Just in case you didn’t know, 906 is the only area code for the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In addition, 906 is the largest area code in Michigan.
On March 19th, 1961, area code 906 was created as a split from what was then area code 616. Currently, according to Wikipedia, the area code is not expected to be exhausted until 2042.
Since 2012, September 6 has been designated as 906 Day for its resemblance to the date 9/6. On 906 Day, Yoopers and Upper Peninsula fans alike, are encouraged to take a sauna, buy a pasty for a friend, play a game of cribbage, go for swim in Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, or pay for the person behind you at the Mackinac Bridge.
We love the Upper Peninsula. We love the Great Lakes. We love Yoopers. And we love Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be full of roses and romance and the pressure of the perfect gift. We think it should be fun and lighthearted for everyone to enjoy, especially if you love the Upper Peninsula and the Great Lakes.
And because we heart Yoopers, these valentines are for you! They are meant to be shared on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and anywhere your heart desires. Most importantly, make sure the Yoopers in your life know how much you like them, appreciate them, admire them, enjoy them, and love them!
Today is Michigan’s 186th birthday! To celebrate we’re giving a bit of history lesson. We hope you’ll learn as much we did putting this together.
We’ve compiled highlights from every year since Michigan’s admittance into statehood in 1837. But as we know, this just a small piece of Michigan’s rich history. Please share your additions in the comments below.
Things to do in Michigan today…
Eat a pasty, or a coney dog
Visit Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, or Lake Erie
Visit Presque Isle, or Belle Isle
Drive across the International Bridge, or the Ambassador Bridge, or the Mackinac Bridge, or the Portage Lift Bridge
Cheer for the Huskies, or the Wolverines, or the Wildcats, or the Spartans
Watch Escanaba In Da Moonlight, or 8 Mile.
Stay awesome, keep exploring, and do all the fun things in Michigan.
There are 2,920 athletes from 92 countries participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Of those, 242 athletes are representing the United States of America across fifteen sports. Thirteen of those athletes were either born in Michigan or went to university in Michigan. And of those, only one was born, raised, and lives in the Upper Peninsula of America.
We put a list together of every 2018 Olympian with a Michigan connection, many whom were born in Michigan.
Whether you’re reading up on the history of the Upper Peninsula or looking for some new places to explore this year, it’s always a good idea to have a few Upper Peninsula books lying around. We’ve been pouring over our copy of the Upper Peninsula Almanac by Ron Jolly and Karl Bohnak. It is a must-have book for anyone with a love for the Upper Peninsula. We keeping a copy in our office where we pick it up for a few pages of time to learn some new Upper Peninsula trivia and history.
Each day we check the web stats of U.P. Supply Co and what people have been Googling to bring traffic to the site. We thought we could make good use of this information by answering all of the “how” questions that have landed people on U.P. Supply Co. All of the questions below are verbatim searches people used on Google to land on U.P. Supply Co.
For those of you from outside of the Upper Peninsula, here’s a map of Christmas. Christmas is located northwest of Munising, about a 5-minute drive along M-28.
The town of Christmas has booming population of about 400. Ok, perhaps it’s not “booming”, but on a business night at the Kewadin Casino (by far the largest building in town that looks kind of strange and out of place in such a small town) the population probably grows by some pretty significant percentage points.
A month ago we posted a blog entry about Why Lake Superior Kicks Your Lake’s Butt, a look at several fun facts about the world’s greatest lake that the Upper Peninsula is so fortunate to share.
After posting the entry Dan left a comment asking about the difference in length between Michigan’s and Minnesota’s shoreline on Lake Superior. Thanks for asking, Dan!
The Mackinac Bridge has become a sort of personal symbol for me in recent years, representing how my heart is divided between my homeland of the U.P. and my current home in Grand Rapids. It seems I still have the same excitement crossing the bridge today as I did when I was a child. I grew up crossing the Mackinac Bridge for the occasional trip to lower Michigan or Indiana, but I also grew up watching Full House, a now guilty-pleasure TV show set in San Francisco, with an opening sequence that often made me wonder how great the Golden Gate really was when compared with the Mighty Mac.
UPDATE: You can now rent and download The Michigan Ice Film. If you like local folklore, adventure, winter, or simply live in Michigan, you need to check it out. Much respect to Aaron and his crew for putting this amazing film together during the coldest winters on record.
Let us introduce you to Aaron Peterson. Aaron is the driving force behind Cold & Clear Cinema. Last year his team brought us Cold Rolled (you can watch Cold Rolled here), a film featuring Marquette’s one of a kind snow biking trails. Now, a new project is underway, The Michigan Ice Film, with the mission of highlighting ice climbing in Alger County.
