Earlier in the week, Dan Spreitzer sent me this view of Little Bay De Noc, from the Gladstone Sports Park. That's less than 170 miles or about 3 hours drive, depending where in the Keweenaw you leave from. So it's not actually that far south, but the snow cover is so much different. I'm better at measuring mileage distances with "how many hours" it takes to get there, than actual miles. Is that a common method of measurement around the country, or is it a Yooper thing, like panking snow?!

Mary,
Alot of people measure distance by how many "Road Pops" you can drink before you arrive.

Not very responsible in this politically correct world we live in but Yoopers have always been a little outside the norm.

We leave tomorrow morning for a very quick trip to Marquette. Have to take the boy back up to NMU. At least I'll ve in "da yoop" for 48 hours!

Mary, I think it is a Michigan thing. I emigrated from Iowa a long time ago where everything is measured in exact miles NOT time taken to get there. I used to drive my relatives nuts when they would come to Mich. and ask how far something was and I would say "about 2 hours" and they would respond, "Yeah! but how far is it!!"

I think it's a Michigan thing also. I moved to Connecticut from Michigan a while back and I used to frustrate people when I'd tell them distances in time instead of miles. Now I've almost given in by giving them both time and miles.
I think a big difference is that in Michigan you can drive 6 hours and still be going the same direction in the same state. In New England in 6 hours I can drive THROUGH 2 states and be half way through a 3rd!

Dan and (cousin) Donna Spreitzer live 10 miles east of Escanaba.....(on the right of his picture). It took us 3 1/2 hours from our house in Escanaba to Lake Linden if I didn't stop to shop in Marquette. I went to Marquette (60 miles north) last week and was amazed at the snow banks. I went to Menominee (60 miles west) last Wednesday and there is absolutly no snow. Just a slight dusting here and we have not had to use the snow-blower yet.....this is the banana belt and the living is easy and we are still proud Yoopers.....My dentist told me one of his clients from the copper country would come to Escanaba for the winter because his doctor told him to "go south for the winter".

I agree that it's a Michigan thing. Our out of towners always comment on it when we say time rather than distance.

In Idaho distance is measured in hours. I.E. how far to Salt Lake City Airport: 2 1/2 hr if the roads are good. When folks ask where I live I tell them 3 hr S.W. of Jackson Hole, 3 3/4 hours south of Big Sky,Mt, 3hr south of Yellowstone and so on. Its the same in Nevada and Utah. I guess we do it because there is so much open space. But I notice I am always looking at the green signs that indicate mileage to the next coffee stop.

Here in the big spaces of eastern Washington, I always measure distance in time. However, I grew up in the U.P..

Maybe it has to do with the size of the state, the big ones use time and the small ones use miles.

Mike B. in Pittsburgh, isn't it "Road Sodas" if you live in Pittsburgh? I lived in Philly for three years after graduating from MTU and nobody knew what "pop" was out there. They thought pop was their dad.

In the Washington, D.C. area we measure distance in time: Rush Hour, non-rush hour, and number of tie-ups due to crashes and road crews making improvements. I always check on the all-news radio station that gives accurate traffic reports every 10 minutes 24-hours a day based on the network of cell phone users that phone the station about problems (Bless 'em!). And I thank God when the tie-up is on the other side of the Beltway meridian barrier. I never drive in snow here unless absolutely necessary, worrying about people in four-wheel drive vehicles that think they can still stop on a dime if they can get up to speed.

Can't just use miles in the UP. The miles from the Copper Country to Marquette take longer to travel per mile than the miles from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Curves vs straight road. Or in other areas, heavy traffic vs no traffic. I really do miss the UP!

Looks like the ice fishing is in full swing.

Anybody notice the water "boiling" at the Soo? It's -18 there.

I've noticed that it always takes longer to get there than to get back. Weird, eh?

What's a "road pop?" Is that when your wife smacks you in the head because you're going too fast or tailgating the slow guy in front of you?

If you want to find out just how slow miles are travel the Seney stretch, especially at night.

Mary, Californians measure travel in time, too
-- and like in the DC area, travel from point A to
point B here is influenced by traffic. We don't
have snow, but we do get heavy fog in the
winter (yeah, I know, big whoop) and it does
rain. But, like I keep telling these folks here, ya
don't have to shovel it over and over...

And, for Kris in Waterford, pop is pop no
matter where you are! I refuse to use that "s"
word, even here where soda is king. ('Course,
we could be in the South, where it's a Coke,
as in, "Ya want a Coke? What kind?")

Hi Candy! Yes, Californians measure travel in time too. It takes me 6 hours to get to the Bay Area, 1 1/2 to get to LA. But then again, I am from Michigan originally, so maybe that is part of what stuck.

Then there is the problem of giving directions. I usually give them as go North or West, and my women friends want to know whether they have to turn right or left! I have found that usually men don't have a problem with that.

Mary, thanks for a picture taken this week. I have been having a hard time trying to figure out whether the picture shows what it was like 2-3 years ago, or if that is what the UP looks like today! That was one of the things I loved about this site...it was current. You could tell what the day looked like today!

And Mary Lou, that was precious about the doctor telling his patient to go South, so they went to Escanaba. My cousin lives in Escanaba and they told me that they are in the banana belt, that they never have the weather the rest of the UP has.

Editor's note: We strive to make each day's picture reflect what it's currently like in the U.P., except of course the Sunday Shoebox Memory photo! :->

We live south of Detroit and still have at least 6" of snow on the ground..It snowed about 6 days ago and has been around 15 degrees here for about a week. Great for outdoor activities or picture taking from inside!!!!!!!!!

"panking" snow ?????

yes please fill me in on "panking snow" I grew up by ann arbor and live in indaina now. I would like to know what this is.

Intersting!
I never thought of it. I always tell distance in time, too. I haven't lived in the UP for 6 years now, but I still use time. I've never had anyone comment on it, and I've lived in Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and Guam since then.

Tim

Back when I was in high school and out getting into trouble, we called cans of beer "Road Pops" so our parents wouldn't know what we were doing.

We had to have "road pops" whenever we took a "road trip" anywhere. A drive from home(Crystal Falls) to Amasa took a six-pack. Marquette was a twelver, and so on.

Like I said, pretty irresponsible now when I look back on it, but that's growin up.

Most EastCoasters use the time measurement. For me it was the other way around. Grew up in the UP and my dad was the type who always used the exact mileage. So it was 45 miles to grandma's house, 3 miles to town, etc. When I moved out here, everyone said Oh 20 minutes to... And the traffic reporters will say how long it will take to get into the city (NY) so the time thing wins out here. NO one out here knows how many miles it is to anywhere they go regularly!! (well, maybe some people, hehehe) But if I ask my friends how many miles, they have no idea! Because of my dad, I tend to know mileage. Course, because of all the roads and streets and highways, there are usually several ways to get where you want to go!!

To Troll2- Panking is a word most Yoopers grew up using and means patting down flat, usually it refers to using your hands to pat something, like dirt, etc.

Have done the Seney stretch during the day, can't even imagine it at night, eek!! Watch for deer and other dashing animals!

To Ed and Troll2 and everybody who PANKS snow.
Pank is very much a real word but it is only used with snow. Anything else is called something different (compact, etc.). Don't know what the word first derived from but I even heard it in the Detroit area. I remember hearing about panking snow for a walkway and that would make it easy to walk on instead of shoveling where the snow would drift back, filling it in.

I always tell distance with time, too, and factor in potty breaks/rest stops/weather. So, from my house in Milw to my folks in Ironwood, it takes 5 1/2 or 6 hours, depending on potty breaks and weather. Of course the closer I get to the UP there are other markers, especially when I'm finally out of the Mississippi watershed and in the Lake Superior watershed. Hallelujah!

I have a friend in chicago who drives 15-20 miles to work each day and it takes her 1-1/2 hours to get there, so I guess the time thing IS relative to the place you live, eh?

URGENT
watching the brromball cam at MTU..someone left their lights on in the parking lot at Wadsworth Hall.

At 0505 January 9, 2004 my best friend left this world.

I have known Tracy Lee(Hagwell)Grall,origanally from South Range since May 1980, almost 24 years. Together we shared many happy moments, and supported each other through just as many rough times as friends...as sisters. I will forever miss her.
She lost her fight with cancer today at her mothers home in Bay City,MI.

Services will be held in the Copper Country next Saturday, look in the Daily Mining Gazette for details.

Love you Tracy....

Word usage in different areas is really interesting. I lived in Oswego, NY for awhile - right on the shore of Lake Ontario. There - pop was soda, basement was cellar, and sofa or couch was divan. So you would say - "The soda is down cellar near the divan." How do you refer to the basement in the UP?

Reading the notes about the "Seney stretch" reminds me of a Labor Day weekend trip to Marquette about 10 years ago to watch our son's fastpitch softball team compete in the State Championships which were hosted by a Marquette bar (Millards sp). We were last in a convoy of several vehicles headed east on M-28 at a rate substantialy over the 55 MPH limit. As we were being mesmorized by the long staight stretch east of Shingleton, I happened to notice off the road to our left, the hood and front end of a Michigan State trooper's car. He was backed right in under a big pine tree probably 50 yards off the road.! I quickly pointed it out to my wife and said we are about to be interveiwed. Sure enough, he came out on the road and stopped us, checked my license and insurance, asked if we were part of the group that had just passed and several other questions. Suggested we tell the rest of the group to slow it down when we "caught them" and said have a safe trip back to the Lansing area. I said thank you and complimented him on his neat hiding place. He tipped his cap and said thank you!

Speaking of the Seney stretch, if you think it lasts forever in a car, try doing it on a bicycle! Back in 1982, a friend and I rode our 10-speeds from Marquette to the Soo.

The trip only took 10 hours, but it seemed like we were on the Seney stretch for days. This gives a whole new meaning to the time-distance discussion . . .

Agree with Mary from MD about DC metro area. Distance doesn't mean much around here. Time, day of week (don't try going anywhere on Friday), and weather dictate travel times. I bike to work as much as possible about 5 miles takes about 25 minutes, which is just about the same as driving. Thank god I don't have to do the beltway everyday. Panking snow is the best way to build a snow fort, or ski jump, everyone knows that!

Actually the term "panking snow" came from back in the good old days when huge rollers were pulled behind teams of horses and panked the snow instead of plowing it. The snow would get to deep to plow it before they had the equipment to deal with it. It formed a fairly hard surface which could be walked on by horses or people. It was a terrible mess in the spring when it warmed enough to start breaking through the mat. I'm certainlly not old enough to remember but I have seen a lot of pictures.

Pasty Cam Archives, February 24, 2002

Grew up in the UP live in TN now and still measure distance by time, and more then a few here in the South do the very same thing.
The Seney Stretch is the absolute bane of my exsistance when we drive up every summer!
It never ends! I drove it at night and came upon a scene outta the horror movies when I glanced out the drivers window to see nothing but glowing eyes in the bush! Creeeepy!
Luckily we didn't meet any of the owners up close and personal. Knock on wood.

Have done a few "road pops" on the multi hundred mile drive from the LP to the UP. Now that I fly, the road pops wait till the bird is tied down. There are both legal and physical sanctions, but when they approach the limit of being, then they have to be recognized.......I guess we were younger then..........

Boy do I remember my experience on the road from Marquette to the Soo. We were on our Goldwing in late June. Riding with some friends. Had only a pair of jeans on our legs. Half way east I was begging, with tears and anger, for him to stop so I could put more clothes on. Never did stop! Arrived in the Soo with two frozen tree logs where my legs had been. It was 36 degrees that night at motel.

I live downstate now, 60 miles south of the bridge. My son attends MTU so measuring distance by time is relative to age in our household. Dad and I make it back to the Copper Country to visit family in roughly 6 1/2 hrs. depending on weather and eating breaks while Mr. MTU makes it in
5 1/2 on a slow day. Guess we know who gets to enjoy the Seney stretch more. When we tell people we are heading home to the UP for a visit they think it's the end of the world and it takes them 2 days. Sure glad they're not driving.

HOW ABOUT AN AERIAL PIC OF GLADSTONE MICHIGAN?
BY SKYPIXS AERIALS.
http://www.skypixs.com/GLADSTONE/imagepages/image7.htm

To CK in Chassell: My husband heard the same thing about the guy with the baseball bat. Said it was quite comical. Maybe he has Spring fever and was ready to play ball! Some of us lose our sense of humor this time of year, hey?

Did I hear on the news last night that a young man broke through the ice on Little Bay de Noc? His body was recovered sometime later. Had a wife and young child and one on the way. How sad! How many lives have to be lost before people start using more common sense when out on the ice? The weather hasn't been that cold for that long. For me, it has to be frozen right to the bottom before you catch me walking on it.

We use "hours" of travel in Wisconsin too. But of
course the U.P. and Wisconsin are joined at the
umbilical cord....

Young Harley-Davidson
http://www.at
thecreation.com/

seney stetch certainly test your ability to tolerate boredom geologically it should have been a great inland sea however i guess we have to put the blame on superior ect. i am sure youse guys know the rest of the story of the whys and wherefors for its exsistance i remain walter p

There has been a lot of talk about how boring the Seney stretch is, but I have to say that I have never seen such incredible Northern Lights as when I would be driving the Seney stretch at 2 A.M. in March on my way home from Western for srping break. They were awesome and I saw them more than once on that stretch.