A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Berries, Bohemia and a Beetle

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!

3 comments:

Alex YoungAugust 3, 2013 at 3:44 AM
Hey Amanda,

Picked TONS of huge service berries this year down south here... a bumper crop! Just got done (2am!) canning the first round of wild raspberry jam and wild blueberry jam of the year... Alyssa and I will be up there again next weekend so hopefully there are some berries left for my jam making streak to continue! We looked for ya the last time we were up but didn't see you so we stopped in the brewery instead and drank beer in the dark (power was out)... maybe this time we'll find you? ;)
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Jonathan SchechterAugust 10, 2013 at 7:54 AM
Stop tormenting me with your great blogs on Copper Harbor! Can't wait to get back up north. Jonathan
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AnonymousAugust 12, 2013 at 9:42 AM
Re: Hike up Mt. Bohemia - It's amazing how you consistently manage to challenge yourself. I think it's great! It was good conditioning for the Copperman because you blew by everybody. John
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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, July 31, 2013

Berries, Bohemia and a Beetle

3 comments:

Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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