Category: Uncategorized

Yep, that’s right. I’m ready for a change in the weather. Actually, I would be ok with remaining warm to even borderline hot, but am ready for the humidity to head south! The unfortunate thing is it looks like that will not be happening anytime soon. We did get a little break from the heat and humidity for Friday night into Saturday and yesterday and then overnight, the humidity returned and looks to remain in place for the week ahead. We also look to have quite a bit of rain chances in the next 7-10 days. Not that every rain event will pan out, but we do remain very dry up here and it would be nice to see rains fall and help turn things green again or turn the pale green a deeper shade.

I also am continuing to feel the urge for the autumn chill to set in and to ditch the summer wear for jeans and a sweatshirt, I am just not fully there quite yet! Stay tuned though, as I have a feeling in a week or so, I could be fully there, especially if the current forecast holds true. 

When we reach the second half of August or even the last week to ten days of the month and it is hot and humid (like we are now) that in just 35-40 days, we could be seeing our first flakes of the season. Things can really change in a hurry up here! I have no ideas yet what this winter will portray for us here. I am hoping for something like this, or this. Those two pictures were from last year after a very snowy period impacted the French and Italian Alps with over 100 inches of snow in around a weeks time. We did have that happen in areas of the Keweenaw last year, during an arctic air outbreak in late January and early February. Of course Jacobsville missed almost all of that snow and even had sunshine when it was dumping buckets along the big snow areas. I think all told, we picked up less than 6″ during that same time frame, but got to enjoy the cold! I think if I win the lottery, I will build a winter camp in the higher terrain of Keweenaw County and stay there when the big dumps are hitting, then come home once I have had my fill!

I do love living in Jake, more so in the summer and autumn than in the winter and early spring. As far as places to be in  the Keweenaw in the summer, I have said it before and will say it again, I don’t think you can beat Jake. With the beach, the lower entry, the quiet country roads, it is just a nice slice of paradise. On Friday, I went fishing with some friends. We left at around 7 am and we were blessed with some beautiful sights as we took to the water. To the north, the humidity in the air combined with the cooler water to produce a layer of condensation fog. To the east the sun was just peaking above the treetops and trying to peak through the clouds. All the time, the waters surface was almost like glass. They decided to keep to the Portage Waterway and not hit the big lake, so we took the small boat. Just kidding, that boat was heading up the water way a bit after we got out.

I’m not a big fisherman. I had gotten my license the evening before, but once out on the water I traded a rod and reel for the foot controller of the electric trolling motor. I had never used one and it was pretty fun sitting at the front of the boat, pulling us around by the totally silent motor. They guys caught around a dozen fish. Only one keeper, so they ended up tossing it back in before we returned (the boat has a pair of live wells). However, as most fisherman know, it’s not only about what or how many you catch, it’s about the hunt and being out on the water.

As mentioned in last weeks entry, the blueberries and blackberries are in full swing up here. I talked about how Grace and I went to Poncho’s blueberry farm by Rice Lake to get 10 pounds of already picked blueberries and then this week, Nora, Grace and I headed to a blackberry patch we know of. I would say that the blackberries at that location were just at the beginning of peak. About 70 percent of them were ripe and ready for the picking and the other 30 percent were around 4-5 days away from being ripe. 

There are 4 bears roaming the greater Jacobsville area. One that is probably 2-3 years old and the other are much older and much larger. The young one is quite brazen. It came towards our bird feeder early in the summer and Nora yelled at it through the open window and it did not phase it. Bleau gave it a nervous bark or two (he’s not the bravest dog in the world!) and that did not even scare him off. Finally, I got to the window and gave it a good hollering at it and it did turn and run, but not far. It only made it to the shop, where it stopped and turned around to see what was going on. It did eventually leave. Others have had their screen porches broken into by it and one family even had it go into their house! Now, in the bears defense, they did leave their door wide open and there was a bunch of food just inside the door, but that is a pretty bold move for a bear!

