Day 12 – Houghton, MI to Copper Harbor, MI

Harbor Haus Restaurant

Great day for a swim! (not!)

Our accomodations

Lighthouse

Deer behind our cabin

The day was right for riding; sunny skies and temps in the low 60s. Originally, our intention was to ride to Copper Harbor for lunch and then try to make it to Munising, MI by the end of the day. That all changed after a fantastic meal at the Harbor Haus Restaurant which included a couple of beers. Harbor Haus is a gourmet German restaurant located right on Copper Harbor with fantastic views of the harbor and Lake Superior beyond. With a good meal and a couple of beers under our belts, we decided that it would be a tragedy if we didn’t stay for dinner, so we rented a cabin for the night.

After lunch we walked out to the end of a pier on the restaurant grounds to have a cigar. While we were there, a few college kids came out and prepared to jump into the icy water. I don’t know what the water temp is, but the air temp was around 60 and the water couldn’t have been more than 50. Two of the guys took a running jump and splashed into the bay. Oh to be young and crazy. I got a picture of one of them taking the plunge, got his email and sent it to him.

Copper Harbor is at the very northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Today it is a fishing, hunting, hiking and bicycling destination, as well as winter activities including snowmobiling and skiing. As with the rest of the peninsula, Copper Harbor was originally established as a result of the copper mines, which today are inactive, except for tours.

There is a lot to see and do here, with many parks, lodges and quaint lakeside towns. It was worth the layover to experience it again.

Wasn’t the same without you, Baker.