Copper Harbor to Lac La Belle

Day 16, August 15.

 The place of our anchorage provided us with a wave free night.  I got rather cold but our down comforter and our warm sleepwear made for a great night.

While the coffee was brewing, we turned on the weather forecast and found that the area of our proposed travel was to be mild and calm during the morning hours but the wind was to build to between 10 and 20 knots in the afternoon and the waves were to build from calm to 3 to 5 feet.  Our destination was about 30 miles so at 6 miles an hour, if we left at 7:30, would be about 5 to 6 hours away.  The weather for tomorrow is predicted to be winds up to 35 knots (gale force) with waves in some areas reaching 7 feet.  Our options were to either stay in Copper Harbor for probably 3 more days or head to an inland lake that is connected to the main body of water via a short canal.  Lac La Belle appears to offer great protection from the weather and waves but has few amenities.  We felt Copper Harbor also offers us very little.  If we could get one day’s travel in rather than sitting around waiting for  foul weather, we would be that much further down our trek to the Saulte.   

Mendota Lighthouse on Lac La Belle

So, after much head scratching and thought, we decided to give a run for Lac Le Belle a shot.  Without breakfast and bodily preparation, we pulled anchor and headed out of Copper Harbor at 7:30  The motor was pushing us along at 5.7 mph and the lake started out totally calm and wave free.  And that is how it went for the rest of the morning.  Our journey started in an easterly direction, then swung south and finally west as we rounded the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.  Approximately 10 miles down the westerly path, we entered the canal that was dredged to open Lac La Belle to the main lake.  Just inside of the breakwater stands the Mendota Lighthouse.  A number of years ago, I helped our friends, the  Smuckers, sell a Thistle sailboat on eBay.  It turned out that the guy who bought the boat was from Michigan and actually bought this lighthouse a quite a few years ago and recommissioned it.  It is now listed as an active privately owned light house.  We tried to figure out how to get over to visit it; however, the water at the approaches was very shallow and kept us away.  I had contacted him prior to our departure on the trip, but he said that he would not be available while we were in the area.

Wendell Carlson and Janine

We motored to the opposite end of the lake and pulled into a small well protected cove that has a dock that has been recently refurbished by the Michigan Department of National Resources.  We pulled into a slip, moored the boat, and were standing there stretching and flexing after being on the boat for a while when a gentleman named Wendell Carlson came strolling onto the dock.  We struck up a conversation and it turns out that he has a sailboat and has over the years sailed all over the great lakes.  He is a retired industrial technologies teacher and has lived on Lac La Belle for many years.  We shared many stories of sailing and places visited.  We look forward to spending more time in his company.

Naps were in order and down time reading followed.  In the late afternoon, we decided that we needed some exercise so we decided to walk down to the Lac Le Belle Resort and check out their restaurant which is called “Bear Belly.”  The menu looked great so we decided that we could stand a down day from cooking an evening meal so we put on the cleanest clothing we could find and started out.  On the way, we ran into Wendell again and nothing would be but we needed to see his shop, sauna, his raised garden, his beautiful home (in which all of the wood work he had made in his saw mill and shop), his friendly accommodating wife, his wood carvings, his wood bowls and more.  It was a great time and since we hadn’t had internet service for the past three days, we accepted his offer to return tomorrow and use his internet service. 



Bear Belly Restaurant



After leaving Wendell’s we proceeded to the Bear Belly where we both had great sandwiches in a really nice well-decorated setting.  They had a number of stuffed animals including a number of deer heads, three full-size bears, one bear head, numerous fish all mounted on knotty pine paneled walls and ceiling.  It was well done.

After dinner, we went for about a 2 mile hike along a 4-wheeler trail through the woods.  Four wheelers and snow mobiles are a big thing and there are thousands of miles of trails that crisscross the Keweenaw Peninsula. 

Back at the boat it was time for bed.  The bad weather never materialized, however, it looks quite bad for tomorrow.