After kicking off our Upper Peninsula road trip yesterday hiking in the Porcupine Mountains, we've headed about an hour and a half northwest to the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is the northernmost point of Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. This peninsula, which is technically an island, was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, and for the next two days we're going to experience as much of the peninsula's history, delicious treats, and scenic views as we possibly can. Our first day here on the Keweenaw Peninsula is going to be all about mining. So a huge part of the history here on the peninsula is copper, with the Native Americans mining here over 7,000 years ago before Europeans arrived. In the 1700s, many attempts to mine copper were unsuccessful, but by the 1840s, efforts to mine copper proved to be more profitable.
creating one of the first mineral mining rushes in the United States. We're currently in the historic town of Calumet Township at the Keweenaw National Historical Park, which is a park that spreads across the entire peninsula and is home to different historic sites from back during the Copper Boom. Although the sites are spread out all across the area, Calumet is the headquarters for the park and they have a visitor center and a museum, which are closed today. But we're just gonna walk around and try to see what we can see. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company extracted copper from the rich Calumet conglomerate from 1866 to 1968 and it says as early as 1870 C&H already produced over half of Michigan's copper and Michigan accounted for 87% of copper mined in America.
We're outside the copper mining museum and according to the sign on the door it should be open for whatever reason it's not but they do have all these giant pieces of mining machinery out here that's really cool to look at. So right in town they have this Russell snowplow and at first I just thought this was a weird-looking train but this is actually a snowplow because this area can get up to 300 inches of snow and they didn't let the wintertime stop them from mining so they would have the snowplow train just clear the track so they can continue mining but it wasn't able to get all of the snow so they did have to shovel a little bit but it did help with the majority of it. So we're here on a Monday and unfortunately a lot of the buildings are closed to check out on the inside on Mondays but you can still walk around and see the outside and many of them have signage so you can still learn about them but the town of Calumet is worth the visit alone because the town is so historic and have all these historic buildings spread around but people live here there are coffee shops, restaurants, other shops mixed in with all these historic buildings. We're used to visiting historic places where it's just historic buildings and it's more of just a museum but this is like a museum in a town.
where people live and it's just such an interesting vibe. Although we didn't get the full experience here in town with a lot of things being closed, we are heading up the road to our next mining destination, which should be open and should be really cool. Literally.
Next up on our mining tour we're at the Delaware Copper Mine which operated from 1847 to 1887 during the country's first big mining boom. The mine was supported by a group of investors and although the mine didn't make any money for the investors, it now serves as a prime example of what the mines in this area looked like in the 1800s. Y'all know we love mines and we had the best time touring the Old Hundred Gold Mine in Colorado so we could not pass up the chance to tour another mine while here in Michigan.
For $12 per person you can go on a self-guided tour of the mine and the best part dogs are allowed inside. Kona's first mine! We have our hard hats on, we have our jackets on because it's in the 40s down there, and we got to see the famous skunk named Snickers. We're ready to go into the mine.
I think we have either 100 steps or 100 feet worth of steps to get down. into the actual mine. So on this mine tour you explore the 100 level which is about a hundred feet underground and there's actually other levels below here But they are completely covered in water and a few years ago They did a dive down there and they made a video of it that we'll link to in the description This mine is way bigger than I expected.
It just keeps going and going. The end is still not in sight. We've been in here for a while now. In the informational video before the tour they said once you get past the second mine shaft they dim the lights to make it look like candlelight because that's what the workers in the 1870s had to work with in candlelight. That mine tour was amazing and while we loved the one in Colorado especially because that tram ride was so fun and our guide was incredible there, the self-guided format was also a blast because you felt like you were just exploring the mine on your own which I guess technically you were but just felt like you shouldn't be there.
My favorite part I think was they left it as mostly untouched as they could. So it kind of looked exactly how it would have been over a hundred years ago. So it just kind of really felt like a really authentic experience. So you not only can go underground into the mine, but they also have an outdoor area to explore as well, which we're going to check out real quick. This outdoor area is really neat to walk around there is just tons to see There's ruins from there's a pump house over there And this is a hoist house and apparently this one was built after the other one proved to be Insufficient after they expanded the mine and so this one powered two shafts and apparently that's very unique This is the only one they know of that would do that So they had two steam powered engines in there to lift the ore cars out of the mines Right behind me is a prehistoric mining pit which is one of thousands that have been found in the area and it could be over 5,000 years old.
And what I think is so cool about this is that instead of using the tools that more modern day miners have used like the drills and everything, what they did, and I'm going to cheat on this sign right here, is they used fire to heat the copper bearing rock, then they put cold water on it to crack it, breaking it away from the copper. Then stone hammers were used to break the copper into smaller pieces and to form it into implements. That is crazy!
We backtracked a little bit to McLean State Park, which is where we're camping. Camping for the night. It's a beautiful state park with a beach as well as tons of campsites And it's said to be a great place to see super dark skies and the northern lights And we had really wanted to see the northern lights while we were here But we looked into the predictions and the forecast and it doesn't look like we're here at the right time Or it's just not gonna happen while we're here, which is kind of a good thing because we are so tired So we're just gonna hang out for the rest of the night get a lot of work done Make some tacos and then tomorrow we're gonna continue exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula We're on the road for day two of our Keweenaw Peninsula road trip and our first stop is one of the places we were most excited to visit, The Jam Pot.
