Keweenaw Peninsula

A young eagle flies from Grand Island in Lake Superior.  On a northwesterly thermal he glides with little effort for 150 miles and sights the Keweenaw Peninsula jutting out into Lake Superior, an 80 mile spine of hard rock and at its end, the town of Copper Harbor.

A stand of ancient white pines provide a shelter where the eagle spends the night.  Called the Estivant Pines, they are a remnant of a virgin forest; one of the very few stands of this age that remains after the lumber jacks cut timber to build cities in the mid 1800's.  Below him the ground is covered with thick, fragrant pine needles that have accumulated for over 200 years.

Grand Island: American Bald Eagles

Near Munising, Michigan a pair of American bald eagles has built a large untidy nest on Grand Island in the tallest tree.  They have a clear view of their surroundings and an uobstructed flight path to an inland lake on the island.  Just as other bald eagles, the pair mate for life and return to their nest year after year.

Protecting their nesting territory which has an invisible radius of fifteen miles around it, the male of the pair rushes at an immature eagle--his voice like an unoiled hinge.  Startled by this display, the young eagle takes flight.  Seeing that he has successfully defended his territory, the eagle returns to his mate.

http://www.munising.org/index.php?page=Munising_Attractions

The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Lake Superior

Near Grand Marais, Michigan there are high sandstone cliffs called the Pictured Rocks that stretch for 38 miles.  I took a boat trip along this shore and saw a pair of peregrine falcons that had a nest on top of the rocks.  This was a great spot for them to dive upon their prey.

I could hear the sound of waves thundering in the caves at the base of the cliffs.  The soft sandstone of the Pictured Rocks was formed when saltwater seas covered much of the continental United States millions of years ago.  Later, the powerful wave action of Lake Superior carved the stone into many beautiful shapes: one resembles a castle, others three battle ships, two indian drums, a broken flower vase, and the profile of an indian's face.  The buff colored rocks are steaked with green, red and black caused by deposits of copper, iron, and other minerals along with white limestone.

The Pictured Rocks are covered on top with forested sand dunes.  In the Grand Marais area there are waterfalls to explore.

http://www.nps.gov/piro/index.htm

Whitefish Point in Lake Superior: Graveyard of the Great Lakes

Hidden beneathe Lake superior's waters lie the skeletal remains of many shipwrecks.  Sailors call it the graveyard of the Great Lakes because more that 300 ships have been lost there in Lake Superior storms including the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 17 miles off of Whitefish Point.

The 729 foot ore carrier went down in a November storm in 1975 after being buffeted by 30 foot waves and tossed by 70 knot winds.  The ship broke in half and sank with all 29 crewmen.  It now lies in 530 feet of water.

There is a shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point: http//www.shipwreckmuseum.com/

Books by Barbara Spring

Mackinac Island and the Great Turtle

The distance from Beaver Island to Mackinac Island is 50 miles. Water pours through the Straits of Mackinac like wine from a bottle.

According to Native American legend, Mackinac Island was formed by a giant turtle. Storytellers long ago said that when the world was very young and all the living creatures were wandering over its surface looking for the best place to live, a large number of turtles came to the marshy southern shore of Lake Erie. Most of the turtles liked the spot so well they settled there. But the leader of the band, a huge turtle, was lured northward from Lake Erie by strange lights he had seen moving across the distant horizon. He could not persuade the other turtles to go with him so he made the journey alone.

When he reached a point of land that partly divided Lake Michigan from Lake Huron, he could go no further because the winds were cold and ice began to form around him. Finally he could go no further and an icy barrier froze him into place, a little black spot on a waste of frozen water. When the spring returned and the ice melted, the shell of the huge turtle remained fastened in place by a tall reed. As the years passed the turtle grew into an island which the Indians named Michilimackinac which means “the great turtle.” The island has always been an important place for Native Americans who told many stories about it.

Today no cars are allowed on the island. There are horse drawn taxis and lots of bicycles. I painted the picture when I was there. It is of me riding a bike and my daughter roller blading.

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