This post and photos brought to you by two friends of Yooper Steez, Allison Rueff (a native Yooper from Marquette living in Cincinnati) and Kate Rose (from Novi living in San Francisco), former MSU roommates who finally made it up to Isle Royale after years of talking about it. It lived up to all the hype, and they praise God for whatever topographic mistake has yielded this Michigan treasure.
Today we salute you, Mr. Shakyhands-Cartographer-That-Gave-Isle-Royale-To-The-U.P.-Instead-of-Canada. Some people say it was the foresight of our founding father, Benjamin Franklin, who gave us Isle Royale under the Treaty of Paris. But we know better. When you were employed to draw that boundary in 1783, your pencil moved gracefully from Sault Saint Marie and across Thunder Bay…and suddenly you had to sneeze. And in that nasal explosion, you unwittingly gave Michigan a spot of pristine wilderness that would be cherished for generations. Mostly by generations of moose, but hey – that’s the U.P.
That’s what I was asked once while on my 50-state Hometown Invasion Tour. I don’t want to drop any names of who it was, but clearly someone a long ways away from the Great Lakes Region. This adult was someone who I saw as well educated, and I believe any U.S. citizen should be able to answer this question with ease. However, that’s easy to say for those who live only a few hundred yards off the shore of Lake Superior. Throughout my trip I was frequently educated people on the Great Lakes and wanted to share…
Photography has been one of my biggest hobbies for several years now and it was a few years ago when I started following one of my favorite ongoing photography projects, The Gigapxl Project.
I was fortunate do a pretty cool project of my own starting two years back when I left on a 50-state tour for a year. For that year there were a number of small world connections and strange coincidences. One of my favorites and most unbelievable of the entire trip was when I was being given a tour of the Montana State Capitol.
Recently, while pondering possible material for the Yooper Steez blog, I found myself wondering what the oldest building in Michigan might be. I was pleased to discover through Google search that I had already stood inside the building holding this title during my latest trip to Mackinac Island. Built in 1780, the Officers’ Stone Quarters in Fort Mackinac is the oldest surviving building in Michigan.
This year Outdoor Life ranked Marquette as their 2nd best town in the United States to experience the great outdoors.
“Another repeat Top-10 finisher from last year, Marquette jumped five spots from number 7 in our 2008 list. Located on the banks of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula’s northern shore, Marquette is the ultimate Great Lakes town. Outdoorsmen are blessed with abundant year-round activities, including awesome steelhead and salmon runs; phenomenal smallmouth, walleye and muskie fishing; great grouse gunning; and a whitetail-hunting culture that is second to none. Public access to grouse and woodcock, deer, ducks and turkeys is near at hand on the spacious Hiawatha and Ottawa national forests.”
For years people have debated what northern Michigan actually means. Simple asked, what point does Michigan become Northern Michgian? Entire clothing lines of t-shirts and hoodies have made thousands of dollars off the “Up North”. This language is more common Traverse City area, rather than the Upper Peninsula.
But we ask, where is Northern Michigan University? In Marquette, on the shores of Lake Superior, far north of Makinac Bridge. Despite this, you have to go 136 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge to find the southern most claim of where Michigan’s “North” begins.
Officials at Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary have spoken, the word Yooper will now appear in the dictionary. The news was announced on Monday, March 24, 2014. We owe a big thanks and about 67 pasties (call us Steve!) to Steve Parks of Gladstone. For ten years he has been campaigning to have Yooper added to the dictionary after a discussion that ensued while playing Yooper during a friendly game of Scrabble. Success! Steve will join a cast of people who have contributed to the history of the word Yooper.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a vast region. By the way, did you know that the Upper Peninsula is wider than the Lower Peninsula is tall?
I love exploring Google Maps and finding aerial views of my favorite places in the Upper Peninsula as well as the rest of the world. Here are my top findings from the Upper Peninsula. If you would like to add any more just leave a comment. Click the photo to open the map in a new window for a higher resolution image and to explore that area.
Have you been to Mackinac Island? If so, did you venture beyond the fudge shops and beaches to the untamed interior? As a lover of all things that bloom, I felt like I was in paradise once I made it to the island’s internal trails.
If you’re into wildflowers too, you may know that timing dictates the species. I visited in early June this summer, so the initial bloomers were popping up all over. Colorful petals and fresh, shiny leaves kept my nature-loving friends and me captivated.
