Hanging On. None Too Soon.

As I look up from the computer tonight I can see the full moon bathing the earth with it's ghostly glorious light.  It is so clear and close that I can see the craters and seas even though I am peering through the slats of the window blinds. Beautiful.  Heart wrenching.

It is heart wrenching because this kind of massive moon makes me think of the Keweenaw Peninsula.  That is where the moon and I have shared some private moments.  Moments where its just us.  Just the two of us.

You see, at this time in my life I could really use some of those heart to heart conversations with a Keweenaw moon.  College (again?!). Drone job. Offspring struggling to find themselves.  Standing beside a spouse whose mother is facing a showdown with Mr Grim.  Watching my own mother slide farther and farther adrift in the cognitive ocean.  Wondering what in the hell I am to do when I grow up.  All this has me wanting to run off to the where the wild things are.  I am intensely Yearning for the U.P.

I won't run off.  I will stand here.  At least for now.  Hanging on.  That is what I will do.  What I must do.

There must be others who have known the Yoop that feel this way.  Yearning for those woods.  Those rocks.  Those streams.  The Big Lake.  All the while stuck in some other thing, some other where, some other how.  Cut off from the land that gives them strength.  The land that gives them shelter.  The land.

Is there something wrong with me that I have such an attachment to some bits of wood, rock and H2O?  I don't know.

And I don't know if anyone will ever see this besides my instructor.  This classwork spawned blog has not exactly been burning up the Internet.  Ah, ......well.

If anyone who is also Yearning for the U.P. does see this, now you know you are not the only one.  Look forward to when you can at least visit your heart land.  Myself, I will be visiting in mid-March.  None too soon.

Beautiful Day in the Keweenaw

Hi,

A quick post.

I just had to share this photo of Houghton, MI (not Houghton Lake for my confused Lowper readers).  This cam is located in Hancock, just across the Portage Waterway from Houghton.  That is the Portage Lift Bridge - the only way to get north up the Keweenaw Peninsula from Houghton on land.  The Portage Waterway cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula.  If this cam was scootched over just a bit to the right you could see my house about halfway up the hill in West Houghton.

To see the live version of this webcam go to this link.

Winter Carnival in the Keweenaw!

Trivia question for you: What is the northernmost university in the state of Michigan?  Michigan Technological University in Houghton?  (wrong answer buzzer).  Nope, it's Finlandia University in Hancock.  True its just about 100 yards or so farther north than Michigan Tech, but it is farther north.

However, Tech *is* Michigan's most northern *public* university.  And, this week is one of Michigan Tech's and the Keweenaw's coolest events - The MTU Winter Carnival.

From snow sculpture creations to broomball tournaments, the Tech Winter Carnival has something for everyone.  Students, faculty, visitors and the whole community pull together to put on a wild winter shindig.

One of the neato things I ran across this year is MTU's webcams for the broomball tournaments.  You can actually watch them play broomball live - and you get to stay warm while you watch.

My meager blog post this time can't really portray this ultra-cool (cold?) event the way it should be done.  However, check out some of the links and you'll get a taste of what the Carnival is like.

And, if you jump in your car soon, you might catch the judging of the snow statue competition that starts on Thursday morning.  Come, on - its only about a nine hour drive from the Saginaw/Bay City area.  I can do that in my sleep (and sometimes have).  ;-)