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!

Sparkling, Rushing Water

Hello!

Except for today, it's definitely springtime.

But that makes sense -- the today thing.  You know that saying that includes, "Red in the morning, sailors take warning?"  This morning, when B woke me up, I looked out the window to a spectacular sunrise.  Oh, man.  Red and magenta beamed from the sky.  I considered taking a picture, but the power lines were in it, and pictures just never do it justice. 

In general, though, the weather has been sunny and pleasant.  My cheeks are getting rosy from getting out pretty much everyday!  Here are some highlights.

April 12th, I believe, the ice left the harbor.  She was all open and sparkling like a freshly opened bottle of champagne in the sunset.  I don't know which is better.  Wink.  Here is proof!

Open water from Third Street Dock

The waterfalls are pretty great right now.  Well, I'm assuming they are.  I've only been to Manganese Falls so far, but it was sweet!  Here's a video from Friday, April 17th.

It's always enchanting there when the sound is loud, the air is wet and the ground turns green and woody.  I love to watch the mist suspended above the rushing water.  Surreal, you know?

Another cool thing about that day was that I got to go there with three other friends.  Kind of cool how our little group hike randomly came together for a magical experience.  We got up to Lake Manganese and the serenity continued.  At the mouth near the creek leading to the falls, we paused (mostly because the bridge was no longer adhered) and chatted away.  Who did we scare up?

At least 200 geese.

A fraction of the geese on Lake Manganese

Suddenly they flew east past us in many different V (and some not-so-V) formations.  We stood there in awe.  "Woah," exhaled from all of our bodies.  These geese then circled back west and east and west again.  Then we watched them land on the southwest end where they must have took off from.  

Silly humans, riling up the peaceful geese.

People must be coming up to see the falls because I feel like there are more people around than usual this time of year.  Usually it's just us local folk.  But people who come up this time of year often don't have high expectations for a little town that's half shut down.

I knock on wood as I say this, but I seem to be getting this mom thing under control.  Nap times are somewhat on a schedule.  Solid foods help the boy sleep longer.  We have not had a medical emergency in a month.  Life is good!

What's my point?  Well, don't hold me to this, but I hope that this may be the beginning of a break for me.  A break in favor of my writing.  I miss it so much, and even this blog helps me feel like a whole person again.  

So I hope you enjoyed this post with actual media besides my rambling words.  And stay tuned because I have some news for you...

The Can's and Can't Do's of Springtime

So in the last post I was all "nobody is here."  Well, this past weekend was Michigan Technological University's graduation.  Congrats to them.  That is a tough school.

I forgot this bit of information while driving South to Houghton on that Sunday evening.  Imagine my shock when I saw a) an absurd amount of traffic traveling northbound for this time of year, and b) over half the vehicles were not from Michigan.  Lots from Texas, actually.  I was thinking, "What the heck do these people think they're going to do in Copper Harbor right now???"

And that is the question.

What can you, or any other visitor do right now in Copper Harbor?  Here is a list of those activities.

Can Do:

• Drive to Jacob's Falls, Haven Falls and Eagle River Falls
• Hike through snow treachery to Manganese Falls and Montreal Falls
• Sit somewhere and watch the raptors and other birds migrate
• Go for a not really snowshoe/not really hike
• Ride a bicycle on the highways
• Watch for freighters
• Fish the open water at creek and river mouths
• Watch tulips start to pop up from the dirt
• Get drunk at Zik's and The Mariner and Brickside Brewery
• Stare out at the Big Lake and sing ice melting songs

Now I really had to dig into my brain to beef that up.  Guess there's more to do than I originally thought.  You'll need some winter gear.  And the bugs are not out. 

But the falls are awesome.  I hiked up to Manganese's just the other day.  Here are some shots from the top down.

The first drop

The big drop back in the crevasse

The last drop from above

That last drop in the background from the bridge

 

Finally, some action.  You know, I thought this was going to be a great year for falls because of all the snow that has to melt.  Well, it's melting so slowly that nothing is too catastrophic.  I suppose that's okay because last year lots of bridges got wiped out from the fast, heavy melt.  But then, the falls were even more awesome.

