Things that made me smile this week:
Weekly Smile
Tag Archives: winter
The reason it’s called the Copper Country
When I left you last you were exploring Calumet, a town built on copper mining money. So just how big were the mining operations, you ask?
These mining buildings have stood at the base of the mountain for more than a century.
Well, the reminders of those days dot the landscape everywhere in the Keweenaw Peninsula. When I lived there, a few decades ago, I got used to seeing historical stone buildings crumbling.
Once a part of a huge complex of buildings.
But I really didn’t see them as I scurried to and fro in my life. On the weekends I’d head out to Lake Superior or the mountains to take pictures but rarely stopped to consider the sad beauty of a world left behind.
Mostly it was all a curiosity to me. Like this stamping equipment. I never stopped to figure out what they were. I guess I considered them sculpture.
Imagine the noise these made when they were in operation! They’re right in the middle of a small group of houses.
These days there’s a sign posted there to explain some of it. They were used to crush rock in order to extradite the copper.
A reminder of what once was.
And then there’s the Quincy Mine. Called “Old Reliable,” it operated from 1846 to 1945.
Quincy # 2 was a reliable producer.
When I lived in Hancock, the Quincy mine shaft was just up the mountain from my house. I never explored it, there could have been deep holes hiding under the overgrown brush, the site was littered with mining equipment and sharp edges. Roofs were falling in. Walls were rusted or collapsing.
Early morning light shines on yesterday’s equipment.
It’s not that way anymore. Now it’s a tourist attraction complete with guided tours.
Still photogenic after all these years.
Though it was closed for the season, we were able to explore the grounds in safety this week on a pretty morning with the sun just coming up. There’s a beautiful building that housed the hoist that glowed in the morning light.
I always loved this building and I’m so glad it’s been saved.
There are a couple of old railway cars waiting for that next load of copper…
This might need a little work to haul anything away these days.
…and several walls of outbuildings that show the beautiful masonry.
Look at those corner stones!
I was thrilled to be able to wander the grounds without fear of falling into a mine shaft.
Looking back through history.
And to do it on the one day in the entire week with sunshine was doubly wonderful.
I loved that the sun was filling this empty building and glowing right out this side!
There are buildings and equipment everywhere. This dredge has been sitting stuck on the bottom of the canal for decades. It looked just like this when I lived there in the late 70s.
Sometimes it seems like nothing has changed at all.
And life is still hard way up north on the peninsula surrounded by Lake Superior.
More than 30 years ago I lived in the upstairs flat. Two of the four rooms didn’t have electricity. I think of it fondly.
Still.
There’s something magical about this place, something hard to explain, hard to put a finger on.
Magic in the morning.
The addictive combination of history and natural beauty gets into a person’s blood.
And it doesn’t ever let go.
Quincy stands tall.
Historic Calumet
Come along with us and we’ll take you on a quick trip through Calumet Michigan. What? You say you’ve never heard of Calumet? You didn’t know that at one time, long ago, it was on the short list of cities to be named as the capital for the new state of Michigan?
Downtown Calumet in 2018.
Well, let’s take a tour and I’ll explain more.
Back at the turn of the century (no, not the new century just 18 years old, but the century beginning one hundred and eighteen years ago) Calumet was a mining mecca and making big bucks. In 1900 there were just over 4600 people living in the village, copper was king, and the living was good. At least for some.
The Calumet Theatre was opulent, and still is today.
The opera house, city hall and today’s police department all housed in this historic structure.
The theater has been restored, and you can take a self guided tour for $4.00.
From the balcony, a hint of the beautiful interior.
Aside from theater, Calument also had (and still has)many bars. One of the most famous is Shutie’s. It’s been there a long, long time.
The old fire station reflected in Shutie’s window.
Inside you’ll find the original wooden bar, a giant and beautiful stained glass fixture hanging above, and a mirror that reflects a huge mural painted in recent years that stretches along the opposite wall.
Just think of all the people who have bellied up to the bar here over the years.
We stopped in to warm our toes and fingers with a drink. For old times sake.
Warming up for our next adventure!
Today there are just about 700 people living in the village, a steady decline in population over the years as mining activity dried up and people left to find work. Tourism is a main source of income now, but still the area struggles.
Only the pigeons live here now.
So much has been lost to disrepair.
These were once fancy apartments.
Still, much has been preserved too.
The park service works out of this building now. Beautiful stonework from the 1900s.
I have several images of the archeticture in Calumet to share, but I’m in a hotel with slow and unreliable internet. So I’ll save those for another post. We’ll be traveling tomorrow, on our way home. But when I can I’ll show you remnants of the copper mining industry itself.
And yes, you’ll get to see a few (or more) images of today’s trip up the Keweenaw Peninsula and Lake Superior too.
