Exploring Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula: Hidden Gems and Local Heritage

# Brad Barnet - Visit Keweenaw

[00:00:06] **Howard:** [00:00:00] Hello, everyone, and welcome back for another episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series. Our guest today is Brad Barnett. Brad is the executive director of Visit Keweenaw, the destination marketing organization for Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, which promotes outdoor recreation, historical, and cultural experiences.

Brad, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast. Welcome.

[00:00:32] **Brad Barnet:** Hey Howard, thanks so much for having me. I love the shot behind you there. It looks like a beautiful place.

it does, and I was, as I was kind of selecting the photos for my background, I'm thinking, I wouldn't mind being up there right about now. It's only 110 degrees here in, uh, Boulder City. But, a- and I have to secondly thank you, really. y- any

[00:00:53] **Howard:** time I do an episode with a, a Michigan destination, I feel like I'm coming home.

Now,

[00:00:59] **Brad Barnet:** [00:01:00] you are, uh,

[00:01:01] **Howard:** at the perhaps

[00:01:02] **Brad Barnet:** most

[00:01:02] **Howard:** northernmost part of Michigan,

[00:01:05] **Brad Barnet:** but

[00:01:06] **Howard:** nonetheless, you

[00:01:08] **Brad Barnet:** it,

[00:01:08] **Howard:** it's still coming home because I have been out in the Keweenaw Peninsula. I have visited when I was a, a youngster. I had more hair back then. But it's, it's really great to have you on the podcast, and

[00:01:19] **Brad Barnet:** really

[00:01:19] **Howard:** learn, to learn more about, uh, and share with our listeners why you ought to be thinking about, why our guests ought to be thinking about visiting the Keweenaw Peninsula.

So, looking forward to our conversation today

[00:01:32] ** Brad:** Love

[00:01:33] **Brad Barnet:** it. Yeah, no, I, it, I appreciate you give us the time and space to share a little bit about the Keweenaw Peninsula, and hopefully whet the appetites of your audience to, to dig in a little bit deeper and learn more about our destination. But man, I saw you had

[00:01:45] ** Brad:** some downstate trolls,

[00:01:46] **Brad Barnet:** in pre- past episodes, and

[00:01:47] ** Brad:** and

[00:01:48] **Brad Barnet:** we gotta get the Upper Peninsula represented here.

And so I appreciate getting the opportunity to talk shop a little

[00:01:53] ** Brad:** bit with you

[00:01:54] **Howard:** Oh, excellent. And yeah, I had some great episodes, and, uh, what was it? visit Muskegon, [00:02:00] Blue Water CVB, and also, uh,

[00:02:02] **Brad Barnet:** down in Kalamazoo.

And- Yeah ... I,

[00:02:05] **Howard:** I, I actually had, uh, I had two nieces that went up to school up in the, uh, the, the Northern Michigan area, and, I, I, I know how much fun they had. They had great educations, but I mean, I just remember how beautiful it was up there.

But for our listeners, now I, uh, w- describe, if you would, where is the Keweenaw Peninsula?

[00:02:29] ** Brad:** Beautiful.

[00:02:29] **Brad Barnet:** well, it w- we'll start with Michigan because most people know where Michigan is at, right?

Right. Puts your- You, you, you got the, you got, you got the hand if you're, if you're,if you, if you love the, know the UP, you might kinda use your other hand, right? Okay. Kinda put it up here, right? And this is, this is Michigan's Upper Peninsula. So we are at the thumb, I'm gonna waggle my thumb here real quick- Right

which is the Keweenaw

[00:02:50] ** Brad:** Peninsula,

[00:02:50] **Brad Barnet:** is, as

[00:02:51] ** Brad:** astutely pointed out, Howard, the most northern portion of,

[00:02:55] **Brad Barnet:** of Michigan, right in the heart of Lake Superior. And so, for, for the [00:03:00] Keweenaw, whether you live here or you visit here, Lake Superior plays such a vital role in the recreation activities that we have, the life, the culture.

[00:03:09] ** Brad:** The,

[00:03:09] **Brad Barnet:** the, the B- the Big Lake provides a lot for us. And so whenever you think of the Keweenaw, you gotta think of Lake Superior.

[00:03:16] ** Brad:** But I always like

[00:03:16] **Brad Barnet:** share, when you think about how far north we are,

[00:03:19] ** Brad:** we're actually further north than

[00:03:21] **Brad Barnet:** 70% of Canada's population, right? So there's only 30%

[00:03:25] ** Brad:** of the people who live in

[00:03:27] **Brad Barnet:** that are further north than the Keweenaw Peninsula, if that gives

[00:03:31] ** Brad:** you any perspective

[00:03:32] **Howard:** Okay, okay. Now weather-wise, uh, right now we have a heat wave going, uh, i- in the, the Southwest here in Nevada, and specifically Boulder City. I think it's gonna be about 110, 111 degrees today, so, w- that's what I said. I go out early to enjoy my coffee, then I don't go out until the s- I don't leave again until the sun sets, but what's the weather gonna be like today?

[00:03:57] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah, so we're, I mean, we're looking at a [00:04:00] balmy, 78 degrees, maybe a little cooler along the lake shore. So again, Lake Superior provides a nice little moderating effect for the Keweenaw Peninsula. It keeps us cooler in the summer times, and actually keeps us warmer during the winter times, interestingly enough.

So, you know the term, I don't know if you've heard the term coolcations, uh, Howard? Okay. Right? That became popular over the last handful of years. The Keweenaw's a great destination

[00:04:22] ** Brad:** for those

[00:04:23] **Brad Barnet:** coolcation spots. If you're starting to look and say, "Hey, those, those triple digit, uh, days wherever we're at, uh, are

[00:04:29] ** Brad:** getting a little old," come

[00:04:31] **Brad Barnet:** off here in the Keweenaw.

Jump in the Big Lake, enjoy the cooler breezes. it's, uh, it's, it's certainly refreshing, uh, to say the least. I don't know how you do the, the 110 degree weather. That's crazy.

[00:04:41] **Howard:** I, I sometimes wonder that myself. Now, how did you end up i- in, uh, the Keweenaw Peninsula in this work as the executive director, uh, for, uh, this destination?

[00:04:53] ** Brad:** Yeah, it, I mean, it's, it's happenstance. It's

[00:04:55] **Brad Barnet:** of like the universe sort of directed us in, in this direction. You mentioned higher ed. You had a [00:05:00] couple of, uh, family members who went to school in Northern Michigan. Well, in Houghton, Michigan, which is the metropolitan

[00:05:06] ** Brad:** hub of

[00:05:06] **Brad Barnet:** Keweenaw Peninsula, that's home to Michigan Technological University, and so it's a science and technology and engineering school.

it's actually highly renowned across the Midwest and across the country these days. I went there back in 2013. I was drawn up there for a, a doctoral program. and so my family and I, we uprooted our lives in, in Kentucky and moved up there.

