Back to Myself

Last week I drove back to Copper Harbor.  After 5 weeks of somewhere else, I was eager to return.  But I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got back.  I'm sure you can relate to this.  It may sound cliche, but it's true.  Here it goes.

Once I got just south of Houghton, and I crested that hill, I got goosebumps.  I felt like I was truly back in the Keweenaw.  Coming over the hill into Copper Harbor, though, wow.  I saw the sign and the lake, and I cried.  Real tears trickled down my face.  I didn't even care as long as I could still see the road.

When I pulled into my driveway, I opened my car door, hit the ground on my knees and kissed the rocks and sand.  If I would have kissed it the way I really felt, I would have had a mouth full of dirt, and that didn't seem like fun to wash out, so I just kissed it with my lips.  When I looked up, I saw my thimbleberry plants bursting with magenta orbs of tang.  I ate as many as I could one right after the other until I remembered I had a sleeping baby in the car.  He was still sleeping, so I looked out at my little town and took a deep breath.

That's when it hit me.

I felt two feelings at that moment.  One was like someone inserted my "missing piece" somewhere in my body and soul.  A piece I didn't even realize was gone until it got put back.  I felt whole again.  The other feeling was like someone plugged me back into life.  I didn't realize I was unplugged until the electricity of the air energized me and made me feel alive.  Hello, Amanda!!!  There you are!!!  I missed you!!!

I am not exaggerating this.  I bet you believe me.  

I know that most people come here and feel like a weight is lifted off their shoulders and peace fills their soul.  That is wonderful too.  I would feel that way if my life away from here was stressful, but it's not.  It's just, well, to be polite, not here.

So there I was.  Completely Amanda again.  I jumped and cheered and Braeden woke up.  I tried celebrating with him, but I don't know if he fully understood my elation.  I showed him around the house and checked his reaction.  He was more observant than reacting.  Pretty typical for him.  He takes it all in, that wise little man.

Like at Hunter's Point.  He loves to sit in the rocks and chew on them.  Here he is picking out a tasty one.

B finding his next chew toy

That boy is tough, I tell you.  And just darling.  

We've gone quite a few places since we've been home.  Great Sand Bay where he took his first dip in Lake Superior and ate his first fist-fulls of sand.  Up and down Paul's Plunge.  Along the first part of the Keweenaw Point Trail.  Lake Manganese and Fanny Hooe.  Through Fort Wilkins campground on a busy weekend in August.  Atop Brockway Mountain for his first time.  Clyde's field.  Docks along the harbor shore.  Brickside Brewery where the bartenders always give him free beer.  Kisses!  I mean they give him kisses and hugs.  

So here is a picture of the beginning of the Keweenaw Point Trail.  I have told you this before, but this trail is destined to loop around the tip of the Keweenaw (hence the name) and Phase I is now complete.  It starts on Manganese Road just above the falls and comes out just east of Lake Fanny Hooe by the Mandan Loop near the beginning of Highway 41.  Got that?

KPT Trailhead!

I was intrigued by the suspended rock at the beginning.  Cool, huh?

And here is a part of the seasons that you may not have fully compared in your head.  The difference between the bottom of Manganese Falls in the spring and late summer.  Can you guess which is which below?  Hint: it's the same order I just mentioned.

Can you believe it?  It hardly looks like the same spot!  But it is.  I am not a liar.

The berries are pretty amazing right now.  Yeah.  What a tease this year.  I mean, here I am, actually here with all day to pick, and someone won't sit still in the bushes for hours at a time.  I don't blame him, though.  When he's ready to pick with me, I'll have him make up for it.  Tee hee!

So here is a bit of blatant truth into my life.  Raw Amanda.  I can't get out to pick berries to make, um, wine, so I just bought rice to make sake!  Ha!  I will find a way to make wine!  I think it will be a nice experiment.  I'm all about  fermentation experimentation.   See also: I like to make and drink wine.  

Guess what.  It's Art in the Park this weekend in da Harbor!  If you're coming up and you don't have a place to sleep, you'll be sleeping in your car.  Or on some nice person's beach, I don't know.  Sleeping on a pebbly beach is quite wonderful, actually.  Even if you don't have a tent.  Unless the bugs are out...

So, if you come up this weekend, stop by the bake sale.  That's where Braeden and I will be!  I'm running it again this year.  Bring some baked goods or buy some!  If we get to talking and I like you, maybe you can try my wine sometime.  See you in September!

Back and Waiting

Thanks for your patience with me while I consistently leave you hanging.

I never thought that being a mother would come with so many hospital visits.  As you can tell, my life is on hold while I try to get this little boy feeling the best he can.  It will still take some work, but he is doing well.  Thank you to everyone who sent me good thoughts and kind words.

