Sunday morning arrived and we woke a bit late after partying the night before and partaking in a few adult beverages. It had rained off and on the whole night including the reunion party but several large tents and awnings were set up out back behind the Throttle so a little rain didn't slow things down. My original plan for the day was to ride to Munising and Whitefish Point. After checking the radar and seeing it was still raining from Marquette all the way to Saute St Marie I decided we would do the Copper Harbor ride instead. It was 43 degrees when I woke but after a pot of coffee and taking care of nature's call the temp had risen to 55. Way too cool for my wife but like a champ ready for adventure she toughed it out. We made our way to the town of Ishpeming and picked up Hwy 41 which would take us all the way to Copper Harbor. Just on the western side of Baraga the ride became very enjoyable. The road follows close to Superior's shore with nice views and gentle winding curves with light traffic up to this point. We then arrived in Houghton which is a city I would really like to go back and explore at some point. Very interesting city full of neat looking eateries and shops. It is a college town. Taking 41 on up past this point became not so fun. What is a great curvy motorcycle road became clogged with campers and motorhomes with zero place to pass and traffic was backed up bad. We made the trip on up to Copper Harbor running a max of 25 mph. This was 4th of July weekend so not totally unexpected we would deal with some slow traffic. We went down to the water once arriving in Copper Harbor and took a few pics then decided it was time for a bite to eat. It was already 2:30 pm at this point. A large restaurant that was packed seemed to be our only real choice so we went in and got seated, each ordering a Whitefish sandwich. After 1 1/2 hours our food finally arrived!!!! I had nearly gotten up and walked out but decided to wait. The food was quite good so not a total loss. We ate and left as quickly as possible, filled the bikes with gas at the only station there and rode the outside loop of 41/28 back down. This was an amazing road and if I knew then what I know now would have taken it both ways. We decided not to go to the top of the mountain because it was now getting late in the afternoon (4:30) and with temps currently only around 65 degrees knew they would soon start dropping also. The biggest fear was riding past 8PM again because of the stupid deer moving after dusk. I had 2 must do stops planned at the Gay Bar sign and at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse then haul *** the 180 miles back home. My wife saw the town of Gay and never said anything while I completely missed it. A quick stop at Eagle Harbor and we set for home with a few photo ops and at some point hooked up with a pack of 8 Harley riding locals that we stayed with almost all the way back to Little Lake. Round trip mileage for the day was 362 miles.
This is a short edited version of the ride back down from Copper Harbor. The lake is visible the majority of the way but the trees and camera angle don't show it in some segments so those are removed. Other than one pickup truck that was moving fairly quickly causing no issue for us we had zero traffic going down this road.
After getting back my wife had gotten a text from some classmates and we went and met them at Up North Lodge for a couple of drinks and for me a BBQ sandwich. Not nearly as good as I make but not bad for a northern bbq joint lol
All in all it was a great day of riding and seeing sites and spending some much needed time with my wife as we seldom see each other at home due to work.
Great pics! Glad you guys had a good time. For only being
here a short time, you summed it pretty well. And you are right, quite
a shame what a shithole the base has become.
I actually spent Tuesday the 4th "celebrating" on my buddies boat
in your pic of the marina.
Squiters aren't an issue in Marquette, but they thrive in the Little Lake/Gwinn
area. As do the deer!
Hope you can come back and enjoy it again!
Great pics! Glad you guys had a good time. For only being
here a short time, you summed it pretty well. And you are right, quite
a shame what a shithole the base has become.
I actually spent Tuesday the 4th "celebrating" on my buddies boat
in your pic of the marina.
Squiters aren't an issue in Marquette, but they thrive in the Little Lake/Gwinn
area. As do the deer!
Hope you can come back and enjoy it again!
Since this was a 40th reunion they are talking about another in 5 years. God willing and the creek don't rise and I'm still on this side of the dirt I will be back!!!!
Monday my plans got thrown to the wayside because of class reunion stuff. We knew they had a tour of Gwinn HS scheduled at 11 a.m. but that was suppose to be it.! I had planned on doing some local riding and exploring that day. Well her class was apparently a very tight bunch and one of the guys was staying at his elderly parents home for the reunion and they were away somewhere else. They decided to have a big get together at his house (most likely a member here) and party some more and then go into Gwinn where they have live music and beer set up in the local park. To keep mama happy I go along her their plans and also know this could well be the last time any get to see each other again. All is good because I have a great time hanging with this group and many are Harley riders themselves so much in common to talk about. I wanted to get a couple of Harley shirts for myself and also for my son who lives in La. with an M8 Street Glide. We get up early, ride to Marquette, get the shirts, cruise around the old base again for a few more pics and head back. 2 hours touring the school, which was interesting at least getting to see where she went to school, back home to clean up and off for more partying. About the extent of that day and the weather was perfect for a long ride!!!
Gwinn HS still in great condition for a place built in 1962
At classmates home.
It was a very cold eight mile ride back to the cabin from the park at midnight that night. Brrrrrrrrr
Last edited by tnriverluver; 07-10-2017 at 06:51 PM.
This is some of the ride through Houghton including crossing the bridge. On the outskirts is a copper mine that they will take you down into. I'll pass on these mine tours as I figure I'll be underground soon enough already lol.
Hwy 41 from Ishpeming west is a really nice ride and the road is in great condition. Sometimes 4 lane, sometimes 2 lane, light traffic for us at least, and made good time. Nothing spectacular to note from Ishpeming to Baraga but from Baraga north all the way to Copper Harbor it is a great road if you can catch it with little traffic. We must have passed at least 50 state parks along the way and many very pretty views of lakes and woodlands. This is just a clip for a few miles running along Superior shoreline immediately outside of Baraga.
07-10-2017, 05:03 PM
A quick stop at Eagle Harbor and we set for home with a few photo ops and at some point hooked up with a pack of 8 Harley riding locals that we stayed with almost all the way back to Little Lake. Round trip mileage for the day was 362 miles.
