Iron Mountain, MI June 27-July 2

After an easy drive, we arrived at Summer Breeze Campground in Iron Mountain.

The next few days we did lots of touring. Dressed in rain gear and hard hats, we toured an Iron Mine in Vulcan. At one point we were shown an underground cave with a tiny cardboard figure across from us. It looked about 6 inches tall, but was actually 10 ft. Distance was really hard to judge underground.


Next came museums. The Menomenee County Museum was amazing—room after room of oddities and wonders. The Cornwall Museum housed the world’s largest pump, used years ago to pump water out of mines. I'm standing at right.


We also viewed Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, designed by a priest and built in two years by miner parishioners with local sandstone. They did a beautiful job.


Ray climbed to the top of one of the largest wooden ski jumps in the world. I watched and worried. (His legs hurt him for the next 3 days.)

My view from below. Ray is dot on top left.

Ray's view from close to the top

One of the highlights of our stay in Iron Mountain was our kayak trip. We saw deer, turtles and multiple large birds, including two eagles! Ray took this picture of me negotiating a class one rapid. (At least that’s how it was described on our kayaking map.)

We’d both go back to this area in a flash…