78 Michigan Parks: Fort Wilkins Historic State Park #1

Stop 10.

The trip to the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula was a long one!

All of the adults were impressed with Houghton. I didn't have much of an expectation, but was impressed with both the University (Michigan Tech) and the town!

Emily drove across the lift bridge like a pro! But once we got into Hancock, we traded spots, because the roads were tight, windy, and people were going well over the speed limit.

Once 'on the island' we spotted a familiar sight: the Quincy mine!  It was really neat to see the real thing after seeing the model the day before!  Another exciting landmark we saw was Seneca Mine #3, but didn't manage a picture.  Here I thought Steve was making things up for our game, but I guess they really do number the mines!

The town of Copper Harbor is also adorable, and we were excited to eat dinner at one of the local restaurants after our Fort Wilkins State Park visit!

This is where we are!  The northernmost State Park in Michigan, in the northernmost 'city*' in Michigan!

The parking lot was massive, and mostly empty.

So much history here!

The setup was very similar to Greenfield village! Each of the buildings had displays with informational placards! 

The married enlisted men had duplex style quarters.  I can't imagine living here.  It is very isolated today, and certainly would have felt even more so a century and a half ago! 

In the bakery!

Mess hall shenanigans.

General store.

It was sad to leave before we had seen it all, but with restaurants in the UP all closing at 8, we needed to get back to town and eat before heading South.

We saw this adorable restaurant, and enjoyed their copper display, but upon reading the menu, decided that there were zero kid-friendly foods, and ultimately decided to eat at one of the other local dives.

The Lake Effect Bar and Grill had a little something for everyone, and we greatly enjoyed the burgers and Mac n Cheese.

Before heading South, we stopped one last time at a gift shop, so that I could buy my Christmas ornament from the trip.  I got the perfect one: copper colored in the shape of the UP!  These little guys were hanging out in the lawn.

Billy was the driver on our return trip.  Alice had 'shop at a Dollar General in the UP' on her list of things to do, and Juliet needed some sandals for all of our beach stops, so we stopped at the first one we saw, which just happened to be on the turnoff to our next park!

I didn't actually go inside, so this was one of my mom's photos, but Emily looks really happy.

later days

*Technically, Copper Harbor is not a city, because it's unincorporated, but there are permanent residents there year-round, but they don't have the infrastructure or whatever makes a city a "city."

A list of our previous visits:

Baraga State Park #4
Craig Lake State Park #5
Van Ripper State Park #6

Muskallonge State Park #14
Tahquamenon Falls #15 (round 2!)
Brimley State Park #16
Straits State Park #17
Keith J Charters #33
Sleeper State Park #46
Port Crescent State Park #47
Silver Lake State Park #49
Muskegon State Park #50*
Newaygo State Park #51
PJ Hoffmaster State Park #52
Grand Haven State Park #53
Ionia State Park #54
Sleepy Hollow State Park #55
Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area #56
Lake Port State Park #57
Seven Lakes State Park #58
Holly Recreation Area #59
Algonac #60
Holland State Park #61
Island Park State Recreation Area #63b
Highland Recreation Area #64b
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area #65
Dodge #4 State Park #66a
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area #66b
Maybury State Park #67
Saugatuck Dunes State Park #68
Fort Custer Recreation Area #69
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Pickney State Recreation Area #70b
WJ Hays State Park #71
Belle Isle Park #72
Van Buren State Park #73
Grand Mere State Park #74
Warren Dunes State Park #75a
Warren Woods State Park #75b
Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77
Sterling State Park #78
Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1
Kal-Haven State Park #Bonus 2
Wagner Falls #Bonus 3
Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park #Bonus 4
Yankee Springs #Fail