Twice a year brings the opportunty to watch the sunrise directly through the center of the historic Lower Harbor Ore Dock in Marquette. Of course, for the spectacular colors we hope to see, we’ll need to cross our fingers for a day free of overcast. At minimum, just a sliver of open sky between the morning clouds on the horizon.
Do you ever wonder where all these awesome satellite images of the frozen Great Lakes come from and where to access them?
With Lake Superior and the Great Lakes set to reach record levels of ice cover this winter, there has been an abundance of satellite images passed around on news and social media sites. However, there hasn’t been much information on where these impressive images came from. Our curiosity piqued and we set out to do a little research.
Without doubt, across the Upper Peninsula today there are people talking about the legend of the St. Patrick’s Day snowstorm. Though sometimes a couple weeks early or late, many Yoopers insist that the St. Patrick’s Day snowstorm is an annual occurrence.
We looked to local weather expert, the Upper Peninsula’s favorite meteorologist, the one, the only, Karl Bohnak.
According to Karl Bohnak’s book, So Cold a Sky, the myth of a March 17th storm goes back to at least 1870. Unfortunately, National Weather Service records only go back to 1949. From So Cold a Sky …
Two wrongs may make a right, but two meteor_wrongs_ certainly don’t make a meteo_rite_.
And here’s why.
Well, first — let’s rewind.
To one day in 1889 when a six-year old boy named Peter Peterson (yes, this was actually his name) was helping his father clear rocks from a field near Iron River.
Things were proceeding as usual (I’m assuming) when little Peter noticed that one rock was much heavier than others of the same size. He showed the 3.13-pound whopper to his father who told him to toss it like the others.
Our friend Stephanie sent us this delightful little poem by Suzanne Kindler, which was penned in 1996 from what we could find. But we couldn’t find much else about Suzanne. If you know more about Suzanne Kindler we would love to find more information on her and the roots of this poem.
Now, go escape to the pine trees.
It’s the place people go to escape,
a place made of cabins, pine trees and lakes.
But no matter how far you drive,
there’s no sign to say “You’ve arrived.”
So just follow your heart til you find,
your special place that brings peace of mind.
As you breathe in the air and unwind,
your cares are all left behind.
It’s no mystery where the northwoods start.
When you’re “up north,”
you’ll know in your heart.
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!
After some research we have found some numbers from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, listed from the 2010 Census.
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.
I love my state!
Thanks @brockter for sending it my way.
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.
Last night was without doubt one of the greatest storms we’ll have this summer. As I say in my apartment in Marquette the rain kept pouring down while lightning and thunder came and went for several hours. Eventually the rain stopped by the lightning was still constantly lighting up the sky in the distance.
Spring is coming, I’m sure of it! The Upper Peninsula saw one more big snow storm this winter, hopefully it will be the last one for the season. After a number of warm days all the accumulated snow seems to be gone. But trust us, spring will come.
We have been anxious to get to some spring photos as we move into a new season, but when we came across this photo we had to do one last winter photo from the Upper Peninsula.
42,610 of it belongs to the Upper Peninsula. That comes to 0.029% of all the Earth. And if you prefer fractions, that’s 1/3,449th of the Earth’s surface. We are just a speck.
The total surface area of Earth is 510,065,600 square kilometers. It’s a big place.
The Upper Peninsula is home to some very unique places on earth. I’ll refer you to Mississippi State’s website, where a group actually made the trekall the way to the Upper Peninsula to discover our unique geology.
Last year Outdoor Life ranked the City of Marquette as the 7th best town in the United States.
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.”
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.
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.
“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
Miles | Drive Time | Total Time |
| 370.9 | 6.7 hrs | 16 hrs |
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.
Legend says that the spring was named Kitch-iti-kipi (pronounced KITCH-i-tee-KI-pee) in memory of a young chieftain by that name who died in the icy waters when his canoe overturned during an attempt to impress a young woman. John I. Bellaire, the man who discovered the spring back in the 1920s, told this story to attract visitors to the site. The legend survives today as a tale that adds to the mysterious appeal of this water site.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Upper Peninsula is truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world to see the fall colors. We couldn’t get enough of the photos we were seeing around the web, so we picked some of our favorites to share with you. We’re envious of the images these photographers captured, so be sure to click on the photo and leave them a nice comment, they deserve it for sharing their talent with the rest of us.