As for migratory birds, I've had some cuties in my back yard picking away.  I've seen hawks circling the skies.  The robins are back.  And there are all sorts of other birds to speak of, but I am a wildflower nut who doesn't really know all her birds.  I'm just sitting here waiting for something to bloom.

Now hear this.  There are some things you can NOT do up here right now.  Either because it's impossible, illegal or dangerous.  Here's that list. 

Can't Do:

• Mountain Bike
• Drive over Brockway Mountain
• Drive up Manganese Road
• Ice fish (unless you know otherwise)
• Cross the harbor's bay to Porter's Island (even I won't do it)
• Cross-Country Ski
• Golf
• And everything that involves flora, of course

I may have missed some things, but hey, I'm more of an optimist, so I concentrate on the "can do's" of life.

Oh.  Check out these mushrooms.  I have spotted fresh mushrooms now in three different places.  That sounds like spring to me!

Stump fungus!

I had to poke them just to make sure they were from this year.  Yup.  Cool, moist and squishy.

For some updated business information.  The Pines is now open for breakfast and lunch and evenings at Zik's.  The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge will reopen this Friday, May 9th.  I hear they'll have live music that night.  It's May now, people.  Things are on the upswing.

Woah, May?  That was fast...

A New Spring in My Step

If someone blindfolded you, drove you to Copper Harbor, cloaked you in only a light jacket, set you in the middle of Highway 41 in front of the General Store, then took off your blindfold, you would be surprised at the large snow drifts before you.  And everywhere else around you.  Today and yesterday, for the most part, were gorgeous, sunny and warm (relative ~ 50 degrees, maybe?).

The snowbanks are currently melting.  And draining.  And going back to the lake from where they came!  My plan is working perfectly.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and melty banks all week.  The latest blizzard started Wednesday night, and went through most of Thursday.  Aaron and I had to drive to Houghton for a meeting.  Here is the Covered Stretch at about 1:00 pm on Thursday.

Highway 41 in Thursday's blizzard

April 17th, 2014.  Still want to live in Copper Harbor?  Oh, yeah.  Not in the winter.  Or spring.

The following day showed a nice sunset, though.

Sunset after the storm

What's that?  A sunset picture over the lake would be better?  You're telling me.  Hopefully I'll get out there again sometime when the sun looks all lavish.

In the mean time, you're stuck with this Fort Wilkins sign I promised you.  I believe that today, it's a tad lower then when this picture was taken (between the 14" of snow and now), but it's close.  And hopefully it will be lower yet the next time.

Ye old Fort sign, grinning and baring it

For Easter, I took three of my four-legged friends (cuz they're the only ones that will hang out with me) up to Manganese Falls.  The last couple times I was there, I got skunked, so I wasn't expecting much for rushing volume.

On our way up Trail 134/Manganese Road I realized that it's going to be a snow trail for quite a while yet.  Look at all that snow on the road still!

Snow-covered Manganese Road... still

We saw some cool icicles hanging in the moss.

Icicles in the mossy rock

We didn't even get passed by any snowmobilers.  Imagine that.

Also on the way up something new happened.  I was so hot that I had to take my jacket off!  Outside without a jacket since probably early November -- what a treat!  It was truly glorious.

And then I heard it.  The falls.  So loud I could hear them before I crested the hill!

We perched as close to the edge of the top of the falls as we could to see what we could see.  With all those cedars casting shadows, I could barely make out the moving parts, still mostly under snow.  And the darkness made my pictures turn out terribly, so I will spare you that.  At least it sounded refreshing!  I can't wait to go back!

Oh, and I saw Jacob's Falls yesterday as well, on the way to Eagle River.  It was doing pretty well.  Probably triple since the last time I saw it!