Eventually.
The old fire house.
North into snow country
If you’ve been complaining about the unseasonably cold weather, and you don’t like the snow you’ve received so early in the season, well, maybe you should skip this post.
Not so conducive to a picnic.
Because my husband and I are further north than normal. And my goodness there’s a bunch of snow up here.
And it’s cold too.
Hiking to Miners Falls, only half a mile but it felt longer.
Did I mention cold and windy? Perfect for a short trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
We spent our first night at Mackinaw City, at the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula, just before the 5 mile long bridge that connects the two parts of our state.
The Mighty Mac bridge that connects the two parts of Michigan.
This morning we took a quick tour around town. Most everything is closed until next spring. It was sort of lonely. And really really cold, just 18 degrees (that’s -7.77 C).
The marina was protected from the wind.
The sky was so interesting, with a row of puffy clouds hanging right above the Straights…
That’s Mackinaw Island over there on the left, a pretty place to visit when it’s warmer.
…but both east and west of where we stood were ominous clouds, some dropping what looked like snow. That didn’t bode well for our drive west.
Looks like we’re going to get a little snow.
We headed over the bridge and started the long trek across the Upper Peninsula. We traveled along the shores of Lake Michigan for awhile, then headed north and drove along the shore of Lake Superior. Lots of boring grey skies on both sides of the Peninsula.
So we stopped to take a break in Munising, the home of Pictured Rocks, a beautiful park that celebrates cliffs and waterfalls in this wild part of our state.
Lucky for us there’s a parking lot not 800 feet from Munising Falls located right in town.
A beautiful waterfall and so easy to get to even on a snowy winter day.
Also lucky for us no one else was there so we got to enjoy the beauty of the frozen waterfall all by ourselves.
Then we got brave and decided we’d drive out to Miners Falls, even though we weren’t sure the roads would be plowed. And some of them were not.
But since a few other people had driven on the road beyond the point that the county kept them open, we decided to go for it. I won’t lie, this made me very nervous and I was grateful we didn’t meet anyone going the other way, so we could drive right down the middle of the road in the tracks of the car (or more likely the truck) that had gone before.
I made my husband stop in the middle of the road so I could take this picture.
Once again we saw no one out there. The woods were simply stunning.
The view out toward Lake Superior.
Out half a mile, then down multiple flights of stairs that hadn’t been cleared. But it was worth it.
Miners Falls was amazingly beautiful.
Definitely worth it, don’t you think?
Going up was easier than going down.
And then, after getting back to the car a bit tired and wet, instead of heading back to town my husband headed further out on the unmaintained road to go see Miners Castle, a rock formation out at the lake.
Nope, nobody out there but us.
Granted I had never been there and I had always wanted to see it, but I was stressing that the road wasn’t plowed and no one was out there and I was having flashbacks of being on this exact road in 1979 with a college friend when the water pump in my Chevette died. That was an adventure, and it had been a warm fall day with no snow!
But that’s another story.
Anyway…we got to the Miners Castle visitor center (which was of course closed) and waded through more snow out to the platform to see it. It, too, was beautiful.
Pretty amazing color for what was turning into a colorless afternoon.
And then we walked all the way down through fencing that reminded me of the security at the Atlanta airport, to see the formation from close up.
Have your boarding pass and ID ready please.
It was all fun, though I could no longer feel my toes. But it was beginning to seriously snow, and we had 3 hours to our destination on a good day.
So we headed back toward civilization, and crept over to Houghton, averaging about 40 miles per hour through increasing snow and decreasing visibility.
The road back into town.
Tomorrow we will explore a bit around here. Both of us used to live here, different years and different reasons, and we look forward to seeing what’s changed. I moved away 43 years ago. Lots will probably be different. But Lake Superior will always be Lake Superior and I look forward to seeing more of it again.
I just hope all the roads are plowed.
Also hope to not run into any bears!
Birding
Tamarack trees provided what little color was left out there.
I got to head back to my favorite park with a friend yesterday. It was cold, almost sleeting and I figured those little birds would be hungry.
You see, I’d taken her out there last summer so that she could experience feeding the birds out of her hand and we had not one bird visit us!
Even without color the woods was still beautiful.
She sort of thought I’d made up the whole thing about the birds out there swooping down into people’s hands for a snack. But yesterday was an entirely different story. Those little ones were all over her!
Three birds visit at once!
And at the end of our walk we ran into some turkeys. They were hungry too.
The colors in the turkey feathers was just amazing.
I trust none of them will be on a table come this Thursday.
Dressed in red bowties, but not planning on attending Thanksgiving dinner.
Trent’s weekly smile
I’ve been debating what to use for this week’s smiling post. It’s been snowing off and on all week, wet sticky snow that hung around long after it fell.
