More Grand Sable Dunes Winter Photos

Snowshoeing in the dunes has been a blast this winter. It is a good cross-training way to get exercise that combines well with cross country skiing. Friend Wendy and I started at the Sable Visitor's Center, headed down the trail toward Sable Falls, headed west across the foot bridge, went directly west in the dunes to avoid the forested sections, and then went south to Sable Lake.







It has been sunny this week, which has been terrific. Here is a photo of the sunset's colors taken from the road in front of my house on Newberg Road.

Frozen Waterfalls -- Part 2

Here are some more shots of Memorial Falls in Munising. There are actually two waterfalls there, both in adjoining grottoes with a hole in the side wall between them that looks like an "eye." These frozen waterfalls are truly nature's art.



This is a shot of Dianna standing next to the first of two frozen waterfalls on the Michigan Nature Association's property.



As you can see, the waterfalls fractured from its own weight. I wouldn't want to be standing anywhere near it when this giant piece of ice falls.



We nicknamed the second falls "Sometimes Falls" because it does not always have water going over the top ledge, especially during the late summer and early fall. Behind that falls water dripped between layers of sedimentary rock to form the amazing row of icicles.




The ice was mostly clear in color, but some had a little yellow-green tint to it.



This is the "eye" in the rock that you have to crawl through to get to the second falls.




This is where the second falls "connects" with the top ledge.



This is a shot taken from directly behind the second falls.

Frozen Waterfalls--Part 1

Yesterday I went to Munising with Dianna Bell. We both had errands to run. I had to get a DBA for our new food buying group in Grand Marais. I am excited about having the ability to purchase high quality food, including organically grown vegetables and grains. Since it was a sunny day, we decided to take time to visit some of my favorite waterfalls plus ski the national park trails. I had not skied the Munising trails in 15 years; Dianna had never skied them.

The two waterfalls we visited were Munising Falls on Sand Point and Memorial Falls across H58 from Sand Point. The latter is on a track of land owned by the Michigan Nature Association. Both falls are situated in grottoes.

I don't usually ski on lakes, but the ice on Sable Lake is very thick right now. The other day I bailed off the A loop from the trails in the national park and skied over to the boat ramp on Sable Lake. After snapping a few pictures I was going to ski across the lake and back over to the A trail. It was VERY windy and after a few hundred feet I couldn't feel my face, so I doubled back to the trail.




Here are a few shots taken around my property. The first shows the snow depth in front of my house.



Friends Renee and Wendy went snowshoeing with me around my property to humanly groom my cross country ski trail.



Years ago my next door neighbor gave me permission to also ski on his property. Here is a unique hunting shack.

Evening in Grand Marais

Last evening I was invited to dinner with a group of friends at a house east of town. It was a beautiful evening with a full moon. Here are a couple pictures of the moon.




The view from my friend's house was impressive. As you can see, the bay is frozen, but not very thick. The first photo below was taken looking west toward town. When I arrived, my friends were just walking back from the frozen water's edge.




Since they told me not to bring any food, I figured I could at least bring a bin of agates and let people pick one out.

Grand Marais Bay

There is a public comment period until the end of the month regarding building a breakwater to protect the Grand Marais Bay. Although I am in favor of building a breakwater, I am concerned that the Army Corps of Engineers is recommending the cheap way out. They are suggesting that the angle of the breakwater be changed from the original that was built in the late 1800s, to a 55 degree angle slanted toward town. It is important for bays to have rivers that flow into them to "flush" them out. Originally, the Grand Marais Bay had several creeks that flowed into it. First Creek was diverted in the late 1800s. Once the original breakwater was built, the Sucker River was responsible for carrying out the majority of the flushing responsibility. The 55 degree angle breakwater would be built west of the Sucker River. As a result, the west Grand Marais bay could suffer the same consequence as the East Bay, which is now a land-locked marsh.

If they decide to "cheap it out" and there are unforeseen consequences, then it is not likely that the Army Corps of Engineers will fix the problem. That is exactly what happened with the pier that was re-built and extended in the 1960s. The Army Corps admitted that the re-design of the pier caused the erosion east of town. Many people lost property and homes, and the erosion "killed" East Bay. If they do build the new breakwater and their is unanticipated erosion, who knows what will happen.

I agree that we need a new breakwater. However, I think it is important that it be built at the same angle as the original. Granted, that the erosion requires over 7,000 feet of breakwater to obtain the same angle as the original breakwater that was only 5,000 feet long. But we know that the original angle WORKED FOR OVER 60 YEARS. We don't know what will happen if they change the angle.

The environmental assessments have been completed, and we have until February 28th to submit a final round of comments on this project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Please submit your letters of support!

The environmental assessment and a printable letter of support are online at:
www.saveyourharbor.com OR www.grandmaraismichigan.com

You can e-mail your comments to: gmbreakwallproject@gmail.com

You can mail your own letter to:
U.S. Army Engineer District, Detroit
ATTN: CELRE-PL-E (Les E. Weigum)
P.O. Box 1027
Detroit, MI 48231-1027

Please help us save our Grand Marais harbor but urge them to re-build the breakwater at the original angle.

Here are some photos of the history of the bay.

Recent photos of the harbor.






Harbor in 1964



Harbor in 1939



Harbor in 1903

Winter Scenes and Agate Photos

This posting includes a few miscellaneous winter photos. Last year I posted a picture of the deep snow on the south side of my house. Below is that shot, along with the same photo from this year. The difference illustrates the 75 inch deficit in our snow fall this winter.




For those of you who have followed the agatelady web page and blog, you know how much I like taking pictures of roadside Americana art. Here is a sculpture in a front yard in Curtis, MI.




To supplement my skiing time, I've kept a trail going behind my house. Every time I am out I knock down apples from the trees that for some strange reason never fell off the trees this past fall. I didn't see the deer myself, but friend Renee Beaver-Stocking saw an albino deer near the apple trees in the front of my house when she pulled up my driveway last night.



I have not included any agate photos on the blog as of late, so here are a couple of pictures from the new agate book. Both are photos found in Grand Marais by museum founder, Axel Niemi.

UP 200 Dog Sled Race

This past weekend was the UP 200 Dog Sled Race. It is a qualifying race for the Alaskan Iditarod race. Just over 30 teams entered and started in the Marquette area on Friday night. The teams started arriving in Grand Marais late Saturday morning. Grand Marais is the turn-around point. Each team is required to rest 16 hours, split between the three checkpoints.

This first picture was taken at what we locals call "four corners." It is located on H58 where the paved road turns west toward Sable Lake. This shot was taken from the intersection looking toward Sable Falls. You can see the snowmobilers that were stopped. The dog sled teams turn right and head across a field right in front of where the snowmobilers were stopped.



The arrival gate was located right in front of the museum. Unfortunately, I did not have the museum open. I spent the end of last week going over the first proof of the agate book and didn't have time to organize the museum's inventory. Everything is still in bins from my last art show in December. When the dog sled teams arrive, their official time is noted.






Then, volunteer handlers assist the team and lead the dogs to the area behind the recreation center. The dogs are fed and rested, as are the mushers.




The Grand Marais Women's club sold food, which is one of the club's fundraisers. There was also a silent auction and other items for sale to benefit the UP 200.



The last team left Grand Marais around 11:00 pm.