A Little Slice of da Harbor...: The Sunny Day After

Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Sunny Day After

Do I really need to tell you that we had another blizzard yesterday? Do you really want to hear about 40 mph winds shooting snow sideways like daggers into my cheeks? Do you really care that five minutes after I tromped through the drifts my boot prints were already covered up? No! You don't! And I don't want to talk about it.

Here is what I want to talk about. Today the sun is shining, and the ice encapsulations from yesterdays, ehem, storm are delightful. These are some pictures I scored from in front of the Harbor Haus.

A view of The Gap and shore

The Crow's Nest behind the ice-laden shore

Porter's Island from the icy shore

I slid down this to get to the shore

The rocks with their ice shells

Well, that shore is a lot of ice!

For some more good news, Copper Harbor won the $35,000 grant to build a sweet new trail! Thanks to you if you voted for us! And thanks to Bell Bike Helmets for awarding us this opportunity. This trail project will commence once we can, you know, see the ground.

I apologize that that's about all I have for you right now. Due to my back failing me again, I have been unable to go out for adventures and capture the moment. Don't feed me sympathy; I just have to figure it out.

On the bright side, I've had plenty of time to work on my next book!

Well, you have a wonderful day now, and I'll do the same!

2 comments:

AnonymousApril 21, 2013 at 10:59 AM
Those are very good pictures of the ice on the shore and the stones.

Didn't know you were ailing with a back.. Get better whatever it takes to get it in shape.

Denny n Carol
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AnonymousApril 23, 2013 at 7:06 AM
Congrats on the big win super pumped for you guys now you have to get the 100 inches of snow out of there! Chicago weather isn't so great here either has been raining and flooding like crazy!
Good luck on next book i will purchase that one also! Tell flying man to take it easy he has trails to build and snow to shovel.Super cool photos!
Hope to see you guys when we come to ride
Shane
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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, April 20, 2013

The Sunny Day After

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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