A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Back to the Fourth of July

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.

5 comments:

Rich F.July 9, 2013 at 9:37 PM
Spend your free time enjoying summer, don't worry about us. Something short and a photo or two once in a while would fine.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AmandaJuly 10, 2013 at 8:37 AM
Hey Rich! Now there's a nice way to look at it!
ReplyDelete
Replies
Rich F.July 16, 2013 at 11:12 PM
I was in Copper Harbor last saturday and noticed that the biting fly situation is not quite as bad as in our neck of the woods. Might have something to do about the plentiful dragonflies I noticed. Love those dragonflies! I was helping with the Run the Keweenaw race, marking the course and directing runners at a trail intersection. there were a few skeeters there at the West end of Woopity Woo, but pacing helped keep them off me.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Rich F.July 20, 2013 at 4:19 PM
Check out http://www.splendidtable.org/episode/513 Jane and Michael Stern drive around the country and review restaurants. They stopped at the Jam Pot last fall. The pod cast they have at this address has their part starting at about eight and a quarter minutes into it
ReplyDelete
Replies
UnknownJuly 24, 2013 at 3:16 PM
Boy I'd sure like to hear about Donica's Raku pottery at the Garden Brook Gallery. You could even post some photos of her great work. And be sure and ask about sweet liitle Madeline - the blueberry thief!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

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, July 9, 2013

Back to the Fourth of July

5 comments:

Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

Blog Archive