210/365 - Summer Overlook

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It's summer, and everything is growing -- up an around a bench on a high overlook from Quincy Hill. Just a year ago, there was a house here, surrounded by a dense forest. The Quincy Mine Hoist Association purchased it and cleared it out, as part of their renovation of the nearby roundhouse.

Down below is the Portage Canal and Michigan Tech, with the Huron Mountains in the far distance.

208, 209/365 - Knives and Bowls

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This photo of a water droplet splashing into a bowl took me forever... and it's still not perfectly sharp, nor perfectly timed! But, it's my first try, so here it is.

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A knife!

206, 207/365 - Berries and Fire

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Wild raspberries -- sweet, tart, and juicy. I found these in a huge field of raspberries. After I was done, my skin was filled with tiny thorns, my pants were stained purple, but my gallon bag was full of delicious fruit. They shall be jelly tomorrow!!

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Fire!

204, 205/365 - Moving

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This past weekend, I helped the Lovely Sarah pack up, clean up, and move out of her Madison apartment. She's coming up north again! :D This photo is her refrigerator, as we were cleaning it out. Not much there...

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And here's everything else. Looking at the back of this U-Haul, it's amazing how your entire life's worth of stuff can fit into such a small space. It reminded me of moving to Waterloo (Ontario) for my Master's -- everything I needed fit into my little subcompact car, and the front seat was still empty!

203/365 - Sands

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Here's a photo from a good ol' Thursday exploration with my friend Mike (of Copper Country Explorer fame) and his son. Last Thursday, we visited the Copper Falls Sands -- the extensive (I mean HUGE) field of absolutely barren crushed rock, where the Copper Falls mine deposited its unwanted tailings more than 100 years ago. This was once all swampland, but now it is covered to a depth of 10 or 20 feet by crushed up rock. A couple of streams run through it, cutting out small green swaths.

The sands are not only extensive, but downright sculpted. Here, Mike and his son ascend a small mountain of sands.

202/365 - Summer weed

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A summer weed in our front yard. We need a mow...

201/365 - Foggy bridge

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The Portage Lake Lift bridge in the morning fog. The Portage river/waterway/lake/canal runs right between Houghton and Hancock. On summer mornings, it's often a river of fog. From the hillsides above the cities, we can look down (in perfectly clear weather!) and see just fog below. It also makes biking to work quite an adventure!

200/365 - On the go!

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Lessons learned while taking this photo:

1. Thank goodness that digital photos are cheap. I spent at least 3 rolls trying to get this shot!

2. I apparently like to do not-entirely-smart things, despite not considering myself a daredevil. (Yes, I was wearing a helmet!)

3. I LOVE ultrawides!

199/365 - Window in Window

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A window in an old boiler house at Quincy -- in the later afternoon sun.

197, 198/365 - Gratiot River Camping!

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Today's photos come from my recent overnight camping and hiking trip to the mouth of the Gratiot River. It's a lovely little county park on the shore of Lake Superior, where the Gratiot River enters the lake. As you can see, the beach isn't sandy -- it's all big, rounded rocks in a huge variety of weathered colors.

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Here is another look at those beach rocks. The background is the bedrock in the area -- a wonderfully weathered, textured slate-like stone.

The trip was a great way to unwind. There's nothing like camping right next to the lake, with the waves crashing and the stars wheeling overhead. I spend part of the night taking some long exposure photos, which I'll post later!

196/365 - Hardened

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A hardened steel lock. This guards something important... a bathroom.

194, 195/365 - Everyday Objects

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It's an EGGBEATER! That is all.

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My office's window screen on a rainy, blue-green day.

In other news, I'm almost caught up on blog posts!

192, 193/365 - Flowers in Black and White

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"Onion flower?!", you say? "Certainly not!" Yes indeed it is -- this is the flower of the green onion which I left to go to seed in my garden. I'm having a ton of fun playing around with shallow depth of field.

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... and have I mentioned lately how I really like taking black and white flower photos?

191/365 - Coronet

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An abandoned Dodge Coronet, in the shadow of the cliffs, and covered in the shadows of leaves.

190/365 - Hoist Stars

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A shot from my second night in a row taking star trail photos! This one is from close by -- the Quincy #4 hoist, looming like a castle.

189/365 - Breakers Stars

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This photo gets its own post -- stars wheel over the McLain breakwater, at the north entrance of the Portage Canal. Despite being grainy and jumpy, I really love the feel of this photo -- it's some place I'll be going back to.

186, 187, 188/365 - Summer on the porch

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Beer! Specifically the KBC's Quick Link Lager. A delicious beer for a hot day.

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... and a lovely front porch on which to drink it ...

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... and finally, a rusty red 2 to ponder, while drinking the beer!

183, 184, 185/365 - A Keweenaw Collection

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The iconic Copper Country image: the Portage Lake Lift Bridge standing over a placid Portage at sunset.

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Looking up the Conglomerate #1 shaft at the Delaware Mine Tour -- a great tour which you should all check out!

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Finally, the Lovely Sarah, myself, and many Troupers playing a game of Bang!

182/365 - Compressor Ladder

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The Mohawk #6 Hoist/Compressor house has some interesting features -- including several very dodgy homemade ladders to access the different levels.

Mike (of Copper Country Explorer fame) and I went here a while ago. It's a very cool spot, partially because it's (relatively) well preserved -- there are still walls and floors, even!

(For a comparison, here is a corresponding location at another compressor foundation at the Arnold mine -- but much older.)

180, 181/365 - Flowers and Letters

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A lily growing on campus.

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A textbook.

177, 178, 179/365 - Mining Mix

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An idyllic scene, with a 9000 foot deep copper mine in the distance.

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The massive poorrock compressor foundation at the Arnold #2 mine's huge surface plant. This is one of the coolest ruins I've ever found, and it's (hopefully) going to be opened to the public... sometime!

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Finally, a relaxing shot -- at least, relaxing for me. This shot is from the old Quincy #7 poorrock pile (yes, the same stuff that formed the Arnold's foundation!). Over the years, visitors have put together a rocky seat, so that you can sit and enjoy the view of Houghton and the Portage.

176/365 - Raincoat Abstract

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An abstract shot of my bike shell -- safe, waterproof, and photogenic!

173, 174, 175/365 - Keweenaw Mishmash

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An old house at the Quincy mine -- currently being restored as a historical exhibit.

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A close-up of cattails. Amusingly, they were happily growing in the cement foundation of a steam hoist. No, not in the gaps between the cement parts -- in a cut-out spot right in the foundation itself!

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My newly cleaned bike gears.

171, 172/365 - Welcome to Michigan!

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And finally, two last photos from my travels back to Michigan -- from a roadside park, and from the Michigan-Wisconsin state line. Pure Michigan, indeed!