Break time from the UP

Wednesday night it rained once more, I'd had spent Wednesday catching up on house stuff. Boring stuff like mowing, moving the washer, dryer, fridge, and cleaning behind all of them. 

With all the essentials done including grocery 'getting', the dogs and I crashed early.

We woke to a wet and bleak morning. The dogs had a ton of energy and I was restless. I did some business that needed getting cleared up....

--- and we jumped into the car and headed out with rain gear.

Why not? 

It was a light drizzle with no heavy rain in the forecast. Think of the freedom of being able to comfortable walk on a rainy day. It wasn't cold and yes my hiking boots got soaked.

As did my pants up to my knees.

 

However, we had the Reserve to ourselves because no other sane person would go out walking in the light rain. [Maybe]

The wet trails were not really muddy except in some spots. The dogs loved the moist air as it accentuated the scents of the deer and other animals that had followed the same trail we did.

I let them lead the way, smell the smells. Both dogs were fantastic. Charlie stayed close as usual and Hannah raced forward and back. We may have only hiked 5+ miles, but Hannah surely put on at least 20 with her puppy exhuberance.

It was nice being back in the forest alone without others. Quiet. Nothing but the droplets coming off leaves and the sounds of footfalls.

[Don't get me wrong, last weekend's whirlwind adventure was incredible, but I'm used to quiet hiking]

We had some great fungi/mushroom finds 

I find fungi to be beautiful even in its ugly form of decay.

Their shapes are curious as they spore and then die off.

This minifigure👇👇 IS on top of an expired mushroom. I know where to find them each year but I've always been too late to find them in perfect form. I always find them in this just black nasty looking state.

Obviously fit for a Vampire Queen!

I found a wonderful variety of shelf mushrooms that were quite beautiful. Mini me and the pups decided to climb around on them. I think these could be classified as Artists Conks.

With the wet weather this fall, the fungi and mushroom are so abundant in the forests. Just call me happy. 

Friday night late we had a series of heavy downpours.

This afternoon after taking the dogs for another sloppy walk in our forest, I checked the rain gauge.

Tomorrow is another day. I haven't decided on trying to roam the neighbor's desecrated forest and save on gas to get my daily dose of forest or to use my car and take some great trails at the Reserve. I'm back to 'training' for the 20 or 30 mile hike next spring.

The weather has finally gotten out of the extreme heat and humidity, so I am ready to 'rock'.

I'm considering how to keep up my hiking without breaking the bank now that gas in our town has jumped to $4.37 per gallon.

A bike ride there would take me 2 hrs. 10 hrs for walking 27 miles. 

I'll see what my budgets afford me as gas continues to jump and winter heating costs are coming.

One of my gal friends has offered to go hiking with me at the Reserve and share gas costs. I'm very open to that as I really enjoy hiking with her.

Gay Michigan

I'm going to just say this. Visiting Gay, Michigan was probably one of the most interesting places I've ever visited.

It is located in Keweenaw County. 

Copper Mining at Gay

I actually read the history of the town and was intrigued. Immigrants were taught English as well as working at the Stamping Mill. The company constructed homes and schools.

The town has a beautiful playground now that seems to be cared for by the local residents.

We decided to go visit the ruins.

The ruins inspired me to 'shoot' them in Infrared B&W. 

These miner figures were painted in various areas of the ruins. It reminded me that this area held ghosts and the history of immigrants coming to our country to work in harsh conditions and raise families. 

What was it like, how difficult was it? I was so curious I read more history of the place. 

Was it noisy? Was it smelly, was the work difficult? I couldn't help but feel the vibe of the place.

I had to take a shot of Jer walking through the ruins for perspective. Yep, it looks a bit spooky, but that is how I wanted to portray it.

Here is a photo from the Keweenaw County Historical Society:

In the photo above you can see the smoke stack, there was some sort of processing that needed a chute [????] to dump the waste out in the Lake.

 

I couldn't resist more than one angle of these wooden supports.

Who can resist a little family portrait in the ruins???

I'll go back here and there is another set of ruins that Jer says I just 'have to see'. I guess I was so fascinated by them.

And of course.

It was the perfect place to do some toy photography. Yep. I brought characters just for this place.

