Well, of course it rained but not especially hard and all and by the time I went to bed it had basically stopped. I forgot to tell my brain to wake up for the sunrise so we all ended up sleeping in until well past 7. How nice!! We tried to call Dave as I had a very tiny signal, but he couldn't talk and by the time he could our signal was gone. The kids were ready to move on to the next park, so we packed up quickly and were on our way.
Our first stop was a copper mine as this area was a major source for copper in the early 19th century. We ended up having a private tour as we timed it just right to be the only ones ready. The kids thought the tour guide reminded them of Dad because he had a beard and a baseball hat on. And when he introduced himself - his name was Dave!
Next we put on our hard hats and were ready to head to the mine shaft. The kids were so excited when they saw we get to ride in this! It's definitely not related to the mining, but still fun!
Inside we learned about how copper was mined, the life of a miner, and so much history. Our guide was awesome! As in all of our cave & mine tours before, there was a point were the guide lit the candle just like they would have had back when they were first mining. He blew it out to show us how it would look if their candle went out. Laney just refused to let it be dark! She was so scared and since she had control with her light on her helmet she just kept turning it on. Finally I had her come be next to me wrapped in my arms and she allowed it. She still had to have her hand on the light button though!
At the end of the shaft we ended up at this beautiful overlook. It was actually to show us below where the plain basalt would be dumped, but the view was great too!
The kids learned a bunch and enjoyed the tour so much, they each tipped our guide a little bit and we got on our way. And just look what we found?! Fresh strawberries and local maple syrup?! Yes please!
Just as the gps said we were about 30 minutes away, we entered what seemed like a forest with dense, tree-lined roads full of curves. My favorite! All the kids were reminding Laney to keep her head up as she was playing her ds. I just turned up the music and drove. I kept smiling thinking I was going to get to drive it tomorrow back out too! We drove into Fort Wilkins State Park which is tucked on a little peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior. Our campsite was nice with a view and walkway down to the water. It was sprinkling (of course) while we were setting up, so we headed to the camp store for quarters for laundry. Three minutes later when we walked out it was sunny so we turned around and headed to the fort next door.
There was so much for the kids to do and learn about here! This fort was built as a result of the copper mining boom to keep the peace between the miners and the Chippewa nation who had sold the land to the U.S. They learned about life as a married enlisted family, how the officers and their families lived, how the troops were all fed, what practicing medicine was like, as well as what people did without electricity, running water, email, etc.
What is it that attracts kids to canons so much?
Next up? We had to go find some Michigan ice cream. The flavors were tasty, but nothing to scream about so we're going to try again. My kids are not only playground, campground bathroom, and science museum snobs, now their ice cream snobs too?!
On our way back from the small town nearby, we stopped at the lighthouse overlook for a view. The pictures today have been taken with my phone so I'm sure it looks like nothing spectacular, but it was very pretty. This lighthouse you can only get to by boat for a tour.
The kids would rather throw rocks today than go see a lighthouse anyway.
Once we got back to the campsite, I started on the wonderful task of laundry. We settled in by the fire for potato soup for dinner and one of our neighbors graciously brought us a dutch oven with the rest of their peach cobbler inside - delicious! Brayden says it's not as good as Mrs. Darcy's though!
Once I got a load of laundry finished, we read a couple chapters by the fire and one more snuggled in bed. The kids need their rest tonight as apparently they have been working on a big show to be performed at the playground in the morning. Laney said it's a little bit dangerous so I'm not sure how much I'm going to like this one!