There was one morning with a bit of sun that just touched the treetops and then it was gone.
We got a lot, and it’s early. Most of us weren’t finished with fall yet. We complained, talked about going South.
What are you talking about mama? I LIKE snow!
And yet.
Katie has been acting like a puppy in this, our first real snow, of the season.
Hurry up mama! There’s more snow over HERE!
So I’m taking the advice of my sheltie-girl and I’m going to go with the flow and say that, believe it or not, this week the snow made me smile.
More than once.
Even without the sun it was still pretty.
And because I’m retired and didn’t have to drive in it I smiled even wider.
Katie is a wise little girl. I should take her advice more seriously.
Headed straight into winter.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Katie here. It looks like we’ve had a short fall and an early winter around here. Some are complaining about the snow coming so soon this year.
Just another walk in the park.
But not me. In fact this is my advice:
Go with the flow people!
What’s your complaining going to do? Make the snow go away? I don’t think so.
The wet snow fell off the trees and got me a bit icy.
Besides, it showed up without much warning. I figure it will disappear overnight too. But if it doesn’t I won’t mind cause I love love LOVE snow!
Mama’s been taking me on a lot of walks because I can go a lot further when it’s cooler. A couple days ago we went to the park and there was just a little bit of snow on the ground, and it was melting fast.
Hardly any snow just a couple days ago.
Yesterday we walked all over my neighborhood and there wasn’t any snow at all. And then this morning we woke up to a snowy wonderland!
Look at all of this snow! Isn’t it wonderful?
Today mama said we’d go to a new park and I was all excited. But when she opened the car door we weren’t at a park at all. We were at the groomer!
Don’t you wish you were here too?
MAMA! You lied to me! But she told me not to get all upset, she wasn’t leaving me there, she was just getting my nails trimmed.
Well OK then.
And the next time she opened the door we were at a park! A really pretty park!
It’s wonderful to feel the cool snow on my face!
We walked up and down a lot of hills and I had a blast sticking my nose into the snow and sniffing good stuff.
Mama said she had more fun taking pictures of stuff and she’s not that much into sniffing. Silly mama.
Patterns in the woods.
Eventually she realized we’d walked a long way and she was beginning to imagine having to carry me back over all those hills, so we headed back. I didn’t argue with her even though I usually don’t like turning around.
After all, I’ll be twelve next month!
Don’t you want to know what’s down there?
Anyway, I’m enjoying all this snow and I think you people should try to see the good side of it too.
After our walk I had to clean snowballs off my legs!
I hope I’ve set a good example for you all.
Talk later,
Your soggy adventure girl Katie.
Embrace the winter people!
WordPress photo challenge: Sunset
When I saw this week’s prompt I knew immediately the sunset I wanted to show you.
Fire to the south of me.
I was in northern Michigan in December of 2015 when one evening the sky just exploded. To the south it was burning in orange and reds, and to the north the sky was sighing in shades of pink and purple.
Cotton candy to the north of me.
The air was pinkish gold. I couldn’t shoot fast enough, and I never felt the cold.
The waves were tipped in light.
Though I usually limit myself to one photo for a photo challenge, this time I just couldn’t decide. So since the sunset itself was divided between fire and sweet I decided to go with full disclosure.
The islands out at the horizon were crowned by gold and purple.
Picture me turning from south to north and back again, trying not to miss any detail.
It just kept getting better.
It was amazing and I’m so glad to be able to relive it through these shots.
What a place to sit and enjoy the show!
And, as always, I’m glad to share them with you.
A firestorm in the sky.
A February boat ride
Leafless trees, evergreens, mountains and clouds. Breathtaking.
February and boats don’t generally mix up where I come from, unless you’re in an ice boat skimming over a frozen lake. I’m sure that’s fun, but when I’m in a boat I’d rather worry about sunscreen than frostbite.
Saturday morning, the sun bright in a blue sky filled with puffy white clouds, was perfect for a little boat exploration.
Let’s go mama!
The boat traveled under a few bridges and then up a creek, looking for the resident eagle. It was a beautiful day, and it turns out there was a fishing competition going on. We came across several father/son teams tucked in the backwaters of the lake. We slid by them as quietly as we could.
Spending time together.
The creek narrowed, and I moved to the front of the boat looking for the eagle. Katie kept a close eye on me from the other side of the wall.
Whatcha doing mama?
This was her second boat ride ever, but she wasn’t too concerned about the engine vibration or noise. She likes being outdoors, and she’s always up for an adventure.
The creek winds through beautiful country.
Eventually we were as far as we could go up the creek. We hadn’t found the eagle, but a bit further was a low waterfall making lovely splashing noises, and more fathers and sons were fishing from kayaks. We dropped anchor to listen to the water and enjoy a biscuit breakfast.
