I went on my first mine tour when I was a teenager. We were on a family vacation in the Keeweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My brother and I liked the tour of the copper mine so much we struck out on our own later on for a different mine tour.
Last weekend I found myself on the road to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula again (but not so far as Keeweenaw) to tour the Iron Mine in Vulcan, Michigan. It was a beautiful cool (38 degrees when we walked out the door) and sunny fall day. It was perfect for a mine tour with my son’s Cub Scout pack.
What you’ll love about a trip to the mine if you’re eight years old
- There’s a huge gift shop full of geology and Michigan-related goodies (read: lots of rocks!).
- You go over 400 feet underground!
- Free Iron ore samples (galore).
- There are bats in parts of the caves.
- Hard hats!
- Trout in a pond in the mine.
- Stories about dynamite.
- You ride a little red train right into the earth.
- It’s pretty much like being on an episode of Scooby Doo.
I’m pretty sure we’ve seen Shaggy and Scooby escaping from bad guys in dumps cars just like this one.
What you’ll love about a trip to the mine if you’re 38 years old not eight years old:
- A beautiful drive through small towns up the eastern part of Wisconsin, especially during autumn.
- The trip back in time. The mine is no longer operating. Instead it’s been turned into an educational tourist site. Everything from the signs to the equipment make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the 60s, or maybe even earlier. There are pieces of equipment that go back to the 1800s.
- The tour guide. No nonsense, no frills and no horsing around with this guy. If I had to guess, I’d say he was probably around when the mine was still operating. He knew his stuff and had clearly given the tour at least 1237 times.
- Good old fashioned tourism. Touches like Big John, his enormous tire, and the “Old Faceful” water fountain made me smile.
- Hard hats!
- Neato details like calcium deposits on the cave walls, blasting fuses and iron cores.
- It counts as an educational outing with the kids. It may seem like all fun to him, but it’s a slice of Michigan and Wisconsin geology, history and culture.
I never did find out who Big John was. Was he a real miner or more of a mining Paul Bunyan? Maybe he was even Big John from the Jimmy Dean song Big Bad John. I guess we’ll just have to go back next year to find out. Maybe this time I’ll put down the camera (phone) and listen to what our guide is saying. Maybe.
Great write up! I spent my summers working at a summer camp in Pembine, so Iron Mountain was my second home/hangout spot during those summers. In all those years, I never did the Iron Mine tour. Now I have two sons who would love, love, love to tour the mine. Your field trip report is now prompting me to do this next year when they’re open for tours again…thank you! By the way, I checked out their website for pricing, but they don’t have anything except for a printable $1 off coupon. Could you tell me how much it cost to do this tour with your Cub Scout group? Thanks!
I spent summers at my grandparents’ home near Pembine. We still head there in the summer with our son now. What camp did you work at?
The prices are $14.00 for adults, $8.00 for children 6-12, 5 and under free, according to their Facebook page. The Cub Scout group got a lower prices as a group, but I can’t remember what it was.
Thanks for the info, Terra! This tour is definitely going on our “to do” list for 2015.
I used to work at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp in Pembine. This past summer I got to drop my oldest off at camp there for a week. It brought back so many wonderful memories…ahh, those good old days! 🙂
Thanks again!