We are back in da Harbor.  It's lovely, really.  With a slight warm up in temps, I am able to push a stroller around town and get B acclimated to Harbor life.  I know he is going to love it here.  He is already a lover of life in general.  Despite his medical hardships, he is smiley, observant, focused, strong, playful and adventurous.  A bit stubborn too -- a good survival skill for the U.P.

I really wish I could update you on things, but I don't know a whole lot!  The snow is melting.  Many areas around the bases of trees are already exposed ground.  The sun shines occasionally.  The wind howls from time to time.

The lakes almost look as if a person could skate on them.  With recent melting and refreezing, the tops are smooth.  I would love to adventure out there, but, well, do I really need to explain myself right now?

So I can't wait for more springy weather.  My little boy will get to go out with me as I wander the trails and look to see what's blooming.  Oh my gosh.  Wildflowers!  What a welcome site they will be!  My heart smiles just thinking about it.  

Though I have not had time to write anything more than a to-do list lately,  a couple of my articles have been published within the last couple months.  Check out the Great Lakes Pilot for my award-winning essay titled "Whichever Season is Next."  That is in Volume 10 Number 6, 2015 on the front page!  And remember last year when I went to Big Bay for the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman classes?  Well that article was published in the February, 2015 issue of Traverse Magazine.  Yeah, Traverse.  Pretty cool, huh?  They called it "Women Gone Wild."  I am proud.

Okay.  Mr. 20-minute-napper is awake, so I must tend.  I really hope to get out for something fun soon, so you don't give up on me!

The Little Things on the Double Lakeshore Loop

From day to day, and even during a single day, the weather has no idea what it wants to do.  One day was gorgeous and sunny, then the next night dropped to nearly freezing temperatures.  The nights are cooling down.  That helps the trees turn colors.

Color Report

Every day now, I hear someone new say that the way up North on Highway 41 is turning red.  The maples are becoming crimson, fresh blood and plum.  Not too much of the pinks and tangerines, but maybe they are to come.  Once you get to the Covered Stretch, however, those vibrant colors cease.  My advice?  If you like the reds, plan your trip and come up soon.  The oaks and birches have yet to turn.  Even Brockway Valley is still totally green.  If you come up this weekend, you'll see some nice colors, but not all of them.

I hadn't been out on my Double Lakeshore Loop since hepatica season.  That was four months ago!  So  Duce and I went out on Thursday.  Here are some pictures of the green foliage I found captivating.

One little orange and yellow mushroom

New life springing up in a drifted trunk on the shore

The path of beach rock covered in moss

So many little green things in one spot!

The foliage decorates an old stump

We just had a busy weekend, so people are still coming up in anticipation of the vibrant colors.  I am anticipating them as well, since I love bright colors in general.  I hope to get up to my favorite spot to scope out the leaves.  And this time, I'll actually bring my camera!

I have started a fire in the wood stove a couple times now.  The nights just get so chilly, and the house doesn't warm up during the day with the winds and lack of sunshine.  Even though the atmosphere mixing with that Big Lake is constantly changing our view, it sure is magical to watch.  I've got a treat for you next time as an example.

Stay tuned and have a wonderful day!

Dreaming of a White 2013

The snow is still confused about where to land.  Chances are, you may have gotten more snow since Christmas that da Harbor has.  Not even a full inch down in town.  But scoot up the hill to the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, and they have six fluffy inches!

The ice is nice, though.  Not for skating, but traversing and ice fishing.  Medora, Manganese and Fanny Hooe are all walkable... at least the parts I tried!  *Note: always use extreme caution when walking out onto the ice as conditions may shift over time.  I am the one to talk.  I do use cation, but I also take my chances.  I'm living and learning!

I saw a little spot of sunshine this morning.  Just enough to perk me right up and stick my face out in it. It's so glorious, and such a welcome sight, that I can't resist.  It's a wonder how we can go for so many days without a shadow or sparkle outside.  When it hits, we notice it.  Otherwise, here's to another Vitamin D3!

So, yeah, I've been hiking in the woods.  Still.  Not many other options right now.  We have had some snowmobilers in town, but I haven't gotten to ask how the trial conditions are.

Since I don't have any good pictures of snow to show for this winter, how about a picture from the archives!

Snowstorm of February 2008

That's a cabin on the left!

Wishful thinking for 2013!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Mainland!

I'm back where I belong.  Safe and sound.  Hello Keweenaw!

There are some things I will miss about Hawai'i, though.  Here are a few:

- Being able to have a beach day any day

- Eating fresh, local fruit, veggies, beef and fishies

- The bright colors of the flowers and the lush green of the trees

- The aquaness of the ocean

- Pronouncing the Hawai'ian words in their 12 letter alphabet

- The evening sounds of the frogs and other bugs

- Keeping all the windows open all the time (unless the rain comes in sideways!)

- The mountains and valleys

Sunset from the top of Mauna Kea

- Rainbows!

