Yoopers & Gitche Gumee
We spent about three days on the Keweenaw in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. What we wouldn't give to be "Yoopers," if even for part of the year. We arrived in Eagle River, Michigan about ten days into our northern Midwest road trip, driving from Ohio to South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota and back home through Michigan. The Upper Peninsula was easily our favorite part of the trip. Our best meals were had here, as well as some of our best experiences thanks to Gitche Gumee, the Eagle River Inn and all of the copper mining history of the Upper Peninsula. Driving north along Route 41, we passed the Keweenaw National Historic Park where the defunct Quincy Mine is located. The site offers a tram ride with wonderful views of Houghton and Hancock and a tour of the extensive site.
From the Quincy Mine we continued up toward the most northern point of the Peninsula. We arrived at the Eagle River Inn situated on Lake Superior (aka Gitche Gumee) and walked into a corner suite which was awash in bright natural light, white decor and featuring windows on all sides. Jamie's initial reaction was to hug and kiss me when he saw how perfect our room was and how close we were to the water. We opened the windows letting the breezes into the room and listened to the Lake. Eagle River Inn felt like our own special place in the Upper Peninsula. It is a motel that was recently remodeled and attached to the motel is Fitzgerald's restaurant which specializes in craft beer, whisky and smoked meats such as pulled pork, brisket, etc. Watching Ethan play in Lake Superior while the waves and the breezes washed along the shore made me forget just about everything back home and wonder how I could have experiences like this more often. Eagle River was the hardest place to leave--we truly loved it there.