I won't put them all in here, but I had a fantastic series of shots.

....Oh.

And my son thoroughly got immersed in the process, we found out something we had in common.

Below.

I handed him the camera and to set up Homeless Joe and his Dog with a background of the wooden structures and alien looking landscape.

After several tries he ended up with this. I'm proud that he took me up on the challenge since he has never operated any other camera other than a cell phone.

I won't bore you with the series of photos we did while in the ruins. It was fun, creative, and so much fun for me.

Chasing waterfalls

After the sunrise at Brockway Mountain and the stop at Esrey Park, we hit the next place my son wanted me to see.

Silver River Falls.

I intended to take shots like the one below so I could remember each place we stopped. Nah, I didn't remember to do that. At least I can look it up on maps.

The roaring water was wonderful. I like waterfalls. I love waterfalls. I love rivers.

Apparently my son and Em and Mari do also. Mari played in the cold water [in a safe spot] while we walked around and I took some shots.

Jer brought the tripod, but I was able to do some hand held shots. 1/20th of a second exposures do give a sense of the motion of the water. The morning was heavily overcast, so it was easier than trying to expose in a glaring bright day.

There is a trail of sorts alongside the river that allows you to check things out. Me? I would have seen how far I could have hiked towards Lake Superior, but we had so many more things to see. 

We loaded up and headed towards Great Sand Bay.

Lake Superior is like visiting the ocean. It is windy, chilly, and loud with waves crashing into the shore.

Because of the blowing sand and water spray, I kept my camera in my backpack. But still, one can take some decent shots with a cell phone these days.

We spent quite a while 'beach combing' and enjoying the thunderous waves. The winds were so strong that the dune grasses drew swirls in the sand.

Jacob's Falls was our next stop.

This was the most curious thing I've ever seen on a roadside trail. Ashes? But in a way, I understood this completely. I doubt I'd have left a whole box.

This was my first glimpse of the falls and this is where most folks stop. Not my group. 

...and yes, I climbed up these roots to get higher while my son was climbing from the opposite side below.

See the blue jacket? That was my kid.

He survived, but I was worried that he'd fall in.

While I was gone, this project finished up.  There is just some touch up work left. But the new view out my back door is now pretty amazing.

 

Our exploration of Gay Michigan was interesting enough that it deserves its own write up. --> Soon.

Mill Bluff and Roche- a- Cri State Parks

Before driving to my son's house last Friday, I stopped back at Mill Bluff and explored the other half of the trails.

Last time I was there in the start of August, I walked the stairs to the top of the bluff and enjoyed the overlook. I noticed on the map of the area that I could hike around the bluffs that I saw in the distance. I decided to go back without the dogs and really check it out.

Here was that view:

In the upper right corner of the photo, there are more bluffs. They are part of the park also and have trails around them and apparently there is a faint trail one could use to climb to the top of the bluff.

I found the parking spot and started up the sandy trail when I saw this sign.

Timber rattle snakes

have been reported

on this trail

Be careful

I was happy that I chose this time not to bring my dogs. I did not hear or see any snakes but I did keep my eyes peeled.

The trail around the bluffs isn't difficult, part of it has been maintained in its natural state of grasslands and scrub oaks with prescribed burns. Other parts have grown in thick forests because of fire suppression that has been used over many years.

The goal for me was to find the 'faint' trail to the top of the bluff. 

....and I did. 

I spent a long time on top of this bluff. My mind was peaceful. That is what I wished to achieve. I'd done what I'd set out to do.

And...I saw no snakes.

I climbed 340 feet to the top of a bluff and just enjoyed the view. In case you haven't guessed. I like rocks and bluffs.

The next stop was Roche-A-Cri Mound. No dogs allowed. I can understand why because the are consists of 303 metal stairs to the top of the bluff.

I did explore the petroglyphs and hiked another one of the trails. I found an abundance of cool fungi and rocks.

But it was time to hit the road north to my son's place where we'd take naps and get up at 1am to drive to the UP and see the sunrise I just talked about in the last blog.

That...was the first part of the whirlwind trip.

I managed to knock off two more areas that I have wanted to see for a long time. I'll definitely go back to that Bluff I hope yet this fall to see what the change of seasons bring.