Is It Still August?

Please pardon the absence of pictures in this post, but it feels like August all over again – with the weather and the rush-around-with-your-head-chopped-off feeling.  October 13^th (the day after the Harbor Haus closes) is my light at the end of the tunnel.

But here’s what doesn’t feel like August:

- Mushrooms are popping up all over and oozing their brilliant colors through the ground and old logs.

- The ponds and falls are finally starting to dry up.  Okay, well I guess that usually happens in August.

- The Isle Royale Queen IV is done with her ferry service for the year.  The last boat came back Monday... we danced out last cancan at the Harbor Haus.

- Mount Bohemia is offering chair lift rides this weekend!  Come on up, and look at the colors from up above!

Color report

Yesterday when one of the waitresses arrived at work, she said, “It was a gorgeous ride up today!”  What does that mean for you?  You might want to check the trees out!  I wish I could get out and take some pictures for you, but don't even think about asking right now.  Copper Harbor is still lacking in the color department, but you’ll miss the whole way up if you wait much longer.  I can’t say 41 is peaking right now, but it’s getting there, and after the gusts we had yesterday, the leaves won’t be able to hang on forever!

I am ashamed to say that I did this for the first time since I lived here.  “I don’t care about history,” was my excuse.  But I toured the grounds and buildings at Fort Wilkins in depth on Sunday, and I was blown away.  Their displays are well thought out.  I learned so much my head was swelling.  And the artifacts they display really take you back in time.  A couple of my favorites were the mine diagrams and the census from 1870.  If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend it.

On a history kick after the tour, a couple friends and I stopped at the Fort Store, and I found four out-of-print local history books bundled for $5!  What a steal!  The first one I’m reading is Mac Frimodig’s The Copper Harbor Stare … and Other Strange Things.  There’s even a story about the Brockway Hermit in there.  This book is a must-have treasure for any Harbor lover.  Get your soon because they are out of print!

I still hear the logging trucks cutting, slicing and hauling away the trees up by the Burma Road.  I think they started this last extraction two years ago.  Must be lots of trees left to cut down.  Careful if you drive around up there.  With the new logging roads, it’s easy to get lost, and those new roads are not on any maps.

Guess what.  It's October.  When I can feel October in my veins, I will truly celebrate.  For now I have to keep up with the grind.  The leaf peeper grind.  Hey, that could be a new dance!