A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Clyde's Field

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Clyde's Field

If you have ventured off the streets of Copper Harbor, chances are, you have been through Clyde's field. Clyde's field is the large, flat area behind the one room schoolhouse and the park. It is most easily accessed at the trail head by the welcome center.

This is the place that often starts my journeys, be it a hike, bike or snowshoe. It provides the gateway to the trails! The last few times I have been back there, I found some things you might like to see as well. Come along!

Looking over the first pond, west into the Garden Brook Valley

Over the pond toward Brockway's nose

The second pond is all dried up.

Can you see who's at the other end?

The great blue heron!

I can now take this pond as a shortcut to the south trail

No shortage of mushrooms this fall

This puffball is as big as my mitten!

The maples litter the trails...

... with brilliance!

One thing I didn't get a picture of is the pigeon I saw a few days ago. A pigeon? I had to inspect it to make sure. I don't know how a pigeon got up here, but I hope it survives!

As for the heron, I have seen it every morning for the past few days. And at least once a week before that. It flies so quietly when Duce startles it, but it always lands back in the area. Such a majestic bird.

I have been seeing mushrooms of all shapes and sizes this fall. More than I have ever seen. I doubt that most of them are edible, and I don't have the knowledge to safely try them. But I must have seen at least six varieties. Some of them are so big, the conditions must be just right. It's been fun discovering those!

Another thing I find myself instinctively enjoying this time of year are the deer trails. Maybe it's because I'm not so overwhelmed with tourists that I get more adventurous, but I find myself following an animal path through the woods almost every time I go out. I love to see new places, and how the landscape varies. Sometimes Duce leads me into some tight spaces, but we always find our way out. They say curiosity killed the cat, but hopefully we'll survive.

4 comments:

MichaelOctober 9, 2012 at 10:31 PM
I loved this post Amanda! Although my wife and I have been visiting the Keweenaw and Copper Harbor for the past 35 years we've yet to explore the Clydes Field area. I'm sure it's been right under our noses. One of the great things about this area is the multitude of habitats and variety of experiences. Thanks so much for sharing your first hand knowledge.
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S and M in Det/AANovember 12, 2012 at 12:05 AM
Bears? I saw one last year off the road. Cool. How 'bout you?... Saw the piece in the Freep and wanted to check it out... Ate at Fitzgerald's this year. Great selection of whiskey!... Slept with our window open at the Eagle Harbor Inn. Cool, fresh and soothing to hear the ocean waves all night. Oh yeah, I mean, lake. Stars forever... And what's the trick to finding agates?! Petoskeys are easier... Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ... Gracias for sharing the view.

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S and M in Det/AANovember 12, 2012 at 12:58 AM
Saw the Freep plug on your book... Cool. Saw a bear off the road last summer. All that trekking--what's your experience with bears?... Ate down the road at Fitzgerald's this year. Impressive whiskey selection... Stayed at the Inn there and slept with open windows to see a million stars, feel the crisp night air, and hear the ocean waves rolling in and out all night... OK -- the LAKE... Thanks for sharing the pics... Just like being there.
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AmandaNovember 13, 2012 at 8:42 AM
S and M, I haven't seen a bear in two years. I have a few friends with sightings, though. I miss seeing the bears because I think, knock on wood, that I've seen enough so I'm not scared when I come across one. They are probably more afraid of me anyway! I know, I'm scary. Thanks for enjoying!
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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, October 9, 2012

Clyde's Field

4 comments:

Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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