Michgan Copper Mines

If you know anything about the Keweenaw Peninsula you know it's fame for Copper. Even before the white man showed up in the area Native American's valued it's properties for making tools, and for trading.  If you listen closely to the locals they are convinced that there were ancient visitors to the area mining the copper ore long before he Native Americans and Europeans showed up.  I will leave this part of the copper story to others, but it is interesting to hear all the talk.

  If you like going deep underground to visit mines and like bats, as I know some do, then visiting the mines up and down the Keweenaw Peninsula is the ticket for you. There are four mines you can visit, three of which offer tours into the belly of the lion.

The Adventure Mine is operated near the town of Ontonagon, MI. By the way, there is a copper museum here as well.  There is also a rock shop, Gitche Gumee Landing Gift Shop to buy specimens. They also operate a mineral collecting operation for a price you can search the tailings pile at the Caledonia Mine for native copper, silver, datolite, quartz, feldspar, calcite and epidote!  Check out their website at : http://www.caledoniamine.com/

Anyway, the Adventure mine is pretty cool, you take a 4 x 4 vehicle to the mine site. Once inside the mine you are surrounded by bats. They fly so close to you at times you feel their wings touch you. If you are really adventurous you can take the repealling tour down a shaft. We did not have time for this but I think we might be going back just for that one.

 Two other mines which operate tours are the Delaware and Quincy Mines. Both these have their own special niches with regards to tours.  The Delaware is owned and operated by one family and is a self guided tour. The neat thing about this place is the lady (part owner) has a pair of pet skunks behind the counter who will come out and play. There is also a tailings pile where you can go though for copper. The lady showed us a copper coated piece of silver she found in the very same tailings pile. Its free to go though the tailings but you CANNOT use a metal detector.

  The lady at the Delaware mine said the county operates a tailings pile and folks are more than welcome to go through this as well. The gate here is always locked so you have to park in front of the gate. You can use metal detectors here. We spent a couple hours over two days going through this tailings and had some luck.

 The Central Mine has no tours into a mine. It is a small operation and has a small museum about the mine and the geology of the area. It will take you about an hour to look it over.

 The Quincy Mine is by far the largest of all the mine tours and operates a nice museum and gift shop as well. You start your tour on a old small gauge railroad at the top of a large hill to the mine below. At one point no matter where you sit in the rail car you are looking straight down to the bottom of the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill you get off for a guided tour of the mine.  Lots of old equipment and plenty of  HUGE copper specimens to look over.

  The entire Keweenaw Peninsular from the south starting at Ontonagon to Fort Wilkins State Park is covered in mines and places to visit and opportunities to dig.  And of course if you like to eat there are any number of places that treat you to the miner's favorite, the pasty. A pastry meat filled wonder that is sure to please anyone. 

And if you like museums filled with specimens from the area, the US and the world, you will find them here as well. More on the most famous of these in the area the A. E. Museum in another blog.

 

                                                         Adventure Mine Office

 

 

                                             Adventure Mine Copper Specimen about 1000lbs

                                                           Adventure Mine Bat

 

                                           Delaware Mine copper specimen,  2140 lbs

                                        Quincy Mine copper specimen, 34,000 lbs

                                                    Quincy Mine train to mine

                                          Nice view of the ride to mine entrance at Quincy

 

Float Copper

 

Michigan State Parks Agate Hunting

 If you are planning a trip to the UP ( UPER speak for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) the state parks are a good place to start.  At the time there were no restrictions to collect in these parks.  There are so many in the area we could not make it to all of them, but McLain and Porcupine are a couple we spent a few hours in.  Both have promising beach areas but neither gave up Nature's bounty on the day of our visit, but others may get lucky.  Both also have an abundant camping and hiking opportunities.

Fort Wilkins State Park is where we made base camp to visit the entire UP area state parks and National Park of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The Keweenaw Peninsula was known for it rich copper deposits. There are many museums related to copper in the area and for a rockhound these are rich in many types of specimens, more on that in another blog.