Water running over the rocks just up there made such nice background music.
Then we turned around and slid as quietly as we could back down the creek to the larger waters of the lake. The clouds were piling up in the blue sky.
Couldn’t have had a more perfect day!
Out in the open water Captain Carl throttled up and Katie and I enjoyed the wind in our hair.
Mama! We have the same stylist!
She’s a very brave little dog and enjoyed every bit of her boat ride adventure. I did too.
Can we do this again soon mama?
Just call me Adventure Girl
Mama stopped at my park as we were leaving town so I could say goodbye.
Mama says this blog needs a little levity and I think I’m just the girl to provide it. Besides, you haven’t heard from me in a long time and I have been off adventuring! I knew you’d want to hear all about it.
So let’s begin at the beginning. With snow. Mama and I decided we needed to escape winter. This year we’ve had plenty of snow up in Michigan and the lake house in Alabama was calling our name. So Wednesday morning, bright and early, we hopped in the Katie-mobile and headed south.
It took us forever! We had to stay in a hotel for two nights! (Don’t tell mama but I sort of like that, all those new sounds and smells you know.)
Both times we were on the second floor so I got to do the elevator a bunch. I am very good at elevator, though I have to say I don’t really like it. I mean, who wants to get in a little windowless box and then stand there while the floor shakes and there are noises and then get back out of the box again? What’s the point people?
Our first hotel near Louisville KY
Sometimes we used the stairs. I have no trouble going down stairs now, if mama goes ahead of me to show me the way. But I refuse to go up them. I don’t see so well and I misjudge the distance and end up flopped on my tummy. That hurts (mostly hurts my ego) so now I don’t want to go up stairs at all. Mama carries me and says she’s glad I don’t weigh any more than 20 pounds.
On the drive I made mama stop a bunch. Just about every rest stop. I just love rest stops, all those dogs before me leave messages and I leave my messages for the dogs that will come after me. It’s a great communication system.
The rest stop in Tennessee had these big silent people in it!
The very last rest stop had the best dog walk ever! It wasn’t just some mowed pasture, it was a trail that went up and down a ravine. It was like being in the woods! There weren’t any big trucks nearby and no cars either.
This is the best rest stop mama!
Mama and I walked around in there for a long time. Some other dogs just walked along the top but my mama and I are adventurers and we went way down to the bottom and then up the other side even though it was really steep and mama is a wimp.
Our trip was a little longer than it needed to be because mama fell in love with a bunch of barns in Kentucky and she had to make a few side trips looking for more. She says it’s not fair that she sees all these great places when we’re on the freeway and there aren’t any exits. I let her have her way, but I’m not letting her post her barn pictures in my blog. No siree. She can post them later while I’m taking a nap.
We did stop and explore a little town when I decided I wanted to take a walk. We looked for a park and found one way down a big hill. We walked a bit along a flooded river, but it was pretty muddy and mama made me get back in the car.
Then we walked around the downtown area a bit. Mama saw this cool mural and wanted my picture with it. She tried to make me sit on that bench in front of the mural but that didn’t go so well so she settled for this picture of me with the mural in the background. Sometimes I win our little arguments.
Hurry up mama. This is embarrassing.
Well, as you know, we eventually got to the lake house. We immediately explored the back yard and I marked it as mine. Mama wanted me to sit on the dock so she could get me and the clouds that were reflected in the still water. But just as she set me up a boat came roaring down the shoreline. She tried to get the picture quick before the water was disturbed, but I wouldn’t look at her. So this is what we got. Mama gets aggravated sometimes, but never with me.
Mama! Here comes a boat!
So far mama and I have been mostly napping. One time I was taking a great nap on my deck when suddenly a boat showed up! I thought that was very interesting and I watched intently as these guys kept throwing something out into the water. I swear, people are crazy. They didn’t even have a dog with them to fetch all that stuff back!
Silly people out there on the water.
Our first day here was sunny but it rained last night and made my driveway all green. Mama thought it was pretty so I had to sit there and let her take more pictures. Sheesh. But I made her pay for that one by taking me to Keebler park in town.
Lots of green down here, especially after it rains!
It’s a pretty little park with a paved trail. I only walked half of it because, after all, I am a princess and a princess does what she wants to do. Even though I made my mama drive me all the way there I soon let her know that it was time to head back to the house for another nap.
Thanks for bringing me to this great park mama, now can we go home?
I’m sure we’ll go on more adventures down here, at least to visit my Uncle on his lake and my Aunt at her house. We might even get some visitors here, you never know. I’m just very happy to be here where things are blooming and it isn’t snowing!
In my own backyard!
Stay tuned, if I do anything exciting I’ll let you know!
Sunshine and no snow!
Change Is Hard 