41 FALL 2020 ISSUE 01 / VOL . 02 SNOWGOER . COM 42
smaller Keweenaw Peninsula that juts into Superior .
The Keweenaw is fascinating . The landscape is rugged , with rocky outcroppings and towering bluff , and evidence of the grand mining days are everywhere , including huge chunks of steel equipment left abandoned here and there . The weather is snowy , and can be quite harsh – huge mounds of snow covered abandoned building , and windblown cornices appear on hilltops .
Following Decker instead of Achterberg was indeed a slightly slower pace , but it was much more in tune with what some people might expect from a formal , guided tour . With Achterberg , I felt like I was just riding with a big group of friends , with hotels set up for us in advance and our bags delivered to the hotels . With Decker , we had a true tour guide . We snowmobiled to a shop where they make decorations out of copper , and when we returned to riding he stopped often to explain the history of a certain bridge , or to show us things that most people would have just breezed by if they didn ’ t know what to look for .
That afternoon , Decker took us to an abandoned mine site , with remnants of amazing crumbled old brick buildings still standing from the early 1900s . I ’ d been in the Keweenaw snowmobiling dozens of times , and never knew this stuff was here . We stopped at lighthouses , caught some amazing views of the big lake and took a lot of pictures . And , every time we stopped , it seems Dick knew somebody from the hotel , gas station or restaurant . I guess that happens when you ’ ve been leading tours in an area for 30 years ! It was a truly enjoyable day .
We returned to the rail trail that took us to the tip of the peninsula under bright blue skies . The view from Brockway Mountain above Copper Harbor was spectacular as ever , as were the accommodations and meals at the Mariner North once we weaved our way into town .