As you can see, many of the leaves have fallen, giving a gray cast to the hills in the Portage valley. Donn de Yampert sent a whole bunch of shots from an excursion yesterday afternoon, and these are a couple of my favorites. It was a beautiful day, very little wind and lots of sunshine. Rarely is the canal this still... except, of course, in February :o)

Thanks Donn. Very nicely done -- especially the first one.

A double WOW

Even though I've never lived in the UP, for some inexplicable reason the pictures on this site always make me homesick . . .

My family and I vacationed up in the Keweenaw this past August. It is pretty then, but now it is beautiful! Outstanding!

Beautiful!

What site was the first one taken at?

Both of these would be fun jigsaw puzzles.

The first one is looking at Mt. Ripley.

That first picture absolutely took my breath away. I am forever proud to be a Yooper and thanks for the daily reminder.

Incredibly pretty. Can't wait to ski the hill this winter.

I went to college in Hancock in the early 80's, and I still miss the quiet reflections as those two pictures represent. I would love to be back there.

Crying large Troll tears down here in the lowper. I miss the keeweenaw.

hey, someone fill me in on this land sale thing. I dont know what the issue is yet, but I know this, if some investor or corporation is looking at land in the U.P., its only because they're planning on cutting it, plowing it, paving it, or carting it away. Watch out.

Too bad time for input for the calendar has passed. That top one is SO typical of what we see up here...!!!!!

Great pictures. When I was a student at da Tech, I took photos of these exact same two spots, though from a slightly different angle. They were composed slightly differently and I didn't take them at the time the leaves had turned. They are directly across the canal from campus, and they haven't changed one bit!

Brings a tear to my eyes! Great shots!

What are the abandoned buildings in the first photo? Part of an old mining operation of some sort? Lived up in Fulton back in the 60's and can't recall what this was.

I can't say exactly, myself. Maybe Mr. de Yampert can enlighten us? As I said above, if you look almost directly North of downtown Houghton, across the Portage is where the first shot was taken. The second shot was taken due North across the Portage from Tech's campus. I've always wondered what the first shot's buildings were from.

Donn, can you help us here?

Ron,

The buildings in the first photo are the remains of the Quincy Mining Company Smelter complex in Ripley.

Nice photos! Thanks for all the great color coverage. No one else can beat the UP for color! Just want you guys to know that I've got my whole office here in Appleton, WI hooked on Pasty.com wallpaper of the week! They all wanted to know where I found such beautiful photos. So now when I walk in the office there are photos of the UP everywhere!
Thanks again!

holy wha! dese are some good photos eh!!!

I've lived in Northern Michigan my whole life and recently moved to Kentucky. It's nice to have some pictures every day to remind me of God's country!

Very coppery!

Great pics. rmb and I lived on this hillside just out of the picture in the old DollarBay school so photos bring back some great memories. Now we are stuck in Cheddar Land which sure isn't as pretty. Thanks for keeping us connected to the good old U.P.

For the person interested in more info on the
U.P. land sale, go to pasty.com's photos of
last week and click on the photo of the kids
with the giant snowball. There's discussion
there and links to websites that will explain
more. Save our U.P. from clear cutting...Save a
place for our wildlife....

I enjoy these photos very much, Donn.

Donn, what an eye! Are you sure you don't want to give up manipulating bodies for manipulating great photos??

And as far as the calendar is concerned, I cast my vote for Donn's Ripley smelter photo as cover art! Charlis, is it REALLY too late???

really nice pictures!! i love pics of the water, it just seems so peaceful, hey? makes me want to just go out and sit by the water today, the temp is nice, right now i have 50 on my back porch!! nice day to pull out the old car i put away for the winter and gas her up!! time to just hit the open road and drive.. a good day to all.. and to all a good night..

G Truhn, I am with you. Great pictures, Donn!

I Have to say i love browsing this site the pictures are great. It just reminds me of living up there in cooper country and how much i miss it. hopefully one day i will make it back up there to stay.

I'm with you Candy, a cover pic for sure(and thanks for the earlier info on the tree situation.) If not this year Charlie-we'll remember it for next year. What a job it must be picking the shots!and so fun to go through them all!!

MAKE ME HOMESICK WHY DON'T YOU!

It sure makes me proud to be a yooper when I see these beautiful pictures and hearing all about them from all of you from everywhere in the country. Yes, we are fortunate and should never take it all for granted. When I can't get out for a drive I just turn to pasty.com for my sightseeing. Thanks Charlie and see you at the meeting a Little Gem tonight.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I love the view of the Ripley smelter the same
as the others and always have. It is interesting
to note that this waterfront property will
eventually be developed and this unique
reminder of a bygone era will be just a
memory........ too bad!

That top picture is a beauty. It looks like it was taken in the morning, with the sun still in the east. PC2003.