  Fort Wilkins is located at the most northern part of  US 41 which goes through seven states all the way south  to almost the south tip of Florida.  But at the end of the most northern part of US 41 is Horseshoe Harbor where one can go off the beaten path a bit to hunt for those lakers.  And if you are really adventurous you can even travel past Horseshoe Harbor to the very most northern point of Michigan to a remote area to hunt. But be warned, to go beyond Horseshoe Harbor you need a pick-up, preferably a 4 x 4. If you do venture this far out the trail is hard, very hard on tires. It has been known for folks to get flat tires, sometimes all four of them at once. Needless to say we did not venture out beyond Horseshoe Harbor. I guess you could hike it, but then you might run into bears. We know they are there as the bear tracks on the beach of Horseshoe Harbor proved.

  If you know where to look you can also find a couple of Native American Petroglyphs.  It is no state secret to the location, but the locals will only tell you once they get to know you and since they are not preserved they would like to keep the traffic down in the area.  All I can remember is they are located near Horseshoe Harbor.

  One would think with the big beach area at Horseshoe Harbor we would have found those agates, but no luck for us this day. We did run into a group of High School students learning about geology from a Michigan Tech. University Student Teacher as part of a summer program.

  While we had no luck finding agates, the geology of the place was a dream for a geologist. Sandee had a good time climbing and looking over these formation. So it well worth the visit to this area for that alone. Of course I had one eye open for that bear.

   I have too many pictures to post so I will not back up the website, but please visit my blog at:

http://bartoncvn69.blogspot.com/

 

                                                         Where is that bear?

 

Whitefish Point, MI

Most  folks have heard the song by Gordon Lightfoot. "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald".  If you have then you might recall that Whitefish Bay was mentioned in the song. The Fitzgerald met is fate Whitefish Point, MI and still sits there today with the loss of all hands. There is a lighthouse, a museum and gift shop here that does a brisk business  built on the back of this tragedy.  The area is also a bird sanctuary.

  But what most folks do not know is this is a great place to hunt for agates. Sandee and I spent the entire day here and had our best luck of the entire three weeks we were in the area.  Of course Sandee was the better agate hunter than I was and she proved it once again by finding several small ones. She even helped a new agate hunter find her first Lake Superior agate.  This lady asked Sandee what to look for and how to go about it. Once Sandee explained what she knew about it, this lady took ONE step away from Sandee and found a VERY nice Candy Stripper Lake Superior Agate. OOOOO woo is me, I thought, but then the lady was a happy camper and we probably hooked for life being a rockhound.

  The beach area is very large and rocky, just what one would expect when hunting for those lakers.  There is rocks all over the place.  So many it is hard to figure out what is what and after awhile one rock looks the same as those Lakers, but to the trained eye ( mine was not trained) you can find them.

I would say if you had only enough time to hunt for Lakers in the UP ( UPER talk for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) this is the place to do it.   There is not much in the way of hotels, in fact I do not recall any. So the closest place to stay is at Tahquamenon State Park. This state park is a keeper, all the bells and whistles and beautiful water falls one can explore once you are done hunting for agates.

                                  

                                                      Whitefish Point Beach

                                                         Tahquamenon State Park

 

Grand Maris, Michigan

 

Michigan Lake Superior Agate Hunting

  If you have never been to the Lake Superior area you quickly understand that it is one HUGE lake.  So if you are going to the area to hunt for those lakers be sure to do your research as to where to hunt. You can find these lakers just about anywhere along the coast in three states, MN, WI and  MI.  There are many state parks and National Parks you can visit and/or camp in to give you more time in the area but one must remember that collecting in National Park is illegal but in most of the state parks it is ok, just be sure to check the rules before you hunt.

  On place we did some hunting was Grand Maris, MI, not to be confused with Grand Maris, MN.  This small town is located at the most northern point of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore which is a unit of the National Parks system.  But you can hunt for those lakers along the shore in Grand Maris. 

