A Little Slice of da Harbor...: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Berries, Bohemia and a Beetle

If you like to pick service berries, bilberries or blueberries, you better come on up. I eat handfuls of each of them as I walk the trails.

Thimbleberries are spotty, but they are going to be bountiful. Raspberries and blackberries have a ways to go yet in Copper Harbor.

Whew, there is my berry report.

Know what report I never though I would give you this time of year? A waterfall report! That's right, we've had so much rain lately that they are still rushing like they were in late spring. So if you love waterfalls, get your butt up here!

And if you like cool weather, this is your spot. Man, oh man, we have had some chilly days. People are saying, "boy, this is the first year I had to start a fire in July!" or "I had to turn my furnace on last week to get the chill out." It's true, and I did that too.

It doesn't make for happy campers, but the berries seem to love it!

Yesterday I went to Mount Bohemia Resort for an assignment. I decided to hike up the face of the mountain to get a couple shots for it. Oh. My. Gosh. I have been pedaling up that steep part of Brockway Mountain Drive, but hiking straight up those ski runs is ridiculous. I can hardly go down stairs today!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF ME PANTING TO THE TOP.

What? No one is perfect!

Lac La Belle and Deer Lake from the top

And here are a couple shots I got while photographing kayakers and paddle boarders at Bete Gris beach.

A beautiful beetle carcass in the sand

The clouds above the beach

And this Saturday I get to bike in my first Copperman Triathlon! I'll let you know how it goes!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Almost Berries!

I am still alive!!!

Yikes. I run around like a mad hen sometimes. But I am happy.

The berries are starting to pop. Here are some shots I took of them yesterday in town.

Thimbleberries

Bilberries before I ate the ripish ones

Serviceberries are ready when they're purple

Yesterday, on my bike ride to train for the Copperman triathlon (My first one ever! I'm doing the bike portion -- 24 miles.) I found one ripe thimbleberry. The only somewhat grotesque part about it was that it was under a spider web. Once I got the berry off the bush, picked off a dead fly and one of its legs that stuck, I ate it. It was wonderful.

I hear that higher up in elevation the blueberries and bilberries are kicking a bit more than they are closer to the lake. That's cool. All in due time.

Friday morning, after it rained throughout the whole night before, some lovely ladies and I went out to pick up trash on Highway 41 for the Copper Harbor Trails Club's Adopt-a-Highway stretch. Since the ground has been turned over so many times from washouts, we didn't find too much junk. But I do have a crazy story about that event.

I was walking on the right side, down the mountain past the Mountain Lodge. You know, where those small cliffs drop to the road and are often dripping wet? Okay, well the gravel was really washed out there -- all across the road. All the sudden, I heard a thunderous vroom coming from behind. It was the county with its plow blade down to scrape the gravel off the road. BUT I WAS STANDING IN THAT GRAVEL! I jumped to the cliff wall, grabbed a tree trunk and pulled myself up as high as I could. Vwooooosh! That big ol' truck swept all that gravel to where I was walking. I totally wish I had a video of that!

Instead, a picture of how busy the main street was yesterday during the Keweenaw Cruiser show will have to do.

Open the hoods, see all the people!

And how about the cake I make yesterday for my buddy Hannah's birthday. It has wildflower sprinkles!

A chocolate and wildflower birthday cake

That's all my melting brain can remember right now. Oh yeah, thank you to my readers who introduce themselves to me when you see me in the Harbor Haus or around town. I love to hear that you enjoy following my adventures and news! You are the reason I keep this up!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Back to the Fourth of July

So my "really cool post" now lacks due to technical difficulties. Don't worry. I'm figuring things out to get you a higher quality visual product. I know you appreciate it.

It had to do with the Fourth of July celebration in Copper Harbor. I started the day actually watching the parade up close for my first time. I've been in the parade before, throwing candy, but this time I stood along the road and watched it. It lasted nine minutes. Ha!

The energy I felt from the spectators, the drivers, the wavers and the candy-throwers was intense. High spirits, smiling faces and good times were in the mix. I'm glad I went to experience that. It made "The 4th" a little more tolerable from a server's perspective.

And from a server's perspective, that was the least busy I have felt on the 4th of July. One shift at Zik's was slow too, about 6 years ago. Maybe they were both Thursdays??? I don't know, but the 5th sure was crazy! And the 6th, well, the power was out from 1 pm to 7 pm, so the Harbor Haus didn't get to open.

Hold up. I skipped the fireworks. Now, I shot the display with a 5-second time lapse, and took a video of the best grand finale I have ever seen. I was tickled that I decided to straight up record that grand finale. However, the latter is nowhere to be found. Sorry! So here is a last-chance attempt at capturing that spectacular site.

WATCH THE FIREWORKS TIME LAPSE HERE

A perfectly sunny, nearly bugless weekend turned on us quickly. We spent the last couple days in a fog. Not just a mental fog, but a man-you-can't-even-see-Porter's-Island-from-the-shore fog. Drive up the hill past Mohawk, and they had sunshine and 80-something degrees! We shivered in the 50 degree fog. Good thing I realize that you can't have it all.

More and more flowers are popping up, though! They are little fireworks in the grass, and they smell marvelous. I've already started collecting some for tinctures. A little wild rose tincture does wonders in the middle of winter!

I feel like I should apologize. This past winter and spring I got you used to my videos and pictures and somewhat timely posts. Well, guess what? I am working at least 50 hours a week -- running around and "Yes, Ma'am," and "Thank you, Sir," and "Have a wonderful vacation; I'd be happy to answer your questions about the area." And I am. But it takes a LOT of energy to keep that up. Please be patient with me throughout the summer. I want to keep you entertained and updated. Only three more months to go. Then I am all yours.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Technical Difficulties

Hey! I have a really cool post to share with you, but I'm having some technical difficulties. Please be patient while I figure this out.

Thank you!

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!