Mike Rowe is no stranger to Mackinac Island, having filmed segments of Dirty Jobs on the Mackinac Bridge and the island (Click here more on climbing the Mackinac Bridge). His latest comes from a little promo for Somebody’s Gotta Do It, his latest show on CNN.
We’ve long used the slogan, “Nice shirts for nice people”. Fact is, we like when people say nice things, especially when it’s about where we’re from, whether that be the Upper Peninsula, Mackinac Island, Detroit, or Michigan as a whole. Let’s say more nice things.
Earlier this morning a shark was photographed swimming in Lake Superior near McCarty’s Cove in Marquette.
Larry Beckwith contacted Yooper Steez to give us an exclusive first look at the photos he captured.
I was at McCarty’s Cove early this morning to get some photos of the dawn sunlight on the Marquette Lighthouse. It was about 9 a.m. when I headed back to my truck–I noticed something sticking out of the water out there. I grabbed my big lens. I immediately knew I was looking at a shark! It swam off real quick. – Larry Beckwith
It’s Memorial Day weekend, which makes the beginning of summer road tripping season. And yesterday was one of those epic Upper Peninsula days. The plan was simple, get a late start and head to Pictured Rocks for the sunset. And it was worth each and every mosquito bite. Truthfully, the mosquitos weren’t that bad as long as we kept moving.
Typically when we post photos to Instagram and Twitter you see photos taken from a beat up iPhone. But the real mission is to take many photos with the big dSLR, many of which never see the light of day. So we’re doing a little photo dump of yesterday’s highlights–some snapshots, some carefully crafted photos, some with corrections, some raw and unedited.
Astronaut Sam Cristoforetti, of Italy, has been living on the International Space Station and tweeting up a storm. She regularly posts photos of her view from ISS including this gem she recently posted of the Eastern Upper Peninsula surrounded by Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
“You know what I’m always curious about? The Upper Peninsula.” – David Letterman
After some banter about hunting, fishing, and drinking Letterman goes on to ask Jeff Daniels why the Upper Peninsula is not part of Wisconsin. We were surprised that Mr. Daniels wasn’t able to answer the question. Well, we have an answer for that!
They followed with some chat about Mackinac Island (yes, it’s pronounced MackiNAW, not MackiNACK, and not to be confused with Mackinaw City) and the “longest porch in the history of porches”. That would be the Grand Hotel. A frequent question we get is, “Is Mackinac Island considered the Upper Peninsula?” And yes, it is. They have a 906 area code across the island and it’s actually at a higher latitude than the Mackinac Bridge.
Destination mountain bike trails weave through the terrain of the Upper Peninsula. The Keweenaw itself hosts over 100 miles of sweet singletrack trails for riders of all skill levels. Copper Harbor and Marquette have each been deemed a Ride Center destination from the International Mountain Bicycling Association. Ontonagon has trails and a race through the old mines in that area.
But now gravity is taking over.
It used to be that only ski hills with running chair lifts in the summertime could provide the transportation needed to run a successful downhill mountain bike operation. But the Keweenaw Adventure Company (KAC) in Copper Harbor has changed that.
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” ― Albert Camus
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ― L.M. Montgomery
“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” ― Henry David Thoreau
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” ― Lauren DeStefano
The Mighty Mac! I have driven across countless times, I have been underneath a couple of times, and I was even fortunate enough to go to the top, but one thing I have never done is walk across the bridge for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk on Labor Day. That’s all I need for the a spur of the moment road trip.
Have you seen the Northern Lights dancing across the starry skies? The U.P. offers a good opportunity for viewing Auroras. I want to share some tips for successful Aurora chasing.
Step 1: Kp Numbers
The Kp number refers to the strength of the Auroras. Auroras with Kp 5 and higher are considered storm level and can be seen farther south. Use the map below (from NOAA.gov) to find the Kp number needed for your area.
Water cooler conversations at offices around the country have been full of chatter about this epic 2014 winter. What an awesome winter it has been. And from local news stations all the way to the NBC Nightly News, people have been talking about Lake Superior being 95% frozen over, and especially about the ice caves around the Apostle Islands. But that’s out out of our jurisdiction!
Recently, we were fortunate to catch up with Weldy Olson, a Marquette native who was a member of the USA gold medal winning team at the 1960 Winter Olympics. Before we share a little more about Weldy (gotta love that nickname!), let’s take a brief look at some hockey history in the Upper Peninsula.
