• Monday-What'sUP September 21 - 01:06 pm

This picturesque scene from a precipice on Isle Royale, is looking out toward Thunder Bay, Canada. You can just make out the shadow of land off in the distance. I might be wrong, but the jut of land on the right hand side could be what folks refer to as "The Sleeping Giant", thus named because when the view is unobstructed by trees, it looks like a large person lying down. I've included a smaller shot below, that I snapped of the "Giant" this past July. There's no snoozing while hiking the Island trails though, in fact it's not even a good thing to be daydreaming with some rough footpaths to traverse making your way around. Aimee Rathbun gives us a look at both the scenery and one of the trails that takes you to your home away from home, while hiking the Island. The shelters may not be a swanky hotel room, but the ambiance is hard to match. Time is running out to make a last trip there for this year!

Good morning from Mishawaka IN. That top picture looks like my kind of country. Beautiful! Maybe someday I'll get to visit. Have a good day everyone.

Great way to start off the week.

Great picture today again. Went to the island about 25 years ago. Just loved the beauty of it all. But I didn't care to much for the boat ride there. I got sea sick... no fun.

Great pic,what a view. I have to admit I cannot see the "giant". I guess its one of those things you have to see in person,eh?

Isle Royale is one place I will have to visit in my dreams, as I suffer from severe unremitting motion sickness when not on dry land. I have to fly next weekend for the first time since 1987, and am stocking up on every mal d'aire remedy my friends can suggest. ...I wonder how long it is to drive from Northern MIchigan to Kansas City? On the other hand if the remedies work, I may be packing on the Isle next summer...

Therese, Just a rough calculation on Map Quest, it'll take approx, 14 1/2 hours to drive to Kansas City and the distance is 885 miles. Go on the trip to Isle Royale...........

Beautiful pics of a place that I someday hope to visit. What a wonderful way to start the week, with pics like these. Pasty Cam, take me away ;-)

John And Ann Kentucky...to see the person laying down in the last pic, the bump on the far right is their head...the valley is their neck...next hump is their hands on their chest...followed by thier body and legs ;)

Therese,

I also have serious motion sickness, but got one of the prescription "patches" recently when I went on a cruise and had no trouble, and this was during 6- to 10-foot swells on the ocean. Just be sure to get enough of them to cover the entire time (they are good for about 3 days).

O.K. Thanks, Anne looked at the the pic and told me I was an idiot. She showed me right away what to look for. There is also a "giant" in Iron Mt. that is much easier to see!

Hey Therese, try and sleep while on your trip if you can. Helped me alittle on the boat ride back from Isle Royale. Try anything within reason.

Anyone know how we talked the British out of Isle Royale, way back when?

i believe Ben Franklin was responsible for Isle Roysle being in the US - i don't remember the details

Thanks everyone for the tips. I am trying ginger tablets every two hours and the scopalamine patch. And maybe praying en route to calm me down. I'm not actually scared of crashing, just of throwing up on a stranger -- or worse on this trip, my boss.

i know this is a bit ot, but I'm planning a quick weekend trip up to Chassell area ...
are the leaves changing up there yet ?

Therese: Just go to your medical care provider and they will prescribe what you need for the concerns that affect you. I have a terrible fear of heights...so I know just how you feel.

Yes, we should thank Ben Franklin for negotiating (Treaty of Paris 1783) for Isle Royale to belong to the United States, even though geographically it seems closer to Canada.
If I recall my 8th grade Michigan History, the treaty boundary gave Michipicoten Island to Canada as an "equal compensation" Franklin had heard rumors of copper deposits on Isle Royale, which directly corresponded to his interest in electricity.

A boundary description excerpt from that treaty reads: “into Lake Huron, thence through the middle of said lake to the water communication between that lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior northward of the Isles Royal and Phelipeaux to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of said Long Lake and the water communication between it and the Lake of the Woods, to the said Lake of the Woods;”

Running the M.V. Sandy out of Rock Harbor Lodge in the late 60's had to have been my favorite job of my whole career. The trip and hike to gaze upon the "Sleeping Giant" was one of our favorites.

Therese
Scotch works for me. Preferably Dewars.

Dave sou, Yes the colors are coming out here in the U.P. I hear some of the early color change is due to the dry summer. But everything else has been early this year, so it stands to reason the colors will be too. This past Sunday I drove M-26 about 25 south of Houghton and it seemed they had more colors than the Houghton/Hancock area. Haven't heard anything on the colors farther north in the Keweenaw. Color or no colors, it is still beautiful!

When Ben Franklin was in the process of negotiating the treaty he had presented very inaccurate charts which showed Isle Royale being closer to the U.S. side than to Canada.

The way my texts present it to my 7th and 8th graders is that Mr. Franklin had some suspisions about copper deposits and the French, looking at rough maps did not see the oddity of Franklin's claim.

Thank you ever so much Mr. Franklin...copper aside, my family is flat out in love with that Island.

I'll have to try the Prickett Dam area when we are UP in a week. I can't climb the mountain though, because of bad knees. I have pictures in my gallery (Marsha Galbraith)of Prickett Lake with and without water. It's a beautiful, serene area. Other fall favorites are Silver River Falls on the Abbaye Peninsula, north of L'anse and Ten-Foot. Last year we ate at Lac La Belle and were amazed at the view and the reflections on the lake before sunset. On the way home we drive towards Newberry for beautiful colors. Can't wait. Actually my lawn in Aura with fall colors is enough to make me happy!