Summer to the Max

Haha.  I guess the only time I take to write a blog is when I'm at my in-laws' house in the Wisconsin Northwoods because here I sit again on their couch.  Always too much to do at home, you know?  Hopefully my little man will sleep until I finish this.

Oh, my little man.  Can I tell you how he is?  He is amazing.  I mean really.  He is so stinkin' cute.  He steals the hearts of all the ladies (and even some men) at the grocery stores when he smiles.  He makes us laugh til our faces hurt.  He is so healthy after his heart surgery.  He tries so hard to do the things that other kids do.  He can walk about 4 steps and stand up on his own.  He is on Braeden time, but that is just perfect for everyone because he will teach us so much more than milestones in this life.  He is a gift to the world, and we are grateful.

He loves practically anything with a motor, so here is a picture of him with Dad in the CAT.  Aaron is working on a new campground in Copper Harbor.  It's called Trails End Campground, and they should have sites up and running by August!  That Aaron.  He never has enough to do, but at least he loves to spend time with his little boy.

Brady P. and Aaron digging big holes

So life is just wonderful right now.  I actually have time to go mountain biking!!!  Hooray!  I can slowly introduce death-defying sports into my life again.  I feel so ALIVE!  I even got my season shuttle pass from the Keweenaw Adventure Company, so they can take me to the top of the mountains, and I can ride down and practice my skills.

What else is great?  The berries are starting to come!  I ate a couple blueberries and bilberries before I left, so those should be raring when I get back.  Thimbles are not far off and I bet razzies are about ready too.

The wildflowers are beautimous as usual.  I found a couple new species this summer when I visited a new spot.  Bog rosemary and buckbean, which is a protected wildflower.  Oh, I was so excited when I saw the buckbean because I knew what it was from the  pictures in my books.  I also found a couple new ones here in WI.  I am a junkie when it comes to identifying flowers.  I just HAVE to know what it is, or I get all itchy and can't sleep.

Another amazing thing is the Copper Harbor community garden.  I meant to take a picture of it for you, but who brings a camera to the garden?  Perhaps when I have tomatoes and peppers hanging I'll snap a shot for you.  It's encouraging to see all the plots in the garden.  Quite a few people really take the time to work their spot.  It's something to be proud of, and it's nice to share good food with others.

I have jumped in Lake Superior twice so far this summer.  She's starting to warm up -- especially since my first dip in April!  Talk about invigorating!

And guess what else I haven't been able to do since I had a baby in my belly.  Go kayaking.  But in June, Tim the hawk-counter and I paddled the sloughs at Bete Gris.  Oh, man, it was a picture perfect paddling day.  Luckily I took some photos!

A view of Mt. Bohemia from Lac La Belle

A lone trumpeter swan on the lake

The opening of the Mendota Canal in the distance

We parked at the end of the road in the slough zone and paddled to most of the dead ends, turned around and paddled to the next one.  It was great exploration.  Our plan was to paddle to the Bear Belly Bar and Grill for lunch.  What we didn't realize was how far it was from the channel.  

Luckily we are both positive, go-with-the-flow kind of people because we were huuuuungry way before we were even close.  We almost clubbed the swan to eat for lunch.  (Okay, some of my jokes are terrible.)  But just before we gave up hope, I smelled french fries!!!  Suddenly we were renewed, and my blistering hands paddled a little faster to the shore.  Mmm, french fries.

Other than that, we all survived the Independence Day festivities.  And now it's July, so all my friends are busy working.  Well, at least they got a break!  Mama don't get a break!  But I don't mind.  I think I'd rather hang out with B than make fancy cocktails at the speed of light.  Everything has its season, you know.  

And now that I'm not serving tourists, I like them much more.  I even go out of my way to help them when they look confused.  I take interest in where they came from and what brought them here.  I wonder what they like to do while they are here.  Yes, Brady P. has taught me that we are ALL people, and we all deserve respect.  There is some good in everyone, and that is what I look for.  Life is a struggle enough without having to feel judged by others who have no idea what you're going through.  Maybe he will be president someday.

Just Around the Block

Let me start with my most notable adventure: kayaking for the first time this summer!  As I sat on 6th Street dock on a warm, sunny, breezeless day, I looked out and saw kayakers by The Gap.  What a perfect day to go kayaking!  So I got my gear together, made sure my life vest still zipped over my belly, and headed out to Lake Fanny Hooe.

It really was perfect out there.  I saw small fishing boats hugging the southern shore, other kayakers, campers on the beaches and ducklings.  I paddled east all the way to the end -- well, almost the end because the sandy shore was too shallow for my rudder by that point.

As the blisters formed on the base of my thumbs, I thank goodness that I was out on a peaceful, sunshiney lake paddling until I wore myself out.  I really was excited to see the launch area when I finally got back.  My strength and stamina aren't quite what is used to be, but now I know where I stand in the paddling department.

The only camera I trusted to take with me on the water was out of battery, so no pictures.  But it was probably good that I had one less thing to futz with on my maiden voyage out.