Hockey is a long standing tradition in the Upper Peninsula. A tradition rich in history, and the birthplace of professional hockey in the United States, that started in 1903 with the Portage Lakers. Just weeks ago Calumet celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Calumet Colosseum, with a rivalry that dates back before indoor hockey even existed.
If you were in or around Marquette County this weekend you likely saw some mushers, dog sleds, and a whole lot of cute dogs! The weekend was full of dog sled racing.
The U.P. 200
The longest of the three, the historic U.P. 200 stretches 240 miles. The annual races leaves from Marquette, making a round trip to Grand Marais. The races is limited to no more than 40 teams, each with 12 dogs. To ensure the safety of dogs and mushers there are a series of checkpoints and a required 16 hours of rest time. The inaugural race was in 1990. Annually, as many as 10,000 people will line the streets of Marquette on Friday night to watch the mushers take off.
We just caught wind of this awesome montage from Justin Armstrong. These clips were shot in fall of 2013 in and around the shores of Marquette including Presque Isle, Blackrocks, and Sugarloaf Mountain. You can see more of Justin’s work on his Facebook Page.
It’s time for a new mountain bike, one fitted for snow and ice.
Marquette has been on a number of lists for best outdoors town in America. Everyone is familiar with the vast options for kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and the list goes on. There is now an upcoming group of snow bikers and this 5-part documentary was put together showcasing what they’re up to on the trails.
Cold Rolled is an action documentary from Clear & Cold Cinema, Salsa Cycles and TravelMarquetteMichigan.com that will explore the history and progression of winter cycling culture in the small Lake Superior harbor town of Marquette, Michigan.
This post was contributed by Lucy Hough, a freelance writer from Marquette. She’s also a master’s student at NMU. You can follow her on Twitter at @yes_lucy. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech archives.
From an early age, we learn that to needlessly yell “Fire!” in a public space is dangerous, and, more, against the law. This law has groundings in the tragic incident that happened in Calumet in 1913, 100 years ago this December. The Italian Hall was having a children’s party on Christmas Eve when someone came in the front door and shouted “fire!” Predictably, people ran to the doors but the chaos made it difficult for people to escape the building. Seventy-three people died, many of them children. There are some accounts of the event that the doors opened inward and people were crushed as others tried to exit, but some historians have refuted that idea.
“The ill-fated Henry B Smith that was sunk in the Big Storm of November 1913. She is shown in Ashtabula Harbor in this 1910 postcard,” Boat Nerd. The Henry B Smith took all 25 lives on board, sinking off shore near Marquette, MI. The ship has never been found, and is estimated to be 20-30 miles north of Marquette in deep waters.
It’s been over 100 years since this epic storm blew across the Great Lakes. Between November 6 and November 11, 1913 marked the deadliest storm in the history of the Great Lakes. This natural disaster known as the “Big Blow, “Freshwater Fury”, or “White Hurricane” took the lives of more than 250 people between Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie.
The Upper Peninsula is the cooler peninsula. It cannot be argued, it is embedded in the factual temperatures recorded by the National Weather Service for more than one hundred years. So we all know it’s literal, but is it figurative? Of course we’re a little biased at Yooper Steez, but we’d love to hear your arguments.
Last night I was digging through some old photos from the U.P. and it got me thinking how cool the Upper Peninsula is. Of course, there’s a lore more reasons than eleven, but here’s a rough cut of some photos I went through.
I have been wanting to share this photo with readers for a while. Since I just drove over the Mackinac Bridge on Tuesday I thought this would be an appropriate time to share this photo.
This was taken on the final evening of my 50-state tour. Actually, now that I think about it, it was the first full year span of my life where I hadn’t gone across the bridge.
The State of Michigan has seen 47 governors since 1837 when Michigan was admitted as the 26th state of the union. Of those 47 governors only one has been a Yooper.
Chase Osborn became the 27th Governor of Michigan in 1911 and to this day remains the only Michigan Governor from the Upper Peninsula.
Governor Osborn was born January 22, 1860 in Huntington County, Indiana. While in his 20s Osborn moved to Sault Ste Marie where he operated The Sault News and in 1889 became the postmaster of Sault Ste Marie.
There are a lot of reasons why the FinnFest USA 2013 organizing committee started planning three years ago. The 5-day event which takes place in the Copper Country from June 19-23 is more than just a fun celebration. It’s a cultural phenomenon, it’s a lifeline and it’s coming home, for some. That’s why the event spans a myriad topics and an entire region of the Upper Peninsula.
