Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 6 Part 1; US 41 to Copper Harbor and Isle Royale National Park

I started the 22nd out leaving Houghton early in the morning to reach Copper Harbor.  I had a ticket on the ferry out of Copper Harbor to Isle Royale National Park which was one of three National Parks I had not been to in the Continental United States until this trip.  The drive was a little rough given it was foggy and dark out, but thankfully there was no encounters with an deer.  I arrived shortly before 7 AM at the junction of M-26 and US 41.   This junction would have been the original north terminus of US 41 when it was plotted out in the 1920s.







By 1930 the junction of US 41 had been moved east of Copper Harbor by two miles to Fort Wilkins State Park.  Oddly US 41 doesn't end at the boundary of Fort Wilkins State Park but just beyond it at a dirt road.  There is no "end" placard indicating US 41 has ended but rather a monument to the route.




The first southbound reassurance shield along US 41.  I can assure you the southern terminus in Miami 1,990 miles to the south is very different.




I picked Copper Harbor to head to Isle Royale given that it is only located 55 miles to the south.  That may not seem like much of a distance but the ferry ride on the Isle Royale Queen IV takes anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to cross Lake Superior.  There was no way I could have done this trip from Houghton unless I took a seaplane and Grand Portage in Minnesota seemed a little out of reach.


The weather was calm in the morning but a storm from the previous night had just rolled out and cooler air was moving in.  That meant that the waves wouldn't be so bad going up to Isle Royale but would be possibly up to 8 feet high coming back to Copper Harbor.  The parking lot attendant was actually offering refunds to people who didn't they could handle the boat ride.  Given I came way too far through 44 National Parks there was no turning back for me, I don't get sea sick regardless.


A lot of people think Lake Superior is relatively calm like Lake Michigan.  I've found the water to always be much colder and far more turbulent given the more northern climate.  It took close to four hours to reach Rock Harbor on Isle Royale which meant I was going to have to hike fas








Isle Royale is approximately 207 Square Miles and I believe the is the second largest in the Great Lakes.  Isle Royale was ceded to the United States in the 1840s and was very quickly opened to copper mining exploitation.  The mining never really reached a large scale but Isle Royale became an attractive resort location until it was designated a National Park in 1940.  I hiked the Stoll Trail (really I mean trail running since I hate to walk slowly alone) and a couple smaller trails near Rock Harbor.  The island is pretty nice and was worth finally knocking off my list, too bad it took almost four decades to get to a place like this in my home state. 




















On the way back to Copper Harbor the winds picked to 20 MPH and a storm started to approach.  The waves picked up to a good 5-8 feet and it got me into port about 40 minutes late as the storm was about to hit.








By the time I hit the junction of M-26 the US 41 the rain was about to hit.  I decided to take M-26 back to Houghton since I wanted to clinch the route. 







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w