Day Three – St. Ignace MI to Copper Harbor
Miles: 345
Elapsed Time: 10:29
It was a nice sunrise with the sun coming up on Lake Huron. We had breakfast at Java Joe’s which just a couple of doors down. The menu there was very extensive and we were in a bit of a hurry so we ordered quickly. Java Joe came over and began talking with us asking where we were from and when we stated Cincinnati he asked if we liked his special Cincinnati dish on the menu. We hadn’t seen it, but there it was on the menu “goetta”. That would have been nice but the food was already on its way. It turns out Joe is also from Cincinnati and has been slingin’ breakfast and lunch at this spot for a couple of decades. We rode to Pictured Rocks National Park.
A beautiful viewnof the Lake Superior shoreline greeted us as we had a walk to the different overlooks. Next we stopped to take a view of Munising Bay. There was a small overlook just West of the town of Munising. We rode along the shoreline as the weather began to become more overcast and in general less than perfect day. It certainly didn’t feel like August. We decided to have a stop in Marquette for lunch and we knew there was a good place for that along with a brew at Black Rocks Brewery. We grabbed a sandwich across the street and brought it back to the taproom. We were waiting out the rain which had begun as we pulled in; pretty good timing. The rain had stopped so we continued on up US41 stopping at Bishop Barga State Park. A very significant statue of the bishop is here and telling the story of his life as a missionary to the Indians in the area. Staying on US 41 we were soon in Houghton where we crossed the Portage Canal Lift Bridge. We stopped on the Hancock side but since it was still raining we pulled in underneath the bridge to take a look at the Garmin and determine our strategy as we moved towards Copper Harbor. It was easy following the route; stay on US41, but as we approached Eagle River we broke off of US41 and stayed along the coast. We stopped at Eagle River to view that lighthouse and a couple of bridges that spanned the Eagle River. We continued on to Eagle Harbor where there was another lighthouse. As we were there viewing the lighthouse we saw the fog rolling in, and it was a sight neither of us had seen before. The fog must have been traveling at a rate of 10mph. The temperature dropped 15 degrees almost instantly as the fog overcame us. It was truly a completely unique phenomenon.
We were back on the bikes and feeling the effects of the dropping temperature as we rode toward our destination. We arrived to Copper Harbor and got set up at the motel which happened to a part of the Brickside Brewery. We didn’t waste much time before we headed north of town to find the end of US41. We found the spot and continued on after the road and turned to dirt. We were going to ride to the very tip of the peninsula to view Gull Rock Lighthouse, but it was already after 8:00 and the dirt road was still a little muddy so we decided to turn back. We stopped along US 41 at the official beginning/end of the highway for a pic and then also stopped along the highway and took a quick walk across the road to take a pic of the Copper Harbor Lighthouse in the distance only to find a trooper waiting to give us a ticket for stopping and pulling into a state park driveway. We went and paid the parking fee instead - whatever. We stayed at the brewery and had some eats before calling it a night.