History
This region has an incredible amount of Finnish-American history that celebrates an important anniversary this year. A hundred years ago, labor disputes in the mining towns changed how immigrants, including Finnish-Americans, were treated. Also 100 years ago, 73 people died in the Italian Hall Disaster, 55 of whom were Finnish-American. These historic events, which took place here in the Keweenaw Peninsula, are a part of what make Finnish-American events, where these people come together and celebrate their culture, especially meaningful. Finnish-Americans share this common history and, with the 100th anniversary, it makes sense that FinnFest 2013 would take place in this region.
For a while I’ve been wanting to share one of the greatest views of Michigan, from Michigan’s greatest icon.
Last September I had the rare opportunity to have a tour to the top of the Mackinac Bridge. It was the finale of a year-long 50 state tour, and probably the best finale you could have in Michigan. I was allowed to bring one guest, so I brought my father. These were taken on September 17th, 2007. You can read the full story at my 50-state tour website.
On top of Brockway Mountain in Copper Harbor, there is a researcher with his or her eyes toward the sky. He or she probably has a pair of high-tech binoculars and maybe even a shelter to shield from the occasional bursts of winds that sweep across Brockway. It’s a month or more before the typical tourist season, but it’s the birds’ migration season. Specifically, for raptors, birds of prey.
I’ve been there the past two years and hope to go again in the next month to see some of those birds of prey on their way south. The best time to catch the birds’ migration is in the months of April, May and somewhat in the beginning of June, and the number of raptors that pass by is astounding. Sometimes standing on top of Brockway it feels like any other day, but every couple minutes someone will shout, “there’s one!” and the spectators who know about this secret will all look eagerly.
We applaud the photographers and videographers in the Upper Peninsula that capture the beauty of this area and bring it to the rest of the world. This latest by Shawn Malone of Lake Superior Photo is titled “North Country Dreamland” taking a look at the celestial skies.
“This video is my first time lapse compilation of a resultant 10k photo frames equaling 33 scenes of various night sky events from Northern Michigan 2012- It took a year to shoot and a bit of tenacity and persistence to get this into a form of coherent electrified cosmic goodness.
Anyone who has ever driven on US-2 five miles west of St. Ignace has seen the famous Mystery Spotsign. There’s no missing it, and there’s no missing which direction to go to find the Mystery Spot.
According to their website the story of the Mystery Spot goes as follows:
In the early 1950’s, 3 surveyors named Clarence, Fred and McCray came from California to explore the Upper Peninsula. They stumbled across an area of land where their surveying equipment didn’t seem to work properly. For instance, no matter how many times they tried to level their tripod, through the use of a plum-bob or level, the plum-bob would always be drawn far to the east, even as the level was reading level. As they continued their research of this land, they noticed a constant feeling of being light-headed. Later, realizing their queasiness and problems with the surveying equipment only occurred in an area about 300 feet in diameter, they felt they had discovered a “Mystery Spot”.
On April 13th, 2006 the famous landscape of Miners Castle changed forever.
One of just two National Parks in the Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore attracts thousands of visitors year after year. Miners Castle has always been a favorite photos of tourists, photographers, and postcard photos.
UPDATE: For those of you who want to visit the Big Boy Graveyard and for more information visit the latest post here.
During the spring of 2001 three friends and I headed out with cameras with a big destination in mind, our mission: find the Big Boy Graveyard. We heard of its existence and even had a nice aerial map to pinpoint it’s location.
To be honest, it was quite obscure. It’s not often you come across a molded fiberglass version of one of your favorite childhood cartoon characters tipped over in the woods — with a big hole in the side of his head. Not to mention there were three Big Boys. It was evident upon arrival that this was indeed a graveyard.
Someone in Lansing really loves the Upper Peninsula. At first sight we saw the heart and wondered, “Oh, it must be Tom Izzo! Right?” However, it looks like the heart is located over Iron River rather than Iron Mountain. They sound close enough, but to those unfamiliar it is a 45 mile drive between the two!
Whoever you are, we’ve got some free swag waiting for you. Thanks for loving the Upper Peninsula as much as we do!
The U.P. 200 Sled Dog Championship wrapped up on Sunday with Eric Morris from Port Wing, WI taking home first place. Behind him in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place were Ryan Anderson, Tim Calhoun, and Rebekah Chapman, respectively.
Each year the race attracts over 15,000 visitors to Marquette and the surrounding towns for a combination of three races. In addition to the U.P. 200 there is also the Midnight Run from Gwinn to Wetmore and the Jack Pine 30 from Gwinn to Marquette.