This is quite Hawai'i

But home definitely has its perks as well.  The first one I noticed?  Crisp, cool, fresh air.  Breathe it in, baby!

The winter is nothing to brag about here yet.  The winds keep blowing from the north over Lake Superior, tumbling the waves.  The snow is only 2 inches of crust.  Lake Medora is mostly frozen over with snow on top.  Fanny Hooe has a couple inches of ice as well.  It has potential for skating if the ice gets thicker before the snow hits!

And it's the holidays, so we have to be ready for a party almost every night!  This is a great community.  The kinship (and hardship) of the locals is a feeling I have found unmatched no matter where I have been.  It is the first thing that Aaron and I noticed that made us want to call this home.  It certainly is.

May your holiday season be merry and bright.  May your heart be filled with peace and joy. May you remember why you are fortunate when you are around those you love.  And if you're alone, remember why you are a gift!

MELE KALIKIMAKA!

Double Take Lakes

This morning I woke up to a thin layer of ice sheeting this end of the Harbor. The water has been so still... it gets me riled up. I'm pumped for a frozen harbor to walk to the lighthouse on. I'll try to be more careful this year. I promise.

Another beautiful (and even more surprising) part of the day was Mr. Sunshine. He came to visit all day long! What a sweetie.

To celebrate, I took a walk to my favorite sunshiney-day lake: Fanny Hooe. She was frozen solid. She also had some unsnowy spots where I could run and slide across on my boots. Oh, I even got to lay sprawled out on my back right in the middle. I tell you, that never gets old -- especially for the first time this year!

Two days ago, I hiked out to the lighthouse to see how everything was doing out there. When I got to the shore facing north, it struck me. I was once again relishing Lake Superior's majesty. Oh, just hear those waves roll in. Gaze into the open waters -- the only sight below the sky! I really didn't realize how much I missed her until I stood there and appreciated it all. I had a bit of an emotional moment.

I was so overjoyed to be back on that shore that I even steadied my way down the icy rocks to dip my hand in her fresh glory. Ohhhh, so pure and revitalizing. We had another little moment.

On the way back, I walked through the 3 inches of settled snow that lay upon the ground. I sure hope we get more of that soon! I should be snowshoeing and skiing by now!

Lake Superior Moon Walk

Yesterday, in the unyooperish heat, I had to go swimming. It was honestly the only thing a person could do comfortably outside. I decided to try a new hole off a north-facing shore.

I have swum in Lake Manganese. It's sandy and weedy. It used to be a marsh, they say. I have swum in Lake Fanny Hooe. It's quite rocky -- jagged rocks that fill the bottom and drop quickly into deep water. I've gone in a couple parts in the Harbor. They have smooth, slick stones on variable depths. I have also gone in other places right into Lake Superior. Bete Gris, Great Sand Bay and Keystone Bay all gradually submerge a body on a sandy shore.

But where I want yesterday was like the moon.

I shouldn't lead you on to think that I have actually been on the moon. I have not. I have seen pictures of the surface and watched video clips of how an astronaut bounces from one foot to the next over that uneven surface. That is exactly how the lake floor was.

If I didn't look down while walking, I could stub a toe, bang a knee or fall in above my head without warning. And with the buoyancy effect in the water, the result was quite moonlike.

At one point (and this is my favorite) I was treading along, looking down. What did I see? A huge boulder in my path. Huge! If I hadn't been looking, I would have slammed my whole body into it. Instead, I was able to approach it at a good angle, and climb onto it. With my shins and the rest of me above the water, I stood up in the middle of the lake and yelled to Duce, "Come on in, chicken! I can touch here!" But he wasn't having any of it. He rolled in the rocks instead.

Then I just swam around in the glorious sunshine. (The sun was only glorious because I was engulfed in cool water.) Oh, I didn't want it to end. I saw quartz veins run below me. And I watched the landscape change with every foot. It was one small step for this girl, but a giant leap for my sanity.

And a note on today, I saw two pileated woodpeckers pecking together in the same tree. I have never seen two together before. Here is a picture for you. Yes, I actually took a picture! You can see them on each side of the tree. The one on the right is showing its red mohawk.

Brockway's Nose and Beyond!

I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "Woah, Amanda posted again already?!" Yes. Yes, I did. With the snow melted, I am no longer employed at the Bear Belly Bar and Grill, which frees up a lot of my time... more time for you!

And more time for my adventures. Today, since Duce has a bum paw, I marched the blacktop up Brockway Mountain. My intent was to take a picture for you at the nose, and then see how far I would keep going.

During this time of year, many people wonder, "Can I get up Brockway Drive in my car?" If you have 4-wheel drive and snow tires. Yes. Otherwise, you might slide backwards down that first steep ascent. That's the messiest spot. The couple who owns the Tamarack Inn, Bill and Bonnie, drive their snowmobiles down in the winter and keep their cars parked at the Tamarack, so they can drive elsewhere. Imagine the planning that would take to know you can't drive to your driveway 4 months out of the year!