While  you are roaming the beaches in Grand Maris, MI be sure to visit the Agate Lady ( aka Karen Brzys) at the Gitche Gumee agate shop and museum.  Karen is very well known in the Lake Superior area and lakers collectors the world over. She has written a few books and is on the lecture circuit allot, but you might luck out and meet her. She was attending a lecture on the three days we were in the area.  If you get a chance visit her website at      http://www.agatelady.com/index.html

   Somehow I lost all my pictures of this town which is a shame because it is a small but busy place and a pretty cool place to visit.   But the pictures from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore will give you an idea of what to expect, this is also a great place to base camp your agate hunting adventures. While the camp sites are primitive and highly in demand during the summer, it is a great place.  Pictured Rocks is a cool place to see some neat rock formations and while you cannot collect in the park being rockhounds we always like to see mother nature's handy work.

                       

                                               Au Sable Lighthouse & Campground area

                                                           Miners Castle rock formation area

 

 

 

Lake Superior Agates in MN

Hunting Lake Superior Agates in MN

  Two years ago Sandee and I took a trip to the Lake Superior region.  In our travels we hunted those elusive lakers on the shores of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan over a four week period.  We found a few, nothing to brag about but we found them none the less.

  Our adventure stated out in with us driving along the western coast of Lake Superior. Our first stop was in Two Harbor's, MN at one of the best known agate shops in the state, Agate City Agate Shop.  You cannot miss this place if you are an agate fan.  For Lake Superior agate hunters this is the first place one should stop. We spent over two hours in the place, looking and drooling over the specimens for sale and not for sale.  They do not have a website but you cannot miss the place as it is on the main street/state highway 61 that goes along the coast.

 Further up the road is the city of Grand Maris, MN, not to be confused with Grand Maris, MI.  We roamed the beaches here just outside our hotel room and while we did not find any agates the views were stunning. There are many beaches along State Hwy 61 where you can stop to hunt for these beauties but be aware hunting lakers is a passion and at times you will find hoards out looking for them. After a storm is the best time to hunt and the locals are out in force. Trying to find out from the locals where the best place to hunt is like prying secrets from the military so do not expect much help in that area.

  Even if you do not find any agates the drive along Hwy 61 from Duluth to Grand Portage is well worth the trip.  There are a number of Lighthouses along the way and Grand Portage National Monument is well worth the visit.  If you are really into adventure, take the 7 hour boat ride to Isle Royale National Park from Grand Portage, MN. But this requires an overnight stay on the island, and both the boat ride and lodge on the island will cost you.

 

        Beach at Grand Maris, MN in front of our Hotel. Typical beach  agates are found.

 

 

                                                                 Split Rock Lighthouse

Rio Grande River Agate

 A few weeks ago Sandee and I acquired a few Rio Grande River agate. Since then I have been cutting a few of these to see what mother nature had in store for us. We were amazed at the different colors, shapes and fortifications inside these beauties. The other day I found a small one that looked like it might hold something  interesting inside. The overall look of the agate was a reddish-orange with one small area which was black in color. Within this black area I could see small tiny orange blooms ( like flowers) just waiting to burst out of the rock. So I cut a small slice from the black area of this rock and low and behold those orange blooms burst out at me.
  Sandee then took this small agate and polished it up on her cabbing machine. The below picture is the finished product.

Bauxite Museum- August 2013

 After spending time at Crater of Diamonds State Park it was time for us to start heading home. So with the GPS set we headed towards the Ben E. Clement Museum in Marion, KY. Along the way we saw a sign for Bauxite, Arkansas.  Back when my wife was growing up in WI she collected her first rock and when she took it to school her teacher said she had a Bauxite rock, well a mineral to more precise which is used to make aluminum. So when my wife looked un Bauxite, Arkansas on her fancy phone she found out there is a Bauxite Museum there. So we reset the GPS and made a dash to visit the museum.
 When we arrived we were disappointed to find out that on the day of our arrival the museum was closed. We walked around the outside, read a few signs and took some pictures. We know we will be back in Arkansas to visit Hot Springs, Arkansas to do some more crystal hunting so Bauxite, AR will be on our list of places to revisit.