[00:05:28] ** Brad:** in love with the Keweenaw. We couldn't, find a better place to call home, especially if you love

the outdoors.

You basically... And

[00:05:34] **Brad Barnet:** know, I like to tell people, "You fall out of bed, you'll hit a trail," right? And so it really is a great destination for people who wanna explore nature. And so we fell in love with the community,

[00:05:43] ** Brad:** and the question was, is

[00:05:44] **Brad Barnet:** how do you make, make life work, uh, that way? And,

[00:05:47] ** Brad:** and

[00:05:47] **Brad Barnet:** Keweenaw is many things, but heavily populated is not one of them.

the, the, in terms of population size, we've got about 37,000 residents, um, across two counties, so pretty sparsely [00:06:00] populated. So finding jobs is a little tough, but I was lucky enough to land into an economic development role with the local planning region, um, which allowed me to do some work with local communities on recreation planning and things like that.

And then that spun out into working with the destination marketing organization. Once

[00:06:15] ** Brad:** I

[00:06:16] **Brad Barnet:** really familiar with

[00:06:16] ** Brad:** the communities, the community partners, the stakeholders,

[00:06:19] **Brad Barnet:** what there was to do for outdoor recreation winter, summer, or fall, um, that kinda led me just naturally into the DMO space, um,

[00:06:27] ** Brad:** because there was a huge opportunity for us

[00:06:29] **Brad Barnet:** promote the Keweenaw Peninsula, not

[00:06:30] ** Brad:** just as a, as

[00:06:31] **Brad Barnet:** destination amongst the UP, but maybe even a destination beyond the Upper Peninsula.

And, uh, and so I jumped on that opportunity, and I've been there ever

[00:06:39] ** Brad:** since.

[00:06:40] **Howard:** Excellent. you, you mentioned the, the, uh, the seasons. Would you describe the visiting Keweenaw, uh, and

[00:06:48] **Brad Barnet:** and the,

[00:06:49] **Howard:** the counties and all over this area, would you describe it as a four-season destination?

[00:06:56] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah, I would say out- definitely.

I mean, I'm paid to describe it as a [00:07:00] four-season destination . Well, I, I- So, so we- we'll, we'll call it, we'll call it

[00:07:04] ** Brad:** three and a half

[00:07:05] **Brad Barnet:** depending on what your tolerance level is, uh, for, for, uh, outdoor recreation experiences. And I say that tongue in cheek because every destination is want, or really leans into sort of the four destination market.

That's where our shoulder seasons are at, just like any,

[00:07:18] ** Brad:** any destination.

[00:07:20] **Brad Barnet:** but if you're really an outdoor enthusiast, uh, every

[00:07:23] ** Brad:** season has something for you in the Keweenaw

[00:07:26] **Brad Barnet:** Peninsula and the Grand or UP,

[00:07:27] ** Brad:** UP

[00:07:28] **Brad Barnet:** or Upper Peninsula, as we call it. and so during the summertime, beautiful beaches, beautiful hiking trails, biking trails.

We'll probably get into the thick of that

[00:07:36] ** Brad:** ti-type

[00:07:36] **Brad Barnet:** activity, but it really is about accessing nature in all its glory, blue skies, sunshine,

[00:07:41] ** Brad:** all that good fun stuff.

[00:07:42] **Brad Barnet:** But what we're really known for actually is our winters. So

[00:07:45] ** Brad:** Howard, ev- when

[00:07:47] **Brad Barnet:** think about Michigan winters, they usually think sort of gray, kind of- Yeah

uh, just kind of getting through winter. This

[00:07:53] ** Brad:** is where really the Keweenaw

[00:07:55] **Brad Barnet:** shines. We get around 300 inches of lake effect snowfall [00:08:00] every winter. So that's a lot of snow, and that's powder snow. It's generated by the lake effect, uh, warmer air masses coming o- I'm sorry, cooler air masses coming over Lake Superior, hitting that warm air mass, and then that generating light, fluffy powder.

So

[00:08:14] ** Brad:** we are a destination

[00:08:15] **Brad Barnet:** for snowmobiling, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, all that good fun stuff. And that Lake Superior effect during the wintertime actually keeps us

[00:08:23] ** Brad:** a little bit warmer than what you would find in other parts

[00:08:26] **Brad Barnet:** the Midwest. So while

[00:08:27] ** Brad:** maybe in Duluth

[00:08:28] **Brad Barnet:** sitting at, a balmy five degrees, um, in the Keweenaw Peninsula we're probably closer to

[00:08:33] ** Brad:** to like

[00:08:33] **Brad Barnet:** 25 degrees.

So that's just perfect weather if you wanna get outdoors, you wanna ski. You're not freezing. You get all this abundant powder.

[00:08:40] ** Brad:** It's a really cool place

[00:08:42] **Brad Barnet:** explore. We get into springtime, a little

[00:08:45] ** Brad:** bit different

[00:08:46] **Brad Barnet:** us. Like we're trying to evolve that, uh, that as a destination time of year, but it's certainly a shoulder season for us.

But things are a lot quieter, particularly again on the trails as things begin to thaw out. We have lots of waterfalls. So waterfalls, dark [00:09:00] skies, that's become a big push for us too in the springtime. Sure. we have very little light pollution. So if you wanna check out the northern orioles,

[00:09:07] ** Brad:** the northern lights, um, you wanna avoid the bugs, you wanna avoid the crowds,

[00:09:11] **Brad Barnet:** a great time of year to come up to Keweenaw Peninsula and check out this

[00:09:14] ** Brad:** truly magical dark sky.

So, but

[00:09:17] **Brad Barnet:** yeah, the last season, uh, would be fall, and we really do a great job when it comes to fall color- Yeah ... because our leaves are so vibrant. and again, that's thanks to, in large part, Lake Superior, our northern, uh, location on the globe. it really provides a really spectacular a- array of reds, golds, and oranges, uh, during the fall

[00:09:36] ** Brad:** color season

[00:09:37] **Howard:** Excellent. By the way, I, I... as you and I had our conversation ear- earlier and just kind of teeing up this episode and, uh, and I know, for our listeners, uh, Visit Keweenaw had a, uh, a press trip for, uh, members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, the OWAA, and my peers [00:10:00] visited there last, uh, year during the, in the winter season.

I think it was like around February. I was signed up. I couldn't make it, and then

[00:10:10] **Brad Barnet:** here

[00:10:10] **Howard:** you are, you and I are having this conversation. But I have to say, Brad,

[00:10:15] **Brad Barnet:** just said

[00:10:15] **Howard:** the magic words a minute ago, 'cause when I moved to, uh, Nevada from Chicago back in 2000, I had an opportunity to come out here and do some coaching work.

