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Lake
Superior off
Copper Harbor
,
Michigan
. Even in summer, water temperatures are polar
bear friendly.
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COPPER HARBOR, Mich. — A mansion. A museum. A mine. A
menu. A metal artist.
They are echoes of the days
when copper was king, legacies of the rich mining history
of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
And they are my favorite
pieces of this remote Michigan puzzle, a region whose
physical beauty can still stop your breath.
More than 10 1/2 billion
pounds of copper were pulled out of the Keweenaw between
1844 and 1968. Yet treasure still gleams up here for
tourists, and I'm not just talking about brilliant fall
color, which should hit its peak late this month.
You may have your own
favorites in Copper Country. Here are mine:
LAURIUM MANOR INN, Laurium:
Stay overnight reveling in luxury just like copper baron
Thomas Hoatson Jr., who built this mansion in 1906.
Laurium Manor is lucky,
because after falling on hard times and being stripped and
mostly ruined, restorers Julia and David Sprenger bought
it in 1989 and lovingly coaxed it back into a fine 10-room
inn.
You might feel as if the
parlor and dining room are gloomy, but that's because the
place has been meticulously restored to its 1908 feel,
including dim matte wall coverings, draperies and
furniture. The bedrooms are brighter.
You can take a tour of the
45-room mansion even if you don't stay there. I recommend
spending the night — I liked the Allouez room. (Rooms
$79 per night and up, www.laurium.info, 906-337-2549. A
self-guided tour is $6.)
THE ASTOR HOUSE MUSEUM,
Copper Harbor: A curator would have a heart attack if he
stepped into the hodgepodge beautiful chaos of this little
museum, out back of the Thunderbird Gift Center and
Minnetonka Resort.
At first, it appears
everything is from the Keweenaw. Not true. There are
Indian arrowheads from the plains of Nebraska. An amazing
vintage doll collection . The museum also is stuffed with
old copper mining equipment, oil paintings, silver,
dishes, toys, china, old things that made their way to
this remote town via the owners of the Minnetonka.
It's one of those wonderful
little museums that can be assembled only by a dedicated
collector with a pack-rat heart. ($2 admission, 652
Gratiot, Copper Harbor, open June through late October.
906-289-4449. )
QUINCY MINE, Hancock: A
phenomenal tram ride into the seventh underground level of
the Quincy Mine, one of the last UP copper mines to close.
It stopped operation in 1945.
The tour takes visitors
deep into the mine, where the guide suddenly flicks off
the lights and explains how miners worked in near
total-darkness, lit by only a candle stub, as they pounded
holes in the basalt to extract the rich veins of copper.
It is fascinating for all
ages; there's also a very good gift shop. Don't miss the
34,000-pound piece of pure copper on display as you start
the tour.
The mine is part of the
Keweenaw National Historic Park. ($15 adults; $8 ages
6-12, open April through end of October;
www.quincymine.com, 906-482-3101.)
HARBOR HAUS RESTAURANT,
Copper Harbor: The mining boom of the 1890s and 1900s
brought immigrants from Germany, Ireland, England, China,
Lebanon and eastern Europe to the Keweenaw, creating a
rich culture — and rich food. One fine descendent of
that trend is the Harbor Haus, an excellent
German-Austrian restaurant overlooking Lake Superior.
Owned by chef Ron Waara, it
features German dishes like schnitzel with spaetzle
noodles — or the local specialty, Lake Superior trout.
The Haus also maintains the charming custom of the
waitresses running outside and dancing as the Queen IV
ferry from Isle Royale comes into port most days at 6:15
p.m. (77 Brockway Ave., Copper Harbor, www.harborhaus.com,
906-289-4502 ; open Memorial Day through mid-October.)
STUDIO 41, Copper Harbor:
The Keweenaw is full of copper-related gifts, but if you
really want to support merchants in the Upper Peninsula,
look for one-of-a-kind items by local artists or vintage
pieces in antique shops.
In this tiny shop, the
works of many UP artists crowd each other for attention.
But the highlights are the shimmering copper vases, copper
bowls and copper leaf sculptures done by talented
coppersmith and owner Jeremy Whitmire, who runs the shop
with his wife, Colleen.
The copper art is a tribute
to the workers who dug this metal from the ground.
It is also a tribute to a
metal so versatile it can build a whole region, a
telephone wire or just a small vase.
(260 Fourth St., Copper
Harbor, 906-289-4808. Open May to end of October.)
———
IF YOU GO:
GETTING THERE: The Keweenaw
Peninsula is in the northwest region of the Upper
Peninsula, about a nine-hour drive from Detroit.
FALL COLOR: Look for
glorious color in late September and early October on
Brockway Mountain Drive between Eagle Harbor and Copper
Harbor. Also enjoy the colorful drive on U.S.-41 between
Calumet and Copper Harbor, called the Copper Country Trail
National Scenic Byway.
FOR MORE ON THE KEWEENAW:
Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.keweenaw.info,
800-338-7982). Stop by the visitors center in Calumet
(corner of U.S.-41 and Lake Linden Avenue) for
information, brochures and maps.
The Keweenaw National
Historic Park is a federal designation since 1992 that
encompasses the Quincy Mine, Laurium Manor, the Coppertown
Mining Museum in Calumet and other mining historical sites
(www.nps.gov/kewe, 906-337-3168).
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