I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to sleep in today until 10am! The kayaking ordeal was simply exhausting! With extra time on my hands I decided to take an excursion to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse on Hays Point, since its only accessible by boat I decided to let 
someone else do the work and pay $16 for a pleasant 15 minute ride in an old Navy vessel. This particular light was completed in 1886 (the original one was built in 1848 but was either torn down or ?) in response to the increase in loss of life and property secondary to the increased water traffic from the mining industry. In 1919 the light was automated and in 1937 a new steel tower was built and now an electric beacon shines 22 miles out into Lake Superior.
someone else do the work and pay $16 for a pleasant 15 minute ride in an old Navy vessel. This particular light was completed in 1886 (the original one was built in 1848 but was either torn down or ?) in response to the increase in loss of life and property secondary to the increased water traffic from the mining industry. In 1919 the light was automated and in 1937 a new steel tower was built and now an electric beacon shines 22 miles out into Lake Superior.
There was a mile or so of nice hiking trails...at one point leading past this anchor of the John Jacob Astor which sunk here is 1844 and which the docent said was the first freighter to sail in Lake Superior and the first also to sink!
Here we have the propeller from the steamer Scotia which in 1884 stuck a reef of Keewenaw point and broke in half! Sounds like navigation by lights was crucial....although poor weather would make any situation worse!
I thought this was a very interesting flower species until the docent advised me that Orange Hockweed is an invasive species.
More rock scrambling to see Copper Harbor Light from waters edge.
The tower was open to climb, but at 16 steps it was roped off with NO admittance. Bummer....I was really interested to see the view from the top! Darn liability policies! You should be able to sign a waiver...or something.
As I hiked along the interpretive trail I paused just in time to see a freighter fairly close...freighters remind me of home:-)
Hiking on the north shore of Hays Point peering out from the shade of a white cedar tree watching others navigate the lichen covered pre-Cambrian basalt. The terrain was rocky with an east to west trend that was a result of the glaciers, but also the slope is tiled northward about 30 degrees. Interesting terrain I thought at the time, little did I know I'd be cursing it in a few days!
This is a very pretty flower that I found to grow in some of the most unusual rocky places, usually singularly, rarely in groups. I saw many of them the previous day in Eagle Harbor. I was informed this is the harebell.
Like I said earlier, the light was erected in response to increased mining activity in the area encouraged by the state of Michigan's first geologist, Douglas Houghton. But 17th century French explorers (and the natives) had been able to see the La Roche Verte (the green rock), or the Chrysocolla vein from a "considerable distance". You can see the blue-green vein of copper silicate and white calcite underwater running north and south between the rocks.
And I was introduced to Thimbleberries here too! YUM! I gobbled up the ripe red one just after I took this. Throughout the week I found it difficult to leave some for the hikers behind me!
And also Saskatoon berries!! I thought they were native to Saskatchewan but apparently they go by several names (of which I have forgotten) and we have them also :-)
(The thimbleberries are still my favorite...I'm surprised my fingers weren't permanently stained red from this trip from the juicy berries!)
You would tend to think that Copper Harbor has mountains by this background but it is actually ridge-valley topography as I was informed.
Here comes Capt. Kurt to whisk us back to the marina!
More rock scrambling to see Copper Harbor Light from waters edge.
The tower was open to climb, but at 16 steps it was roped off with NO admittance. Bummer....I was really interested to see the view from the top! Darn liability policies! You should be able to sign a waiver...or something.
As I hiked along the interpretive trail I paused just in time to see a freighter fairly close...freighters remind me of home:-)
Hiking on the north shore of Hays Point peering out from the shade of a white cedar tree watching others navigate the lichen covered pre-Cambrian basalt. The terrain was rocky with an east to west trend that was a result of the glaciers, but also the slope is tiled northward about 30 degrees. Interesting terrain I thought at the time, little did I know I'd be cursing it in a few days!
This is a very pretty flower that I found to grow in some of the most unusual rocky places, usually singularly, rarely in groups. I saw many of them the previous day in Eagle Harbor. I was informed this is the harebell.
Like I said earlier, the light was erected in response to increased mining activity in the area encouraged by the state of Michigan's first geologist, Douglas Houghton. But 17th century French explorers (and the natives) had been able to see the La Roche Verte (the green rock), or the Chrysocolla vein from a "considerable distance". You can see the blue-green vein of copper silicate and white calcite underwater running north and south between the rocks.
I really didn't want to get my favorite
hiking boots wet so this is as close as I could
get to the copper (green color) without getting wet....I think I need to tie sandals onto my pack for opportunities like this!
And I was introduced to Thimbleberries here too! YUM! I gobbled up the ripe red one just after I took this. Throughout the week I found it difficult to leave some for the hikers behind me!
And also Saskatoon berries!! I thought they were native to Saskatchewan but apparently they go by several names (of which I have forgotten) and we have them also :-)
(The thimbleberries are still my favorite...I'm surprised my fingers weren't permanently stained red from this trip from the juicy berries!)
You would tend to think that Copper Harbor has mountains by this background but it is actually ridge-valley topography as I was informed.
Here comes Capt. Kurt to whisk us back to the marina!
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