Houghton-Hancock

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I was originally going to ride to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Copper Harbor. But the weather forecast was iffy regarding possible rain so I decided to ride to the twin towns of Houghton and Hancock about 90 miles north of Land O' Lakes. These town are separated by the Portage Canal and connected by a cool looking lift bridge.



The color was really good almost all the way to Houghton, but for some reason, even though it was further north, the color was not as far along. One theory is that the towns are on the waters of Lake Superior and that keeps the temperatures a bit warmer. The Keweenaw Peninsula is known as Copper Country because of the numerous old defunct copper mines there.



The ride up on US 45 and MI 26 was thoroughly enjoyable and lined with beautiful trees all the way. I had a nice lunch at The Library in Houghton where a good friend of mine tends bar. After catching up on old times, I headed back south to the Gateway Lodge. I decided to ride Forest Highway 16 for 45 of the miles back. It cuts right through the Ottawa National Forest and is a beautiful ride with hardly any traffic. Halfway down FH16, I stopped at one of my favorite bars, Hoppy's in Kenton, MI. Jane, the owner wasn't working when I got there but I did talk with Michelle, the bartender. I know all these places and people from all my winters of snowmobiling here.



When I got back to the Gateway, I had a nice dinner there to finish a wonderful day.



(Click on the photos below to enlarge them)

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Comments

[Sherry]

Beautiful
Thanks for sharing your pictures. Love the color of the trees. Beautiful country. Enjoy!