It's a jam shop, bakery, and coffee roaster that's run by the monks from the Catholic monastery next door. So a couple things to know about the Jam Pot. It's only open May through October and Tuesdays through Saturdays starting at 10 a.m.
We got here at like 9.58 and there was already a line probably 20 people deep. This place is super popular. So the Jam Pop began back in 1986 and they started selling their Poor Rock Abbey Preserves which were made from wild berries found right by the shop and now they've expanded their items and they sell quite a bit more things and we got a couple goodies to enjoy. The first item we got are habanero caramel someone recommended we get jalapeno but they had habanero so this is what we got not sure if that's what they normally have and then this brick here is a pb and j brownie i've never even heard of that but look at that jelly up in there and just the crevasse of jelly there oh man look how moist that looks this looks so dang good That is so incredibly moist and rich. It kind of feels like they've like barely baked it.
It is so soft and sweet in there. The jam in there just tastes fresh and fruity. bits of chocolate and then you've just got the peanut butter that's all mixed in there first impression this thing is heavy it is thick and it does kind of feel like almost like fudge like it's just not super it's definitely not dry gosh I think I'm gonna rip open the crevasse this looks like oh shoot this looks like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich oh yeah I'm not describing it it's just tastes like a PB&J but sweeter richer unhealthier it's awesome Yeah, getting a little spice at the end there finally. It's good and it's really soft and chewy but I'm not getting a ton of caramel flavor or a ton of habanero. It's getting spicy at the end.
spicier as I talk but and now I'm tasting more caramel but while I was chewing it I don't know. Oh yep there's the habanero. It takes a second. I tasted the caramel immediately so I have had a different experience than Adam but it takes a bit for you to get that spice and it's kind of just in the back of your throat right there. I think it's really good.
We were kind of standing outside for a while. We ended up meeting this couple The Wonderful Revolution, Jed and Sandy. Super nice and we stood outside for like an hour or more talking with them. They're also traveling in a van.
It was super fun but the caramel definitely got a little gooier than maybe it was at first which I actually kind of like better but oh my god. Wow. Oh I think this is delicious. Oh gosh, oh lord, this is like a taffy. Okay, this is over.
To get to our last area on the peninsula, we are taking the Brockway Mountain Drive. It's a nine and a half mile road that is actually the highest above sea level drive between the Rocky Mountains and the Allegheny Mountains. So far, Brockway Mountain Drive is mostly through the trees, so there aren't a ton of views on the actual road, but they do have a few viewpoints that you can pull off and stop at. And we're at the first one, which is called West Bluff, and it has an amazing 270-degree view.
Over here, we have a lake called Lake Medora. You can see all the mountains and the hills surrounding you. And then over here is Lake Superior. Brockway Mountain Drive ends in the town of Copper Harbor which is the northernmost town on the Keweenaw Peninsula It is one of the few different jumping off points to get to Isle Royale National Park Which we would love to visit but it's just logistically too hard with the boat you have to take having Kona with us So we will be back to go there.
But for the rest of the day We're gonna explore a different park here in town called Fort Wilkins State Park This fort was built in 1844 and was intended to keep law and order during the copper rush. The fort tells the story of life on the northern frontier during the mid-1800s and there are about 14 different types of buildings to see and explore. The first couple of buildings we've been in is the Married Men's Quarters.
This is the bakery and then the blacksmith shop is just right there. But what we really like about this park is it's very interactive. There's lots of things you can touch.
You can set the table and pretend like you're making food and there's even people dressed up in period pieces that you can talk to and they do not break character. Fort Wilkins was only used for two years from 1844 to 1846 before troops moved south for the Mexican-American War. It was reoccupied for a few years in the 1860s, but during all the times it was occupied, there was never a battle here.
Dogs are not allowed in the building so we took turns going in. The buildings include a variety of living quarters, a kitchen, a hospital, and jail just to name a few. Each one is decorated to resemble what it would have looked like back in the 1800s and have tons of signage to educate you on what life was like living in this fort. Fort Wilkins is such a cool spot and is a must visit on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
It was a little overwhelming how much there was to learn here. There were so many buildings to see, so many signs to read. To be honest, it's a little hard to film historical places like this, museums, because there's just so much to read and absorb, and we don't want to just read every single sign to you, so we hope you learned.
a little bit about the fort but if you're in the area you have to come check this place out our time at the fort is not done we are actually staying in the fort well it'd be way cooler we're actually staying at a campground in the fort for our last night here on the peninsula but We have just loved our time here. There's just so much to see and learn about the copper industry It's basically like one big giant outdoor museum and there's tons of views too But tomorrow we're making a very long trek to our final area in the upper peninsula where we're going to be seeing some pretty beautiful Nature spots and eating one of the most iconic dishes in the upper peninsula. Oh, no, it stopped Come on, what do you think? Does it smell weird?
So we're...ah! A bug! Oh god!