Still, we can't complain. With the car windows down, we head west on the Lakeshore Drive part of Route 26 toward Eagle Harbor. Even cuter, smaller, and less ready for business than Copper Harbor, Eagle Harbor looks like a delightful place to spend an afternoon, or an entire summer. We stand on the beach, snap a few photos, and watch for a while as a young girl steers a remote-control car down the center of the road.

The nearby Jampot--a bakery and jam store run by monks from the Holy Transfiguration Skete--is closed not because of the season but because we are silly enough to come on a Sunday. My sour mood changes after chili dogs and beer at the Michigan House Cafe.

Agate Beach, near Copper Harbor (Amanda Friedman) [enlarge photo] APRIL 2007 ISSUE • Table of Contents: April 2007 • Secret Hotels of California Wine Country • River Cruising in Eastern Europe • My Brooklyn Is Better Than Yours • The Cool List: Best New Thrills • Web Smart: Booking Cruises Online • Road Trip: Michigan's Upper Peninsula • 40 Best

The buildings at the Quincy Mine are creepy. They sit on a hill above the town of Hancock like the husks of giant locusts that have gorged themselves on the land and departed. It's 43 degrees inside the mine, and before our tour we're supplied with heavy jackets and hard hats. We board a tram to the mine entrance and then climb into a trailer pulled by a small John Deere. As dripping water echoes through the dark tunnel, our guides, Eli and Jennifer, tell us about accidents--253 workers died between 1846 and 1945, when the mine was in operation--as well as escape tunnels, children who started work as young as age 11, and a drill called the Widowmaker. We're seven levels deep in the mine, and I'm amazed there are 88 floors below us.

By the time we emerge squinty-eyed into the light, it's late in the afternoon. We head to an uninspired town called Houghton. We wander into a strange pizza joint called the Ambassador, where extensive gnome-based murals cover the walls. Fortunately, the restaurant has a great view of the Houghton-Hancock bridge, along with decent food.

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