A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Fantasy Beach

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Fantasy Beach

Imagine a sandy beach so remote, other travelers rarely find it. A beach with sand so fine it almost tickles your toes. Looking across the water you see nothing but sun glistening upon the waves and the baby blueness of its splendor. As you walk into the cool water, you gradually submerge, watching your toes pounce the sand. And as a special treat, the rainbow shaped shoreline provides a variety of edible berries when you are hungry.

Sound like a fantasy beach? Maybe somewhere tropical, right? To me it was only a place I'd heard of -- until today.

After five years of living in da Harbor, I finally made the journey to Keystone Bay. Click this link to check out an ariel photo of the fire on the point that burned four years ago this week. This picture shows the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. See where the smoke is coming from? That's Keweenaw Point. Now just to the left, can you see a tan curve? That's the sand of Keystone Bay... one of a handful of sandy beaches in the area.

While I was there today, I swam in the crystal waters of her majesty, Lake Superior. What a summer for swimming in the big lake! No hypothermia this year! I also picked and ate blueberries and bilberries. Bunchberries and rose hips were available for nourishment as well.

From the Northeast edge of the beach, I could see the Point, where the fire occurred during that overly dry summer. It was kind of erie to see death in such vastness on the Keweenaw -- especially during the summer. I would love to get over to that site sometime and see what foliage is emerging from the ashes. After four years, I could already see green peeking through the underbrush.

After a quick picnic on the beach, I headed back over the gravel roads on the back of an ATV -- hanging on for dear life. I am longing for the day when I can get out there again and spend the night under the stars, with the waves crashing at my feet.

Now don't tell your friends about this place. It's pretty hard to find, let alone get to. Plus, where else on earth can you go to a fantasy beach and be the only one there? Usually, only in your dreams.

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

“If you’ve never been there, you wouldn’t understand” is a quote printed above an outlined picture of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on a t-shirt sold in gift shops in the area. Some people cock their heads in bewilderment of what this could mean. Well, if you’ve never been there (to da U.P.), then you wouldn’t understand.

It’s simple really. Where are you guaranteed to see more trees than people on any drive or walk? Where can you sit in a bar in April and know everybody’s name? Where can you wear flannel and Carharts anytime of the year without a flinch from a passerby? Where can you end most of your sentence with the colloquialism eh, eh? Where can you go to truly get away from the civilized world? If you answered “da U.P.” to all of these questions, why, you must have been there.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula makes up one third of the state’s land mass, but only 3% of its entire population. It’s no wonder the average number of people per square mile is 19.3. Nineteen people per square mile! Its lack of inhabitants combined with a plethora of wilderness, unique geographical features and an abundance of water is a big part of what makes the U.P. so unique. In fact, it was included in the Sherman Travel worldwide “Top 10 Places to Go in 2005."

And unique in itself, at the most northern tip in the Keweenaw Peninsula sits the little village of Copper Harbor. “Tops in Michigan,” “the beginning of the road” and quite frankly, the hardest place to leave once your soul has found its peace. It’s the least visited and most revisited place in America. Returning visitors make an appearance at least once a year, no matter what gas prices are. And when they’re back at home, they dream of their next visit to the end of the world.

Why would people want to return to a place where their cell phones don’t work and they can’t get a Big Mac for at least 54 miles? Once you drive through the one and only blinking stop light in town, you are 99% guaranteed not to see any authorities. The town can take care of itself for the most part, and people respect each other and each other’s property.

To the local residents and the handfuls of returning tourists (of which some have been adopted), Copper Harbor is the only place where they can be themselves -- completely and shamelessly (at least until the next morning). Fashion does not exist, but comfort is a must. Possessions mean nothing, but attitude means the world. Loitering is encouraged, and talk is ceaseless. Fresh air is plentiful, and serenity is down the block on Lake Superior’s shore. Ahhh.

Only 90 people can bear to live there year-round (good thing because the post office only has 130 mailboxes), but the population peaks around 250 in the busy summer months when people reopen their business or their summer home.

Copper Harbor and the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula average 270 inches of snow each season. Whether it falls consistently throughout the winter or all in one dump, it’s guaranteed to fall if it isn’t drilling sideways. Only four businesses stay open through these long months because sometimes, there’s just nobody there.

U.S. Highway 41, which runs all the way to Miami, Florida, begins in Copper Harbor, and yes, it gets plowed the whole way up. A half mile north, six miles east and five miles south of this landmark puts you in magical Lake Superior. I know it’s magical because I’ve caught myself and many other people staring, mesmerized by its pure vastness, undulations and crashing waves.

When you can enjoy every breath of Lake Superior air, wear clothing soley for funtion and not mind seeing the same people day after day after day after day, then, my friend, then, you’ll understand.

A Little Slice of da Harbor...

Copper Harbor, That is!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Fantasy Beach

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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