A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Silver Lining Recess

Friday, February 4, 2011

Silver Lining Recess

I thought the rain was a curse. Yes, rain. Rain in the Keweenaw last night. Rain that turned car windows into blurry shower doors. Rain that turned Mt. Bohemia into a plunge of death (don't worry, I won't go there in those conditions). Rain that turned the roads so slick, I wouldn't take my car out of third gear (except for second) on my way home from Lac La Belle last night. Rain that turned the snowmobiles into a dangerous snow highway.

What good is the rain in the winter? Nothing, I thought. Until I went out with the kids at recess today.

"Oh, cool! Look at this, guys! I'm walking on the snow!"

"Listen to the cool sound it makes when I break it! It sounds like glass!"

"How did the snow get covered in ice?"

Yes, the students were quite mystified and enchanted by the 3 mm of ice atop the snow.

The slide made for a way faster ride down. A couple kids and I turned ourselves into "Ice breakers," barreling through that top layer on our hands and knees. Others tried to see how big of a piece of ice they could scoop off the top without breaking it. We even stood with our arms out at our sides and fell straight back into the snow to bust through it with our whole bodies at once. Yeah, it hurt a little, but when else can you do that?

Needless to say, I became as enraptured in the icy layer of snow as they did. I was bumming about it before I went out with them, but they were having so much fun that I never mentioned my take on it. I'm usually one to find a silver lining in dismay, but today the kids found it for me. Thank goodness for them.

And now it is snowing -- almost two inches since recess. We may possibly get freezing drizzle again tonight, which will make for an interesting combination of layers on the banks. But I'm sure I'll find the best in it if I get to go out for recess.

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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!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Silver Lining Recess

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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