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We just got back yesterday from spending 5 days in Marquette and surrounding area. We go through Marquette quite often, but haven't spent much time there in many years. I'll say this, 5 days was no where near enough time to explore the area, no where near at all. Though Houghton and the Keweenaw are beautiful, and I will always continue to spent time there, the Marquette area has many more opportunities to explore and see what the UP is all about.
It was sad to see that Kennecott went ahead and starting mining sulfide on the Yellow Dog Plains. I had moved to Alaska before they got the go ahead and didn't keep up with the progress. :/
We just got back yesterday from spending 5 days in Marquette and surrounding area. We go through Marquette quite often, but haven't spent much time there in many years. I'll say this, 5 days was no where near enough time to explore the area, no where near at all. Though Houghton and the Keweenaw are beautiful, and I will always continue to spent time there, the Marquette area has many more opportunities to explore and see what the UP is all about.
It was sad to see that Kennecott went ahead and starting mining sulfide on the Yellow Dog Plains. I had moved to Alaska before they got the go ahead and didn't keep up with the progress. :/
I seen a show on the Weather Channel last week about the huge machines they are using mining in the U.P.
It looked like an atom bomb had gone off in this area..just tearing it up. Sad to see...
I seen a show on the Weather Channel last week about the huge machines they are using mining in the U.P.
It looked like an atom bomb had gone off in this area..just tearing it up. Sad to see...
Not so much, those days are over and its a good thing. The Sulfide Mine ( Nickle,gold,silver ) in the Yellow Dog Plains has been sold, RioTinto divested and sold it to a Canadian Company. There has not yet been any mining extraction . The date they are looking for is in 2014 maybe later. The AAA road from the mine is now being paved all the way to Big Bay and down the 550 which is getting lots of new infrastructure.... The proposed County road ( haul Road ) south from the Yellow Dog Plains did not pass muster because of a wet land area in the middle. Its a love - hate relationship up here, the mine has brought hundreds of jobs to the area directly and indirectly. Also , the trucks will now enter Marquette down the 550 to US 41 then west to the Ball Mill in Humboldt. They are still looking for a alternative route. The area of the County where a road was to be is a very very remote place, only travel is by snow Machine in the winter.Places like The Yellow Dog River , Wildcat canyon , Silver Lake , have become legends over the years, an area untouched by man, except for the Native Americans who still lay claim to such sacred grounds.
As far as the Mine itself , all activity is underground, you see nothing from above except a very large road that takes you on a slant hundreds of feet below. There are daily tours during the summer. The Bus leaves from Downtown Marquette, once it gets to the AAA then all commercial, buses , vehicles are escorted to the Mine Gate......Its kinda strange , I have been up the AAA many times this summer picking Blueberry's and Bilberry's . The.escorts are always waiting for arriving traffic , as we all speed by in our Jeeps and side by sides ( and My samurai of coarse ).
We went past the mine a couple times, once heading to Pinnacle Falls coming from the west, this past week, never saw an escort. AAA sure has changed though.
I heard they were talking about maybe widening and paving 510, is that ruled out now?
We went past the mine a couple times, once heading to Pinnacle Falls coming from the west, this past week, never saw an escort. AAA sure has changed though.
I heard they were talking about maybe widening and paving 510, is that ruled out now?
The escort service is headquartered on the south side of the AAA. The only way traffic can go is to and from Big Bay.The escort sits waiting alongside the road right after you exit 550 and enter 510 going South.
Yes , 510 is off limits. Way to much envioremental problems to over come . It's an old road established long ago as part of a road to nowhere rt. 35.
Funny, we didn't see any escort either time we were on 510, first coming in from the west on AAA, the other time from Big Bay, stopping at Gobblers Knob first, we turned on Northwestern just before the mine site. We did see lots of white pickups that looked like they were working for the mine, no one gave us a second look.
I use to know those roads like the back of my hand, but it's been a few years since the last time. Been playing around exploring for 35-40 years around there.
Funny, we didn't see any escort either time we were on 510, first coming in from the west on AAA, the other time from Big Bay, stopping at Gobblers Knob first, we turned on Northwestern just before the mine site. We did see lots of white pickups that looked like they were working for the mine, no one gave us a second look.