The only other activity worth mentioning is that I continue to make progress on the office. Three walls are done and have been for quite some time. The ceiling got finished last week and I hope to get the fourth wall done this week. If all goes well, I hope to even be putting the flooring in later this week. Once the floor is done, then some trim and it is off to the shop to get the dust collection system up and running and things in full working shape. After that, it will be up into the apartment to finish the walls in the bathroom and the electrical. It will still need drywall and once the drywall is done, the flooring can go down. I am not going to do the drywall, so when we reach that point, I will head back down into the shop and put up the siding on the walls there and then start making a new desk and cabinetry for the office. By the time I am done with that, it should be snowmobile season! I will leave you with that beautiful thought!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

 

OK, so before I get into the “meat” of this entry, I would like to make a really big, huge, phenomenal, tremendous, announcement. The Journal will be moving to Monday’s. Yep, the top brass made the decision this past Sunday. The primary reason is that since I am now retired and do not have to do work on Sunday anymore, it is a family day. I would imagine that some of you are saying “OK, but today is Tuesday, Einstein!”. Well, yes it is, but yesterday I was busy in the day with some chores and then took Grace to skating practice in the evening. She is still on the summer schedule for skating, but the winter one also has skating on Monday’s, but that will be in Calumet, not Houghton. So either it will not take as much time, or Nora and Grace will stay in Calumet after school and then go to skating. OR, the top brass will move it to Tuesday night! Oh, the suspense!

We have arrived at my favorite time of the summer. The second half of August. That favorite time extends into the first 2-3 weeks of September. It is my favorite time of the year because the amount of out-of-towners starts to decrease, but does not go away and cause the tourism industry up here to hurt. Also, the weather is still very nice (most of the time). It does get dark at a fairly reasonable time, so we are all going to bed and it is dark out. With the increasing amount of darkness, the nights are getting cooler. We can hit 91 like we did the other day, but then cool off to the low 70’s by 7 or 8 and have an overnight low in the low 50’s. Last, but certainly not least is the bugs are barely a problem at all. This year the bug issue is nearly zero. We did get some good rain early last week, but it has been dry since and looks to remain dry until Saturday.

I am beginning to feel the excitement of autumn creep into my thoughts. I am not ready for it yet, but that will likely change in around 3-4 weeks. Same goes for winter. Certainly not ready for it yet, but am starting to get excited for its pending arrival in around 3 months or so. I even am excited for snowmobile season. If all goes well, I plan to trade in the Kamo M and get something new. Probably not a mountain sled, but rather a crossover. So if any marketing folks from Poo, Cat or Doo, or dealers would like to play “Let’s make a Deal” I’m all ears!

My first picture for this entry is a late comer in the local wildflower category. It’s not the flowers fault, but rather mine. Somehow I missed a group of Black-eyed Susan’s we have growing behind the shop. This next one is another flower shot, but not about the flower, but rather the bumble bee inside it. Nora took that one morning last week when it was in the upper 40’s. The bee had crawled in there and gone to sleep! I had no idea that they slept inside flowers! Pretty amazing for Nora to get a shot like that. I wonder if they snore?!

Our resident rafter of Turkeys are still meandering the hood. It looks like their numbers have taken a hit. I counted 11 the other day and Nora said that earlier in the season, she counted 21. Kind of sad, until I remember what we have every Thanksgiving and the Circle of Life thing. I wonder what kind(s) of predators have been taking them? We for sure have several kinds, like coyotes, raccoons, skunks, fox, eagles, hawks…to name a few. Just about every night, the coyotes make a racket, so I would not be surprised that they are responsible for at least some of the missing turkeys.

This past weekend, we all took a trip into “The Keweenaw”. I know that we actually live on the Keweenaw Peninsula, but for a lot of local folks, it is Keweenaw County that is the Keweenaw. I have to say that it was nice to be back up north. It’s been a while since I was in the high country and almost forgot how much elevation change there is! I snapped a shot of Lake Superior off in the distance as we drove down a seasonal road. The main reason for the trip up north was to go to the Eagle Harbor Art Fair. We packed a lunch and stopped at a roadside park along the way to eat it. The sandwich was PBJ, but I was the ham. Grace is really growing up, but still as sweet as she ever was. Nora and I are just blessed beyond words to have her. It is just so much fun for me to watch her grow up and in 3 weeks, she will have attended her first day in 7th grade!

So this time of the year also brings lots of berries. Strawberries are long gone and the raspberries are just about done-zo too. However, the blueberries are still cranking away and today Gracie and I took a run out to Rice Lake to get a box of them. All told, there was 10 pounds there. That’s a whole lot of antioxidants! We were not able to eat them all in one sitting, so we will freeze them and have them throughout the winter in all sorts of things. The blackberries are just turning ripe and as I mentioned in a previous entry, there is a bumper crop of them. In fact, I don’t think I have seen the vines so laden with them in my entire life. I did not go to pick today, so I cannot show you the vines, but will go tomorrow and snap shots for the next entry. One thing I can attest to is that they are magnificent! So sweet, juicy and flavorful!