One thing I haven't mentioned in this blog is the meticulous work of the dude across the street.  Duce knows him as Uncle Pete, and he invented and landscaped "North Park."  He is out there all the time with a weed-whacker, rake or brute strength rearranging his rock piles.  Here's a quick shot.

Side view of North Park

He has a collection of rocks from many mines in the area.  They are labeled and displayed around the trees.  It's a nice free place to visit, rest and learn in da Harbor.

Close-up of some interesting rock colors

For some reason, I have pictures from a few different angles on my block.  Shows how adventurous I have become, hey?

The Copper Harbor Trails Club is once again raffling off this awesome TCTeardrop Trailer.  Tickets are available in town.  Click their link on the sidebar above for more information and a list of other prizes.  Their site wasn't working for me earlier, so I couldn't embed a link.  They are probably doing maintenance or additions.  Anyway, here's a picture of it at the Gas Lite General Store.

Grand Prize Teardrop trailer from the CHTC

Pretty slick.  There's even a new mattress inside.

And right across the street, the Brickside Brewery shares their list of current brews.

Brickside Brewery flavors change weekly

Boy, I do miss sipping that Stone Ship Stout, but my liver is probably grateful for the nine month break. 

Last night I went to Project 49918's The Beginning of the Road Exhibit.  It was well attended, as North One Gallery was bursting at the seams for a while.  The display was really well done, and it had a new feeling when all the pictures were up together.  They are still selling 2015 calendars in town which highlight 12 local business owners on Highway 41 in the winter.  Your's truly is featured the month of April.  I recommend getting one for your house.  I'm getting one for mine!

Okay, on to future events.

Local Events

This Wednesday, the new classic rock band in town, Power of Air, is debuting during Open Mic at Zik's Bar sometime after 9pm.  Usually I wouldn't know something like this, but it's my band!  We will be performing 4-5 songs.  This will probably be our first of a couple other open mics this summer.  We need to practice our stage presence and performance, and this is a low key way to do it.  Maybe we'll see you there!

July 26, 27 is Ladies' Bike Weekend!  This event filled up beyond maximum capacity in 14 hours, so no spots are open, but it's a really cool event.  Professional mountain bike instructor and awesome person, Lindsey Voreis, is the main coach for the skill sessions.  Since I am unable to ride stunts and such, I will be there with camera, notebook and pen!  More info on this at the CHTC link above.

That's all I know for now!  See you next week.

Adventure Resumes!

How quickly I went from having the dilemma of not enough time to adventure, meaning I don't have much to share (or time to share it) to the opposite dilemma of too much footage on all the adventures I've been having, meaning I spend lots of time uploading and editing images.  Oh.  You don't care about that.  You just want to see some pictures!

Well, Saturday I got out on some shuttle runs.  Shuttles runs occur when the bike rider pays a fee to the Keweenaw Adventure Company, so the biker and their bike can be transported to the top of either Brockway Mountain Drive or the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge where they then get the thrill of the downhill without the pant of the climb.  Sound like cheating?  It is.  But then the biker gets to keep all their energy for conquering the obstacles instead of huffing up the mountains.

And on that Saturday, I rode down three of the trails I haven't ridden yet either because I was too chicken or time didn't permit: Daisy Dukes, The Overflow and Downtown.  A-ma-zing.  I rode more obstacles than I thought I would and only crashed a couple times!  Nothing major, just some bruising.

I did record my trip down The Overflow, but my camera kept drooping on my handlebar, and there is just too much footage of my feet!  You can find videos of that on youtube anyway -- from real riders!

And yesterday I got to paddle my kayak to Porter's Island!!!  Here is a picture from after I dragged her down the hill on a little dolly.

The Muktuk made it to the shore!

I can only imagine what people thought as this little thing in a wetsuit, lifevest and spray skirt chased the wheeled end of a 16 foot boat down the hill toward the Harbor Haus launch.  But that's just life, and I do goofy things a lot.

I sprinted to Porter's Island only to find that there really isn't much for landing areas on the south side.  I was nervous to go around to the north to park because the waves were tumbling on that side.  I paddled around until I found a spot.  Before I pulled in, I took this picture.

My ship and I looking toward our little town

Then I just hiked around the whole island counter-clockwise in my wetsuit and booties.  Good thing I didn't see anyone out there!  But here are some things I did see!

From the east end looking west

From the west end looking south toward town

I also had to take a few moments to watch the little wonders in the island.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE LITTLE THINGS GO WITH THE FLOW

Cool, hey?  And I was sober!

Also, if you can't wait for a weekly post, I did start a twitter account.  It's @writingdaharbor.  Once I figure out how to imbed it in this blog, you can stay updated without starting your own account!  See, I'm always thinking of you!

Wet Lesson

I probably shouldn't tell you this. In fact, I held off all yesterday writing about it because some people were scared, and some were angered by this ordeal. For that reason I am leaving names out. But quite frankly, I think it's a great story, and I was happy it happened how it did. Everyone is fine, so it really couldn't be that bad, right?

Life shows us many common sense guidelines: Don't put your wet finger in a light socket. Look both ways before you cross the road. Wear your hat and coat on a cold day. Don't take a small boat onto a large body of water when the wind is gusting whitecaps.