Well done Kris, now let’s see if Bear Grylls or Les Stroud come to the Upper Peninsula for an episode of either of their shows.
Also, might not want to giveaway that we have pasties growing in the wild, or beer trees, too many people might start moving to the U.P.
This is a guest post from our friend Alice Rossignol. She’s a big fan of the great outdoors and her love for the Upper Peninsula is blossoming. You can follow her on Twitter. Photos courtesy of Courtney Shuert.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always preferred one direction: up.
And I take it as it comes: straight up, upstream (on Cripple Creek, preferably), Up (the movie), what’s up, shut up, up north, or since I moved to Michigan – UP, the Upper Peninsula.
Every spring, summer, and fall thousands of people make their way to Canyon Falls. Not as many people make it back to the falls during the winter, which is one of the most impressive times to see it. The best is if you can make it right after a big snowfall, where you’ll see pillows of snow broken by the flowing Sturgeon River.
If you plan to stick to the trail you won’t be needing snowshoes. The trail stays well-packed throughout the winter. Most of the time you’re able to cross to the other side of the river, but will want some snowshoes for this so you don’t sink down.
Find the Salmon Trout River on Google Maps.
A photo by savethewildup on Flickr
Spring is finally here, we’re quite sure of it. In fact if there is another snow storm you can blame it on us.
Spring is consistently anticipated for the warm weather and the green grass. It gets better when you can leave the window cracked at night, have a nice breeze, and listen to the spring peepers, one of the most distinguished sounds of the year.
I look forward to the peepers every spring, but I have never really known what they are. Thanks to Wikipedia and Flickr I know a little more about them now.
Looking for some Memorial Day weekend site-seeing? If you can spare a day, or a few hours if you live closer, make a trip the Scott Falls. You’ll find Scott Falls about 7 miles west of Munising, just to the east of Au Train, conveniently located right off highway M-28.
This type of waterfall is known as a “curtain waterfall” meaning the following water does not make contact with the surface, the water falls off a ledge, and it’s taller than it is wide.
“We camped in Union Bay of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park for 2 nights. It was long way from Detroit Metro(10 hrs) but Porcupine Mountains area was very nice with big nature. Definetly it worth to stay there.”
This should inspire you to take that trip to the Porcupine Mountains State Park this summer. The Porkies make a perfect setting to watch a sunset, facing to the west where you can watch the sun fall below the horizon. Most of the Upper Peninsula watches the sunset fall below the tree line, so head to the west shore for your best Lake Superior sunset photos.
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.
Photo by HSFatherOf4 on Flickr
Photo by Spauldi1 on Flickr
When I came across these photos on Flickr there was no question that I had to use them on the site. Pictures speak louder than words sometimes, and no more words are needed here.
I couldn’t resist. Sorry. But yes, winter will be here soon. You see, I’m very excited for winter, more excited than I have been in a long time. For the first time in my life I will be living five minutes from the ski hill (Marquette Mountain). And if I truly want to snowboard every single day there is nothing stopping me. I have never had that luxury before. I sacrificed snowboarding while at MSU for five years and of course you can’t snowboard too often while on a 50-state tour.
The Estivant Pines is one of the great nature sanctuaries of the Upper Peninsula with 508 acres of forest in Keweenaw County.
The nature sanctuary, which is now maintained and preserved by the Michigan Nature Association, holds some of the oldest white pines (Michigan’s State Tree for those of you visiting from outside of Michigan) in the state, some as old as 600 years. Many of these trees tower overhead upwards of 130 feet high.
With the coming launch of our new product, Lake Superior t-shirts, I thought it’d be a appropriate to celebrate the power of Lake Superior a little more. In addition to that, I thought it’d be good to mix things up a little bit. Rather than posting some photos, how about a few videos for Photo Friday. For more information on the power of Lake Superior you can read a previous post of Why Lake Superior Kicks Your Lake’s Butt.
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.
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.
Along the trail towards the Upper Falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park is the above sign, the “Prayer Of The Woods.” The prayer has been used in Portuguese forest reservations for more than 1,000 years and can be found at state parks, national forests, and national parks across Michigan, the United States, and the world. Another sign when you enter the park reads, “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” It’s something valuable to remember the next time you find yourself sauntering through the woods.
We’re looking for your input on the top places to see the fall colors in the Upper Peninsula!
Initially, we were hoping to do a poll to find out your favorite place, but there are simply too many places in the Upper Peninsula. There are many classic places like Lake of the Clouds, Bond Falls, Brockway Mountain, and Tahquamenon Falls. Everyone knows of these locations (or at least they should).
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.
Everyone was excited for spring being just around the corner. But c’mon, this is the Upper Peninsula, we all knew that we’d see a big snowfall again. In 2009 we saw the biggest April snowstorm in 10 years. In 2008 we had a comparable April Fool’s Day snowstorm. 2010 wasn’t going to be any different. Some people said Marquette received as much as 10″ of snowfall on Friday.
I asked fans of the Yooper Steez fan page to share some photos from the snowfall and received some good variety. If you’re not already a fan feel free to join today or share it with friends. Feel free to submit other fan photos to the page.
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?
So it’s been a few cold days in the Upper Peninsula, the coldest of the winter so far. But I was shocked to find out that NMU wasn’t only closed yesterday, but that they’re closed again today!
So here I am in Marquette (yes, I know I’m inside where it’s nice and warm, I even have brand new windows to help out a bit), and as I look outside from my desk it’s absolutely beautiful out. The sun is bright, and the sky is clear.
According to Wikipedia, April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day is a holiday in its own right, a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. We though Karl Bohnak may have been doing just this when he called for one of the biggest snowstorms of the year on April Fool’s Day
A fresh 7 inches of snow fell in Baraga and several other parts of the Upper Peninsula today. A great day to head to the Baraga Drive-In for some ice cream.
Most Yoopers, and especially Trolls, are eager for nice spring weather in April, especially by April 17. Even the Lansing Lugnuts celebrate the Yooper heritage with Yooper Night. They offered attendees of Yooper Night to use their tickets for another game this season if the weather was above 60 degrees. That was on Friday, and I’d be surprised it was even 50 degrees for the opening pitch.
If you have any other suggestions, we know there are lots, just let us know by commenting below and we’ll add it to the list.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a spectacular place, indeed. Just ask any Yooper. I wonder, though, how much of the UP an average Yooper is familiar with. I’ve been a Yooper for 23 years and I’ve been blessed with the capability and aspiration to find and explore many of this land’s hidden treasures. Yet it seems there is always a new adventure to undertake or place to see in this great peninsula.
Last fall I mentioned how the Marquette County Fair was featured in the New York times.
This time around the New York Times has featured a photo story in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
The article is titled, “Snowshoes and S’Mores; Camping in the Cold” by Gustave Axelson.
Teamed up with nature photographer Tom Thulen, you can view a slide show of the photos titled, “Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Snowshoes” posted on the New York Time’s website.
The Upper Peninsula has got to be the most inspiring place for an artist like me. Think of it! Crashing waves, tranquil ponds, pastoral farm scenes, magnificent rocks, glorious forests, quaint towns, historical cities, and the gorgeous four seasons.
I grew up in Baraga County…the beautiful Keweenaw region. I began drawing from the time my mother gave me a pencil and a sheet of freezer paper, when I was a young toddler. She says I would fill up a large sheet with intricate doodles. Later my brother-in-law helped me paint the scene of the lake from our camp window in Toivola. I was 11, and the love of painting was ignited. Around this same time I received another great boost by winning the Kellogg’s national drawing contest. There was even a picture of me and my new 10-speed Schwinn in the L’Anse Sentinel. Big stuff for an 11 year old.