Grace, Bleau, Kashi and I took a walk this morning and headed down our road about a mile or so. That is the longest walk I have probably been on in around 3 years. I did just fine, did not have to stop, even on a pretty good hill. My heart is really starting to kick into gear since the surgery back in spring and I am loving it. That is a big reason why I am excited for snow and to get a new sled! I do have one more procedure to have in September or early October, but it should not set me back much at all and by the time the snows are here to stay, I should be in even better shape than I am now. Anyway, we came to section of our road called “lovers leap”. This picture explains clearly why it has that name. I do not know of any lovers that have leapt off of it, but if the water were deep, I think I would be tempted! Looking straight out from the cliff is a great view of the northern end of Keweenaw Bay and the Huron Mountains. 

We sure are so lucky to call this place home. Everywhere you go, you will find amazing things to see and do. With me feeling better, I really hope to get back out and start seeing it and sharing it with you all again! It’s been WAY too long since I have done exploring up here.

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

Apologies for no entry last week. I was busy with another project and asked Nora to fill in. She graciously accepted, but then got busy with some things and ended up forgetting! So no big deal, but I really do not like to have a week go by with no entry. This week was a busy one, especially with Gracie’s birthday occurring on Wednesday.

The week provided no new rain for our parched ground, but we did get some yesterday evening. Temps were warm to start the week and then cooled off, so much so that by Friday and yesterday, a hoodie was needed to keep me warm while doing things outside. The dryness has had a positive side, the bugs are nearly non-existent. At least while out in open areas or near the woods. I suspect that if one went into the deep woods, then the good old mosquitos would find them. It is also August and that is when the bugs hit their minimum for the bug season. Deer fly and horse flies are barely an issue and any other flying creature of nuisance is not showing their faces. So it is a great time of the year to be in the great outdoors up here. 

The week started out with some excitement in Jake. There was an old, falling down, house that burnt to the ground. Now before everyone starts to feel sorry for the owner or think of this as some kind of tragedy, the fire intentionally set by the fire department to get rid of it to make room for a new home. It served as a practice burn for some members of the department as well. Even though it was a planned burn, it drew quite the crowd for Jacobsville and was very interesting to watch burn. Without the feelings of sadness, it was interesting and actually enjoyable to watch the fire get started, then spread throughout the house and eventually consume it entirely. That picture was taken just after the walls of the house gave in and the roof came crashing down into the mayhem. It was also probably the point at which the flames were most dramatic. About a half hour later, it was down to just a pile of burning rubble and looked more like a giant grill fire than house fire. The next day all that was left were a few whiffs of smoke off of the remaining coals. 

The department did a great job of keeping the flames confined to the house. Before the house was even lit on fire, they sprayed down the surrounding trees, bushes and grass with water and a fire retardant. It was also interesting to see all of the special features on the trucks and some of the special equipment. They had a portable, pop-up, holding tank that took them all of 30 seconds to put up. The main pumper truck got it’s water from that tank, while other trucks made runs to differing stand pipes in the area to draw water from the Portage Waterway into their tanks and then keep the holding tank filled. Even the way the water came out of the trucks and into the holding tank was cool to watch. Exhaustion was the only casualty among some of the fire fighters, but they did have first responders/EMS and an ambulance on scene in case of a more serious injury. Thank goodness none of that was needed!

As mentioned, Wednesday was Gracie’s Birthday. She turned 12 years old and is every part of a 12 year old! It’s been such a joy for me to watch her grow older. I know a lot of parents get sad, but I know how much fun and exciting it is for a child to grow older and thus just share in her excitement and joy. I’m sure when it comes time for her to set off on her own, there will be sadness in my heart, but also joy and excitement for her.

After breakfast and opening up a present, she was able to do one of her favorite activities, knee boarding. A little later in the day, she was joined by her best friend in Jake, Flora. The two of them had a blast getting pulled around on a tube. After that and after drying off and getting into dry clothes, it was cake time. An ice cream cake from Dairy Queen was the pic for this year. It’s a good thing that it is still staying light out late up here, because the final thing they did was to set up a tent in the back yard and then spend the night in it. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good birthday for the girl. The big present was her very own snowmobile. It’s an older model Polaris, but it has electric start, reverse and a small enough engine that she will not feel intimidated on it. The longer track will also help keep her from getting stuck. I am looking forward to taking some rides through the bush with her this winter! Hopefully a new sled will be in my wheelhouse before the snow flies!