I don't learn well from guidelines. I learn best from mistakes. I make many mistakes in order to keep learning. Yesterday's mistake taught me many things I believe I was meant to learn.

A friend and I were going to go kayaking Sunday, but remember how it rained? We didn't go. So our plan was for Monday. Monday the sun was shining, and the temp was in the 50's. It was a glorious day... just a little windy.

"Just a little windy," I told my friend. I really wanted to paddle out of the arms of the Harbor on to the big lake toward Devil's Washtub. "It will be hard paddling there, but the wind will push us back home." I'm such a genius.

On our paddle to the Gap, where, mind you, we have to shimmy and push off the rocks we skid across, we saw two fishermen. We told these fishermen what we were planning, and one said, "You're not going on the big lake." "Yes we are," I corrected. "I've been on bigger waves on Isle Royale." The fishermen rolled their eyes, and probably worried about us as we shimmied our way through the gap.

So there we were. In the hands of Lake Superior when the wind must have been at least 20 mph from the West. The strength and frequency of the waves surprised me. I started to power ahead toward our destination, realizing that puny strokes would be useless in these waves. When I saw my friend was just getting out of the gap, I decided to wait for a moment. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

I was instantly pushed into the giant rocks we call the shoreline. My kayak was parallel to the shore. I knew the only way I could make it out of that position would be to re-angle my boat perpendicular to the shore. I was no match for her majesty. The waves were coming too quickly.

Next thing I knew, my boat was flipped like the Jack of Spades, and in the water went Amanda. Luckily, (I thought it was lucky) I was right on the shore, so I just stood up, grabbed my paddle and boat, and dragged it up the rock. Wet? Yes. Wounded emotionally or physically? No.

I honestly thought that was a great experience for me (nobody else I mentioned on the journey would agree, but they were not the one in the water, now were they?) I learned a lot about wave frequency and height. I've been in some five foot rollers before, but those are not as dangerous as the continuous, wind-enforced ones. The latter are not to be messed with. Lesson learned.

One of a Kind Paddle

This morning the Harbor in front of our house was glass. And we noticed, when we looked across toward the Lighthouse, it literally was glass. A thin layer of ice formed overnight.

Sunny and calm. Winds from the South when I was on the North side of a peninsula. A perfect day for a kayak paddle.

Dan, Rachel and I loaded up for an afternoon on the harbor, each in our own kayak. We almost felt like we should be more adventurous and go to Devil's Washtub or Horseshoe Harbor, but it was our first day out for the year, so we decided to tool around the Harbor. I am certain I will never have an experience like that again.

We set in by the Isle Royale Queen IV dock, and paddled East to the Lighthouse. Going across the open water between Porter's Island and the Lighthouse makes you feel like you're in open water, all right. But, I guess, you really are.

Safe and sound, we made it across, and down toward the East end of the Harbor we paddled. Never had I noticed the lay of the land under water as I did today. It seems like that North coast is really shallow most of the way across. Only toward the middle of the lateral line, does it drop down. Once I looked up after a few moments of that, I saw the most unusual thing of all.

Remember that glass on the water from earlier in the morning? Some of is was still there! I shouted to the others to come check it out. The first thing we noticed about it was the tinkling sound it made, as the broken edges rode the waves. Dan said, "It sounds like someone shaking a bag full of diamonds." I'll second that.

As we watched and listened in awe, Rachel came through full blast in her boat and rammed through the ice. "Woah!" she exclaimed. "It's a lot thicker in here than I thought!" I had to see for myself.

Have you ever kayaked or boated at all through the ice? It is surreal. The paddle has to bust through the ice before you can push it through the water. And the kayak sat pretty much on top of it! Turning around seemed to be an issue, so we slowly backed out. But once we got used to it, and realized we probably would never paddle on ice again, we plowed through it like it was our playground. Man, was that awesome!

We paddled here and there and past my house, where the water was so calm. So peaceful. I noticed, for a few minutes, that we were all just floating peacefully like the lake was. It must have been the right thing to do.

On the South shore, we saw all sorts of cool ice sculptures. This area doesn't get much sun yet. Let me tell you about the most amazing one we saw. It made a "roof" over two large rocks. Twenty feet separated these rocks, and that much ice roofed between them. It was like a cave with a sun roof! We couldn't help but see what it was like inside, so we each, one at a time, gingerly maneuvered our boats under as far as we could before freaking out that any moment that whole two-foot ice ceiling with hanging ice cycles could crash upon us. That was a unique perspective on life, all right. We wanted to see if it echoed, but didn't dare yell inside.

We then went around the East shore of Porter's Island where we paddled along the North shore of it. The only problem then was coming back through "The Gap" between Porter's and Hunter's Point. Thrusting our hips and pushing off with our paddles, we skidded across the shallow opening. We all took a different way, so I'm sure there was no easy one.

From there it was only a push back across the water to the dock, where we got to get out and s-t-r-e-t-c-h again. Ahhhh, what a lovely day for a paddle! Certainly one of a kind.