Copper Country Road Trip - November 2021
During the weekend of November 5-7, 2021, a group of us ventured to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan to explore a region dubbed as Copper Country which includes the Keweenaw Peninsula. For those who have never visited or heard of this region, I highly recommend looking it up and checking it out. This area has an unbelievable history including copper mining which brought many settlers to the region dating back to around 1845. This region also boasts some of the most breathtaking views from the Porcupine Mountains and Lake of the Clouds (featured left) to Brockway Mountain in Copper Harbor at the very tip of the Peninsula. Explore the endless number of hiking trails, waterfalls, campsites, and more.
This was our second trip this year to the UP, our first was back in the beginning of June where we took about four days to explore the famous Quincy Mine, Brockway Mountain, and several waterfalls, lighthouses, beaches, and towns along the north shore of the Peninsula.
On this trip, we sadly only had two and a half days after traveling, but we made the most of it by visiting the Porcupine Mountains - which included visiting Lake of the Clouds, Overlooked Falls (featured right), and Greenstone Falls.
We also ventured over to Agate Beach, which is known for its abundance of agates that can be found along the Lake Superior shoreline (featured left). Below you can find a few of our favorite photos from our over the weekend.
We also visited a few local favorites, that are a must-stop when you’re in the area. The first was The Ambassador Pizza located along the main drag in downtown Houghton and right along the Portage Canal and the famous Portage Canal Lift Bridge. If the name wasn't a giveaway, they are known best for their pizza, but also have several other great food choices. For that 21+ crowd, they have some excellent fish bowls along with a wide variety of beers on tap, including some from the Keweenaw Brewing Company that can be found just down the street. The Keweenaw Brewing Company was the second place we stopped, for again that 21+ crowd, they host a good selection of beers on tap. A couple of favorites would be their Widow Maker, Red Jacket, and Redridge Blood Orange. This is an excellent place to stop if you want a cheap local pint of beer. The last place we ventured to was a Finnish-style breakfast stop and a local favorite thanks to the abundance of Finnish heritage across this region called Suomi. Suomi means Finland in Finnish. They are known for their Finnish French Toast, which is made with the Finnish bread called Nisu but also has a fabulous Finnish pancake, called Pannukakku, and pasties. One other thing I really like about Suomi is once again, the prices. Excellent breakfast for an absolutely great price!
Besides the unseasonable warm weather that we were gifted with this weekend, there was one more amazing surprise we had the first night we were there, and that was the beautiful Aurora Borealis, otherwise known as the northern lights. What made this experience more exciting was the fact the odds of seeing them were forecasted to be zero. Decreased further by the scattered clouds, but we managed to pick them up on our cameras while capturing a couple of long exposure timelapses which you can see below!