I also caught a shot of The Gap between Hunter's Point and Porter's Island.  The ice is still at least 2 feet thick on the Harbor.  People are even out ice fishing yet.  It's a bit slushy out there, but I'll have to get out to Porter's another time yet, so I can check out that lane of open ice on the Big Lake.  I believe it's for the freighters to cross.  Man, are they having a heck of a time this year.  Have you been keeping up with that fiasco?  I'm glad I don't have reservations to be on Isle Royale in early May.  How would I even get there???

Holy cow, look at the train of thought in that last paragraph.  I didn't even show you that gap picture yet.  Please forgive me.  Here it is.

The Gap

It may look a bit puddly, but it's crossable.  And ice for quite a ways out after that.

I think the end of winter is in sight, my friend.  Probably not going to be a swim-in-Lake-Superior kind of summer, but the berries should be juicy!  I am pumped to see some colors around here.  But the forecast doesn't show much more than high 30's for max temps.  Better than earthquakes, I guess!

The Refreeze

Today is the first day I have not been able to sing the Snowbank Song in over a week.  It's snowing, and the wind stings my face.  The puddles have turned to ice.

But on the warmer days, I got out to check on a couple things.

One day I went out with my friend Bryce and our dogs.  We went to Porter's Island because he's never been there before!  I knew he would like the blue ice formation.  Here's an action shot of him and his pup (Bryce, I hope I have your permission to post a picture of you on the internet!)

Bryce and Mr. Zi by the ice mound

As I looked to the south, I couldn't believe the wall of dark gray clouds crawling our way.  "Is is supposed to rain today?" I asked.

"I don't know," Bryce said.  "I learned never to watch the weather up here.  Just look outside."  Good answer.

But as you can see by his t-shirt, it wasn't terribly cold that day, so we didn't fret.  I was a little surprised, though, when the rain started as we began our trek back across the lake.  It was kind of an irony: walking across the frozen lake in the rain.  Who knows if I'll ever get to do that again?

Not today.  It's snowing.  Just some flurries, though.  Luckily I haven't heard word of any accumulation.

With all those other sunny, warm days, I thought Manganese Falls might be giving a show by now.  Actually, Aaron thought that.  But a snowshoe to the falls sounded good to Duce and me, so we went.  I didn't even have to put my snowshoes on until we got near Lake Fanny Hooe itself on the JLG Trail.

Then something embarrassingly odd happened.  I was lost.

"Where is the trail?" I asked Duce.  He couldn't find it either.  I knew which way to travel along the lake, but I didn't see what resembled a trail anywhere in the area.  So we bushwhacked.  

Have you ever snowshoed in a forest full of snow that has been melting for days?  Snowshoes don't really work.  Nothing does.  You just sink proportionately to the weight of your body.  I sank down to my knees and thighs in spots.  Ugh.  That was a lot of work. 

Finally, we found the trail.  I was relieved for myself and Duce.  He looked like he was swimming in the snow!  But that relief didn't last long because we sunk in on the trail just like in the middle of the woods!  Holy buckets!  I never experienced that phenomenon before.  Oh, I couldn't wait to see that bridge by the falls.

But before that bridge, I saw the colors in the puddles on Lake Fanny Hooe.  Just like this.

Pretty green and blue ice on Fanny Hooe

Then after a few hundred more grueling steps, we came to the bridge and took a break.  Was the sight worth it?

The bottom of Manganese Falls

It sounded nice, but still pretty snowy under all those cedar trees.

We took a little break, turned around and went back along the snowmobile trail.  The easy way.

Remember that unreadable Fort Wilkins sign from the last post?  Here is is three days after that.

Fort Wilkins is peeking out now!

It's peeking even more today, but I didn't get a picture yet.  We'll save that comparison for the next post (if I remember!).

As I stepped out to bring in some wood today, thankful that we still have some, I experienced a different phenomenon.  The last time I brought in wood, I stepped through snow thigh deep.  In some spots I could barely get my boot back out!  Know what it was like today?  Walking on top of a rock.  This refreeze refroze the snowbanks.  I bet the walk to Manganese Falls would be easy now!

