Harrowing Trip to the Rocket Range
We heard about this place and had to see it! A four-wheel-drive vehicle is RECOMMENDED!
While driving up Highway 41 to the tip of the peninsula, it reminded me of driving to Paradise Point; the road got so bad. At some points, I had to drive so slowly that the speedometer did not even register on my truck.
Whenever we got to a very large ‘pond’ in the middle of the road, I would stop the truck and get out to see how deep it was with a stick. That helped me decide whether or not to gun it or go slow.
While going up there, a smaller 4×4 Subaru was following us. It would wait to see if we got stuck, and if we didn’t, then it would try. When we reached the big ‘pond’ and I floored it going through it, they hesitated, trying to do the same thing.
When we finally reached our destination, I was really surprised to see how many vehicles, including cars, actually made it all the way. The same surprise we got when visiting Paradise Point. There were a few mountain bikes there, which I thought was a good idea for not getting stuck, but they must have had a LONG trip to get there on a bike!
Here is a video and image of what constant pounding of water can turn a rock into.
Rock Hounding
I thought that with such a remote area, it would be an excellent place to go rockhounding. I thought for sure that it wouldn’t be picked over. Unfortunately, there was not much to discover there.
Boondocking
This ended up being a boondocking spot for people. There were several places where people set up camp. Of course, there were no amenities here. And yes, it is allowed to boondock here.
You can forget about dragging a camper behind you to get to this place! However, I did see some campers parked along the road while going up there. If you have a truck camper, you can expect everything to fall out by the time you get there.
About the Rocket Range
The Keweenaw Rocket Range is an isolated, historic launch pad located at the remote northeastern tip of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Operated between 1964 and 1971, the range was a joint venture between NASA and the University of Michigan, serving as a unique mid-continent station to collect crucial upper-atmosphere and meteorological data. Notably, on January 29, 1971, the site hosted the launch of a 28-foot Nike-Apache rocket, making it the location of the first rocket from Michigan to enter space.
Images of the Rocket Range
Please excuse the quality of some of the images in this blog post.
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