A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Almost September

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Almost September

Oh my gosh, I miss you! This whole August thing really cramps my social life. I hardly even get to see my husband, and we live together!

But Labor Day Weekend is rounding the bend. Tourism will start to dwindle. It's all going to be okay. Especially for you because then I can get out and take pictures and videos again without having to publish it all in other articles.

But woe is me. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

This weekend is the CHTC's big bike festival. Check out their website for race weekend details. It's going to be another grand one! Props to everyone who makes this event so awesome!

Also, the new playground has been built! It was assembled in one day -- all day long. The community efforts and people who showed up to help was astounding. Get your buns up here and check it out! The grand opening is this Monday!

The berries are already starting to dwindle -- except the blackberries and chokecherries. I got me enough chokes to make 6 gallons of wine this winter. Ooh, that is one of my favorites!

And here is a picture of the goofy serviceberries (a.k.a. sugar plums, a.k.a. juneberries, a.k.a. saskatoons).

Some normal and one spiked serviceberry

The ends of the white spikes give off an orange pollen-like substance, so maybe that's just another way for them to pass on their species??? It still seems like a defect to me. I'll let you know if I ever figure it out. It's boggled me for years.

I can't believe the aster is blooming already. That's how I know summer is coming to a close. The asters are one of the first leaves to break through the spring muck, but one of the last to flower. Pretty cool, hey? Just a little wildflower trivia for your day.

Well, I just wanted to check in. I hope you are well, and I look forward to when we can spend more time together! See you in September!

1 comment:

Dennis W. MontvilleSeptember 4, 2013 at 8:44 AM
It's been a while Amanda, but I still read your posts. I really enjoy the local life reports. I can't get up there, so your reports are the next best thing. I'd like to send some photos of my recent woodturning, but I don't know how. Shall I send you a Facebook friend request? Then maybe you can see my posts. Even with a full-time "day job" I'm being creative and making art and videos for my YouTube channel. I hope to get back up there soon to recharge my creative spirit.
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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, August 28, 2013

Almost September

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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