A Slow Transition

Hey there!  I didn't mean to leave you hanging for a week.  In fact, I wrote a blog last Monday, but it did not publish for some reason.  My sincerest apologies.  If you like to read these posts in order, please read that one first.  It under this one.

Otherwise, it's still winter.

Roofs are dripping (it's really "roofs" and not "rooves"???) and puddles have formed in the streets for a few days now.  Yeah, yeah.  That's what I said three weeks ago when I was getting the fever.  Spring Fever!!!

This weekend, a couple of my besties and I snowshoed to Manganese Falls, just to see if it was starting to flow.  It's not.  But the sun was warm and the snow was soft.  Here are a couple pictures.

The bottom of Manganese Falls -- usually dramatic

A wannabe artsy shot of the snowy bridge at the bottom

We did hear some running water, but it was all under the snow.  Give me a few weeks, and I'll be out there again!

Today I snowshoed to Porter's Island with the crew from the Ore Dock Brewery in Marquette.  They all came up to sample beer at the Brickside Brewery the night before.  Beer-lovers seek out good beer.  What else can I say?

I must say, for as many times as I have been to Porter's Island (especially this winter) this time was so different because I went with eight people and six dogs.  Instead of just seeing snow and ice and trees, I saw this:

The crew heading north to Porter's

And though I have taken many pictures of this ice shelf, none of them put it into perspective like this one does. 

North of Porter's along the ice

The wind was whipping from the east, but when we were sheltered, the temperature seemed mild and almost enjoyable.  All the dogs were well-behaved and nobody fell through.  

To the north, we could see vast open water!  Pictures of a greyish-blue strip don't do it justice, so I'll spare you that this time.  But the water is closer than it's been for weeks!  Hooray!

A few places in town are now on seasonal hours.  I know The Pines is closed until some time in May (though they are open on Wednesday nights for the trivia team).  I believe The Tamarack will be closed for most of April as well, so bring your own breakfast to town!  The Mariner opens at 11:00 am each day for lunch and dinner until 8:00 pm at least.  And the General Store is open daily.  So is the Laughing Loon Gift Shop!

So now we just sit and wait for the snow to melt.  On sunny days we chisel tributaries in the ice so the water runs where we want it to go.  On sunny weekends Keweenaw locals drive up on a "cruise."  On warmish days locals hang out in t-shirts trimming up the snow and ice in the yard.  It's a transitional time of year.  Just a slow transition.

Spring will just be that much more precious.  Cheers to that!

Back to Winter

If you have talked to any yoopers lately, you know we are all joking that spring is here, and we still have four feet of snow on the ground.  The snow banks are so high that the Keweenaw County Road Commission still goes out every day to shave the banks that they can't plow any higher.  Then they dump it into a black hole.

I wanted spring so badly.  I boycotted snowshoeing and went jogging and walking instead.  Each time I opened the front door, I though, Brr!  It's too cold to go out today!  So sometimes I just wouldn't even go out.  Then I started drinking heavily.  I had to make a change.

So Winter, I embrace you.  I know that you are here, and I respect that.  I snowshoed the last two days, and life is good.  Great, actually.

Let me tell you about those adventures.

Yesterday Tiki and I went out.  I had a trail plan in my head, but got distracted by a ridge that paralleled Manganese Road.  I walked it for a bit, feeling high and mighty at the top while I watched Lake Fanny Hooe and Superior go by.  I can't remember being up there before.

Then it stopped.  Just took a nose dive back to the ground.  Not as dramatic as Brockway, but fun to slide down!

Further up I met the bottom of Manganese Falls.  Not too much to see there since it's still mostly covered in snow.  I took a moment to marvel anyway.  How can one resist?

Then I hiked up the left side of the falls.  I looked at the line I was taking, and it looked like a six inch sled had slid down.  What the heck?  Upon further examination, I noticed intermittent paw prints in the slide.  They were side by side only two at a time.  My first thought was an otter.  Is that what you were thinking?