That's my other day job besides podcasting. I wanted to get out into the desert to see the dark skies, and you just mentioned the dark skies up in, in, in Keweenaw, and I'm thinking, "That's what I wanna go visit," 'cause I wanna, I wanna see the dark skies, the hopefully, I know it's hit or miss, the borealis.

But, uh, I, I think just, seeing the, the area and nature at

[00:10:51] **Brad Barnet:** finest,

[00:10:52] **Howard:** but knowing the dark skies are up there has got to be amazing

[00:10:55] **Brad Barnet:** It, it, it

[00:10:56] ** Brad:** is. I

[00:10:56] **Brad Barnet:** is. I mean, when you can w- when you can just step outside and, turn your [00:11:00] head

[00:11:00] ** Brad:** towards the heavens and just look at, at,

[00:11:02] **Brad Barnet:** at, at the sky, I mean, it

[00:11:03] ** Brad:** it

[00:11:03] **Brad Barnet:** it makes you feel...

it's cliche, but it makes you feel small. It makes you feel like

[00:11:07] ** Brad:** you're part of something bigger.

[00:11:08] **Brad Barnet:** something bigger. and, uh, that's

[00:11:09] ** Brad:** one of

[00:11:09] **Brad Barnet:** things about the Keweenaw Peninsula I love,

[00:11:11] ** Brad:** that I

[00:11:12] **Brad Barnet:** sharing with my daughter. just whether you're just driving home and you just step outside, like, out of your car, and you just look up and you start...

you see the Orion, constellation, you point that out, the

[00:11:21] ** Brad:** Big Dipper. It's just,

[00:11:22] **Brad Barnet:** it's just really cool.

[00:11:23] ** Brad:** And

[00:11:24] **Brad Barnet:** I'll

[00:11:24] ** Brad:** go back. I mean,

[00:11:25] **Brad Barnet:** part of what makes the Keweenaw a great place for this is because we are, again, basically surrounded by Lake Superior, uh, to the north, you know, the west, and the east, right?

So, when you don't have that ambient light pollution being thrown 

[00:11:36] ** Brad:** like

[00:11:36] **Brad Barnet:** might have in other parts, even, even in the Midwest, and so it just leads to deeper, darker sky.

[00:11:42] ** Brad:** So if

[00:11:43] **Brad Barnet:** Nor- when the northern lights come out, it's fantastic. It's a treat. But as long as it's a cloudless night, you get to really get to see

[00:11:49] ** Brad:** some amazing, spectacular displays, um, all, all, all

[00:11:53] **Brad Barnet:** year round.

[00:11:54] ** Brad:** It's very cool

[00:11:55] **Howard:** Excellent. New moon and a cloudless night.

[00:11:57] **Brad Barnet:** I love it. You got it. I

[00:11:58] **Howard:** love it. So how [00:12:00] has Visit Keweenaw evolved as a destination marketing organization? Here we are, 2026.

[00:12:10] **Brad Barnet:** was

[00:12:10] **Howard:** a huge spark to the destinations getting outside, exploring nature back in 2020 during the COVID,pandemic because getting outside was really the only way we could stay sane, uh, because, and, and away from other people, so keep our family safe.

But even before that,

[00:12:30] **Brad Barnet:** do

[00:12:31] **Howard:** you see the, this area, the, in the peninsula changing as a

[00:12:37] **Brad Barnet:** over

[00:12:37] **Howard:** the years?

[00:12:38] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah, it, so I came on board with Visit Keweenaw, uh, in 2019. And, uh, we referred to as the Keweenaw CVB or Convention and Visitors Bureau at that time.

Right. So our, at that time, the organization was honestly fairly insular. Our role

[00:12:55] ** Brad:** was Promotion.

[00:12:57] **Brad Barnet:** Our, our budget was quite small at [00:13:00] the time, and, uh, our focus was on, on

[00:13:03] ** Brad:** visitor-centric

[00:13:04] **Brad Barnet:** communication, getting people to market. And, and

[00:13:07] ** Brad:** that

[00:13:08] **Brad Barnet:** really the philosophy of the organization at the

[00:13:10] ** Brad:** time.

[00:13:10] **Brad Barnet:** The COVID pandemic turned that on its head, uh,

[00:13:14] ** Brad:** quite a bit.

[00:13:15] **Brad Barnet:** First, it

[00:13:17] ** Brad:** forced our organization

[00:13:18] **Brad Barnet:** think more broadly about the role of the DMO. it, it required us to think more about our community, our role in

[00:13:25] ** Brad:** terms

[00:13:25] **Brad Barnet:** economic development,

[00:13:27] ** Brad:** you

[00:13:27] **Brad Barnet:** our stewardship roles when it comes to in- you know, inviting people to our community, and how they interact and experience Keweenaw once they got here.

Initially, the idea was is our only

[00:13:37] ** Brad:** job was just to get people to Keweenaw. Just

Just get them. Right after that, our responsibilities ended. We've done our jobs. post-pandemic or even during the pandemic

[00:13:45] **Brad Barnet:** there was an absence of or a void of, "Oh, heck, what

[00:13:49] ** Brad:** do we do?" Like, how do we interact with visitors?

How do we interact

[00:13:53] **Brad Barnet:** community leaders? How do we interact with our residents?

[00:13:55] ** Brad:** There was a real sort of capacity gap there i- in a small rural

[00:13:59] **Brad Barnet:** like the [00:14:00] Keweenaw Peninsula, that in many cases, our organization stepped

[00:14:03] ** Brad:** in and, and,

[00:14:03] **Brad Barnet:** filled. Because we knew that without the visitor economy, our local co- economy, which as diverse as it is

[00:14:10] ** Brad:** for such

[00:14:10] **Brad Barnet:** small re- region, needed those

[00:14:12] ** Brad:** visitor dollars.

[00:14:13] **Brad Barnet:** how do we do that responsibly and

[00:14:15] ** Brad:** safely? and that was

[00:14:17] **Brad Barnet:** of that inflection point in which our organization had to think more broadly about our within our community and sort of what, what task we were gonna assign ourselves and what responsibilities we were assigning ourselves. And so once we got

[00:14:27] ** Brad:** to that 2021 period where things opened up i- in

[00:14:31] **Brad Barnet:** in Michigan and there was a real boom, uh, in terms of visitation like you aptly described, the question was, all right, well, now people are here,

[00:14:40] ** Brad:** so

[00:14:41] **Brad Barnet:** how do we make sure that we're now good stewards of our, our community?

we're, we're getting the business, the, the word's getting out about the Keweenaw Peninsula, the marketing, all the,

[00:14:50] ** Brad:** all

[00:14:50] **Brad Barnet:** work, the seeds that we'd planted for years were really coming to fruition, all the work that our community partners had done in terms of trail building and stewardships of

[00:14:57] ** Brad:** our local history and

[00:14:58] **Brad Barnet:** beaches and culture [00:15:00] coming to fruition.