1 helicopter. 1 broken snowboard. 1 broken leg. And a whole bunch of whoa.
Every year a few dozens of the Midwest’s best snowboarders and skiers take to Marquette Mountain and showcase some of the best talent around. It’s impressive to see the kind of talent there is locally.
Here are some photos from the big air competition, courtesy of yours truly….
(click the photo for a larger version, and if you competed in the comp or are looking for more photos, get a hold of me and I can set you up with files or prints)
Nestled in the Rock River Canyon Wilderness, about two miles north of Eben Junction, is the Eben Ice Caves. For those new to the area it’s pronounced eh-been not eeeeee-been. Rock River Canyon is one of the six designated wilderness areas of Hiawatha National Forest. The Rock River Canyon was created by congress in 1987 and consists of 4,600 acres in Alger County. There is another canyon, Silver Creek, which is separated by a wide flat ridge. Both canyons are about 150 feet deep.
Since today is Valentine’s Day I thought it’d be great to hear what you love about the Upper Peninsula. Could be your favorite waterfall, your favorite season, places to visit, a childhood memory, or anything and everything else about the beautiful U.P.
Leave a comment and let us know why you love the Upper Peninsula.
Friday was a remarkably beautiful day. A friend and I drove to Little Presque Isle in the afternoon and had a wonderful hike to Wetmore Landing. It was 75 degrees, sunny, and Lake Superior was as smooth as glass. There were even people in swimming suits and bikinis. That was Friday.
Early Monday morning the snow started to settle on the ground. By mid afternoon most everything was white. By Tuesday morning everything was covered with snow, the roads were covered with slush. By this afternoon my roommate and I decided to close the blinds so we weren’t reminded of what the weather was like outside. And now, Tuesday evening, the snow continues to come down.
The Detroit Red Wings are 2008 Stanley Cup Champions!
Two weeks ago we featured a blog post about Northern Michigan University alumni Dallas Drake. After over 1,000 games in 16 career seasons in the National Hockey League the NMU alum has won his first Stanley Cup.
As tradition has it the captain, Nick Lidstrom, received the Stanley Cup first. And in case you didn’t watch it, before the cup was handed to any of the all stars, the starting players, the famous names, it was handed to role player Dallas Drake first. It’s a testimony to his presence as a Detroit Red Wing and his dedication to 16 years in the NHL.
This post and photos were contributed by blogger Kathy, a hometown friend in Baraga County. She writes one of my favorite Upper Peninsula blogs and is making a commitment to enjoy Upper Peninsula’s nature each and every day in 2009. Please check out her blog and subscribe at centria.wordpress.com
Any one ever feel challenged about getting off the couch and getting outside in the depths of winter? Any one ever stay inside (except for maybe a trip to the mailbox after work) and suddenly you notice a week or two has passed without spending time in the beautiful outdoors?
Depending on where your source there are about 12-15 lighthouses in the entire country that double as a bed and breakfast. Two are in the Upper Peninsula.
Having two of these right in the Upper Peninsula is incredible. Of course these re fresh water lighthouses, where as most of the other lighthouse bed and breakfasts are on the ocean in the states of Oregon, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and
For those of you in the Western Upper Peninsula we suggested checking out the annual Houghton & Hancock Bridgefest this weekend. However, that’s a long drive for those of you on the Eastern end of the Upper Peninsula. So another option is the 59th Annual Mackinac Island Lilac Festival.
You better make your plans fast! This weekend will be the end of the 10-day celebration, during Mackinac Island’s biggest festival of the year at the Upper Peninsula’s largest tourist attraction.
Last night I arrived in East Lansing where I’ll be giving a couple lectures this week at my alma mater, Michigan State. I crashed at my cousin Sara’s place (who is from Sutton’s Bay, north of Traverse city) for the night.
This morning, my cousin’s roommate’s boyfriend came and visited with me for a few minutes and this is how the conversation went.
Dude: So are you from the Sutton’s Bay area as well?
I figure we could all be a little better off if we all knew Michigan’s state symbols a little better. Though most of us have read them or seen them elsewhere, not many people can run through them all off the top of the head. So for today, a brief Michigan education on something we could all probably brush up on.
Bird: American Robin
Fish: Brook Trout
Flower: Apple Blossom
Fossil: Mastodon
Mammal: White-tailed Deer
Gem: Isle Royale Greenstone or Chlorastrolite
Nicknames: Wolverine State, Great Lakes State
Reptile: Western Painted Turtle
Soil: Kalkaska Sand
Song: My Michigan
“My Michigan” is not the song of Michigan, it is merely considered a song of Michigan. You can read more about the history at Michigan.gov.
