
NASA rockets once flew from launch pad in Michigan wilderness - sigacts
https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/rockets_once_flew_at_launch_pa.html
======
myself248
Hey, I've been there!

If you're up in the Keweenaw anyway, it's worth the side-trip to visit the
rocket range. You'll spend a few miles past the end of the paved road, and
there's a small stream to ford, so take a vehicle with good ground clearance,
and self-recovery gear in case you find more mud than you bargained for.

And some industrial-strength mosquito repellent.

Once you're there, it's a quiet little site, and the rocket pad makes a
perfect place to set a campfire without having to clear a bunch of brush
first. The water is just a few feet away, and there's lots of cool geology
within a short walk along the shore.

------
fotbr
I've also been there. I love camping in the U.P., and "discovered" the rocket
range about 15 years ago. I didn't drive out there though, I walked. No one I
talked to knew what condition the road "out to the very end of the peninsula"
was in, so I decided not to risk it. It wasn't a bad walk, really. Good boots,
and as mentioned, industrial-strength mosquito spray, are necessary. No one
mentioned the old rocket range, so that was just a happy bonus.

I've not been back for 8 or so years, but I can't imagine the road has gotten
any better, but I'd make the hike again.

On your way up to Copper Harbor, stop just north of Houghton at the Quincy
Copper Mine. Even if you don't take the underground tour, take the tour of the
hoist house; it was (still is?) the world largest steam hoist, and it is in
remarkable condition as a relic of the steam age.

~~~
pasbesoin
Going to or coming from Copper Harbor, you can also take the Brockway Mountain
Drive for some elevated views. The final leg descending to Copper Harbor is
also fairly scenic, so I'd probably recommend taking it eastbound, on your way
in. Although there's a wayside you can stop at, for a few back over Copper
Harbor, when you're heading the other way.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brockway_Mountain_Drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brockway_Mountain_Drive)

------
andrew_
Fascinating. I'm both surprised and amazed, and not, at the same time. Large
chunks of Michigan, and very much so in the U.P. in particular, were untamed
for a very long time, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn more things like
this took place in remote areas in the north.

------
rmason
Spent my entire life in Michigan and I've visited every single county yet I
never knew about the rocket range.

As a schoolkid growing up in Detroit we were obsessed about the space program.
The Michigan tourism folks missed a huge opportunity.

------
Nicksil
Non-AMP link:
[https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/rockets_once_fl...](https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/rockets_once_flew_at_launch_pa.html)

~~~
dang
Thanks, changed from
[https://articles.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/rockets_on...](https://articles.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/rockets_once_flew_at_launch_pa.amp).

------
dghughes
As a Canadian I had to laugh at "secluded wildness". A fairly large Canadian
town (100,000 people) is nearby. And in the other direction another smaller
town (70,000 people) a bit farther away to the north.

~~~
gph
I think that's a perfectly fair description, they didn't say 'remote' they
said 'secluded wildness'. And besides Thunder Bay isn't just 'nearby', it's
separated by at least 30 miles of Lake Superior, and there's not much in the
way of major development on the rest of Keweenaw peninsula.

Or put another way I'd consider places on the opposite side of the Cheasapeake
to be secluded wildness even tho they are technically only 30-50 miles from
downtown baltimore.

~~~
pasbesoin
Google Maps shows about 90 miles, on a direct line, between Copper Harbor and
Thunder bay. About 180 miles to Sault Ste. Marie. Having been in the area many
times, Canada does not feel -- and is not, barring I guess an expensive and
international sea plane flight -- a day trip. (And yeah, there's one
controversial local magnate I'm aware of who would make that trip -- in his
own plane.)

It may not be Canada-level wilderness, but it's pretty empty -- or "thin".
IIRC, I was told that the large Ontonagon County, towards the west end of the
UP, has one of the lowest county population densities in the entire country.