Now, how do we make sure that that's being done in a responsible way? How

[00:15:05] ** Brad:** are we being

[00:15:06] **Brad Barnet:** stewards of the region? And how are we using that as a springboard for, again, more intentional destination branding? it was more... Instead of it just being,

[00:15:14] ** Brad:** "Let's get people here,"

[00:15:15] **Brad Barnet:** that's all we're trying to do is get people here.

It's how are we doing that in terms of representing the destination? What are we putting forward in terms of how

[00:15:22] ** Brad:** we want people

[00:15:23] **Brad Barnet:** think and feel about the Keweenaw? And then once they get here, how are we being good partners and stewards of our local communities? And so that was a real sort of

[00:15:31] ** Brad:** culture shift for

[00:15:32] **Brad Barnet:** over a few years. and, uh, and it's, it's led us to where we are today as a

[00:15:36] ** Brad:** a destination marketing organization.

[00:15:38] **Howard:** Excellent. And I'm curious, i- i- in terms of the, the, the stewardship and the impact to the communities, uh, albeit I realize only 37,000 residents or so,

[00:15:50] **Brad Barnet:** Mm-hmm

[00:15:50] **Howard:** how have the residents

[00:15:53] **Brad Barnet:** up

[00:15:53] **Howard:** to realize they are, in some ways, are brand ambassadors when you come here,

[00:15:58] **Brad Barnet:** know, the visit? [00:16:00] I,

[00:16:00] **Howard:** I, you

[00:16:00] **Brad Barnet:** I... First

[00:16:01] **Howard:** thing I'm gonna do is go find a pasty, by the way,

[00:16:03] **Brad Barnet:** and- You, you got it. Yeah

[00:16:04] **Howard:** for our listeners, I will provide a link in our show notes of what is a pasty.

but how are they, how are they, how, how have they been affected by this increase of, or influx of folks wanting to visit

[00:16:20] **Brad Barnet:** and

[00:16:20] **Howard:** having 

that are, that are thoughtful and, uh, and prov- th- historical, informational, and just... And they're leaving with this, "Wow, what a great place. What great people."

So how have they stepped up?

[00:16:33] **Brad Barnet:** I, you

[00:16:34] ** Brad:** know, I think

[00:16:34] **Brad Barnet:** crazy thing about the pandemic and how it impacted that segment or that, that component of our visitor economy was before the pandemic, we had a, a very high rate of returnee visits, right?

It was, a

[00:16:49] ** Brad:** lot of it was

[00:16:49] **Brad Barnet:** the same, and I'm not saying this in any sort of disparaging way, but it was the same families. It was the same groups of people who had a long history of visiting the Upper Peninsula and the Keweenaw [00:17:00] Peninsula. The

[00:17:00] ** Brad:** pandemic Brought in a lot of new visitors, first time visitors, younger visitors, perhaps

[00:17:06] **Brad Barnet:** more affluent visitors when it comes to discretionary spending.

And

[00:17:10] ** Brad:** so that

[00:17:11] **Brad Barnet:** shift in not just, getting people who are coming here

[00:17:14] ** Brad:** for

[00:17:14] **Brad Barnet:** first time who were less familiar, and oftentimes coming from even further away,we're, we're about five hours from the closest drive market, Howard.

[00:17:24] ** Brad:** we

[00:17:25] **Brad Barnet:** pretty heavily from, like, the Detroit area of Michigan, so that's a nine-hour, 10-hour drive.

We're, we

[00:17:30] ** Brad:** started seeing people

[00:17:31] **Brad Barnet:** in from Florida, from California. Wow. We even saw Alaskan license plates, right, as we started getting more and more coverage in things like, uh, whether it's Outside Magazine, National Geographic, Yahoo, all that kind

[00:17:42] ** Brad:** of

[00:17:42] **Brad Barnet:** stuff. and so for our community, back to your point, our community members started to

[00:17:47] ** Brad:** see this from visitors with

[00:17:49] **Brad Barnet:** fresh

[00:17:50] ** Brad:** new eyes, new perspective.

[00:17:52] **Brad Barnet:** And I think that actually elevated the amount of pride that our community had in its, in their communities as a destination, knowing that they [00:18:00] were drawing

[00:18:00] ** Brad:** visitors from as far afield.

not just

[00:18:02] **Brad Barnet:** the same sort of visitor sets that we were used to seeing. And because of that, right, that recognition and that sense of pride, that we have something, something really special in the Keweenaw that perhaps community members didn't quite recognize.

[00:18:14] ** Brad:** They, it's kind

[00:18:14] **Brad Barnet:** like you live in your community, uh, it's not until- Yeah ... you

[00:18:17] ** Brad:** leave and come back

[00:18:18] **Brad Barnet:** maybe you see the beauty that w- had been there the entire time.

[00:18:21] ** Brad:** And that was

[00:18:22] **Brad Barnet:** I think our community's partners and sponsors and, and residents started to see as like, "Holy heck, this place is something that's truly special.

It's something very unique."

[00:18:31] ** Brad:** and it's worth both celebrating and preserving.

[00:18:33] **Brad Barnet:** And so then we started seeing, uh, organizations and entrepreneurs step up and say, "Okay, there's a real market opportunity here. We're getting more people coming. They're willing to pay more." and so that was something that changed, too,

[00:18:45] ** Brad:** in the Keweenaw Peninsula, this idea of valuation,

[00:18:48] **Brad Barnet:** right?

[00:18:49] ** Brad:** That, that, you

[00:18:50] **Brad Barnet:** people are willing to spend more money to come here, that we didn't have to necessarily be, competing on a, on a, on a

[00:18:56] ** Brad:** cheapness

[00:18:56] **Brad Barnet:** cheapness playing field, that we had to be the most economical option. [00:19:00] Recognizing that there

[00:19:00] ** Brad:** was true 

[00:19:01] **Brad Barnet:** here in Kew- in the Keweenaw and that people were willing to pay for it also helped elevate that sense of pride.

we had a, we had an entrepreneur who opened up a hotel in downtown Houghton, Michigan. It's The Vault Hotel. It's a new boutique hotel. It opened up in

[00:19:15] ** Brad:** 20- 2019,

[00:19:16] **Brad Barnet:** I believe, 2020, right during

[00:19:17] ** Brad:** the, right

[00:19:18] **Brad Barnet:** the pandemic. And,

[00:19:20] ** Brad:** um, the idea of getting room rates, uh,

[00:19:23] **Brad Barnet:** of $350 a night, they were, they were laughed at by many local business owners.

"You'll never get that in the Keweenaw Peninsula." Well, after

[00:19:32] ** Brad:** the pandemic, they,

[00:19:33] **Brad Barnet:** got those rates, and they set those rates. And, uh, and now, they look back and say, "You know what? Hey, people are willing to pay that for the experience here in the Keweenaw Peninsula." and that's again

[00:19:43] ** Brad:** a source of

[00:19:43] **Brad Barnet:** pride that we all, we all share.