Several months ago while sitting in this location I noticed a funny looking car drive by my apartment window. I followed up with my initial hunch with some research and came to the hypothesis that it must have been a Google Maps Street View car.
It’s possible that my hypothesis was wrong. Several others agreed to seeing the same car, but no evidence yet.
I decided it was time to follow up on the status. In the last several months Google Street View has expanded their range dramatically. However, it hasn’t quite mapped out the Upper Peninsula. But, they have mapped out I-75 and gone over the Mackinac Bridge.
Tourist season is coming! Time to travel, camp, go sight-seeing and vacation in the Upper Peninsula. If you’re a local don’t forget to be a tourist in your own town this summer and visit all the places you’ve read about but have never visited. For tourists and locals alike we put together a list of resources to help you plan your Upper Peninsula vacation, road trip, or afternoon drive.
The Upper Peninsula will now be required to be included on all official state maps and publications.
Can you imagine a state where 1/3 of the state is not included on the map in official state documents? We recently mentioned a bill introduced by State Rep. Michael Lahti (D-Hancock) which seeks to fix this problem.
Now it seems silly to me that this has to be an official bill. Some “trolls” have stated that the Yoopers are whining. But the fact that a state isn’t wholly represented within state documents seems absurd. Our legislature shouldn’t have to spend time on petty little bills like this that shouldn’t have been needed in the first time. Apparently the house of representatives agreed.
In the last few weeks both the Daily Mining Gazette and WLUC TV6 have published articles on State Rep. Michael Lahti’s (D-Hancock) efforts to have the Upper Peninsula represented Michigan images published by the State of Michigan.
Back in February we reported on one of the ugliest maps we’ve ever seen of the Upper Peninsula (or Michigan for that matter). We asked all of you if you knew of any maps that were similar. Many times I’ve heard reports of maps that didn’t include the Upper Peninsula, mislabeled it, and various other scenarios.
On November 8th, the Daily Press of Escanaba reported another such story titled, “U.P. loses its identity”.
Last November I stumbled across a map on Google images. It took but a second of thought to notice that it was the ugliest rendering of Michigan that I had ever seen on a map. The Lower Peninsula was pretty horrible, but the rendering of the Upper Peninsula was even worse! For anyone who holds the U.P. close and dear to their heart, you may have to sit down before looking at this.
The history of Life magazine has proved overtime to be one of the greatest archives of the United States history and arguably the most popular periodical of all time. Generally there are three large eras of Life. From 1883 to 1936 it was a general interest and humor magazine published weekly.
During 1936 Heny Luce (founder of Time magazine) purchased Life for $92,000. It’s focused changed to photojournalism and would remain a weekly publication through 1978. At that time it would become a general interest monthly publication.
On the night that my beloved Red Wings could sweep the Colorado Avalanche, the last thing that I want to do is feature a post that’s all about a player on the Avalanche.
Hockey has an enormous presence in the Upper Peninsula, from youth hockey, to adult leagues, and NCAA National Hockey Championships for MTU, NMU, and LSSU. Pretty impressive. And although many players from the universities have gone on to play professionally, and many locals have gone on to successful hockey careers, I only know of one Yooper, born and raised, to play in the NHL.
As difficult as this is to admit I just have to throw it out there, I’m moving to Lansing! I have already garnered a decent amount of heckling, harassment and being called a traitor from various people. Now that I’m announcing it here I expect a lot more of it, and that’s OK, I’m a hockey player and can handle a lot of heckling.
It has been three years since graduating from Michigan State and it’s about time I take on a salary and employer, a difficult task for someone who has done their own thing for three years. This is going to be an incredible opportunity for me and one of those opportunities I can’t pass up. I’ll be working at a marketing agency in Lansing where I will have the role of “the secret weapon” (yes, they hinted that could actually be my job title). I’m excited to help other companies grow, especially businesses in Michigan. I have found a passion for staying in the state and doing my part to help Michigan’s economy prosper. But believe me, I will be representing the Upper Peninsula every chance I get.
I realize that the majority of my readers are not on Twitter, but by this point you have probably heard about Twitter in the news. Or maybe you’ve heard the words Tweeting, Tweetups, Tweeps, and a variety of other variations.
For those of you not on Twitter I suggest giving it a try. It has connected dozens of Yoopers and Yooper transplants as well as doing wonders for Yooper Steez. For those of you who are going to sign up and those already signed up, here is a list of Upper Peninsula and Michigan “tweeps” to follow.
