I do believe this a picture of the covered road that goes from Houghton/atlantic Mine out to Beacon hill.was part of the old RR bed if not mistaken that ran out to the stamp mill at freda.Very beautiful in fall...can hardly wait untill then.

I believe this covered road ran from Atlantic Mine to the Atlantic Mine Stamp Mill in Redridge. It was part of an old RR bed at one time. I lived in Redridge and traveled through this road many times and still do when we are in the UP. We use it alot to go to Atlantic and the other towns on the range. We make one or two trips up to Redridge every summer.

It sure looks like it. When I was a little boy, we called it "The Tunnel Road". It's beautiful in the fall, but my most memorable experience there came in early January, 1998.

At the end of a Christmas visit, I decided to take in the hockey game between Houghton & Hancock high schools at Dee Stadium, but had a couple of hours to kill before game time. Figured I'd head out to see what the road looked like in winter.

There was deep snow, and more falling. "No problem", sez I, "I grew up driving in icy weather." An hour later I slid completely off the road into a snow bank, despite only going about 20 mph.

Luck was on my side, as Dave Harmon, who lives on a nearby farm, happened by, and he generously offered to return with a tow rope, shovel, & long boards. We freed up my car just before dark.

If you're reading the Pasty Cam, thanks again, Dave!

That road is the one that Earl Gagnon used to call the Arboreal Tunnel - and I'm sure he must have had at least 3 more flowery adjectives tacked on to that! So pretty in the Fall.

If this is the Covered Bridge Road on the way to Frieda, thank you, thank you! I had requested a picture of it a while back and am thrilled to enjoy it again.

We traveled the road often when we took the kids to visit their Gramma and Grandpa in Houghton as the kids loved the road. They would request this as a special trip. They looked at it as a tunnel also. It was a bit "scary" in the evening as it was really dark on the road with the heavy tree cover above, but that was half of the fun. And there was a nice meal at the end of the road in the restaurant. Love it! Thanks.

Lois from Illinois: If you are LSK, the wife of GHK, Steve Ristola is Kuosa's great grandson.

This is one of my husband Michael's and my favorite drives during the fall. While I'm sure Jon has many beautiful fall shots of "The Arboreal Tunnel," check out the www.finlandia.edu splash page for another wonderful fall picture taken by former VP for Enrollment Management Dr. Brian VanderSchee. Another winner, Jon -- thanks again!

Hey Susan, VA--that's the road. We lived at the Michigan Smelter location in '48-'50, and often took a drive through "the tunnel". Still do when I go up there for a visit--miss the Superior View restaurant in Freda--they had wonderful food, and I introduced my grandsons to the old stamp mill remnants there. I admire the people who tried to establish the restaurant--maybe the fact that Freda is literally the end of the road was just too far for modern age people. Probably inaccesable in the winter. I remember fishing in the lake behind the Redridge Dam, and have on my back porch a school desk from the school in Redridge given to me by my old sunday school teacher Helen Hurley who apparently bought the old schoolhouse. Somewhere in my "shoebox" I have pictures from that area. Thank you,Steve!

You Cam-Watchers are the greatest! Earlier today when I posted this picture, I was distracted by some other demands, not able to write a note about the shot. I return to find all of your interesting comments. Now if we could just automate a way for you to capture and upload the pictures each day, life here at Pasty Central would REALLY be easy :o)

This is indeed the Covered Road on the way to Freda. I especially love the vertical panorama that Jonathan framed here... sort of a "PastyVision" turned up and down. You can clearly see the mesh of limbs and leaves which wrap together to form the ceiling of this splendid, natural cathedral.

Sometimes I regret that we present only one picture a day on the Pasty Cam. If we could constantly travel Upper Michigan and bring you a new sight every hour, it would not exhaust the beauty of this wonderful peninsula. From Ironwood to Drummond Island, Menominee to Copper Harbor, there's no place quite like the U.P.

I do like the fact that so many comments come out of one photo everyday.I make an annual pilgrammage up to god's country every fall and the covered road is a required trip..going out via the covered road and then taking the paved road through liminga and stopping at the cemetary to visit my mother's parents graves..helmi(kuosa) and uno Loukinen.I am very proud of my U.P. hertiage and being a Finnlander is just a bonus.thx to Pasty.com for the many pix..

Hello from the Evergreen state!

Make sure you go back and take a picture in the

fall,when the leaves are in full color,my husband

& I always took a ride through there in the fall.

Thanks for all your wonderful pictures!

kjr

Yes I have been on the covered road many times also. I like the way the yellows open up the whole forest in the fall. And the green in summer beckons you to stop and explore over and over. It is nice to read the comments and know others get the same joy from it.

Traveled this road a lot in the 30's and 40's with my parents and as many times as I can when I go back to Liminga and the lakeshore. We always called it the Green Road. By any name it is still a place in the Copper Country to look forward to seeing.

What a beautiful place!! I would love to check it out next time we vacation in the UP. Can someone please email me exact directions on how to get there?
Also, hello to Lois from another IL gal who loves the UP! :-)
Best wishes,
Renee in IL

heritage.....sorry for the bad spelling...

Hi everyone,

Dave Harmon here -- me and my family are
one of only 2 families that actually live on
Covered Road (there are also two farms
served by spur roads off Covered Road).
Charlie at Pasty.com called my attention to
this feature, and I am really glad to see how
many people love our road.

