I'm Not Itching to See More

 June 14 - 19, 2022

Baraga - Ontonagon, Michigan

Hwy 41 west on the Upper Peninsula is a good road - a few construction zones, but mostly just a smooth drive all the way to Baraga.

2 signs, 4 cones, stop light, dropping arm, flag - they want you to stop HERE!

Just a lay-over stop of two nights, I'm not expecting to see much except a thunder storm. We're at the very north edge of the storm that flooded and closed Yellowstone a couple days ago - wow those pictures of the devastation are horrible! Such an unhappy experience for all those campers who had to evacuate, and those stranded in Gardiner. 

John noted a successful stay at the Ojibwa Casino in Marquette when they were here a few years ago, so I made reservations at the one in Baraga. Much smaller, but with FHUs (30 amp) on level asphalt, it's just right for our needs.

A couple sites have large puddles, so with storms expected I'm glad we are able to get one that's high and dry.

Baraga sits on the south end of L'Anse Bay, with a population of 2000. After our 50 degree Sunday, this 80 degree Tuesday is a bit weird. 

Wednesday is a no-destination day (I don't even bring my camera). In fact I'm convinced we'll have to come back home soon when the storm hits. Thunder rumbles to the west as we drive through light rain north on Hwy 41. I miss the turn-off to the lighthouse, and with the rain dissipating, we continue along the Keweenaw Bay. Houghton is a much larger town, home of Michigan Technical University. Not only is this a big campus, there are at least 15 fraternity/sorority houses just on the main road. Massive road construction has much of this area torn up. 

Keweenaw Bay

Historic Downtown Houghton

Bill finds the Ambassador Restaurant - a beautiful old world setting with delicious food.

Nice views of the water and the Portage Canal Lift Bridge.

After lunch we continue north along the bay just to see what there is to see. Lots of vintage homes showing signs of wear and age. Pretty Linden Lake, and a couple villages getting ready for summer. Still no storm, although it's cloudy and squinty and thunder heads are building to the southwest. 

We find the Sandy Point Lighthouse on our way back. It's on the Ojibwa Nation along with a good size electric-only campground on the bay. The views are pretty, but the huge stacks of firewood confirm the casino was a better choice for us. I discover later that several mosquitos found me here :-(

Built in 1878 with no other information at the site. Sadly dog walkers don't pick up after their pets here so it's not a pleasant walk around. 

L'Anse Bay

Protected area surrounding the lighthouse.

With much less gusto than anticipated, the rain arrives about 5:00. After a short time it becomes clear that we chose our site wisely....

Our site is still dry - whew!

Although we're under tornado watch overnight, the rain moves on by 11:00 and all is calm. In the morning the trees are dancing in the brisk wind. I call ahead to be sure we can check-in early at the end of our short drive of 42 miles (in hindsight I'm not sure why I stopped us in Baraga for two nights). We're welcome to arrive anytime, so we pack up and head out, hoping to beat the high winds expected in the afternoon.

It's definitely a blustery drive with lots of hard gusts on Hwy 38 through the trees, but it's doable for 45 minutes. River Road RV Park is actually on the river - just across a small entrance road. It could use some TLC, but the 50 amp FHUs work and our grass site is level. Lovely trees but no satellite connection. Park WiFi doesn't connect. During our stay a young woman works hard cleaning up the grounds, and by the time we leave it's already looking much better.

We never get neighbors on this side so it's a spacious spot.

Happy to find a local diner with fresh pasties, Syl's Cafe has the best so far. Very large and very tasty. We may have found the winner!

On our way home we check out the little lighthouse at the harbor near the park. 

This is half the town.

Maybe when we get tired of the road.

Ontonagon Harbor Lighthouse, the second station built on this site in 1866 for $14K. Retired in 1964, a massive restoration was done in 2009 for $100k. It is currently maintained by the local historical society. 

Porcupine Wilderness SP is the destination here, and I'm looking forward to spending Friday exploring. I wake up with lots of itching bites, recognizing that the mosquitos have caught up with us, or us with them, although they haven't been very visible. Bill is fortunate that they don't effect him, while they find me irresistible :-(

We get up and out under breezy, blue and chilly skies. It is a glorious day!! 

The Ontonagon River that runs past our park is chocolate brown from the sandstone and red clay beneath it. Several of the creeks that enter Lake Superior "up here" are also brown, and driving the shore we see an interesting layering of brown and blue water several yards out.

Ontonagon River - all chocolate.

Mixing in the with the lake's blue water.

First stop is the Lake of the Cloud Outlook. A 300 foot board walk takes us up to the platform. We can see 20 miles over the pretty lake and acres of green forest. The weather is perfect, but the bugs aren't repelled by the brisk wind. Hikers pass by with face netting. 

A very nice walkway to the lookout.

Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains - stunning!

On this clear day you can see forever!

The map from the visitors' center shows a few dozen hiking trails around the park, but only one other road that goes to the southwest corner of the park at Prescue Isle. A 45 minute drive through more green forest takes us to the campground and trailheads. The bugs are thick here. We're not hikers, but I would normally take the couple short trails to see falls if not for the threat of more itching. From the photos it looks like the falls in the park aren't like those we're used to. Here, they're more like rapids over rocks with a short drop.  While I'd enjoy seeing more of the park, I'm not so disappointed at missing these falls.

A few places you can see the forest through the trees.

Back through the forest to the lakeshore and downtown Ontonagon. Another tasty lunch at Syl's Cafe then a tour of the immediate area. 

Having mentioned to Bill that there are a lot of elderly people here, I can't help but laugh when I see this at a local restaurant. Gotta take care of your peeps!

Beginning in Mobile, AL, and traveling 1298 miles through seven states, Hwy 45 ends in this little town on the UP.

The original courthouse was built in 1886, then rebuilt with most of the same bricks when a fire destroyed the town in 1896.

Dunes line the lake's edge at the county park (70 water/electric campsites).

Several miles of accessible beach just outside the little town.

Saturday we take a short drive, through more forest, to Lake Gogebec. In the two-block village of Bergland, only one small park has access to the water, the rest of the shoreline is part of privately owned land. It's the largest inland lake in the UP so I'm sure there's more access further south, but after a mediocre lunch at Antonio's, we return home.

I was admittedly hoping for more to see in the Porcupine Mountains. The lush green forests are beautiful, as is the incredible Lake Superior. But little variety exists in the areas we explored. I'm sure there's a lot more to see for those who hike, and those without gourmet blood. We've been blessed with near perfect weather and a very quiet park - and those most excellent pasties, so there are no complaints :-))

Sunday morning I have bites on my face, and I'm very ready to return east and hope for fewer pests. Iron Mountain is our next stop.

Our youngest grand, Oliver is already six months old!

Almost two years old (!), Elliott just got his first hair cut. Still lots of pretty curls.