8/30: Last day in Marquette

We started our day at Tourist Park, a campground owned and operated by the city of Marquette, conveniently located right on the trail network. Our first goal was to ride into town and through the town park. We passed the power plant and the large structure that allows ore train cars to dump their loads into ships. Definitely not what we would consider lovely scenery, but a suitably iconic structure for the IOHT, Iron Ore Heritage Trail.

The scenery improved immensely once we got into the park. Local cross country teams were warming up along the trails; it appeared that there would be a set of competitions as the day went on.

Then we dropped into the bike shop where Paula bought another sign -- the N+1 sign that she told you about in the last post. They also had other bicycle art that we liked...

Next up on the trail was a lighthouse that was built right into the watchman's home.

Then we picked up the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. I really liked their logo. We also recorded some of the historical plaques along the way.

The plaque about pelletizing iron ore was quite interesting. The process of turning ore into pea-sized pellets significantly extended the lifespan of iron ore mining in the region by making the mining of low grade ore profitable. Under one of the trestles along the trail, there was a shed cover to protect riders against pellets spilling from passing trains.  Underneath the trestle, the ground was covered in pellets, so we were able to get a good view of them. 

This was the Negaunee Public Schools Administration building. Paula decided she could have worked here. I reminded her she had already retired!

And here is the local mountain bike club's clubhouse. Pretty neat building. This area has an extensive network of mountain bike trails.

And wouldn't it be fun to renovate this amazing stone building (with an unlimited budget)?!?

And lastly two trail signs for mountain bikers: The Rusty Bike Trail and Sissy Pants Trail. With our trikes we decided to stick to the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. 54 miles today, almost all paved.