[00:19:45] **Howard:** Excellent. Excellent. So speaking of the, the impact to the community a- and the new opportunities for experiences, the outdoor, the historical, perhaps just the, the, the s- the slow [00:20:00] nature of just being up in the Keweenaw, I would love if we could, uh, take

[00:20:05] **Brad Barnet:** quick

[00:20:05] **Howard:** visit of your website. Maybe take a,

[00:20:07] **Brad Barnet:** for

[00:20:07] **Howard:** a quick tour if that's okay, 'cause I, I think that's a good segue

[00:20:11] ** Brad:** Awesome. Well, we got a good website. Let's show it off

[00:20:13] **Brad Barnet:** All

[00:20:13] **Howard:** right, let's do it.

So the miracle of modern technology, there's my share button. Always gotta make sure I can see it. There's that button.

[00:20:25] **Brad Barnet:** All

[00:20:25] **Howard:** right, if everything worked out, you should be seeing the website

[00:20:29] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah. Oh, we've got it. Great, I can see it.

That's a

[00:20:32] ** Brad:** good looking site.

[00:20:33] **Brad Barnet:** I love it. Yes,

[00:20:33] **Howard:** it is. Look

[00:20:34] **Brad Barnet:** that- Look, look

[00:20:35] **Howard:** at that body of water. I think I recognize that in a

[00:20:37] ** Brad:** Oh,

[00:20:38] **Brad Barnet:** my, that's my favorite beach though. That's Bay de Gris Beach, Howard. That's, uh, in my

[00:20:41] ** Brad:** opinion, the most

[00:20:42] **Brad Barnet:** beach in, uh, in the Upper Peninsula.

[00:20:44] ** Brad:** But, uh, maybe I'm biased

[00:20:46] **Howard:** Excellent. Well, I see 74 degrees at this time. Excellent. So take us on a little tour. What, not only some of the highlights, but if folks want to learn more or, need to be able to plan, plan out this trip [00:21:00] and just

[00:21:00] **Brad Barnet:** of

[00:21:00] **Howard:** do some slow vacationing

[00:21:02] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah. So I mean, the first place I would, I would start if I were encouraging people to check out the website, uh, if you scroll down a little bit, of course, we've got that beautiful image of the beach.

[00:21:12] ** Brad:** we can start

[00:21:12] **Brad Barnet:** kinda get into the different experiences that people would like

[00:21:15] ** Brad:** to

[00:21:15] **Brad Barnet:** see and do and share. we're very proud of the amount of, uh, not just outdoor beauty but natural beauty, but also special events that happen here in our community. You can

[00:21:24] ** Brad:** see there as

[00:21:25] **Brad Barnet:** scroll down a little bit further, some Finnish American flags and bonfires.

We just wrapped up our Juhannus Summer Celebration special. the Keweenaw, one of its unique identifiers is its, uh, its Finnish American heritage, uh, and

[00:21:39] ** Brad:** so we're leaning into that. So definitely

[00:21:41] **Brad Barnet:** out our sections when it comes to special events. we have them all year round. But a point that I really wanna highlight for you, uh, is this next section here, um, Howard, it's our destination development section.

Yeah. And this is something that as a DMO we've,

[00:21:55] ** Brad:** we've been leaning into very, uh, aggressively, which is how do we

[00:21:59] **Brad Barnet:** [00:22:00] leverage the resources that we generate as a destination marketing organization and reinvest them back into our community? And Visit Keweenaw has really become a leader in the destination development space, uh, at least in Michigan.

and

[00:22:13] ** Brad:** so we're very proud

[00:22:13] **Brad Barnet:** this. So if you're a visitor, we wanna highlight that, your visitor, visit actually means something to this community. It actually gets reinvested into this community. If you click on that, yeah, you can start to see, if we scroll down through here, uh, examples of how individual visits, uh, to the Keweenaw Peninsula gets reinvested

[00:22:32] ** Brad:** back into

[00:22:33] **Brad Barnet:** heritage spaces, the cultural spaces, and the ecological spaces of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

You can scroll down a little bit- That guy looks familiar, by the way. Yeah, that, that guy, he's a, he, he's a smooth talker,

[00:22:43] ** Brad:** let me tell you. So 

[00:22:44] **Brad Barnet:** if you wanna, yeah, scroll down

[00:22:46] ** Brad:** a little bit further, you can actually start to dig into some of the grants,

[00:22:49] **Brad Barnet:** So if people come to the website, I mean, it's, it's extremely user-friendly, but we have, uh, itineraries and guides, um, that are really handcrafted and, [00:23:00] and curated by local Keweenaw residents and members of Visit Keweenaw.

So definitely check that out. And then the last thing I w- I wanna plug, and this just literally just went live, um, within the last 48 hours, is under our planning section, we've been really intentional about creating opportunities for individuals to, to travel with, uh, s- destination stewardship and sustainability in mind.

So by- Sure ... all means, check

[00:23:22] ** Brad:** that-

[00:23:23] **Howard:** Sure. Now, I was curious with the destinations and the,

[00:23:27] **Brad Barnet:** stewardship, w-

[00:23:29] **Howard:** stewardship, and I, and I also r- as I was preparing the show notes,

[00:23:33] **Brad Barnet:** know,

[00:23:33] **Howard:** f- for our interview, um, there was also this collective 

But there's a lot more going on really to, to tackle what's needed in the, not only the industry, but how do we make the Keweenaw experience that much more impactful to, the visitor?

[00:23:52] ** Brad:** Yeah, I,

[00:23:53] **Brad Barnet:** philosophically, we know any

[00:23:56] ** Brad:** industry has its, has its,

[00:23:57] **Brad Barnet:** uh, blemishes and

[00:23:59] ** Brad:** it has its beauty[00:24:00] 

[00:24:00] **Brad Barnet:** right?

And, and tourism is certainly no different. but we know that tourism can be a

[00:24:04] ** Brad:** force

[00:24:05] **Brad Barnet:** good, and it can be a force, um, that can bring a lot of positive, uh, resources and benefits to communities. And so at Visit Keweenaw, we've been blessed to be able to join, uh, almost like a, a worldwide think tank called, uh, The Collective.

And this is being organized by folks, um, within, uh, the Destination Think! organization. And we're one of two, uh, Michigan-based DMOs who have been, uh, asked or invited to join. and that's connected us with thought leaders, uh, not just in the United States, but across North America, uh, and even in Europe and across the globe.

[00:24:40] ** Brad:** so we've been able to have this conversation both internally within our own communities, but then also with, with leaders in the space from across the globe about, when you operate a tourism destination like the Keweenaw Peninsula that has a low population, uh, but very reliant upon volunteers and local [00:25:00] community services in order to maintain trails and provide public safety and plow the roads when it's snowing three feet, you know?