Parts of Thursday and Friday were spent cutting our grass as well as Nora’s brother’s grass. Her brother gave us his older zero turn lawn mower when he upgraded this spring and that machine has made cutting the grass no issue at all. Not only does it do it in less than half the time, it is way more comfortable to ride and quieter. Plus, at this time of the year, I get to stop and take some snack breaks when I pass by the berry patches! I also was treated to a pair of interesting sights when I was cutting the lawn around the barndeeminimum. One was a couple of corn plants growing where the bird feeder was. A couple of the seeds managed to germinate! The other was an apple that fell off the tree and landed on a stick that had broken off. How many times do you suppose this happens!

Yesterday was not only cloudy and cool, but there was a stiff breeze out of the northeast. That had the big rollers on the lake swinging onto our shoreline. Before it rained, we took a ride out to a blackberry patch we know of to see if any of them were ready. Not yet, but on the way home, I stopped to snap this shot of a section of the Jacobsville cliffs. That is not a house sitting precariously on the edge of the cliff. It is a small little out building. Nora has been in it and has said it is magnificent inside, with lots of custom woodwork. I would like to see the inside before it tumbles into the drink! Actually, I believe they would just move it back further to where it will be safe. 

Early this morning we had the rafter of turkeys waddle through our yard. This was just a small portion of the entire gang. There are three mothers and at least a dozen young ones. It’s interesting how the mothers will join forces and create a large group like that, but I suppose there is safety in numbers! This group meanders through the neighborhood and comes through our yard about once a day.

That about does it for this week. School is still a little over 4 weeks away for the kids up here, but Bleau is already beginning to rest up for the new school year. Lots of challenges lay ahead for him!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

 

It’s been quite some time since I have written a journal that had over 30 pictures in it. Truth be told, the majority of them are of the wildflowers growing along side our road, hence the title of this weeks entry, but I hope you enjoy them all the same.

It has been another week of nearly ideal summer weather. Loads of sunshine all but one day and highs in the upper 70’s to mid 80’s. The only downside to this beautiful weather is that I have not done anything towards getting the shop, office and apartment closer to being done! I’m not exactly worrying about it. There will be time a plenty for that in a little over a month.

Another reason for not getting any inside work done is that all of my mornings this past week were once again taken up by bringing Grace down to the climbing program at MI Tech. She was bound and determined to get past “The Cube” and right away got to tackling it. I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical of her getting past it. Not because she lacks determination or skill, but because I was told by one of the instructors that very few climbers of any age get past it. That did not discourage her one bit from giving it her all and after at least a dozen tries, this was as far as she was able to get each time. Everyone was very impressed by her accomplishments and there are other programs going on in the gymnasium at the same time and some in those other activities would pause to watch her climb the cube. The final step in climbing the cube is a rather exhilarating drop and swing out away from the wall.  

Much of the rest of the week was spent lounging in the pool. With the weather being so nice, it is almost unavoidable to be out in the warm waters of the pool. Many evenings have also been spent with Nora and I hanging out in the pool and just chatting and relaxing. We did have a cloudy day on Thursday and did not go in the pool at all. Probably the first time in around 10 days.

So I mentioned that much of this weeks entry would be about the wildflowers growing along side our road. So here goes. I am not going to get too wordy in my narrative, rather I will just do my best to name the plant in the picture. First up is St. John’s Wort, poisonous to humans, pets and livestock. Here is common chicory. It’s no poisonous and is sometimes added to coffee or can even be eaten raw. Fireweed, so called because it’s seeds need to go through fire before they can germinate. St. John’s Wort is an invasive species and so is this next one, Giant Goldenrod. Common Yarrow is considered good luck in China and in Scotland is believed to have magical properties. It can be used in tea or brewed into beer, but should not be consumed in large quantities due to it being slightly toxic. 

Oxeye daisy, or Dog daisy, moon daisy, White daisy is toxic to dogs and slightly toxic to humans. Meadow buttercup is moderately toxic to humans, pets and livestock. At one point I believe this plant was called Indian paintbrush, but it’s current name is Fox-and-cubs. I do not believe it is toxic, but probably better to not ingest! It is actually planted in gardens. Meadow buttercup is mildly toxic to humans, pets and livestock. Here is it’s flower. This one is my favorite, Orange daylily or Tiger daylily. So called a daylily because each flower only lasts one day. Flowers are edible and actually contains more fats than most vegetable. The next is the best smelling of the lot, a Wild rose.