I use to know those roads like the back of my hand, but it's been a few years since the last time. Been playing around exploring for 35-40 years around there.
Great, you know the two tracks. I was a player 35 years ago , so have forgot just where I went back then. This summer we did the Northwest rd., Ford road n. and on into Skanee .Nothing very challenging so far. , We used to camp on the Yellow Dog River and on the beach n. in Baraga / Marquette county.
Strange you did not see the Escorts. It's been a month since we were up there berry pickin , so maybe things have changed ? Next week end I plan to go back and try some more two tracks, maybe south on Ford rd/ AAA. Tomorrow I play behind my house, we have 500 acres of forest roads.( south of MQT off 553 )
Take it from someone who lives In Marquette, there is no comparison with Houghton , . Marquette has transformed from a dirty old railroad town thirty years ago into the jewel of the north it is today. Marquette has one of the best lake fronts in the country, all one needs resides Downtown and continues on to Presque isle . It does not get any better than that almost anywhere. The city is still evolving , voted number one last year as the best restored small city in the Country!. We are growing fast these days, our population will double in the next ten years. If you ad Marquette Township we have around 40,000 people in the metro, and 70,000 trade area. We have been picked several times as the best place to retire , The best place to live , and has more bike trails than any other city in America.
All that said , the UP is a big place. The copper country is a must , we all go there, to Copper Harbor more than once a year for our own R&R. Houghton and Handcock have a long way to go in their restoration efforts., they are old and tired city's , yes more layed back , but nothing like The Queen City , the declared Capital of Upper Michigan, Marquette.
The U.P is one of my most special places earth. I spent the best years of my life there in the Keweenaw. My time there was from about 1985 to 2001, when I moved full time to Oklahoma. I may be facing some big life changes coming my way and I'm thinking of at least looking at relocating back up to that area. A few questions though.. as bad as the Michigan economy has been, just how has it affected the U.P? Between Marquette and the Houghton/Hancock specifically? I have stayed in touch with a few folks from the Keweenaw and they have stated that the economy is holding it's own. What concerns me is the quality of health care. Many people have still had to go to Marquette from the Houghton/Hancock region.. a 230 mile round trip doesn't sound too enticing, especially in winter. The other thing is what's up with air travel from the Keweenaw? Just a couple of flights to Chicago a day and that's it? Prices to fly out of there are stratospheric now if you want to connect to fly to Florida, Calif. etc. I remember flights to and from both Detroit and Minneapolis daily. How is the job situation there now? I do photography work and have worked in radio. Photography work; I can handle the already stiff competition in the area. Radio may be a different story, although the majority of what I did was out of a local station in Hancock. I have not spent any time in Marquette since around 2001 with the exception of driving through on the way back from Wawa, ON. back in 2011. I will have to do more research on Marquette, but frankly, I just feel more at home in the Keweenaw, but Marquette is only a couple of hours away. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
The U.P is one of my most special places earth. I spent the best years of my life there in the Keweenaw. My time there was from about 1985 to 2001, when I moved full time to Oklahoma. I may be facing some big life changes coming my way and I'm thinking of at least looking at relocating back up to that area. A few questions though.. as bad as the Michigan economy has been, just how has it affected the U.P? Between Marquette and the Houghton/Hancock specifically? I have stayed in touch with a few folks from the Keweenaw and they have stated that the economy is holding it's own. What concerns me is the quality of health care. Many people have still had to go to Marquette from the Houghton/Hancock region.. a 230 mile round trip doesn't sound too enticing, especially in winter. The other thing is what's up with air travel from the Keweenaw? Just a couple of flights to Chicago a day and that's it? Prices to fly out of there are stratospheric now if you want to connect to fly to Florida, Calif. etc. I remember flights to and from both Detroit and Minneapolis daily. How is the job situation there now? I do photography work and have worked in radio. Photography work; I can handle the already stiff competition in the area. Radio may be a different story, although the majority of what I did was out of a local station in Hancock. I have not spent any time in Marquette since around 2001 with the exception of driving through on the way back from Wawa, ON. back in 2011. I will have to do more research on Marquette, but frankly, I just feel more at home in the Keweenaw, but Marquette is only a couple of hours away. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
OK , thanks for asking. There are two kinds of people that live in the UP . Natives , and imports . Sure there are sub chapters and for all sorts of reasons, but it still boils down to the two. ... Economy is quite different up here than any-other place on earth! Marquette County has the second lowest unemployment in the State ( that does change quite often as the recovery nationwide is underway ) however just next door to our west is Barga County which has , or had the highest unemployment in the State ! They lost a couple of industries, almost all they had anyway for a while, and the numbers dragged them down. Its a poor county anyway, but a real beauty sharing so much of the Superior shore line.
