Going for a Fall Drive
One of my favorite things to do in the Fall is go for a drive—an all day adventure to see the most of the seasonal foliage colors. In northern Michigan, we are lucky to have some of the best “leaf peeping” in the U.S. (in my opinion, at the very least).
If you know me IRL, you know that Joe Pera Talks With You is one of my favorite tv shows. There’s an episode all about going for a late Fall drive—almost like an annual reset before you hunker down for the winter. I decided to give my own version a try. Even though I didn’t send any pumpkins down Tahquamenon Falls, I did feel my soul regrow nicely. (You’ll need to watch the show).
Stop 1: See the Monks for a Sweet
While plenty of places in the U.S. have some claim to nice Autumn colors, how many of those places can also say they’re home to a reclusive-yet-friendly group of monastary folk with a knack for baking?
Here in the Keweenaw, I’m talking about the Jam Pot. My first stop on this day trip was to hit the bakery before it closed for the season. I got a few jars of crabapple jelly (so good) and some ginger snap cookies for the road.
Stop 2: Brockway Mountain
It’s not a fall road trip in the Keweenaw without driving up here! And on October 17, the colors were just about peak. The goldens, oranges, reds, and some remaining greens… it never gets old.
And yes, this is technically not a mountain—elevation in Michigan is modest compared to out West, but I don’t mind. One perk is that it doesn’t take too long to get somewhere with an incredible view of most any given landscape. As far as Michigan “mountains” go, the Keweenaw is the place to be.
Stop 3: Da Beach
Now, a Lake Superior beach on a Fall afternoon is not always the place you want to end up. It can be brutal—severe winds, rain/sleet/snow/all of the above, crashing waves. All are possible! But on October 17, it was unseasonably warm and very calm.
There were dozens of people at the beach near Copper Harbor. I saw one couple eating pasties while watching a freighter go by. Immediately, I regretted not stopping at the Mohawk Superette to do the very same.
Stop 4: My Sauna
We’ve got our very own sauna shed in the backyard. To end the evening, we tried firing it up for the first time since we moved in. And wow—it got nice and warm in there after the sun went down.
For most places this would be a real luxury, but a home sauna a little more mundane for the Keweenaw. There’s a strong prescence of Finnish / Scandinavian cultures here dating back to the mining days of the mid-1800s. There are still homes that old, but even if yours isn’t, the sauna and stove are at least a generation or two old. We’re just renting, but that’s true even for our property.
Happy Fall <3 to you and yours. Very soon, we’ll be surrounded by wintery shades of indigo—don’t worry, there’s beauty to be had there, too!