As I carried on, I realized that there were two skid marks.  Two otters?  Nope.  Check this out.  Now, this is my analysis of the situation.  The paw prints were going forward and backward two at a time.  I deduced that the otter stuck its feet in on the way down, so it had holes to climb back up with while sliding.  From what I could tell, no back legs were used.

I even googled "Otter this" and "Otter that" to see if this theory is relevant.  I got no help.  Oh well.  If this theory is true, then I think otters are one of the coolest animals alive. Their gravitational instincts and equipment is sensational.  I sure wish I could have watched all that happen!

Today was a business snowshoe.  Can you believe that?  For the recreational guide I'm working on, I needed to confirm sign numbers and trail names up at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge for the routes I'm sending people on.

The snow was heavy and deep.  In fact, trees were releasing time bombs of snow boulders.  I watched a few come down, and I wondered when my turn would come.  I escaped without a hood full of snow and a concussion, thank goodness.

And I figured everything out that I needed for my book!  I tell you, though: sweaty, sweaty.  Snowshoeing is a guaranteed sweatfest.  But as a penalty for my actions earlier in the week, I deserved it.  I mean, look what I became on Saturday night for an Ugly Dress party!

Me at the Ugly Dress party

See what the U.P. can do to a person???  We've got to be strong, people!

Temperature Dip

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that while last week I was sunbathing on a rock, this week I need to layer long johns.  At least today is sunny.  The last four overcast days in a row really closed the damper on my energy level.  But I am back!

Just yesterday, I saw that a local friend posted pictures of Lake Manganese with water up to the picnic tables!  I've got to get up there!  But yesterday was also hella windy from the north, and I really didn't want to be in it.  Not even to look at the waves (which were not abnormally spectacular anyway).  

Manganese Road was clear and dry all the way up to the lake.  I pedaled my commuter bike and Duce ran beside me.  What a good pup.  But when I got to the lake, it was the same level as it was the last time I took my big Manganese adventure.  There were a couple different things, however.

All the ice was melted from the lake.  There he sat, glistening in the sun.  Ahh.  And, that little bridge that I took a picture of had seaweed on top if it.  I missed all the good stuff!  Shoot!  Yes, the shores of the lake's exit was all washed out, and the seaweed on top mocked me.  I was going to take a picture of it for proof, but I thought, who wants to see a picture of dried out seaweed on a little bridge?

So I went down to the falls to get some more majestic pictures for you.

The top of Manganese Falls

Just below

And a little video

On my way down the hill, I came across some beautiful maple buds.  If I remember correctly from last spring, these are maples.  I am not one to figure out how to get a clear close-up shot with a point and shoot camera, so just enjoy the best you can.

Maple buds

I guess we'll see where everything goes from here!

A Manganese Journey

It's my spring break right now.  Yippee!  I don't bartend more than one day a week, and I get the whole month of April off.  That leaves me more time to go on adventures and write about them for you (though I have been slacking on the latter)!  While I have been out on adventures the last few days, I've been thinking, man, if I never had to work, I could just travel all over the Keweenaw Peninsula and make videos and take pictures and write about it.  Maybe some day I will get paid to do that!

Thursday's adventure took me first along the John Lincoln Green Trail beside Lake Fanny Hooe.  I wanted to cross the lake, but she looked pretty mushy.  Plus I asked advice from the locals and was told not to try it.  Darn advice!

My goal of this trip was to check out all the Manganeses: the falls, the road, the lake and the creek.   No snowshoes were worn on this trip, since most of the grass was showing when I went out behind my house.

My first stop was the bridge over the falls on the JLG Trail.  Not bad for the ides of March!

The bottom of Manganese Falls from the bridge

I climbed up the cliffs alongside the falls.  Oh, it was beautiful and fresh!  I got two videos for you in different spots, but their quality was so bad, that I'd rather not embarrass myself by broadcasting them. The cave walls were dripping, and the top of the falls was spraying mist.  I wish you could have been there with me!