I have always said that Upper Michigan, because of the percentage of people compared to land mass is so great that it takes very little of anything to make what is a big deal up here. A company hiring 10 people will make the 6;00 news as well as front page of the Mining Journal. As far a Marquette directly , we did not suffer as a result of the recession.Home values did not go down as elsewhere. I know , I was building at the time, could not get a lone for love nor money , just because of the word " Michigan" ! Contractors are always busy, are having a hard time finding skilled workers , and now , Commercial construction has taken off again with many projects in progress and in the works. You would be better off to move to Marquette no question. We are not just a city , the County has the largest wilderness area in the Midwest if you include private ownership. And now with the new Hospital about to start construction , health care is and will take a giant leap forward. Since the Duke group bought MG there have been close to 100 new doctors hired or in the process. New clinics are also being constructed around the UP. The goal is to make MG another Mayo Clinic, a tall order , but thats the vision of the new owners.
The Copper Country never really changes, its an area that depends mostly on tourist these days. When the Copper Mines went bust in the 60s or before , the area has never recovered, never will. They are holding their own, with Michigan Tech leading the pack with a bright look forward , but its tourism that will fuel any future restoration and development. .Yes , If you include Copper Harbor , ( end of the earth and US 41 ) i would say they trump Marquette, always have. Marquette always has been a Business place , not a tourist destination. That will change as more and more vacation services invade, like the 900,000,000 water park/mall complex gets going next year !
The air travel thing has been a thorn in the side of everyone since the cuts in Government stimulus came around a few years ago. No matter what we say and how good our economy is we all must face the facts that an area one third the size of lower Michigan and 2 per cent of the population will for some while need support in order to have extended air service. Its a shame in a way , Sawyer AFB was at onetime the largest in the Country, maybe the world. With the loss of 10,000 people overnight the transformation was slow in recovery, still is ( I do not recommend living there ). Yet , the runways are around the longest and widest and can Carry more weight than anyplace in the US. , and its seldom used. Air force One had no problem landing here a while back , and we have had visits from Russian aircraft that can ONLY land here due to their weight. There are several plans to make Sawyer a transportation hub for commercial shipping, but nothing seems to be close to the development stage yet...
In closing , let me say , the entire upper Michigan is a wonderful experience. Many like myself are moving here in retirement.and many more are becoming attracted to the new growth fact that is slowly changing the face of the entire UP. Mining has returned, Nickle, gold , silver , copper is the newest excitement. Our land holds untold wealth, maybe more than any other place in the country, or as was said by many geologists. The UP is on the move , come on up and become a part of it regardless of where you land , about anywhere in the Western UP is fine with me. !
<snipped> In closing , let me say , the entire upper Michigan is a wonderful experience. Many like myself are moving here in retirement.and many more are becoming attracted to the new growth fact that is slowly changing the face of the entire UP. Mining has returned, Nickle, gold , silver , copper is the newest excitement. Our land holds untold wealth, maybe more than any other place in the country, or as was said by many geologists. The UP is on the move , come on up and become a part of it regardless of where you land , about anywhere in the Western UP is fine with me. !
Darstar, thanks so very much for your time in this very informative response! I was unaware of the progress going on in Marquette. I'm very enthused to hear this and it's something I'll surely consider if I decide to do this. Alot of things are up in the air with me now as far as the future holds. The thought of living the rest of my days in Oklahoma doesn't bode well with me, chiefly because of the weather (too hot in the summer and being reduced to a grease spot in the prairie from the vicious tornadoes that have almost taken us out on more than one occasion) My kids and grandkids live here in Okla. though and have no intention of leaving at the current time. If I'm unable to move back to the U.P, I surely hope to visit as often as possible. My ultimate best cased scenario is to work a few months out of the year in the U.P and the rest of time here in Okla. where we too have a bustling economy. Thanks again!
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