Saturday, June 15, 2013
Minutes
before the clock went off in the early morning, the light pitter-patter of rain
on the tent woke us up. Checking the
local radar from the comfort of my sleeping bag, we were in for a short break
before heavier rains moved in. With
military precision, camp was broken down and we in the car just in time – a gully
washer ensued. iPhones are great. I don’t care what people say.
With the
rain, we had a quick breakfast in Houghton…er, Hancock….oh, hell, I don’t
know. We ate in town.
The rain
did not dampen our spirits at all. We
had set aside the morning to visit the Keweenaw National Historic Park anyway,
so it didn’t really matter. Housed in
Calumet’s old Masonic Temple, this awesome addition to the National Park
Service does a super job of laying out the details of the copper mining
industry during its heyday. Among the
many cool period items was a step and chair set from the aforementioned Italian
Hall Disaster. Creepy to say the least.
The rain
did not dampen our spirits at all. We
had set aside the morning to visit the Keweenaw National Historic Park anyway,
so it didn’t really matter. Housed in
Calumet’s old Masonic Temple, this awesome addition to the National Park
Service does a super job of laying out the details of the copper mining
industry during its heyday. Among the
many cool period items was a step and chair set from the aforementioned Italian
Hall Disaster. Creepy to say the least.
As
predicted by the ‘ole iPhone weather app, the rain broke. A short shuffle up the road brought us to
Copper Harbor. Tiny, but picturesque (The
population? Negative 18 people), it was
time for some hiking. With dueling
Ovenbirds at the hike’s start, we walked to the Lake Superior shoreline on some
Nature Conservancy property. Having lunch on a rocky shore should be on
everyone list of things to do. We’re
serious here. Natalie, by this point,
was in full nature mode, soaking up every flower, bird and rock. Yes, folks, a
new addition to the “B” theme on this silly blog – boulders. The stones were awesome. We were diggin’ rocks just as much as
anything else.
At one
point, we were pondering a chunk of sedimentary rock that clearly had the
“ripples” on it, showing how, once upon a time, that rock was sandy beach front
property. The ripples had been caused by the crashing waves and cemented into
place as the millions of years ticked by.
How said chunk of ancient stone ended up in my backpack is not certain……
Afternoon
drinks were had at the Brickside Brewery.
A tiny place in a tiny town this place is certainly worth a stop. No food, but so what. Give it a whirl. We suspect you’ll like it.
Walter’s
Wiezen, Mosquito Lake Pale Ale, UP IPA, and the Mud Lake Brown Ale (#1449-1452) were
all pretty well done. The Wiezen was light and citrusy. It would be pretty fair on a hot summer day
(which it wasn’t). The Pale Ale and IPA
were both pretty fair representation of their styles. It was nice to try the
styles next to each other. They can be similar in the eyes of some folks, but
the Pales pale when compared directly to IPAs. The hop tones just aren’t as
strong. If you are an IPA guy (like I am now), Pale Ales almost seem weak. The Brown was the best of the four. The
Belgian influence was nice.
Beware. They have candles on each table. If you flip
pages on your notebook and the corner ends up near the open flame it might just
catch fire. How would we know this…..
With a few
hours to dilly-dally before dinner, there is nothing better than a historic
fort. Built in 1844 in anticipation of
chaos associated with the copper mining rush, Fort Wilkins turned out to be
completely unnecessary. Abandoned two
years later, it was re-garrisoned during the Civil War only to be abandoned
again. After soldiers came and went, entrepreneurs
did the same as business ventures failed.
By the 1930s, restoration of the fort, now a state park, was
underway.
Always
trying to appreciate the efforts soldiers forced to live in the middle of
nowhere, the exhibits did a super job of laying out how life moved along (or
didn’t). Period arms, clothing, kitchen
equipment and other nifty items were on display throughout the various
structures.
Opportunities
like this also give you the chance to really think about that experience (in
the 21st century) vs what they would experienced almost 200 years
previous. The smell of the lake, for
example. Would it have been the same? I
suspect so. The Alder Flycatcher calling
the woods? Certainly, they would have heard it. The Merlin catching bugs high
over head. The same, I’m sure, if they
bothered to look up. It is like time
travel.
Speaking
of time travel, one the most interesting things to me was use of a period
DeWalt drill. We can only gather that officers (certainly not the enlisted) had
perfected a time machine, travelled into the early 21st century and
snitched a powertool. Of all the things to
grab before returning the mid-19th century…
Camping
and dinner were at the Fort. An evening
drive took us up and over Brockway Mountain and up to Eagle Harbor. With the
clouds finally breaking (it had been cloudy all day, even after the rain
stopped), we hustled back to Copper Harbor with the hopes of securing
lighthouse photos in beautiful evening light. Yeah, cool idea. Didn’t happen.
As we made our way out to the harbor, the light shifted again. Very….blah. Not
gray and ugly, but certainly not what I was hoping for either…..
With the
sun gone (or nearly so), Nat and I decided to head back the Brickside for
another round of drinks. The Park Bench
Porter (#1453) and Stone Ship Stout (#1454)
are just superb. Even experienced
beer snobs can having trouble separating the two. Hell, sometimes brewers and
authors can’t tell you. So what. Have
‘em both. The stout edged out the
porter. Pitch black, smooth and refreshing
enough you could fill a pool and jump in it, I would not hesitate to buy this
beer if I could secure here in Detroit. A “5” for sure. Damn good.
It was
also here that we noted a new rule live by – be mindful when drunks are playing
darts.
Imagine a man so drunk he wobbles when he
stands. Imagine a dart board on a post
(not a wall). Imagine a walking space of at least 4 feet behind the post. Imagine a beautiful, young woman walking to
the restrooms via the small walking space behind the board. Imagine the
previously stated drunkard flinging a dart at the board… Can you see the disaster in the making? Holy crap. No, the woman was not Natalie but
holy crap, what is the first-aid response when a metal tip dart enters your
head? (For the record, the man was a
very good shot. How he managed to hit the board is anybody’s guess…)
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