Manganese Fall from the top lookout.

Before I got up to the Manganese Road/Snowmobile Trail 134, I found another little "falls" area that I had never seen before!  It was a little miniature -- so green, lush, mossy and wet.  I reveled in it for a few minutes.

The minifalls.

From there I walked up Manganese Road, which doubles as the snowmobile trail in the winter.  This is what it looked like that day.

Trail 134... still rideable that day!

Then up to Lake Manganese.  I was surprised to see how much ice was still on it.  Possibly could have traversed it, but the shore was really mushy.

Lake Manganese on March 15th

And here is how much water was pouring under the bridge.  Not as much as I would have thought, but I can't really have expectations for Mother Nature.  I've seen it rushing over the bridge before.

Mr. Butters on the Lake Manganese Bridge

Then we went down Manganese Creek.  There is a bike trail that meanders close by, called Mango, but I tried to stay right along the edge of the creek whenever possible.  Here is a good example of what it looked like most of the way.

Manganese Creek on March 15th

Walking on the trail, the snow was knee deep for the most part.  Walking along the shores, however, was a different story.  I would have to cross fallen trees to make it out of really we areas.  At some points in this part of the journey, I really could have used my snowshoes.

Thigh high snow along Manganese Creek

Then, the most unusual thing I saw along the way were some woodpecker holes.  Now, I've seen holes before, but not rectangular ones!  This guy was making woodpecker art!

Rectangular holes pecked out in the cedar

When I got back to the road, I was so glad.  No more walking in thigh deep snow!  And today, I can't even imagine there is any snow on that road.  It surely feels like summer in da Keweenaw.

Chasing the Falls

The rampant runoff on the hillsides inspired us to ride our bikes up the road to check out Manganese Falls. On our way up Manganese Road the ditches were flowing themselves.  The hills are alive!

When we reached it, however, we skipped the falls and decided to start at the source: Lake Manganese (is that enough Manganese for you yet?).  The water was high on the lake shore, and the ice was thick in the middle of the lake.  Soon we hiked up toward the Red Trail.

The water at the start of Manganese Creek rushed over the bridge in two spots.  Trying to avoid a submerged spot, I over-jumped and landed with one foot in the lake.  At least the weather was warm!   

Manganese Creek was raging as we meandered north along the Mango Trail.  I mean someone could raft white-water rapids style down that thing!  If a person tried to stand in it, they would surely be knocked over.  Those were some strong currents, I tell you.  Along the trail, I also found some cool landscapes and a huge blueberry patch.  I'm going to pick some there this summer!

We connected back to Manganese Road across from the Falls, but before we could explore that, we hiked back up the road to get the bikes.  Then... down we road like the wind without having to pedal!  That's such a fun hill to coast down.

We treacherously descended the cliffs along raging Manganese Falls.  Man, was that a sight!  If my camera wasn't in 10 pieces, I could have taken a video for you.  Bubbles and foam everywhere!  We dropped all the way down to the bridge that crosses the Falls on the John Lincoln Green Trail.  How peaceful to sit on a bridge when the water thunders below!

And me being me, I saw a rock nestled further down the falls, so I climbed to it.  Sitting on this rock was like sitting right in the falls!  I was at water height, and the rock had a one inch ledge that forced the water to merge right around me.  I only got splashed a couple times, but it was worth it.  Aaron walked down to across from where I was sitting.  We had to shout to hear each other over the ten foot wide falls.  It produced some volume, alright.

On the way back home, we stopped at the boat landing on Lake Fanny Hooe, since that is the body Manganese Falls opens into.  Then, why not, we completed the tour at the mouth of the Fanny Hooe Creek into Lake Superior herself.  We wondered if we saw the same drop of water anywhere from Lake Manganese to where it entered the big lake.  I would guess so... at least one drop!

As I pedaled home, I chased my shadow as the sun was sinking behind me.  What a lovely end to the waterfall chase!