A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Holiday Cheer

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Holiday Cheer

Merry belated Christmas!

As I have gotten older and wiser (or perhaps just more cynical), I have really come to shun Christmas. For reasons I will not get into, I just don't think it's necessary to make such a big fuss over. BUT, I do enjoy Christmas in da Harbor.

Every Christmas Eve, half the town gets together, bundled up wearing Santa hats and each carrying the words to several holiday songs. We go caroling to the other half of the town who waits patiently for our arrival to feed us snacks and warm drinks. It's truly a magical experience, where people who are far from their families can get together with their community family, and spread the spirit to those they (somewhere deep inside) love like brothers and sisters.

Also, since I've been back in da Keweenaw, I've attended five other holiday gatherings. To me, that's more what Christmas should be about -- getting together with everyone (even if it's over and over again!) for a "cheerful" reason. People around here just really like to gather over drinks and good food. It's quite refreshing.

So the Scrooge in me is slowly being replaced by a little elf who just wants to make people feel loved. I know this is one of my goals in daily life, but this time of year, I want to go that extra mile -- even if I'm already with a group of others.

I don't give presents. I just don't, and I really don't need to receive them just because it's Christmas time. So I want to thank all the people in Copper Harbor for reminding me about the spirit of Christmas. I know that if I lived in any other town, I surely would not want to join in any reindeer games.

I now leave you with a few pictures taken out by the lighthouse shore on Christmas Day.

These are some icicles on the side of a rock. The bottom part that looks like it's dripping is as big around as my thigh.

Below is a view from the lighthouse loading dock straight down to the lake. Notice the log stuck in there.

Here is the dock covered in ice from Lake Superior's waves. It gets like this every year (and changes everyday!).

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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!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Holiday Cheer

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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