Saturday June 29 - Tuesday July 2 Days 28 - 31 Copper Harbor 25 mi / 669 total

We pulled anchor and left Lac La Belle at 8 a.m. in brisk winds.  Even protected by the peninsula, we saw gusts of up to 28 knots.  With Day Dreams in the lead, we made our way up the shoreline headed for Copper Harbor.  After a brief encounter with a myriad of fishnets near Keewanaw Point, we were met with steady 3-4 footers on the nose!  Fortunately, as we rounded the point, the waves decreased and were at a better angle.  We've been so spoiled with smooth water, we can't really complain about that hour or so of somewhat rough seas!

Any discomfort was quickly forgotten as we pulled into beautiful Copper Harbor about 1 p.m.  Alizann was there to greet us on arrival.  They were the first guests of the season at the marina with Day Dreams and Waterford  #'s 2 and 3. 


From left, Alizann, Day Dreams, Waterford

Our  Kadey  Krogen trawlers are 3 of only 4 we know of on the entire Great Lakes. It's the Lake Superior mini rendezvous!







Once settled, Garry and I took a "recon" walk into town.  It's a very picturesque little place with art galleries, gift shops, restaurants and a visitor center.  What it doesn't have is cell phone service (nada) -- and wifi was limited to the visitor center and a couple of restaurant locations.  As the song goes, "you don't know what you got til you don't"! 

Our evening festivities included cocktails aboard Alizann, followed by dinner at the Keewanaw Mountain Lodge (transportation provided from the dock).  Then it was back to Alizann for some lovely Limoncello to cap off the evening. 

Sunday, June 30.  The beginning of week 5 ---

Alizann departed for Isle Royale at 8 a.m. despite the prior evening's festivities.  Though we've only known each other for a few days, we hope to see them again later in the trip.  Our shared passion for the water makes it seem like we've know each other for years!

Copper Harbor is totally a biking kind of town --- one of the top five in the world for expert mountain biking trails (out of our league)!  However, there were lots of places to explore at our level too.



 
 




Sunday afternoon we did the 4 mile trip to Manganese Falls .   Barely visible from the road, the water fell several hundred feet to a narrow gorge below.





















We continued biking from the falls past Lake Fannie Hooe (yes that's spelled correctly) and on to Fort Wilkins.  The fort was established to keep the peace during the copper rush in the 1800's.








Monday, July 1

Garry spent the morning working in his "office", the vestibule of a local bar that had wifi and one of only 2 pay phones (yes, they still exist) in town, while Jan, Doug and I used the wifi in the visitor center.

That done, we jumped on the bikes again and rode 4 miles to the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary. This 510 acre sanctuary protects one of the last old-growth white pine stands in Michigan. Once there, it was time to hike.

This was just the beginning!













                    This was one of those 500 year old guys (behind us)!

                                          
                                                 I felt like one of those 500 year old guys!

Doug spied an eagle soaring above the pines and our outing was complete.  What a treasure!

Back to the dock for dinner and a special after dinner treat.  Keith, one of the great DNR folks attending the dock, invited us to take a trip up Brockway Mountain for sunset.  It would have been 5 miles straight up on bikes (no something we would do).  So Keith loaded us into the back of his pick up truck and hauled us up the mountain.  We stopped on the way up for a special view of the harbor.



The entrance to Copper Harbor.  The marina is out of the picture to the far left.

Then it was on to the top with a view of the western shoreline of the Keewanaw peninsula topped off with a breathtaking sunset.



What a beautiful gift!

Tuesday was spent blogging, biking, Doug and Jan kayaking -- just enjoying a beautiful last day in Copper Harbor.  The docks will be completely full beginning Wednesday for the July 4th holiday, so we'll be moving on with wonderful memories of this special place.