It was a journey through time – in more ways than one.
As our travel day progressed – we stepped back in time into the early 1900’s at Keweenaw National Historical Park and learned about some of the challenges in the Upper Peninsula during the Great Depression.
We also stepped back in time to 1995 – 2001 when Kirk, Noel, Tim and Andrew were “Yoopers” and lived on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Hancock, Michigan.
The day started like most travel days do – a quick breakfast, a hot shower, and then getting the Atlas ready for a travel day.
After leaving Fanny Hooe RV Park, we drove a scenic road that runs right by Lake Superior – with several scenic rest stops suitable for exploration by Aurora.
Our major stop of the day was the Jampot – which is run by the Society of Saint John and specializes in baked goods and locally sourced jams. The monks make unbelievable traditional fruitcake – which is soaked in rum and wrapped in cheese cloth. We bought a bunch of stuff – the question is whether we will have any of it left when we return to Washington later in July. Only time will tell.
Question – who spends $120 at a bakery?
Answer – Kirk, Noel and Aurora at the Jampot.
Over the years as we have traveled – one of the highlights of time spent in the National Parks were Ranger interpretive talks. These talks – about history, nature, or geology – were part of the experience of visiting and camping in a National Park. I remember listening to these Ranger talks during Schulz family camping trips when I was in high school for a canoeing adventure in Everglades National Park.
During the COVID shutdown these were cancelled at most National Parks – and have been very slowly coming back as staffing allows.
As Noel was checking out available programs at the Keweenaw National Historical Park in Calumet, Michigan – we had an opportunity to go on an hour long walk through historic Calumet with a Park Ranger.
Did we have time in our schedule for a talk on a busy travel day?
Yes!
Following our historical journey back into depression era Calumet, we hit the road in pursuit of driving by the two different homes where we lived during our time in the Keweenaw. Despite pouring rain – and not remembering the exact addresses – we managed to find both of them. Somehow they seem to have shrunk a bit over the years!
Our next stop on memory lane was driving through the Michigan Tech Campus. It was my first time back in Houghton since we left in 2001 to move to Starkville, Mississippi. While we might have planned to walk through campus – it was a bit blustery and wet for a leisurely stroll – so we drove by the buildings that once housed our offices and research laboratories.
Once I leave somewhere I do not tend to look back – but I must admit it was fun to revisit somewhere that was instrumental in our careers and was an important part of Tim and Andrew’s upbringing.
It was a great day revisiting the Keweenaw – we learned a lot and got to revisit a lot of memories of our 6 years we spent at Michigan Tech and Hancock, Michigan.
We spent the rest of the day on the road driving through intense rain with a final destination of Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Paradise, Michigan. We got into our campsite a bit later than we normally might have – but overall it was an excellent day!
Kirk’s Travelogue 