A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Signs of Spring

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Signs of Spring

Besides the 70 degree weather and the raging runoff, there are a few other signs of spring that I have forgotten to tell you about.

The peepers are out! The first peeper I heard was Saturday evening out at Horseshoe Harbor. I laughed because, just a couple hours before, I mentioned that the sound of a peeper would be the next step for us to know it was spring. I have heard them in various places all the way to Eagle Harbor.

The eagles are everywhere! I have heard/seen multiple eagles every day when I go to the woods or on the shore. They are flying around with their families, talking to each other, looking for food and probably looking for a partner. Love is in the air!

I saw two mallards today at the water treatment plant. Mallards! That was fun.

Robins! It seems early for this specimen too, but it sure is nice to hear their lovely voices!

Lake Fanny Hooe is open. Not even two weeks ago the ice on it was two feet thick. Now it has vanished! That should give you a good idea of how warm it was.

Little buds are forming on the trees and bushes. Even the rosebush in my back yard has little buds. Oh, I get nervous for them because we could get another blizzard yet!

I saw full out crocuses in my friend's yard. I know they are one of the first to pop up, but they were already in full bloom!

Even the cross country ski trail around Fort Wilkins is mostly clear. I was surprised to see how quickly that happened too.

I realize that many of these things (and probably even more) are happening or have happened by you as well. That is wonderful. I'm glad. But now you know where we're at up in da Harbor!

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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!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Signs of Spring

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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