End of Summer Activities

I have been very busy seeing the sights this Fall. As I mentioned in the last post, Between the end of the Summer semester and the start of Fall classes, Ashby and I took part in a family canoeing trip down the Au Sable river. That was a very fun-filled, if cold and rainy, weekend. Luckily we all managed to stay relatively warm and dry even on the river. After departing our campsite near the river, we completed the shortened drive back to Michigan Tech, and stopped by Big Springs for a little sightseeing and to stretch our legs.

Once back in Houghton, we spent a day getting unpacked and then departed on our trip to northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. On the first day, we drove to Duluth, stopping on the way to hike in the Porcupine Mountains.

Me by Lake Superior in the Porcupine Mtns.

Ashby by the Superior shore.

The view from a lookout tower elsewhere in the Porkies.

After our hiking we stayed the night in Duluth before setting out to the long awaited mystery destination, which was a physics particle detector operating in the bottom of the Soudan Underground Mine State Park in Minnesota. Ashby and I really enjoyed seeing the detector in person, and learning about the physics being explored there. We also went on a tour of the historical mining operations. All in all, a very enjoyable destination where we learned a lot.

The Hoist Building.

The head frame, this is where we got into a 'cage' to be lowered into the mine!

The bottom of the mine: almost half a mile below the surface, the ride down takes over 2 minutes.

Our great tour guide, Pete, and the electric trains that take visitors back into the mine for the historical tour.

After the mine, we headed back East to the Baptism River Inn (by my Mom's suggestion) for the night. The other guests were very interesting; one couple was visiting from England. We talked much about the differences in culture between America and the UK. It made for a very interesting breakfast. In the morning, we made our way back to Houghton, stopping to see the sights along the way as much as time allowed.

The Sauna near the Bed and Breakfast.

The Baptism River, just a short walk from the B&B.

Split Rock Lighthouse, one of our stops on the trip home.

Amnicon Falls, our first stop in Wisconsin on the trip home.

Big Manitou falls at Pattison State Park.

The weekend after returning from our trip, we took a trip up the Keweenaw to see Fort Wilkins and do some other sightseeing. As always a very beautiful trip.

Sunset over Lake Superior.