So that does it for the wildflower exhibition. However, there are more plants to show! The raspberries are in full production mode, although that mode seems to be some ready, some not quite yet. Nora’s green thumb and a lot of attention to watering has her planters all looking beautiful and really sprucing up the yard. Here is one by the bench and here is another. This is one hanging on the bird feeder and this is another. During the time bear are out, we stop feeding the birds because the bear get most of it! Here is another planter sitting on top of a twig chair made for Grace several years ago. She really loves her hanging baskets! A tub helps to fancy up the base of our electrical pole. Another hanging basket full of wave petunias. Last but not least among the flowering plants is the Bigleaf hydrangea that Nora nursed back to health. This spring it looked like is was all but dead, but some TLC has it blooming magnificently. The final plant I have to share is Ground elder. I really think it is cool looking and makes a great ground cover. 

Now for those of you that think I must be some kind of expert in local plants, I am far from it. All of my identification came from an app for my phone called “Picture This”. It is a really cool app that Nora found. You can snap a shot of a plant or flower or bring up a picture from your camera roll and the app identifies it and gives you a bunch of info on it. Both cool and handy. If I could remember all it tells me, then I really would be an expert!

Yesterday we had a humming bird hanging around one of the shepherds hooks with the flowers on them. Then she moved forward and was inches away from the window, just hovering. She must have seen her reflection and that caused her behavior. Nora was able to snap a few pictures of the gal hovering.

Another thing Grace and I worked on this week was cleaning up the sailboat we got from my brother who passed away just over a year ago. After it was all cleaned up, I build a cradle for it to sit on while we use the small utility trailer we have. The boat did not come with a trailer and the one we have would not have worked well on it’s own.

So yesterday we had the perfect conditions for the maiden voyage. I grew up on boats and this small sailboat, a sailfish, is not only extremely friendly to sail, it is one we had. So despite the fact that it has probably been over 25 years since I last sailed it, it would be like riding a bike to me. This would be the first time Grace would ever be on a sailboat and was somewhat nervous, but more excited. We launched and rigged the boat without any problems, Grace climbed aboard and then I climbed on. At that point, the boat tipped enough to cause me to roll backwards, off the boat and into the water! Don’t they say the hardest part about riding a bike is to just get going?! I was able to recover and plop myself onto the boat, get into the correct position and get us underway. 

We had a great sail, the wind was a little inconsistent, which caused for some changing of course more than would have been preferred, but Grace and I had a blast and I schooled her in a few things, besides how not to get into it! It is my hope to teach her to sail it so she can take it out on her own. Nora stayed on the dock while we sailed and spotted an eagle drop to the water, scoop up a fish and fly off with it. No matter how many times one sees that, it is always a magnificent sight. After around an hour and a half, Grace and I let the winds bring us back to port safe and sound. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of sailing!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

 

What a July we have been having! Probably parts of June too, but I can’t remember back that far! Many of the days have been in the low 80’s for highs, with loads of sunshine and low enough humidity to make it not feel too hot. The reasonable humidity also allows the night time temps to drop into the 50’s and even some 40’s. I cannot even remember the last time we had a notable rain. The rains have fallen mainly to the south across WI, but some have snuck into the southern and eastern parts of the UP. There have even been some rains that have fallen in the Keweenaw from Houghton north, but I know we have not had any kind of meaningful rain since the 24th of June when we picked up a quarter of an inch.

Miraculously the grass in our yards is still very green, but I am going on day 8 without having to cut it. I do plan to cut it tomorrow and it is suppose to rain on Wednesday. So we will see what that does. The dry weather has also helped to reduce the bugs. Not eliminate them, but their numbers are down for sure. It has kept Nora busy watering her plants at least once a day. Some more than that if they are in the full sun all day and are wet soil lovers. So far the dryness has not seemed to impact the berries. Strawberries were down a bit, but because of a late frost. Raspberries are just starting to come on-line and so far so good. The blackberries flowered a few weeks ago and generally ripen at the end of August. Our cherry tree in the front yard had a bumper crop. They are Rainier Cherry’s and are as sweet as they are red! 

Retirement has been treating me very well. The removal of the stresses of the two jobs that have been put on the shelf has been wonderful. Although in some ways, it still has not fully settled in. I still need to get used to the idea that I don’t have much “next day” responsibility to be concerned about and that I can stay up or out late. I do feel guilty when I hear Nora getting ready for work in the morning, while I am still in bed. She is a true sweetheart and has never complained about me retiring, in fact, she is more than thrilled for me to have those stresses gone. Once the snowfall forecasts start back up, then I don’t think I will be sleeping in much past when she and Grace head off to the school. That is what I did before summer break hit. One perk she does have by going in to work in the morning, is the scenery. This is a shot she took about a week or so ago while on her way to work.

