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Calendar 2009

Day 3: Miners Castle and Beach, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Miners Castle seen from the first overlook. You can actually walk down until you are practically on top of it, but the views from there are not nearly as impressive. The lake almost appears calm here...trust me it was not!


At the base of the castle is a hole cut through the rock. The waves kept crashing through this and shooting out the other side in a rather dramatic example of Mother's Nature's furry.


Looking out over the edge at the waves and windswept leaves...brrrrrr.
Our second half of Day 3 of my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was spent driving to Miners Castle. This sandstone rock formation is easily accessible by car and a short walk to the many viewing platforms that dot the area. As you will see from the pictures, the gale that had started the day before was in full form and the weather was very cold and windy. The waves crashed on and through the rocks and the beach was torrent of relentless waves. After traveling all that way, we were not about to kept indoors by an "itty bitty" autumn storm, seven one that blew our knit caps from our heads and made me wish our rental cabin came with a hot tub. A Starbucks would have sufficed too, but such beacons of civilization are very scarce in the UP.


Looking down on Miner's Beach from the trail up from the castle. There is a trail down to the beach, but you can also drive, which we did on this trip because of the blustery weather.


Miners Beach from the west end near the parking lot

Wave crash on the shoreline of Miners Beach

Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii). I chased this specimen down the beach for quite a ways. He was very timid and at one point became trapped between me and my two companions. Avoiding the frigid lake waters, it finally scurried on the fastest moving legs I have ever seen to get around us.
On a warmer day, Miners Beach would be a wonderful place to linger. It is romantic in its petite size and secluded feel (OK, this might be a stretch considering that only us crazy Coloradans were out and summer might just bring the mobs).

Day 3: Munising Falls

Munising Falls from the right lookout
On Day 3 of our trip, it was raining rather steadily, so rather than head out for a long hike we decided to hit a few car friendly sights. The first of these was Munising Falls.


The beginning of the trail
Nestled in a damp canyon infested with ferns and other water loving plants, Munising Falls is a pleasant destination in its own right. Around 50 feet in height, it dribbles water over a large sandy precipice. At one point, you were allowed to walk behind the falls, which would have been pleasant indeed. Now, the National Park Service limits the views to boardwalks on either side.



The boardwalk on the right hand side of the trail

Coming from Colorado, the dangers associated with walking behind these falls would have been minuscule compared to the western approach to Mt. Quandary;. The insurance weenies, who have probably never left their well padded offices, must have had something to do with this. Given that no one was around, I was sorely tempted to BREAK THE LAW and do it anyway. Dang it, but I am too good of a Soldier to, some might say too brainwashed, to be so brazen.

Munising Falls from the right

So, if you are near Munising or are planning a Marathon hike through Pictured Rocks, take an extra half hour and visit Munising Falls. Its idyllic setting won't disappoint.

Day 3: Around the cabin on Shelter Bay

Looking south along the lake shore on the first morning


A view of the cabin, its wrap around deck, and the lake beyond.


This American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) was taunting me from its perch. American Red Squirrels are very territorial and live and feed on conifer trees.

Waking up after a pitch-black storm in our cozy cabin on Shelter Bay was a treat. This cabin was located just a few feet from the lake. It was surrounded by woods and two bridges traversed a long narrow pond. While my two friends lounged in the sunny solarium facing the lake, I wandered about snapping pictures. So forgive me in indulging in this fit of plant loving photography.




The first of many mushroom photos. Amanita flavaconia. The Amanita genus is the most poisonous so don't go nibbling on this one. No shroom in this genus is fit for human consumption. One penny sized cap of the Angel Killer can kill a large man.


This type of Birch shelf fungus (Piptoporus betulinus) was everywhere. Some specimens were as large as pizza pies!

I am guessing this is Lepoita cristata.
There is something about the smell of rotting vegetation after a rain! In this series there were at least 3 species of fungi. Alas, they won’t be the last you see. Mushrooms, jelly fungi, and toadstools sprouted like wildflowers in the Michigan woods. I had no idea they could be so varied in style.


The cabin was surrounded by conifers and young maples


What is a fall color trip without a close up of a maple leaf after the rain.

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The Pond Series

I like the these Lilly pond picture because of the striations in the water.

Fall color reflected in the pond

Ok, it is just reeds growing in the pond but I liked the reflections.

The day after the pictures above, a 3-day gale started to blow. After the storm had abated the sky and clouds turned deep blue. One morning a Bald Eagle soared between us and Grand Island.



Waves lap at the shoreline


Looking east along the shoreline. These boats bobbed in the swell that increased dramatically while we were there.


Clouds over Grand Isle

Day 2: Drive to Copper Harbor then onto Shelter Bay

Fall color on Highway 26

Fall Color OH MY GOD!!!!!

To someone who has never seen the brilliant reds of a hardwood fall, our marathon drive to Copper Harbor and back was one long continuous scream. Toss in a mountain pass, Bald Eagles frolicking in the trees, and a brandy infused fruitcakes from the Jampot, and you have the makings for a quintessential fall day.


Elaine and Lynn search for the perfect leaf. These were plastered on the inside windows of the car.
Refer to my map of the trip for a blow up of the roads on the Keweenaw Peninsula. We started out in Silver City, drove through Ontonagon, up Highway 26 to Houghton, took Highway 203 to Calmut, stopped in Coppertown, went through Eagle River and Eagle Harbor, took the Brockway Mountain Drive, ate lunch in Copper Harbor, and finally high tailed it late in the day back down Highway 41 to Shelter Bay. Phew! Now for the details.

(Left: Red Maples along Highway 26)

Much of the fall color on the route was in two locations, farther south on Highway 26 and farther north after leaving Copper Harbor. The day was very rainy so the colors in my photos muted believe it or not. We stopped along the side of the road so that I could take a picture of the highway and noticed a dirt road leading off into the trees.

Supercalafragalisticexpaladocious! I can still close my eyes and still see these brilliant colors. They are emblazoned on my retinas. You could have left me there and I would still be taking pictures. My only regret is that I did not drag my tripod along. The sky was very dark, and even with a high ISO, my photos are less than perfect. Still, they hint at what we saw.

(Right: The entrance to the Coppertown Museum).
The route took us through Houghton, which is a large town with many hotels and a super Wal-Mart. After the sparse infrastructure of Silver City, it was almost intrusive. It was not long before we were out of town, however, and crossing over to Hancock and up the coast.

(Left: Inside the Coppertown Museum).
We stopped at Coppertown, which is a National Historic Park in the making. There were plenty of old brick buildings and a new museum that contained tons of relics from the Copper mining era. With our National Parks Pass, it only cost us $3 to get in.

From Coppertown, we headed up towards Eagle Harbor. On the west side of the loop, there are glimpses of small towns, lighthouses, and old homes. The water is not always visible but it is pleasant. There was a cold rain falling that made us hesitant to get out of the car and I felt continual pressure to keep moving since we were staying near Munising that night and Munising was a long ways away.


Coppertown's old buildings
We did allow ourselves a short stop at the Jampot, a store run by the Society of Saint John, a Byzantine Monastery. Inside were delectable preserves made from local berries, muffins, and fruitcakes infused with brandy and other liquors. We purchased wild strawberry, thimbleberry, and bilberry. So far only the bilberry has been tasted. Lynn reports that it is scrumptious. We also grabbed a walnut-ginger fruitcake whose cheesecloth wrapping reeked of liquor. I loved it, and altruistically brought some back to the folks at work who also raved about it. The Jampot does mail order by the way, so you don’t need to travel to the UP to experience these unique treats.


Sign at the summit of Brockway Mountain Drive
Just before the turn off for the Brockway Mountain Drive is Lake Bailey. We watched Wood Ducks zip about in the rain with our binoculars. I really wish I we could have gotten out of the car at that point. I have never seen a Wood Duck up close.


View from the summit of Brockway Mountain Drive. It was raining enough that it was hard to keep water off the camera lens.
Some folks at the Coppertown Museum told us about Brockway Mountain Drive. This route cuts off ten miles from the Highway 26 loop and is well worth it. It ascends to a [snort] dizzying height of 1,328 ft above sea level (726 ft above Lake Superior). Fog gripped much of the low lands, obscuring the really great views, but it was dramatic nonetheless. This route also enabled us to view Copper Harbor from above.


Copper Harbor viewed from Brockway Mountain Drive
In Copper Harbor we ate lunch at the Harbor Haus, a quasi-German/Midwest restaurant. I say quasi because even though some of the staff was dressed in Dirndls and there were beer steins along the walls, the food was more Midwestern than German. Here we had our best Whitefish meal of the trip. Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) is ubiquitous in the UP. They school and feed near the lake bottom and are harvested by the millions. While still plentiful, they are being over fished just like every other “ocean going” creature. We certainly condoned this by overfeeding on Whitefish on this trip. I wish we could have taken the Harbor Haus along with us for the rest of the trip where the food was less inspiring.


Copper nugget outside the Harbor Haus restaurant
At this point we were tempted to cancel our cabin in near Munising and stay in Copper Harbor. It was 4pm already and we had no idea how long it would take us to get to Munising. We asked to see some rooms in the numerous roadside motels in Copper Harbor. Most were dark, and filled with thrift store furniture. They at least had views of the harbor. Not knowing what awaited us in Shelter Bay, we decided to head out. This turned out to be an excellent choice because our cabin on Shelter Bay was not only beautiful and cozy, but was situated within yards of the lake.


View of the Harbor Haus dock. There are flags of Germany, Finland, Sweden, the United States, and Michigan.
Highway 41 forms the eastern side of the loop around the northern Keneenaw Peninsula. Here we found the famed tunnel of trees. This short stretch of road did not just show off its fall color, it engulfed its visitors so that there was no such thing as sky, just brilliant reds and the road. We were one with autumn. On a bike, this short stretch of road would have led to a religious conversion. It certainly produced many rapturous sighs. If such a road existed in Colorado, it would have been so clogged with cars so that no one would be able to move. We saw only 5 or 6 cars, however, so our bug-eyed epileptic fits of amazement went gratefully unnoticed by fellow leaf peepers.


The tunnel of trees on Highway 41 leaving Copper Harbor
The drive from this point on was a marathon push that ended in a dark and dreary slog through the pouring rain. The shore of Lake Superior is pitch black at night and we needed guidance to find our cabin. At one point we were staring directly at the road on which it was located and could not see it. When we awoke the next day, however, the cloud filtered sunlight revealed a marvelous treat. That will be the subject of my next post.