Yes, almost all the road was originally part of
a railbed going from Atlantic/Houghton out to
the Redridge mill (and I presume from there
on out to Edgmere, Beacon Hill, and Freda). I
think it was the Copper Range railroad.

I have heard the road called Covered Drive,
the Arboreal Tunnel, the Covered Bridge Road
(there is no bridge on it, actually) -- but never
Green Road, I like that one too.

Renee, to get there, take the Houghton Canal
Road (the intersection with M-26 is marked
"Canal Road") and follow it out along the canal
to a huge, dug-out hillside. Take the road to
the left there (Coles Creek Road; there's also
a big green and white sign
that says "Covered Road 3.5 miles"). Follow
the pavement for 3.5 miles; when the road
turns to gravel, that's the start of the Covered
Road. It will take you 3 miles through the
woods and dead ends at Liminga Road.
(Stop at the Grego Organic Farm store, on a
spur road about halfway down the road.) If you
go left on Liminga, you'll go through Redridge
and eventually dead-end at Freda. Stop at the
Superior View restaurant there (open
May-early October, I believe) and order their
'signature' dessert, a whipped-cream/pudding
delight called a "chipper." You can backtrack
along Covered Road or follow Liminga Road
back in to the Canal Road.

Some of you might be interested to learn that I
am working on a project to see if we can get
the forestry company that owns almost all the
land along Covered Road to commit to
keeping the land undeveloped. I am working
with our local land trust on this. If any of you
are interested, write me at
dharmon@
georgewright.org and I'll keep you
posted.

Finally, to Bill Denning -- you're more than
welcome! I've pulled several people out of that
snowbank on the sharp curve there ...
including my own parents! You are not alone!

Dave

My Dad grew up on Liminga Road. We used to go for
rides on the road and look for bears!

To Steve Ristola
Was your grandmothers maiden name KUOSA? That is
not a "common" name in Finland.If you are interested in her geneology she came from Kurkijoki/ Kirvu parrish in Finland where the Kuosa name traces back to the 1700's. I am always
trying to get people interested in their Finnish
geneology .Alot of the parrishes are on line on
the HISKI link and are quite valuable in tracing
your ancestry.
Alicia

Steve Ristola--thanks for the photo of "Lover's Lane" and it was the Green Road, also then, but we always referred to it as the former.

Your aunt Hilia was my Kummi and what a joy she was--always giggling and so much fun--I can still see the lit candles on your grandparent's Xmas tree and I wrote an essay about them (my big school project and got an "A" by the way) about the two of them hauling hay past our home--I'm Sharon Keturi Schirmer and, of course, knew the family well.

Traversed the Road again last Fall and what more pleasure does one find than Lake Superior at the end of it? It never fails to renew my spirits, those breakers!

I have the last train to Freda as my wallpaper so every day I am reminded of home even though I have now been a Minnesotan longer than a Yooper. One can NEVER leave one's roots!

Enjoy the website and all the reminders.

<Charlie>: Sharon - Steve was the first person to post on this day's Cam Notes. The photo was actually taken by Jonathan Hopper, who is responsible for about 75% of the pictures which have appeared on the Pasty Cam over the years.

I remember this road...mostly from a bike ride on it maybe 35 years ago with the boy scouts. Have to remember to drive it sometime when I get to the UP again. Must be a treat in the Fall.
Red C.

Charlie from Sharon--my apologies to Jonathan Hopper who took this beautiful photo full of memories for me. I noticed the mistake I made after I posted it and I am glad you brought it to the viewers' attention. I am new to this site and I am glad people can order pasties--I still make my own regularly and would you believe when we "graduated" from 10th grade at Redridge School before finishing our last 2 years in Houghton, that fellow female classmates made bunches of them for our Class Picnic at Fort Wilkins and Lake Fanny Ho (is that spelled correctly?)? We wrapped them in newspapers and were still warm for lunch--but they are good cold, too, as anyone will testify.

wow - As I look backward through the pasty cam (today is 7/26), I can't believe how my past 10 days up there have been perfectly captured here. We drove down the covered road just last Thursday evening, went out to Freda, marveled at the church in Red Ridge. Also, laying in bed, listening to the thunder as is rumbles back and forth for hours. It's always so hard to come home.

Going through the Green Road means you are
almost there!

pc2002

greetings! i too have many memories of this road. my uncle, ed ahola, used to drive a plow for the houghton county road commission on this road in the 30's 40's & 50's. he would plow the roads to various farms in the area & then would stop at their mailbox where some "antifreeze" would be stored so he could continue his route! the trucks in the early days had no heaters so he would keep a wool blanket over his legs to try to keep warm. the "antifreeze" would help to keep the cold away. i have traversed this road many times in a car, but the most enjoyable was on my motorcycle. the fall "copper country cruises" were great. i too enjoyed the meals at the superior cafe & look forward to the time i can go there again. we always try to go out & see the bluebirds around the old mill.

Hello!
I look for HELMI and UNO LOUKINEN near relations.
Me have got letterpaper, that one is UNO writer´s to me year 1985 11. february. I love that one letter.. .my miss very many much they!.. . I wish contact their everything friend´s and relative´s.. .

JARMO ITÄNIEMI
add; KOIVUKUJA 1 D,62370 KANGASTO/ALAHÄRMÄ
FINLAND
gsm 040 5081917
fax +358-6-4845397
email japei@japei.com