Ft Wilkins Historic State Park

Wandering down the Lake Superior Trail sounded like a good idea this morning. The path ran right in front of our campsite and along the rugged shores of the lake. Walking through the pine trees we found ourselves in the restored 1800 Ft Wilkins. Once an active U.S. Army post the fort complex was built in 1844 to keep peace in Michigan's Copper Country. There are 19 restored buildings, 12 of which are original, that represent an example of a nineteenth century military post. It is the last remaining original wooden for east of the Mississippi River. There are costumed interpreters there to explain about the different buildings and how life was during the forts existence. An old copper mine was found on the grounds of the fort, but it wasn't very successful. You can still see the shaft today. Leaving the fort through the wooden post gateway we continued through the forest area and took a side path to a spot overlooking the harbor and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse built in 1866. The lighthouse is only accessible by boat tour from Copper Harbor.We sat on the rocks and watched the waves break against the rocky shore and just enjoyed the sounds. After a while we headed back down the trail that led us back to camp.

Back at camp we talked with our neighbors from Minnesota who come to Copper Harbor often. By now you've all gathered we like to try new restaurants. Our neighbors told us about a German place that overlooks Lake Superior and offers the same menu for lunch at half price as it does for dinner. Naturally we got in the car and headed for the Harbor Haus. It was great! Ken had marinated Lake Trout that was awesome.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and then back up to Brockway Mountain. The drive runs along a cliff on the Keweenaw Fault and climbs to a height of 1,328 feet above sea level, 726 feet above the surface of Lake Superior. It has a great overlook of the lake and Copper Harbor. We worked on the Blog and watched the sunset. It was a nice day.