Snow and the Gay Stack

As I look out the window

snowflakes fly by 

like swarms of bees searching for pollen

from bobbing anthers.

That season is past

as today the first snow sticks

to my ribs

and the grass

and the pavement

and the cars

and the ice 

so I can skate down Main Street

in my unlaced boots.

I figure I owe you something a little different.  I hope that poem did the trick cuz I sure don't have any pictures today.

"Dag nabit, Amanda!  No pictures again???  How am I supposed to stay connected to da Harbor without pictures and videos?"

"Simmer down, dear Reader.  I am a writer.  I paint pictures with my words."

"Ugh, but that is so much work to read all of your words!  Don't you know this day and age is full of constant stimulation and bright flashing colors?  How am I supposed to stay entertained if I have to read???"

"Well, dear Reader, reading is a skill that will soon be lost by our youth as they only text in sentences made up of the first letter of each word."

"All right, all right.  I'll read on.  But it better be good.  I'm a busy person."

There.  Dialogue.  That's different too.  And you read it, didn't you?  Good job.

As you may have picked up from the opening poem, it's snowing right now.  But this time, it is actually sticking to the ground!  That means it's pretty stinkin' cold out there.  Windy too.  And gray.  It has that wintery feeling.  Though I know it won't continue without a warm up, I embrace it fully.  Another season of change.

I've been pretty busy, trying to keep up with writing projects, teaching a few friends how to make wine, trying to get to the great outdoors and hanging out with the family.  Both sides of the fam!  I am glad they all love it here too.

Want to know the coolest thing we did?

We drove the Gay/Lac La Belle Road along Lake Superior's shore.  We got out at Brunette Park to marvel at the sandstone beach and the glistening waves in the distance.  That lake, she's a beaut.

When we got to Gay, curiosity pulled my family to the huge stack right on Main Street.  "What could that have been used for?" we asked ourselves.  "There's nothing under it."

But we were wrong.

Just behind it was concrete foundation after concrete foundation.  Such a different style of construction taking up a vast amount of space.

Now I was out there with family members 58 years old and beyond.  

They were like little kids!

Sticking their heads through openings, yanking on stakes, crawling through arched doorways, hopping over rocks to get a better view, bushwhacking to explore farther down and exclaiming:

"Oh, wow!"

"Look at this, guys!"

"What do you think this was used for?"

"This is so neat!"

"What a huge place!"

"We're on an adventure!"

Personally, I felt a bit like I was in The Goonies movie myself, crawling in and out of gaping concrete holes and exploring a new place with my goony family.  Just kidding, guys.  You know I love you.

After we came out, we checked out the old school, and then saw the historic sign that told about where we were: The Wolverine and Mohawk Stamp Mills from the early 1900's.  I even bought The Gay, Michigan Story book, part of a series by Clarence J. Monette from Copper World because we all found the place and history fascinating.

But it's just fascinating in the Keweenaw!  Past, present, and, if we are all lucky, future!

Well, thanks for sticking with me this long, but I better get on with it.  Hopefully this week I will remember to take a camera out with me!

Catching Some Southern Waves

Yesterday was windy.  So windy that the power went out for about four hours -- at least here!

A combination of a windy day and two curious women, Aaron's mom and I, made for some unique adventures.  We drove down the Gay/Lac La Belle Road toward the south shore.

Our first stop was at Isabel, a little roadside beach with just enough room to park.  We stepped out into the light rain and high wind to walk along the shore.  This is what it looked like.

Head-size rocks along the sandstoney/slatish shore

(I tried to figure out the geology of this area to no avail.  Any answers?)

I haven't seen a shore like this on any other part of the peninsula

The sandstonish rocks washed up

A view toward the Big Lake

This tree's trunk got buried in the sand

The wind kept our steps swift as we walked south.  As the rain dampened our backs, we took in the beauty and rareness of the area.  I am always surprised to see how the same peninsula is so different on all its parts and shores.  This was a real treat.

Going back toward the car helped to soak our front side.  It was a little more difficult to enjoy the beauty when rain pelted our eyes, but we still had fun.  That's what girls do!

After that site, we found our way to Big Traverse, and parked at the mouth of the Big Traverse River.  We stopped because the waves crashing over the break wall were  enormous!  Here is a video of some of what we saw.  I apologize that my camera got spewed on, but I didn't realize until I watched it on my computer.  Also, at 40 seconds into it is, what I would call, the most impressive wave.  You'll know it by my reaction.

We stayed a bit to watch the surfer dudes catching some waves, but we were really getting wet and cold, so we went to dry off.  To the Gay Bar!

Surfer picking up a wave on the left

You'd have to be a big stickler not to have fun at the Gay Bar.  The bar itself is in a "u" shape, so everyone faces each other like at the dinner table.  

My big icebreaker was when I went to use the ladies room.  Well, there's a little door above the loo that reads "PEEP HOLE TO MENS ROOM."  Of course I had to lift it up.  I was just looking back at myself in the little mirror, but I heard some beeping noise in the bar area, and people started laughing.  Oh, boy, I thought.  I'm busted.

Sure enough, everyone was teasing me when I came out, asking if I saw anything good in the men's room.  I noticed a yellow light on the ceiling that would blink and beep when one of the ladies fell for that trick.  I did, but it was worth it.  We all had a good laugh.

Soon it was time to head back north.  But by then it was pouring rain.  Puddles and running water were on the loose!  Good thing I knew where I was going!

Since we weren't quite ready to go home, we stopped at Big Betsy.  I angled the car with the windshield facing the lake, wipers on.  We just watched the waves roll in and bounce off each other.  It was fascinating for a few minutes.  Oh, that lake... she gets me every time.

We continued north, and I realized that Linda had never been to the Bear Belly in Lac La Belle.  Never?  Never!  So I had to take her to show her where I work in the winter and where we go after a long day on Mount Bohemia.  

It was pretty quiet in there except for the thunder and lightening.  We saw a big bolt hit just across the lake, and the boom echoed immediately.  Whew!  That was a close one!

Right as we buckled our seatbelts in the car, it started to hail.  What a day for weather, and we got to enjoy all the fun parts of it!

And just for fun, here is a picture of me and Gilly at halloween: the dynamic super duo.

Super Yooper and Bait Boy

Yoooooooooooooooooou betcha!