With feet, however, it's a lovely stroll no matter where you roam. Now let me see how my instructional skills were in my last post. Below is a picture of pretty darn near what I saw when I tried to explain the different colors/qualities of water on each pool. You can see how the Harbor attaches to Lake Superior in this picture. And the other bodies are (clockwise) Lake Fanny Hooe and Clyde's Pond.

Can you see what I was talking about? Nice and methodical, just how Mother Nature intended.

Notice how bare the trees are right now. In the middle left of the picture, you can see da town itself. Not too hustly bustly this time of year! And at the very top in the middle is East Bluff. That's an adventure I want to tackle some day soon.

Satisfied with the reference points on this picture, I continued to walk up. Up, up and away! I was ill-prepared, and didn't bring any water, so I figured I wasn't going to make it the whole four miles to the top. Someday I will. Anyone want to go with?

I did climb up to the third lookout. I could see Hwy. 41 from there. That spot had a long stone ledge that I skipped across the whole way to and fro. That was quite invigorating; I'd never done that before. As for Duce. I think he forgot about his paw because he pounced in the woods after birds and (Heaven forbid) deer. See how much more sympathy he gets!

Crossing Lakes

I don't know what's wrong with me. Or maybe it's what's right. Remember how I love to walk to the middle of the lake to feel the unjaded sun and, well, just to be there? The last two days I crossed two new bodies of water for the winter.

I crossed Copper Harbor on Saturday. But I will tell you about that one next.

Today I hoofed it to the neighbor's house, through the uneven snow, carrying a small gas heater and two mini propane tanks with no snowshoes on. Mostly uphill (of course). I sweated and swore as I remembered my questions to myself just before I left: "Snowshoes or no snowshoes? Snowshoes or no snowshoes? Eh, it's a short walk. No snowshoes." Dumb, dumb, dumb. All I could think was how I wish I had my snowshoes, so that walk -- as short as it was supposed to be -- didn't make me so angry with myself.

With that said, I decided to take Lake Lily back home. The snow was nice and even on her, and I saw snowshoe tracks going across it the day before. I would be safe and not so ornery as I was on land. Plus, I hadn't crossed her yet this year.

She was a beauty. Smooth, calm and white. It really was a treat to be out there. It didn't look like much else had been there except the coyotes. Because the shore by where the creek runs in to the Harbor wasn't frozen, I stayed north like the other tracks did, and made it safely to land.

Saturday's experience wasn't just new for this winter, it was new to my life. Please swallow any food you may be chewing.

I had to cross the Harbor. I just had to! There was my shortcut to the lighthouse calm before me, and my curiosity just ached to take me there. Straight there. The big lake had been calm for at least four days before that, so I knew the ice had to be solid. No creaking sounds on my end!

I skipped along over the butting ice peaks and slippery knobs that made up the frozen harbor. It was in no way smooth sailing. I almost tripped a couple times. And every time I was unsure about the conditions below my feet, I would scratch the snow off the surface and check the ice thickness. Looks good, I'd tell myself, and carry on.

I would look over at my neighbor Sharon's and wonder if she could see me out there. I actually wished I would have told her I was traversing the harbor just in case I, um, was suddenly not above the ice. But, nope. Just Duce knew I was out there, and he lead the way full force: sniffing, scratching and eating the ice.

Then I stopped in my tracks when I heard the wind. There it was again. And again. Completely rhythmic. Only, it wasn't the wind. Oh, no. It was the lake. Undulating under my feet. Under my feet? At that moment I actually thought how I have admired this sound as the ice knocks into each other while I am on the shore, but I have never heard that sound while I was on that ice. I felt my pulse in my neck. My temperature must have risen 2 degrees.

Oh. My. God. Don't panic. You're almost to the shore. It can't be that deep here. You're still standing on solid ice. You can't see through it. Take that line straight across. Yes, that one. Straight to the shore. Quick and light. Quick and light. Go, go, go!!!

Twenty yards later I was at the shore. On solid rocks. Wooooooooooooo hooooooooooooo! I shouted, grateful to be alive. We made it! We made it indeed.

Good thing we crossed at that spot because thirty yards from where I was standing, closer to the lighthouse dock, the ice was, well, um, to put it quite bluntly, the ice was not there at all. And today it has receded even closer to the east with more open water in between. So I won't be going out there until it fills back in. Maybe a good, solid week after it fills back in. Yes. That would be the smart thing to do.

As for the rest of my adventure on that February 6th, 2010, well, that's going in my Copper Harbor book. I'm sure you don't want to hear about another risk I took out on Lake Superior right now. I'll let you float on that one for a while.