I am not the only one I know who has retired at an early age. This past week I met up with some riding buddies from the past. Three out of the five in that picture are retired. From left to right is: Nick (way too young to retire!), Brian (recently retired), “Lefty” (recently retired, although will be riding for Chris Burandt this winter), Al (not yet retired) and of course me. Lefty was our guide when we went west to Togwotee to ride. Although the get together was just a few hours long, we had a load of laughs reminiscing about the past adventures we had! Those days (2001-2009) were by far the best I ever had, both here in the Keweenaw and out west. A great bunch of guys! Hopefully we can manage to get together for some more rides in the future.

So it’s no secret that I did not write last week. I came down with a wicked summer cold that is floating around Jacobsville and perhaps many other areas. It starts out as a sore throat and runny nose/sneezing. A few days later, you are down for the count. No energy, horrible headache, sneezing, coughing, etc. That lasts for around 24-48 hours and my two bad days were last Saturday and Sunday. Through this week I have been making gradual improvements, but still have a cough and stuffed up nose. To make matters worse, I cracked or broke a rib about the same time I came down with it, so all the coughing was not only painful, but kept the rib from healing much. I am thankful to say that the rib is finally healing up so that I can move without pain. The cold also has gotten to the point where it is just a nuisance.

Before I came down the cold, Nora and I took a ride with one of our neighbors through some of his land. It’s amazing how different much of his woods are from ours. Our woods are dominated by mostly softwoods (pine), with a few hardwoods. His land, which sits just a few hundred feet from ours, is mostly hardwoods and reminds me a lot of the woods we had when we lived up north. At one point, he told us that just off into the woods was a old root cellar, so Nora and I ventured off the trail and into the woods to try and find it. We were successful and upon finding it, we both immediately started thinking about who built it and what life was like back then. Jacobsville was a pretty populated place at one point, with over 1000 persons living here. Most of the buildings that those residents lived in are now completely gone. Even the foundations being covered up by the years of organic matter accumulation. That old root cellar was like a time capsule of sorts, taking us back over 100 years to life in Jake.

Besides hanging pretty low and trying to get rid of my cold, this week was also spent taking Grace to MI Tech every morning for rock climbing. Yes, I said rock climbing. It is not actual rock that they climb on, but rather a climbing wall made of plywood and pieces of dense plastic that are bolted to the wall in order for the climbers to use to go up the wall. Climbing this wall has been on Graces bucket list since the first day she saw it a few years ago. Tech has many summer programs for kids and one of them is this 2 week rock climbing class. It really is a cool thing. Tech supplies all the shoes for the kids to use, as well as the harnesses and two college age instructors. The program is pretty loose, meaning that the kids can just take turns climbing the walls and if they want some instruction then they get it, otherwise it is just about having fun. 

Grace is the oldest of the 6 kids in her “class” and really loves to climb! I am amazed at how well she took to doing it and how fearless she is. There are three interconnected walls. The one in the middle is the easiest, being just straight up. The one to the left has a spot where the wall protrudes a bit and thus when the climber get to it, they are no linger vertical and are leaning back in conjunction with the wall. The right wall has what they call a “cube” near the top. It’s basically what is sound like. A cube protruding from the wall, meaning that the climber is either upside down while climbing that part, or just using their hands.

Here is a time lapse video of Grace climbing the middle wall. Here is a shot of her navigating the bump out on the left wall. Here is a shot of her making it to the top of the left wall and here is a shot showing the full height of the wall, for a good perspective of the lack of fear of heights one needs to have to get to the top! She has also been trying her hardest to bag the cube! She has not done it yet, but still has this week to try and get it done. I would not put it past her to accomplish it, she basically had NO experience rock climbing before this program and has not asked for much help so far. I know my jaw will hit the floor if she makes it! Here is a shot of another attempt to get past the cube.

Outside of the rains slated for this Wednesday, it looks like it will be another outstanding week of weather up here. I have not put my feet in the lake in around a week, but when I did, it did not feel too cold at all. A lot depends on wind direction, but I may just get in my first Lake Superior swim of the season this week! If not, then the heated pool will continue to get the call. Either way, I will be wet behind the ears!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD