• Friday-What'sUP June 27 - 05:47 pm

Whether you call it the bush, the woods or the forest, it's always an interesting walk when you head out for a hike in the tree studded landscape UP North. Probably the very first thing you'll notice is the greenery, including ferns like these that Lynne Smith spotted on a recent trek through the woodlands of the Porcupine Mountains. These lush looking plants can grow in the barest of land, but they really thrive where the soil is moist and shady. Although this one doesn't seem to mind the bit of sunshine warming it's fronds.

Lynne found something a bit unusual on the forest trail too. Actually she was exploring the Interpretive Trail, near the Porcupine Mountain Visitors Center, when she came upon this stairway. You might say it's a "stairway to heaven", since this same State Park also boasts about being the home of "Lake of the Clouds" too! If you need a suggestion for a good place to start when visiting the Porcupine Mountains, Lynne suggests you try the Interpretive Trail. She says they avoided the trail for a long time, thinking it was a "wimpy" trail, but to her surprise it really shows the different aspects of the park and was the perfect place to start enjoying the beauty and diversity of the park. It's worth checking out!

Don't forget to check out the Pasty Fest activities going on this weekend in Calumet too. There are a number of events to attend today, with tomorrow (Saturday) being the big day packed with fun, including a Pasty Parade and the Pasty Bakeoff. You can find the schedule of events and times by clicking HERE

Neat stairway - will have to visit the "Porkies" again one of these days & walk the Interpretive Trail.

TGIF! So serene I love it!

Stairway to Heaven.

Stairway to MOSQUITOVILLE......... :)

Mosquitoville it is.......My dogs like to walk out back in the woods.....they come out fine....I look like I have the measles!!!

It is a beautiful picture to enjoy without any bites!!!

Thanks & God Bless you all as this weekend starts......

We have printed out the trail map for the Porkies and are deciding which ones we want to take. They all have their different views but we are partial to the lake. Its so pretty there any would do.

Very nice pictures, and I'm quite the fan of ferns. There's just something so very natural about them.

For mosquitos they make bug spray so you can enjoy the stairway without fear of being bitten too many times.

has anyone hike the the trail from lake of the clouds overlook down to the presque isle river? I'd like to do it but I'm wondering how rough it is ... anyone?

The old joke is still around about the service people at Houghton Airport put 200 gallons of aviation fuel into this thing sitting on the runway befor they realized it was a UP MOSQUITO !
I swear they're big enuf to tackle a turkey....

Have a safe and blessed 4th of July.!!!!!

I find it interesting that with the cold,snowy, longer winters that the U.P. have compared to let's say Iowa, the bugs would be so bad. I guess they have that sisu as well! lol!

Good Friday to everyone. Sorry for my absense, it's been a busy time at work preparing for Scotland; have to make sure all the reports and investigations are in before I go!!! Beautiful photos today. I haven't been to the Porkies in many years and should really make the trip there the next time we are in the UP.

Interesting tidbit about ferns. They first appeared on Earth around 400 million years ago. Ferns really began to take off about 300 million years ago, about the same time as cockroaches and the first reptiles. Even with the Permian Extinction event that wiped out 95% of all marine life and 50% of all life on Earth, ferns survived and have remianed virtually unchanged for millions of years (unfortunitely, so has the roach!!).

I'll take ferns over cockroaches any day.

Capt. Will they let you take rocks back from Scotland or are we going to read about you and Doc in the paper for being arrested by customs?

I believe the ferns appeared a whole lot sooner. More like less then
ten thousand years ago on the third day of creation. When God
said let the land bring forth plants.

Bob S, now that you have brought it up, how long is one of God's days in people years?

Paul H Meier, Because the Hebrew wording is; there was evening
and morning and a number it indicates God is using a twenty-four
hour day. Every time those phrases are used together it means a
twenty-four hour day.

On that alternative Interpretive Trail: 24 hrs in old Hebrew might well be the accepted usage in old Hebrew syntax. But here's a joke from comedian Steven Wright: He had the midnight munchies, so he went to the 24-hour store. Arriving, he found the clerk chaining up the door. Wright says he exclaimed, "But the sign says 24 hours!" And the clerk replied, "Not all in a row!"

Have never found a Hebrew scholar (esp. of ancient languages) who has shown that the first seven days were all in a row, even accounting for any linguistic conventions of the time. Don Trump builds hotels the same way, 1st day "get the materials" (weeks pass), 2nd day "break ground" (months pass), etc. His few days work takes years, same as the Boss.

I s'poze that Day 8 will be ... a Monday moanin', great for a Porkies hike. :-) -dº

Religion is a tricky topic, because as Benjamin Franklin once said, “Many people who argue about religion have never practised it.”

However, I believe that it is not only important to have faith, but to understand the historical context and meaning behind my faith. Why the heck would God have given me a brain if he didn’t want me to use it, eh? So I have taken the time to study the Bible and the fascinating history surrounding it.

There are, in fact, two creation stories in Genesis written at two different times. The first story, told in Genesis 1, was written during the Babylonian Exile in the 6th Century BC. In this account, land and vegetation was created on day three. The sun, moon and stars were created on day four. I’ve always found it interesting that there were days before the sun, considering days are defined by when the sun rises and sets. Hmmm..... The twenty four hour day is due to how the earth rotates around the sun, yet we had twenty four hour days before the sun....???? And, of course, man was created last in this creation story. The second creation story was written in the 10th Century BC, during the reign of King Solomon. In this story, man is created first, and all other things (plants and animals) are created later.

The fact is, Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 contradict each other if taken literally. They differ in historical context (Babylonian Exile vs. reign of Solomon). They differ in language. The writer of Genesis 1 refers to God as “Elohim” whereas the author of Genesis 2 refers God as “Yahweh.” The accounts also differ on the method of creation (command in Ch1 vs. hands-on in Ch 2) and the sequence of creation is contradictory.

So that leaves the question that many faithful people such as myself have to ask, which account is correct. I, and many modern Biblical Scholars, have come to the conclusion that both are correct. Both illustrate important concepts about God, but are parables explaining facets of faith, rather than literal interpretations that contradict themselves.

As I tried to hint at the beginning, religion is a touchy subject and I have no desire to upset anybody by this posting. I know I have come to understand God and religion like looking at a mountain. You look at it from one angle and you can memorise its profile, you can study every rock and crag and think you know every detail about it... But then walk to the other side of the mountain. It’s the same amazing and beautiful mountain, but it looks so different. I think true religion is the same way. We’re all looking at the same beautiful mountain, just from slightly different perspectives. Like Hindu Scripture states, "Truth is one, the sages call It by many names."

And I’ll sign off with one of my favourite quotes. It’s from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I : “The Bible was not written by men of science, but by men of Faith. It was their explanation of the miracle of creation, which is the same miracle whether it took six days or many centuries.”

Dr. Nat (Drnat):
"I know I have come to understand God and religion like looking at a mountain. ..."

Some interesting material in your post, Dr. Nat, although i wonder if maybe we should be on the religion page.

As for myself, over the years I have become seriously disillusioned & disappointed in "organized" religion and the many scoundrels and con artists (televangelists, for example) promoting same largely to their own mercenary benefit, not to mention the considerable number of pseudo-Christian hypocrites I have known.

Yet in a manner very similar to your "mountain", I have come to think of the many world's religions and their adherents as studying the beauty of a diamond, each peering through his own facet, and each proclaiming his as the "true" view.

From ferns to the mosquito to religon....... I guess they are all related somehow.....

When it comes to religion we all have to learn to forgive those who sin differently than we do.

You're probably right, Frank, this thread of discussion may be better suited for our "religion" page... but let me send this conversation over to that page with a brief observation.

Could it be that religion is a 'touchy subject' because it represents a threat to our sanity? We all develop a sense of reality because of information presented to us, and our experiences through life. These shape our world view. Religion comes along and prompts us to re-examine our world view.

For example, Capt. Paul's post (about events 300 or 400 million years ago) suggests a world view of uniformitarianism, the idea that processes are uniform, that time is an endless stream coming from ages in the past and stretching forever into the future. Along comes details of a Creator forming a mature man and woman in His own image, in the mature creation just completed some thousands of years ago, instead of billions. It's impossible to entertain such a thought and still embrace the notion of absolute uniform processes. To maintain sanity we tend toward one or the other: uniform processes or the possibility that very non-uniform things happen (miraculous?, cataclysmic?). Creation of the world, resurrection of Christ, end of the world, just to name a few.

Interesting how a walk in the U.P. woods can inspire such deep thought. We invite you to continue this thread of conversation over in the Politics, Religion, Ketchup or Gray forum.

Anyone who has spent any time in the mountains and woods of this great country is inspired and taken back by the greatness and beauty of it all. I have had many a "religious experience" deep down in my soul and found it in nature's wonderfullness. (not a real word... but ought to be) To me, religion can be found in walking some quiet trail in the woods, or sitting on a rock watching the sunset over the lake, and giving thanks, however it was created. .

Oh... and to get back to the ferns. Early spring is a great time to enjoy a nice salad of young fiddle head ferns mixed in with your lettuce!