Tonight after someone mentioned all of the guys named Ryan (six of them total) on the USA Olympic hockey team it reminded me of when the team was announced and I was impressed that there were five guys on the roster that were born in Michigan.
So it inspired me tonight to do some research on all the Olympians with Michigan connections. There are a lot of them! It’s great to see so many from Michigan and who have came to Michigan to train, thanks in part to the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette. We’re fortunate to see some of the best speedskaters come to Marquette to train, many others like Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski have come through Marquette to train.
Since I was recently taking a look at Michigan historical film clips, you’ll definitely want to take a look at this one.
MUNISING, MICHIGAN, early part of 1960’s
Munising Michigan, Elm Avenue, Weiland’s Grill, the original Alger County Courthouse….all of it is here in this exciting compilation of Wally Ahlborn’s 8mm home movies taken in a blinding blizzard!
In their April 2008 issue Outdoor Life ranked the top 200 towns in the United States for Hunters and Fishermen to call home. Out of the 200 ranked towns, the Upper Peninsula’s very own Marquette cracked the top ten, ranked 7th in the nation. They labeled it “The undisputed capital of the U.P.” (but we’ll leave that to you to decide). Escanaba also made the list (#136).
No. 7 Marquette, MI
“One of the best salmon and steelhead towns in the nation is hundreds of miles from the ocean. Just outside this thriving college town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, anglers cast to surly chinooks, chrome-bright steelhead and colorful lake-run brown trout.”
[Photo by Odalaigh on Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/odalaigh/2197628927/ "Mackinac Bridge")
Yooper Steez has been quiet the last week. I was on an 8-day trip throughout the Lower Peninsula, spending most of my time in Lansing, also spending time in Auburn Hills, Pontiac, Ann Arbor, and Birmingham.
I didn’t plan on staying quite so long, but it made me appreciate some of the finer things in the Upper Peninsula. As most of you know, I’ve spent a lot of time in the Lower Peninsula, mostly in East Lansing. Throughout the years many of my troll friends have made sure to harass me for my Upper Peninsula pride.
Over the years every Yooper hears stereotypes, jokes, and definitions of the word “yooper” that we can all chuckle about, roll ours eyes at, or even confirm in rare instances.
At Yooper Steez we’re always looking for people using the word “yooper” online, in books, or anywhere else. Well, our latest research came across something completely blasphemous. Let us know what you think…
Yooper — “Person from north of the bridge. a second class citizen of the U.S.. A canadian trapped on american soil.”
Recently the Detroit News readers listed their favorite sweet treat stops in the state of Michigan. An Upper Peninsula favorite made the list at #2.
In Baraga county it’s one of the biggest staples known…
The Hilltop Sweetroll
It’s bigger than a baby’s head…
You can find these enormous rolls of sweetness in L’Anse, right next to US 41. If you can’t make the drive you can also find these tasty treats online where you can order a 4-pack.
Andrew Heller, Yooper Steez is inviting you to the Upper Peninsula for a round of golf. Sorry, we won’t cover your gas expenses, but we will surely hook you up with a free Upper Peninsula t-shirt.
You see, Mr. Heller recently wrote an article on his blog at mlive.com for The Flint Journal. The article consists of several bullet points of what’s been going on in the news. But there are two particular bullet points that struck our attention.
Naturally, there is going to be a bell curve on this graph. Those who live in Ironwood aren’t going to make nearly as many trips across the bridge as those living in St. Ignace or Sault Ste Marie. Though it looks like most people average between 2 to 5 round trips across the bridge in a year.
If you’re new to the site and didn’t get a chance to vote, feel free to comment below and let us know how frequent you cross the Mighty Mackinac.
8 OT hockey game sees no losers and breaks record for longest game in michigan high school hockey history
The Marquette Redmen and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Eagles played in the second longest game in United States high school hockey history. After playing 8 overtimes in the Division 1 state championship game the Michigan High School Athletic Association called the game, and it finished in a 1-1 tie and a shared state championship.
With 56 shots on goal the score was still 0-0 between Calumet and Flint Powers in the state championship hockey game. Finally, on the 57th shot of the game, just four minutes into overtime when Logan Rastello scored the championship winning goal, giving the Calumet Copper Kings their 6th state hockey championship at the Compuware Arena in Plymouth.
Rastello’s Championship Winning Goal
“Score! Score! Score! Copper Kings score! Logan Rastello, Oh my God! Oh my God! … Unbelievable!”
