A Short Spring Shower

We woke up this morning to a layer of frost on our roof. I’m not sure how low the temperature dipped, but it’s a reminder that we still have time to wait before we can plant our garden this year.

The entire day remained chilly with the temps in the 40s. The sun came out for a very short time this afternoon and the evening brought in the cloud cover. For about five minutes, we were treated to a spring rain.

It’s amazing how green everything looks after a rain shower. Our tulips are not blooming yet, but the leaves made a perfect gathering place for water droplets. I couldn’t help it. I had to take a picture.

Mother’s Day Outing Part 2 - Hungarian Falls

After our Mother’s Day picnic at the Lake Linden Marina, we started on our way home when I got the idea to head into the woods. It should be warmer, even though the leaves are not yet on the trees.

When my son was a baby, we rented a house in Tamarack City and I vividly remember hearing the roar of the Hungarian Falls in the spring. We would sit on our front porch at night and listen to the falls and the frogs. It was pure bliss. We decided to visit the Hungarian Falls to complete our Mother’s Day outing.

Since the road to the falls is closed during the winter, we weren’t sure what to expect this time of year in terms of the road condition. The road ended up being in great condition and the only mud encountered was on the trail to the falls. Within the woods, there is still spring runoff working its way towards Torch Lake. You can even see little mini-waterfalls along the trail.

This mini-waterfall included some beautiful yellow flowers. So far, they are the only flowers scattered across the forest floor. Before too long, there will be many more.

There will also be a lot more green around. The tag alder bushes were starting to sprout their leaves, but the trees are just beginning to bud.

When I saw the Upper Hungarian Falls, I was quite surprised. We are often there in the summer and you can usually walk right down near the bottom of the falls. There must still be plenty of snow runoff occurring for the falls were still quite active.

It was an adventure getting down the steep hill to get the above picture. Since few visitors have been to the area, much of the hillside is still covered with leaves and winter debris. It was very slippery to make it to the bottom. After trying to go down standing, I finally gave up and sat on one foot and let gravity slide me down the hill.

After snapping a few pictures, we climbed back up the hill (which is much easier than going down!) and we continued our trek through the trails to view the other four waterfalls in the area. Since I have a fear of heights, I didn’t get too close to the other large waterfall, the Lower Hungarian Falls. With that one, you view it from the top unless you are very adventurous and make the trek to the bottom.

On our way back to our car, I spotted some sphagnum moss growing on a rock. I love to brush my hands across the moss. It is so very soft.

All things considered, it was a great Mother’s Day even though it threatened to rain and the sun stayed hidden all day. Even on the dreary days there are still wonderful things to see and do in the Keweenaw.

Mother’s Day Outing Part 1 - Lake Linden Marina

With today being Mother’s Day, we decided to go on a picnic for lunch. Our favorite spots for a picnic include being on the shore of Lake Superior. Today, though, the temps were in the low 50s so we decided to head to an inland lake in hopes of warmer (and less windy) weather so we settled with going to the Lake Linden park with a view of Torch Lake.

It was still mighty chilly in Lake Linden - the bank was showing the temp at 52 degrees. As we sometimes do in the winter, we had our picnic on the car. The Lake Linden Marina ended up being the perfect place to park. There was plenty of parking facing the lake and there were only a few people there on this chilly and cloudy day.

It has been a long winter so I wasn’t surprised to see a few boats already docked at the marina just waiting for a nice day to go for a cruise.

The seagulls were also out in full force. They didn’t bother us too much since we ate in the car. But not too far from us they were getting a feast from a fisherman cleaning out his catch. He’d throw out a piece and the seagulls would go crazy following the one bird that was fortunate enough to grab the piece. Seagulls can be a nuisance, but they are very graceful when you watch them fly.

After filling our bellies, we started making our way home when inspiration hit. This time of year, when the weather is still chilly, sometimes you can find warmth in the protection of the woods. Tomorrow I’ll share where we went.

Welcome to Copper Country Scrapbook

For over two years now, my husband has been documenting his explorations of the Copper Country with his historically-based blog, Copper Country Explorer. Not too long ago, I decided that I wanted to blog about the area as well with the focus being our life and our ventures out and about - basically a scrapbook of our life living in the Keweenaw.

Seeing as this is my first post here at Copper Country Scrapbook, I thought I would start with a little background about the beginning of my relationship with the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan.

This is me, back in the spring of 1985 when I was 8 years old. Those familiar with the area will know right off the bat where I am…Brockway Mountain.

We ventured up to the Copper Country to attend my brother’s graduation from Michigan Tech. He was a wonderful tour guide and Brockway Mountain was one of our stops. I grew up in a rural area in downstate Michigan, but I was still amazed by Lake Superior and by the seemingly endless forested areas.

Even towns like Copper Harbor were dwarfed by the foliage. Here’s another vintage pic of me at the famous Copper Harbor overlook on Brockway Mountain Drive.

Ten years later, I found myself following in my brother’s footsteps and enrolling at Michigan Tech. When other students went home for the summer, I stayed behind and worked. When I wasn’t working, I was out exploring the natural beauty of the area.

Fast forward to today, and I still am living in the area with my husband and son. We left for a few months during a rough time, but we found our way back. The call of this area was very strong. We have since purchased a home and set roots in the area.

Sometimes you never really know what life has in store for you. We could again find ourselves in a situation where we need to leave the area. It was heartbreaking the first time and I found myself wanting to relive the memories. I had many pictures, but I’ve never been one to keep a diary.

That is what Copper Country Scrapbook is for. At any time, we can look back and relive the memories of our life in the Keweenaw in pictures and words. We have chosen to make it public so others can enjoy it as well. We hope you do.