12 years before the mine closed in 1967 due to the demand decreasing for natural iron ore. Instead iron pellets became all the rage, which lowered the cost of steel-making and iron causing it to be economically unfeasible to extract ore from the underground mine anymore. Now it sits as a testament to a bygone era.

One of the original shafts (Shaft A) was built in 1867 out of wood, then in 1919 a cement obelisk was built over both A&B Shafts. They were able to construct the cement obelisks over the original structures with virtually no loss of work by the miners. After the cement obelisk was in place, the wooden structure was dismantled. Impressive!

Each miner was given a round Brass Check with his ID number before heading underground. At the end of his shift, he had to return the Brass Check to a board which meant he was back up top and safe. If the Brass Check wasn’t returned at the end of his shift, a search would be conducted underground for him. What if he was safe at home but simply forgot to return the Brass Check? He was fined a day’s pay.

The “dry room” was where miners changed from street clothes into their mining clothes. The building, dating back to the late 1800s, was the first one in town to have indoor plumbing and showers. Miners’ families could use the showers on the weekends.

There was a huge old mining dump truck that was donated to the museum. Newer trucks are twice the size. Hard to believe as this one was already an impressive size! They had many artifacts in the museum including early mining head gear… one was lit by a candle and the other an oil lamp. Yikes! 

We couldn’t go below the surface of the tunnels because all the shafts were flooded with water. The UP has a high water table.

Jasper, a type of quartz, was lying all over the property because it was discarded by the miners since it wasn’t of value to their mining operation. But the rock has a beautiful red color. Today it’s used in decorative items and jewelry making. 

We had a fabulous tour guide for our exploration of the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum. Fascinating as we travel to learn about all the different types of mining that happened around our country. 

On Sunday, July 30th (2023), we headed to the town of Marquette MI. First to explore Lākenenland located just outside of town on Hwy M-28. It’s  a 1/2+ mile sculpture park founded in 2003 and created by construction worker Tom Lakenen who built over 80 sculptures from recycled iron, acquiring most of the iron from construction sites. It’s free, open 24/7, and is billed as the “coolest unofficial roadside stop in the state.” The “art” is a mix of whimsical pieces, an ode to mining, and political statements. Much of it is quite impressive and many of the pieces are done on a massive scale.

Afterwards, we visited Presque Isle Park located on the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette MI. We couldn’t get over how crystal clear the lake was. It’s because the water is so cold (40 degree average temp) that there aren’t many organisms in the water such as algae etc. Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world based on surface area, 31,700 sq miles… about the size of the state of Maine. Wow. It also contains 10% of the world’s fresh water. That’s enough to cover North and South America with almost a foot of water. One last fun fact I’ll share… water in Lake Superior has one exit point – the St. Mary’s River at the east end of the lake. It takes about 190 years for a drop of water to travel through Lake Superior before it leaves on its journey to the other Great Lakes. Amazing! 

The park was quite busy on a Sunday afternoon!

Monday, July 31st (2023), we visited Canyon Falls near L’Anse, Michigan. Big thanks to Cheryl, Joe and Mary for suggesting this outing! A 1.5 to 2 mile round-trip hike with a big pay off! The river and falls were fast-moving and so pretty with a root beer color because of the tannins from the marshland trees, although the water is considered clean. A very fun hike, and quite popular on a summer’s day. 

Tomorrow we move on to Mackinaw City and reuniting with Cheryl & Joe! That’s assuming we can pull off our site. We’re still on the grassy knoll, which now has 3-inch ruts from rains prior to our arrival.