Adit Falls

A mini waterfall of mine water

I'm back from downstate -- so here's a waterfall! (Makes sense in my head.) This is (in my mind) the real Copper Falls (not this silliness). And it's a good name too -- this stream appears magically out of the hillside, where the old Copper Falls adit drains the mine. This waterfall is just a little way downstream, before the stream winds its way through a giant field of stamp sand left from the old mill.

That's all for now -- snowshoes tomorrow!

Trespassers Beware!

... and don't even think about looking at this sign!

I'm downstate, visiting my parents and enjoying the utter flatness of the Saginaw Valley. I dragged a bit of snow down with me, but otherwise it's pretty different from the UP.

Until my return, here's a photo from a previous adventure: the old Centennial #2, mine of mysteries. This photo is from the old collar house. Nearby is the old rock house foundation, which is currently used to store road salt. That foundation is made half of cement and half of poor rock. Beyond it is... an old township dump! And beyond that is the old hoist. The hoist building is mostly destroyed, except for a single wall, and a small cinderblock addition. There is junk strewn about everywhere, and this sign, which apparently was posted back when there was still something left to steal.

Rocky!

Grass on the rocks
I took this a few weekends ago at Esrey Park, whiling away a few minutes while my friends Kyle and Amy were busy getting engaged (my job was to keep Amy from expecting it, conveniently disappear, and then reappear to take some engagement photos). I happened to see this little shock of grass on a ledge in the cliff face there. I love the lakeshore around the east edge of the Keweenaw county -- rocky, rough, and picturesque.

We're getting lots of snow here -- so expect some good ol' snowshoe pictures soon!

Edit: Does anyone else think this look like a muppet hiding in the rocks?

Nerd Sniping

Ahhh! He got me!

You might know that I'm a bit silly. I also have a few friends who are rather silly. Sometimes, when we hang out, silliness happens.

That's the story with my frequent partner in crime hiking companion Kyle. Back in September, wandering among the trees up at Quincy, we got into a regular war -- and he shot me, the bugger! He totally sniped me -- snoped me? Caused snippage? Snaped? At any rate, here's the result -- as you can tell, I had him clearly in my sights as well.

For those wondering about the title, you should read xkcd. Photo credit goes to Kyle!

First Snow

Hang on!If you like my photos, you might like a print on your wall!
Winter finally started this weekend. Down here in the valley, the snow started on Friday night and didn't stop until late on Sunday. We got about 2-3 inches in the end, and it's actually stuck around for a few days.

To enjoy the snow, I made a trip up to the cliffs on Saturday. There's nothing quite like standing in a quiet forest with snow coming down all around you. While I was there, I found this leaf just barely hanging on to an otherwise bare tree.

It looks like the snow will melt this week -- it never really sticks until Thanksgiving. But until then I'll enjoy the remains of the first snow.

And now some silliness:

I'm singin' in the snow
Just singin' in the snow!
What a glorious feeling,
it's 20 below...
-- Garrison Keillor

Distance

Looking towards the South Range.
I took this photo on a hazy day, looking south from the Quincy & Torch Lake rail trail. The bump on the horizon is Whealkate bluff.

I voted!

[Edit 11 pm Tuesday: yay! A much better election than 2004. This time I didn't have to cough up a boatload of cash to send my absentee ballot overnight and international.]

... at 7:10 am, 10 minutes after the polls opened. There was a line out the door at the Houghton Fire Hall, and I was voter #46. Apparently 46 is their normal turnout for an entire day during a regular election.

Late Fall

Leaf of mooditude, dude
If you like my photos, you can order a print!

This leaf is just barely clinging on up near Copper Falls... pretending it's still Late Fall and not Almost Winter. The nice warm 60 degrees we're having this week are probably encouraging it, too!

I say: bring on the snow -- I'm ready to get out the snowshoes.