I saw this patriotic red white and blue rockman on Sugar Island. Strangly, it is not the first rockman I have seen on my travels. There is an orange on in the woods northwest of Grayling near the remains of the old sawmill town of Deward. I like seeing these unique roadside artworks. They break up a long drive and make me smile.
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This old, abandoned concrete building stands near the shoreline on Sugar Island, east of Sault Ste. Marie. It held items of immense value—not gold or jewels, but books and manuscripts. It was the library for Chase Osborn. He was Michigan’s 27th Governor and the only one from the Upper Peninsula. He built an estate on Sugar Island and held his vast collection of books in his library. It was made of concrete and steel so that it would not be flammable. His home was a modest log cabin, but his library was what was important to him. The estate is mostly in ruins now, but you can hike to it in the Chase Osborn Preserve, managed by the University of Michigan.HERE
P.S. Osborn’s books were donated to the University of Michigan and Lake Superior State University.
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Nestled within Palms Book State Park, Kitch-iti-kipi, an Ojibwe term translating to “big cold spring,” is Michigan’s largest natural freshwater spring. This spring, also referred to as the “Mirror of Heaven,” features a 40-foot-deep basin with an emerald green bottom. It consistently releases 10,000 gallons of 45 °F water per minute from underground limestone fissures. The ducks were enjoying it when I visted on a cold winter day.
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US-2 spans across the Upper Peninsula and passes through the town of Norway. It is hard to miss the ragged concrete structure that towers over the town. Located a few blocks off the highway is the Headframe of the Briar Hill Mine. In its time the mine was one of the most productive in upper Michigan.
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Down town Michigamme. It’s a nifty little town on the shores of Lake Michigamme. M-28 runs next to it and if you don’t turn off the main road you would never know its there. Its a nice stopping point between L’Anse and Marquette.
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located way up in the Keweenaw Peninsula between Calumet and Copper Harbor off US-41 is the former mining town of Central Mine. It was also the name of the company that built the town. The mine was open in the 1850s and closed in the 1890s after the copper ore was depleted. The town at one time had a population of 900 residents. The miners who were mostly immigrants from Cornwall England moved away after The Central Mine turned off the pumps and sealed the shafts. In the 1950s, the last permanent resident in the town of Central Mine abandoned the once booming little town.
The Keweenaw County Historical Society owns 38 acres of the old Central Mine site and town. It operates the visitors center located in a former house. The society has also restored several houses and buildings in the old town. In the summer months, some buildings are open to visitors and decorated with antiques from the period they were built. Its closed up in the winter but it was fun to drive through it and imagine what it must have been like before four wheel drive trucks and snowmobiles.
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Along County Road 426 in Marquette County, in the center of the Upper Peninsula, stands an old, dilapidated building that is slowly falling down. It looks as if it was once a general store. According to the map, the location is the town of Mashek. The town was named for George Mashek, the owner of the Mashek Chemical and Iron Company in Escanaba. The company operated in the area and had a general store. I wonder if this old, abandoned building was the company store.
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Covington, a small Upper Peninsula town near the M-28 and 141 junction, is a quiet place. It consists of a few homes, a post office, a striking church, and an abandoned general store. Founded in 1895 and named by its first postmaster, John Lyons, after his Kentucky hometown.
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The shipping season has ended for the winter on the Great lakes, and the ships are in winter layup, but the Sand Point Lighthouse still shines over Escanaba. The lighthouse has a red light, and from what I’ve learned, red is used because it shows up better in fog. I have also noticed that lighthouses at harbor entrances usually have a red light. Whatever the reason, the old lighthouse looks majestic and faithful, shining in the night sky.
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I have driven past the The Keweenaw Snow Gauge on US-41 between Mohawk and Phoenix in Summer a few times. You get a whole new appreciation for it in the winter when the snow is waist deep in the woods and piled high on the sides of the roads. The life-sized snow gauge shows the Keweenaw’s record snowfall that was set during the winter of 1978-79. During that winter, the Keweenaw received 390.4 inches of snow. Each spring the Keweenaw County Road Commission moves the arrow to indicate how much snow fell during the most recent winter. I wonder when the record will be broken and the gage made taller.
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