[00:25:07] **Brad Barnet:** Or, all those types of things. Like, how do we

[00:25:09] ** Brad:** not overtax, um,

[00:25:11] **Brad Barnet:** tho- those resources, and how do we make sure the visitor economy is actually supporting that as opposed to, oh,

[00:25:17] ** Brad:** becoming a burden?

[00:25:18] **Brad Barnet:** And so, using the tools

[00:25:20] ** Brad:** that we have as

[00:25:20] **Brad Barnet:** destination marketing organization, one of the things that we've m- really tried and strived to do is, is lift up

[00:25:27] ** Brad:** those local

[00:25:28] **Brad Barnet:** organizations that our industry truly relies upon, and part of that is storytelling.

You know? And that's letting people know when you come for a visit, um, these are the organizations, these are the people who are doing the work

[00:25:39] ** Brad:** that actually creates the experience,

[00:25:42] **Brad Barnet:** um, that allowed you to enjoy the Keweenaw Peninsula.

[00:25:45] ** Brad:** So it's,

[00:25:45] **Brad Barnet:** know, integrating those types of partnerships have been very important for us.

and what we're hearing, right, from both our community and visitors is they want more. They wanna know more. Yeah. They wanna connect with these experiences. They want, while they're here, they wanna volunteer for that local festival,

[00:25:58] ** Brad:** or they wanna

[00:25:59] **Brad Barnet:** spend some [00:26:00] time, doing some trail work while they're here.

And these are all great ways to give back to a destination, but also create lifelong memories, uh, and build relationships as a visitor that you're gonna

[00:26:09] ** Brad:** carry with you

[00:26:09] **Brad Barnet:** the rest of your life. And so if we can help connect people with that, uh, then we know we're

[00:26:14] ** Brad:** doing our jobs and we're creating customers for life

[00:26:16] **Howard:** Sure. You

[00:26:18] **Brad Barnet:** it's

[00:26:18] **Howard:** what I love about podcasting. It's, it's a gr- opportunity not just to have a, a great conversation with an executive like yourself of a, of a destination or a chamber of commerce, that's the, the other niche that I have within my work, but it's the folks that are thinking about the development, economic development, people development, creating, taking care of the land,

[00:26:47] **Brad Barnet:** the,

[00:26:47] **Howard:** the experience providers, even the volunteers in the community who are stepping up.

Because I know a chamber or destination, you have volunteers that are out there

[00:26:57] **Brad Barnet:** supporting

[00:26:57] **Howard:** you. They all have great [00:27:00] stories and experiences from interacting with the visitor, and that's, that's what I, I love about the power of the podcast is you really, you're extending this invitation out virtually. You gotta check this area out.

It's not just, here's the map, here's the plan, and that's it. By the way, our, uh, website just came back.

[00:27:23] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah ... I'm gonna

[00:27:24] **Howard:** g-

[00:27:25] **Brad Barnet:** gonna

[00:27:25] **Howard:** try it again. We're, we're not gonna, change screens too much, but I'm, I'm back, uh, on your homepage,

[00:27:32] **Brad Barnet:** And- Yeah ... So I, I, I'll throw it out there, right,

[00:27:35] ** Brad:** Just,

[00:27:36] **Brad Barnet:** this is a lot, very self-serving, Howard,

[00:27:38] ** Brad:** but

[00:27:38] **Brad Barnet:** I wanna drill this point home, right?

DMOs are funded

[00:27:42] ** Brad:** lots of different 

[00:27:42] **Brad Barnet:** across the country. I'm located in Michigan, and even within Michigan we have various ways

[00:27:47] ** Brad:** DMOs

[00:27:48] **Brad Barnet:** funded.

[00:27:48] ** Brad:** But one thing

[00:27:49] **Brad Barnet:** super important, at least for organizations like mine, are that people who come and visit the destination, that they stay with the lodging partners that help fund all the good work [00:28:00] that DMOs do.

Sure.

[00:28:01] ** Brad:** so I would encourage those who

[00:28:03] **Brad Barnet:** out and check out, everybody's looking for sort of a unique lodging experience these days, and you have your preferences and you have your brand partnerships.

[00:28:10] ** Brad:** but

[00:28:10] **Brad Barnet:** A, we encourage you, no matter what destination you're going to, stay with those lodging partners

[00:28:15] ** Brad:** who help

[00:28:16] **Brad Barnet:** good causes like responsible recreation messaging, destination development, stewardship, economic development.

The- those types of things really

[00:28:23] ** Brad:** do matter, and so that's the reason

[00:28:25] **Brad Barnet:** when you go to websites like visitkeweenaw.com, you'll see that lodging is very prominently featured- Sure ... on our websites.

[00:28:31] **Howard:** sure. You

[00:28:32] **Brad Barnet:** it,

[00:28:33] **Howard:** uh, there was a saying that I, I learned from a interview I did a couple years ago, uh, and I can't remember the, my guest's name, but she was a part of the Alabama Bass Trail, and she had said as a destination, "Heads in beds and cash registers singing."

[00:28:50] **Brad Barnet:** Mm-hmm. And

[00:28:51] **Howard:** because it, in their destination, their, they were funded by the bed tax, which, uh, as you, within [00:29:00] your destination, that perhaps the bed tax is one of your sources of, of revenue b- or grants perhaps.

But, the, it's that experience, those hotels, motels, uh, that, and you have the opportunity to have a great experience, have a great place to stay, and know that they're gonna provide a great experience for you and help you get acclimated to whatever your, whatever you wanna do, whatever season you're in

[00:29:26] **Brad Barnet:** You got it. Absolutely. That's, you're singing the song, you're singing my tune.

[00:29:31] **Howard:** All right, so we've got,

[00:29:32] **Brad Barnet:** just kinda

going down a little further on the m- home page, there's our, there's our dark sky. Yeah ... well, actually

[00:29:38] **Howard:** that's July 4th. Those are fireworks. we've got the history. Beaut- I mean, you, you can't go wrong, I think, with, with the, just the, the vast s- the vastness of the landscape.

Just amazing

[00:29:51] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah. Yeah, I mean, there, there's no question. I mean, our bread and butter is connecting people with nature, connecting people with experiences. you're getting to, as you scroll down a little bit further there, you're [00:30:00] getting to our web series called The Crossing Place, and that kinda touches

[00:30:03] ** Brad:** right

[00:30:04] **Brad Barnet:** into that storytelling that you, we were

[00:30:06] ** Brad:** discussing a second ago.

[00:30:07] **Brad Barnet:** it, it's a, it's a very cool product where we connect people, visitors, viewers

[00:30:12] ** Brad:** with

[00:30:12] **Brad Barnet:** people who, and organizations who are honestly doing great things here in the Keweenaw Peninsula. And we're really intentional with the stories

[00:30:19] ** Brad:** that we feature.

