Copper Harbor & Mackinaw City

On our final full day up north, we had plans to travel to the northern tip of the Upper Peninsula before crossing back over the Mackinac Bridge to the Lower Peninsula to spend the night in Mackinaw City. In the morning, we decamped, cleaning up the cabin and repacking the car before heading on our way. We drove up to Copper Harbor to see the Copper Harbor Lighthouse and the Devil’s Washtub. Unfortunately, the land that the Copper Harbor light is on had been sold to a private owner and could only be viewed from across a bay and I’m not sure if we ever found the Devil’s Washtub. However, after planning our activities for the first three days of the trip, I was not responsible for this leg’s itinerary, and what we did end up doing was still good.

Baraga State Park mini cabin

With the lighthouse under private management, the main way to see it is now from Astor Shipwreck Park. This park is across the street from Fort Wilkins State Park, which we didn’t have time to check out on this trip. There’s a small parking lot and a few steps down to a rock beach with a view of the Copper Harbor light. We spent some time on the beach, where we enjoyed the sun and bright blue skies for the first time on our trip, and ended up having an early lunch by the beach.

Copper Harbor Lighthouse

Clockwise from top left: Astor Shipwreck Park, rock beach at Astor Shipwreck Park, Eagle River Timber Arch Bridge, shore of Lake Superior near the Devil's Washtub

On the way back from Copper Harbor, we stopped right on Route 26 to try and find the Devil’s Washtub, a rock inlet on the coast of Lake Superior that’s supposed to be bathtub shaped, I guess? We walked along the coast for a bit and found something that looked vaguely bathtub-esque, but I’m not convinced we found it. But the sun and views and rock scrambling were nice.

Continuing on our way back, we paid a visit to the Eagle River Timber Arch Bridge, from where we also saw the Eagle River Falls. Across the street the Eagle River Museum was closed, but there was what appeared to be a public park next to it with sports fields, playground equipment, a garden, and a pavilion. When we saw that they had a merry go round, we had no choice but to try it out, because how often do you see a merry go round nowadays?

Eagle River Falls

From there, we finished the long drive across the Upper Peninsula to Mackinaw City. After some hotel drama, we managed to check into our room. Before bedding down for the night, we went out for one final adventure of the day to stargaze at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park just outside of the city. When we arrived, the parking lot was busy (and we could already clearly see the big dipper), but as we set out on the paths, we hardly encountered any people. We found an empty beach to admire the sights from and looked up.

Tripod-less astrophotography (the handle of the Big Dipper is the bright stars in the lower right of the sky)

The moon was blazing bright, close to full if not full, so we didn’t see as many stars as we could have, but at least the sky was clear, and there were more stars than I’ve seen for awhile. With the help of an app (of course there’s an app), we identified several constellations. I also tried out some tripod-less astrophotography that pushed the limits of my hobbyist camera and only ended up a little blurry.

In the morning, we collected our sad Covid hotel breakfasts consisting solely of bottled water, an apple, and a single granola bar; checked out of the hotel; and drove to the Mackinac Bridge to enjoy breakfast in sight of Mighty Mac. From there, all that was left was the drive back to Ann Arbor. All in all, it was a great trip. I’m glad I got to see some of the Upper Peninsula before graduating and likely moving away from Michigan, and after a year and a half away from the office, getting to spend time with my labmates.

Sunrise over Lake Huron

Mackinaw Bridge