On our final morning in the Keweenaw we took time for one more Copper hunt, this time at the big Phoenix mine dump pile. In this picture I used a GMC Savana van for size reference.☺ You can just make out the fire tower at the top of the hill.

I dug in a few places but had better luck surface collecting. In my conversation with George Robinson we talked about the Phoenix mine, and he said that once while digging there he found a large piece of sheet Copper. He held up his hands to measure more than a foot long. We didn't find anything like that while there, but we did pick up a few keepers.

We finished up and ate lunch in the van. It was time to say good bye to the Keweenaw, so we drove to the Pat's Foods grocery store in Hancock, then we went to Dairy Queen in Houghton for treats. On our way back to Marquette County we found gas for $2.99 at the Pines in Baraga. The wind off the still icy Keweenaw Bay dropped temps 10 or 15 degrees. We stopped in L'anse and got this panorama of the icy bay.

Our next stop was the store in Michigamme, and then back to Van Riper State Park. I registered us for the next two nights and we got settled into our campsite for the night.

Friday May 4th

We spent the morning antique shopping in Negaunee and had a great lunch at the Mt. Shasta restaurant near Michigamme. After lunch our plan was to hunt for pseudo garnets at the Mt. Shasta tailings pile but when we got there the once open fence was now closed up with no way in. We then went to the North Jackson mine in Negaunee, but that too has been fenced off by the city. Next we tried the Breitung ' Tracy mine area and dug for a while. I found an interesting piece of Hematite that must have once had stalactites all over it. While cleaning it one of the last remaining stalactites fell out of its spot, so I cleaned it up and glued it back in place. I guess that would make this a 'reconstructed' piece. From my research, this piece looks like a type of Hematite called 'Pipe Ore'. Here are two sides of this one rock.

When finished at the Breitung we hiked down the connecting two track that leads to the Tracy Mine. On the way we saw these large iron Allis-Chalmers ore crushers.

The Tracy Mine area itself is fenced off, but there are tailings piles you can get to. Right in the middle of the two track we found a small pile of iron ore pellets and picked up a few.

We then drove to the IGA in Ishpeming for ice cream. On the way back to camp I narrowly avoided an accident, steering around a car that stopped short in front of me. Safely back at camp we enjoyed our ice cream, rested, and had supper. I got caught up on this report and prepared for bed.

Saturday May 5th

We were lucky that Litha was able to extend her vacation to this weekend so that we could join some members of the Ishpeming Rock and Mineral Club on a collecting trip. Club member Rob Noblet (o rhymes with strobe) led a small group of us around to some of his personal collecting spots around Felch in Dickinson County. We left the Cliff's Shaft museum parking lot shortly after 9:30 in a small convoy that led down Hwy95 into Dickinson County.

I used to think that Lake Ellen was the only Kimberlite pipe in Michigan but it turns out that there are quite a few. One of the places we stopped was a large outcrop of pink Feldspar and Mica that Rob called a Kimberlite pipe. Litha thought that someone must have broken glass there but in fact the ground was littered with Mica. Rob showed us one large boulder that had some nice Mica 'books' if we could just roll it into a position so you could get at it. I got out my big pry bar 'Brutus' and between Rob and I we managed to roll the rock. Rob commenced to liberating the Mica books and passing them out between the group.

Meanwhile I looked around for decent specimens to collect. This might be the last view I ever get of the chisel I left behind that day; right there next to my black back pack.

I found a few pieces with nice pink Feldspar crystals and bright metallic Mica.

Rob took us a little way down the road to a road cut where you can find Bornite in beautiful metallic blues, purples, and greens.

Rob showed us a few more of his personal hunting spots until we had to begin making our way home. Here are pictures of some of the best I found that day.

We thanked Rob for showing us around and said goodbye to everyone. We drove off through Felch and had dinner in Escanaba. A Coyote crossed the road in front of us on US2, and we camped for the night at the Hog Island State Forest Campground.

Sunday May 6th

We got up early and had breakfast. I got a picture of Litha on the beach and then we left for home. We stopped in St. Ignace for our traditional fudge, and this time I bought a UP specialty, a pasty. A pasty is like a calzone/pot pie combination stuffed with veggies that was made for convenience back in mining days. Not bad, needs a little ketchup.☺

We crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and ate our pasties in a rest stop down state. We got home in early afternoon to a lawn and pets in much need of attention. Though I always hate it when these trips come to an end, but after 1,836 miles on the road it really was good to be home. Plus, I still had most of a bucket of Lake Ellen Kimberlite to sift through.

Thanks again to Rob Noblet for showing us around Saturday. Thanks too, to Jeff 'Copperrock' Rank for giving me a 'heads up' about the weather and info.