[00:30:20] **Brad Barnet:** We're very blessed to have,

[00:30:21] ** Brad:** uh, some great creative talent, uh, within our own Visit Keweenaw staff

[00:30:25] **Brad Barnet:** allows us to produce these videos.

but really, again, this is

[00:30:28] ** Brad:** our opportunity to lift up those people who are actually helping support

[00:30:31] **Brad Barnet:** the destination, oftentimes at, for free, just because they love this place. and so it's a, it's a cool

[00:30:37] ** Brad:** spot

[00:30:38] **Brad Barnet:** Excellent.

[00:30:38] **Howard:** And we've got the hashtag Keweenaw Peninsula. I've already got that queued up for my show notes. And looks like you've got Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. I

[00:30:49] **Brad Barnet:** I

[00:30:49] **Howard:** forget

[00:30:50] **Brad Barnet:** that is, Pinterest. TikTok. TikTok. Yeah, I love TikTok, Howard.

[00:30:54] **Howard:** I,

[00:30:54] **Brad Barnet:** I'm

[00:30:54] **Howard:** too old for that. I'm too old

[00:30:56] **Brad Barnet:** that. But,

[00:30:57] **Howard:** so just a great way to ki- you got the About Us, [00:31:00] Contact, Media, Tourism, Statistics, Partnerships.

Just a great website. Love the color, and, and I would, uh, we'll definitely have a, uh, the links

[00:31:11] **Brad Barnet:** in

[00:31:11] **Howard:** our show notes of the website and your social sites. And just, uh, well done here. Well done.

[00:31:17] **Brad Barnet:** Thank you.

[00:31:17] **Howard:** Okay.

[00:31:18] **Brad Barnet:** I'm gonna stop sharing, and

I don't wanna, don't wanna,

[00:31:22] **Howard:** wanna, uh, look a, what they say, gift horse in the mouth and have it freeze again on us.

so I am curious, Brent, as you look back in your career now in the destination space,

[00:31:35] **Brad Barnet:** Is there a, an

[00:31:37] **Howard:** aha moment of sort where you're like, "Wow, I get to do what I do for

[00:31:41] **Brad Barnet:** living"?

[00:31:42] **Howard:** Which by the way, I'm envious 'cause I think destinations are cr- uh, if I could go back 20, 30 years, I think I would be working for a destination.

But what's your aha moment when you look back and you say, "Wow, this is what I get

[00:31:55] **Brad Barnet:** do"? It,

[00:31:56] ** Brad:** Yeah,

[00:31:57] **Brad Barnet:** there, there are moments where you're sort of

[00:31:59] ** Brad:** like you're[00:32:00] 

[00:32:00] **Brad Barnet:** just like the proverbial duck, right?

[00:32:02] ** Brad:** Where

[00:32:02] **Brad Barnet:** your feet are paddling underwater and you're, just, just trying to just keep your head above water and that kind of fun stuff.

But for

[00:32:08] ** Brad:** me, it's,

[00:32:09] **Brad Barnet:** it's when we get to see people truly embrace and enjoy the destination. So there

[00:32:13] ** Brad:** were a

[00:32:14] **Brad Barnet:** experiences that immediately come to mind. any time we were putting on a festival, our... And we get to walk down, we get to see, 100 people, 500 people, three people, right?

But they're smiling, right? And they're enjoying the experience, and you can tell they're, like, creating that memory that they're gonna be thinking about, like, 13 years from now.

[00:32:32] ** Brad:** Like, those are the moments that we're like, my heart just gets, feels a little bit bigger.

[00:32:36] **Brad Barnet:** and you get the, we, we get the feels.

but the other one just recently, probably most,

[00:32:40] ** Brad:** most recent,

[00:32:41] **Brad Barnet:** we were able to, uh,

[00:32:42] ** Brad:** partner with the

[00:32:43] **Brad Barnet:** of Michigan, uh, to open up a new scenic site, um, called Houghton Douglas Falls. Mm. And Houghton Douglas Falls is the tallest waterfall in the State of Michigan. It's 110 feet. It's a geological marvel, uh, particularly for, by Midwest standards.

[00:32:59] ** Brad:** and I was, I had the [00:33:00] opportunity to stop off at that site over the Memorial,

uh, Day holiday weekend, and just the parking lot, was,

[00:33:06] **Brad Barnet:** was full, and by full, I mean 15 cars. with, by our standards, it's pretty good in the Keweenaw Peninsula, but it was full. Every parking spot was taken up.

And just seeing the families, right? They're, the families are walking the trails. You start to eavesdrop a little bit, you kinda hear what they're talking about. Start making conversation

[00:33:22] ** Brad:** with people.

[00:33:23] **Brad Barnet:** "Oh, where you from?" And then chatting, "What do you

[00:33:24] ** Brad:** think about..."

[00:33:25] **Brad Barnet:** And just seeing that come to fruition.

[00:33:27] ** Brad:** I

[00:33:27] **Brad Barnet:** that, that process started for the

[00:33:29] ** Brad:** Keweenaw, uh, in 2018. You

[00:33:32] **Brad Barnet:** Wow. So in 2026, finally got that parking lot, finally got that trail, finally got public access to this really cool spot, um, for anyone to enjoy. And, uh, and that just, again, warmed my heart

[00:33:43] **Howard:** I love it. And I, I was, as I was, again, preparing the show notes, I was looking at the, uh, the, the f- w- more information about the falls and, and that would definitely be on my itinerary, 'cause, uh, just to be able to see that and just like, wow, it's just, uh ... I

[00:33:59] **Brad Barnet:** [00:34:00] and this is the

[00:34:00] **Howard:** beau- I mean, you're actually making me think about some of the things many years ago, just, you know, I remember Copper Harbor, we were up there, like, in the fall timeframe, or I remember, like, being on the beach and just laying on a log and looking up in the stars, and I remember there was a, uh, I saw a shooting star and there was a satellite going by.

You know? Here in the, the desert now you can't help but see satellites 'cause you have all

[00:34:26] **Brad Barnet:** Starlinks going on. Yeah.

[00:34:27] **Howard:** but way back when, I mean, you see a satellite like, "Oh, that's pretty cool."

[00:34:31] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah. And, but,

[00:34:33] **Howard:** uh, this is a great, great location. Before we head out today, what

[00:34:41] **Brad Barnet:** insight

[00:34:42] **Howard:** would you like to share with our listeners about the importance of this work

[00:34:48] **Brad Barnet:** of

[00:34:49] **Howard:** destinations and what they're providing humanity, for the sake of a, a better word, of just getting out there and exploring, slowing down, and

[00:34:58] **Brad Barnet:** Yeah

what

[00:34:58] **Howard:** would be your [00:35:00] recommendation?

