A Little Slice of da Harbor...: A Stroll to the Lighthouse

Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Stroll to the Lighthouse

I haven't walked to the lighthouse in a couple weeks. Since the bell buoy has been brought back, I've had a suspicion that it's in a different spot. I strolled down there today to see what I could find out before the ferry boat starts taking tours.

At first I thought, Yes! It's closer to the shore than it used to be. But after I watched and listened to it bob for a few minutes, I thought, No, that's where it usually is. Huh. I would imagine that the buoy itself is attached to a spot on the bottom with some sort of clasp or hook. I tried finding out how bell buoys are attached for you to no avail.

So I'll go back to my second opinion. The buoy is just where it always was. Good. That's fine with me!

But I realized a couple things on my walk today. As I was clearing branches out of the culverts from Lake Lily Creek, I stirred up a swarm of... the inevitable... blackflies. Yes. Blackflies are here. Get out your bug nets if you plan to do yard work, people. They are feeding. Oy.

I also found some more flowers on my walk too. Some I forgot to mention last time, and some like that area. They were barren strawberry, bearberry, purple violet, dandelion and blueberry -- all very short plants. I also noticed that the red flowers of the red maples are falling off to make room for the leaves!

And a few of my favorite little green friends that are lush, but not yet budding are the yarrow, roses, St. John's Wort, bilberries, thimbleberries and raspberries. Really now. How could you not love the spring? I have one full week, starting today, that I can enjoy the peace of this land. Then it's back to work full-time bartending! I can do it....

1 comment:

AmandaMay 23, 2011 at 7:47 PM
Hello! My captain friend gave me this information about the bell buoy:

The bell buoy is anchored to the bottom with a 6000 pound concrete block and a really long chain. The buoy appears in different places because the chain is long enough to allow it to drift around the anchor point and absorb large waves. If the chain were too short, it would be pulled under water by huge seas, or possibly even lift the block and reposition it. The USCG sets the buoy with sophisticated GPS systems that guarentee that it is within inches every season; boaters need it in the same place every year for their charts! ~Captain Kurt. :)
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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!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Stroll to the Lighthouse

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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