In the second picture, I wonder who lives in that white house? Quite the view to wake up to every morning, eh?

what a treat to view GOD'S colorful scenery with still waters/reflections also. magnificent photos.
i may drive the motorhome up there yet this week end. should be great color even the 1 st week of november.

It would be nice to see it all restored and turned into a copper mining touring village. It sure would attract all the tourists. A sort of mini Greenfeild Village or Fort Wilkens. If you'd like to see the veiw, take a walk on the waterfront from Houghton Beach to Michigan Tech and beyond. It is a very beautiful walk in any season.

Beautiful shots with a little history to enjoy as well!

Hey, Brian, remember skiing down that hill? Good old times at Tech. Thanks for the pics!!! :)

The Quincy Smelter worked until 1967 when the tailings at Mason were depleted and Quincy stopped producing copper. I'm sorry William had such a bad experience working there. My Grandfather started his working life hand dipping copper at the C&H smelter before the casting machines were installed. He never said it was easy, but he had good memories of the people he worked with and alot of pride in the work.
Last I heard, the Quincy Smelter was to be included in the "Park". It should be preserved both as a technology display and, more importantly, as a monument to the thousands of people who worked in the industry the made the Copper Country what it is. I venture that many who write in and/or visit this site have some relative that worked in the mines, mills, smelters, railroads, or shops etc. Places like the Quincy smelter are good reminders of what life was like for them and will make us appreciate what we have.

Beautiful Pics !! Great commentary and debates, gotta love it. Maybe a little off the beaten path, but would like to request anyone have pics of Fayette in Autumn ?

Donn, thanks for preserving a memory worth holding on to in your pictures. Great job....

I totally agree with Paul for Ill. These old mining buildings most certainly should be preserved. If they are destroyed and replaced with the typical modern commercial developments, what will be around to remind, inform, and retell the story of how things were in the heydey of the copper mining, which is truly the roots of what made the copper country what it is. Glorious pictures!

I just can't get enough of that beautiful
Keweenaw peninsula.......winter or summer,
spring or fall it is always spectacular, truly
God's country.

Thanks for the 2 great pictures! The first one reminds me of living at the Isle Royale Apts (almost directly across the canal) and the second one reminds me of living in E. McNair (this very closely resembles the view from my dorm room). What I wouldn't do to be living there again...my 4 years at Tech went by much too quickly! These will definitely be used as the wallpaper on my computer at work..quite a few people have been impressed with the Pasty.com shots that I've had on my computer over the past year!

Thanks Kevin.

Very nice. It reminds me of Civilized Pennsylvania.

Submit those pictures for a calendar next year. They're fantastic. Would also make a great puzzle.

WOW! What awesome pictures. My daughter started at Tech this fall and while I am very proud of her I am also very jealous! I loved my time in the UP at Tech and know what she will enjoy, in what will be an all too short of time at Tech.
Sure makes a good excuse to get back up to the UP though.

Gorgeous! Our color wasn't very good down here in cheddar land this year.
Gail R.
Keshena, Wi

Great shots! Makes me want to pull out my photos from the color tours I took while attending Tech. I've ended up in a large historical (some are still operational) mining area down here in Farmington, MO. Though what they mine down here is quite a bit unhealthier for you. Lead.

We don't get that kind of color down here in Kentucky. Thanks for sharing it. It really makes me want to head north. No one down here understands.

The mountains may be beautiful out here in Colorado, but the Copper Country is awesome.

The smelter picture belongs in a collection
with last year's Lake Superior/waves/rock with
ice picture (it is almost as good as the latter).

The Bay Area of California can't match this, simply Beautiful.

It's been said a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, more like ten thousand words. Terrific view of a wonderful area. How I miss the U.P.

Thanks for the beautiful reminder of "home." We were tranferred to southern IN a year ago and miss the Copper Country very much. I hope everyone up there truly appreciates the beauty that surrounds them everyday.

Nice Pictures, Cant wait to come back home! July 04

I'm agreeing with Terrence -- the sweeping grandeur of the landscape here can't touch the much more subtle beauty of the Keweenaw. This used to be the view -- albeit obscured -- from my window on Shelden Street. I miss it terribly.

These photos remind me of a day in 1972 when I set off, with several friends, and some Bosh to explore the natural beauty of the Copper Country, when we should have been at Da Tech. These photos are art, plain and simple. They have rekindled memories of similar places, now long gone.

That's my house in the second picture! It is(was) quite the view to wake up to every morning, Kathleen in California!! I have recently moved to Chicago, but my parents are still enjoying the beauty. It was the greatest place on earth to grow up and I love going back to visit!

I miss the colors now that I'm living on an island in the Med. Even now, nothing beats a Michigan fall season!