[00:35:01] ** Brad:** well, I, I think what you mentioned just a second ago really resonated with me, which is it's oftentimes it's not even,

not

[00:35:07] **Brad Barnet:** it's not the

[00:35:07] ** Brad:** big stuff,

[00:35:08] **Brad Barnet:** right? It's these small,

[00:35:10] ** Brad:** simple moments. You referenced just laying down on a log

[00:35:13] **Brad Barnet:** looking up in the sky and seeing the stars, right?

And that moment has lasted you a lifetime, right? Mm-hmm. And

[00:35:19] ** Brad:** as destination marketing organizations, like, sometimes we, we're always rushing

[00:35:23] **Brad Barnet:** the next big thing. What's the next big story? What's the next big attraction? What's the next big property that's gonna... or the next hotel? But we tend to forget a little bit that sometimes it's the small things that matter for visitors, that create that lasting relationship between a

[00:35:36] ** Brad:** a destination that's small.

Like

[00:35:38] **Brad Barnet:** Harbor has 250 people who

[00:35:39] ** Brad:** live

[00:35:39] **Brad Barnet:** right? But you remember it because of that experience. And that's something that we as destination marketing organizations sort of need to remember. and then as we continue to grow in a world where things just seem more stressful, more polarized,a little, there's a lot of, lot of noise out there, travel has this ability to help connect people.

And, whether

[00:35:58] ** Brad:** it's just the friends, the loved ones,

[00:35:59] **Brad Barnet:** [00:36:00] people you don't know, it's the neighbor or the, or the stranger you meet along a travel journey, it provides

[00:36:05] ** Brad:** you a little bit of a

[00:36:05] **Brad Barnet:** perspective. and travel has the power, tourism has the power to do that. and so we play a really important role in, in maybe finding common ground in a, in a world where sometimes, uh, there's a lot of, lot of stress and a lot of things pulling us apart.

And so- Yeah ... it's been a joy working the industry, uh, and, uh, and we love what we do at Visit Keweenaw,

[00:36:24] ** Brad:** now for sure

[00:36:25] **Howard:** I love that. I, just to add on, just a, a- an anecdote. A friend of mine, uh, is a, a YouTuber, influencer, and they were driving the Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago. Now, I used to live

[00:36:40] **Brad Barnet:** in

[00:36:40] **Howard:** Chicago less than a mile from the, the start on the, on the eastern side. But the one thing they said, and you just echoed it, is with all the noise going on around us, the polarity of the politics and those types of things, they were really [00:37:00] surprised and happy that the experience of talking to people who are just living their lives and enjoying the fact that here's the 100th anniversary of Route 66, we're in this community, we're a part of it.

And my friend's experience of talking to people and meeting new people from location to location,

[00:37:22] **Brad Barnet:** She

[00:37:22] **Howard:** said it was amazing. And it's exactly what you just echoed, is you- the, in the Keweenaw Peninsula, you've, you literally have, uh, nature's way of just helping you slow down, appreciating the surroundings, getting to know the people, the culture, and just,

[00:37:40] **Brad Barnet:** know,

[00:37:41] **Howard:** having, uh, having a good experience, taking care of yourselves, connecting back with nature and, and improving your physical, mental, emotional health.

And it's, it's right up there, way up there, but it's there in the Keweenaw

[00:37:54] ** Brad:** That's awesome.

[00:37:55] **Brad Barnet:** That's right. we- I love that sentiment, uh, Howard, and

[00:37:59] ** Brad:** we always like to [00:38:00] joke,

[00:38:00] **Brad Barnet:** uh, no one gets to the Keweenaw by accident. You

[00:38:02] ** Brad:** got, you gotta wanna get here. You

[00:38:04] **Brad Barnet:** you can't get lost and get here. Like, no. I, I, I

[00:38:08] **Howard:** actually love that. You, you kinda have to wanna go there.

Yeah. perfect. Listen, Brad, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast. I really hope we can stay in touch

[00:38:18] **Brad Barnet:** and hopefully

[00:38:19] **Howard:** create some more podcasting opportunities, and gives me a chance to get back up to the Keyona, 'cause it's been a long time, I will say

[00:38:27] **Brad Barnet:** invitation is always open, and

[00:38:29] ** Brad:** it's

[00:38:29] **Brad Barnet:** a pleasure, my friend. I appreciate the opportunity, and we'll- we're gonna get

[00:38:32] ** Brad:** you up there as

[00:38:32] **Brad Barnet:** as we can.

[00:38:34] **Howard:** Perfect. And listen, we're gonna provide backlinks back, uh, to the Visit Keweenaw website, visitkeweenaw.com. We've got you on Facebook, Instagram, and the other sh- s- social sites. Those will be all up on the show notes. And again, thank you so much for spending time with us today

[00:38:52] **Brad Barnet:** Appreciate you, sir.

[00:38:53] **Howard:** All right. Listen, stay the line.

We're gonna do a very quick close, and you and I can have a final chat. Okay?

[00:38:58] **Brad Barnet:** All right.

[00:38:58] **Howard:** All right, folks, we have [00:39:00] just been chatting with Brad Barnett. He's the executive director of Visit Keweenaw, the destination marketing organization for Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.

[00:39:10] **Brad Barnet:** Now,

[00:39:11] **Howard:** for me, I, a- as somebody who grew up in Michigan, having spent time in the Lower Peninsula and in, somewhat in, in the Upper Peninsula, I do remember one trip, just one,

[00:39:23] **Brad Barnet:** the

[00:39:24] **Howard:** Keweenaw and Copper Harbor, and being on a boat and freezing out on Lake, uh, Superior.

But this is just a fantastic location and destination. And whether you're, in- whether you're nine hours from Detroit or, 24 hours from Las Vegas, you gotta put the Keweenaw Peninsula, uh, on the map. So

[00:39:45] **Brad Barnet:** hope

[00:39:46] **Howard:** you enjoyed this episode. I mean, you can tell Brad's very passionate about his work and the impact that his destination organization, uh,

[00:39:55] **Brad Barnet:** is

[00:39:56] **Howard:** playing and really making, uh, really, and, and [00:40:00] highlighting the importance and the availability of wonderful experiences up in this beautiful place in the world.

And as he just said, you kinda have to wanna go there. And so I hope after this episode, you do wanna go there. Now, again, we're gonna provide all the back links, uh, in our show notes. As for us, you can find our, uh, episodes up on our website, outdooradventureseries.com. We're also on LinkedIn and Facebook on our Outdoor Adventure Series pages.

The entire video of this episode will be up on our YouTube channel. And of course, you can listen to this episode wherever you get

[00:40:37] **Brad Barnet:** podcasts

[00:40:37] **Howard:** from. So when you are making the trek to the Keweenaw Peninsula and spending some time up there and just enjoying yourself, you can listen to this podcast episode and a whole bunch of others wherever you get your podcasts from.

Okay, folks, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, go out there and have a fantastic day, and we look forward to having you join us on a future episode of the [00:41:00] Outdoor Adventure Series Podcast. Take care now