• Friday-What'sUP July 11 - 07:44 am

Don Afman said that work had been getting hectic, so he took a surprise vacation to head to the U.P. for a break. He made quite a few stops along the way, including today's first photo from the hill near South Range. It seems like you can see forever from there, across the way to Quincy Hill.

Another stop was at the Upper Entry of Portage Lake to check out the breakwall and lighthouse there, where he spotted some other visitors making their way out along the rocky wall.

No visit to the Keweenaw area is complete without a stop to view the remaining arch from the Italian Hall, where a memorial to those that lost their lives in that tragedy stands as a remembrance of that disastrous day in Calumet.

Don's next stop was for a tour of the Delaware Mine in Keweenaw County for a self-guided walking tour, where he headed underground on a staircase of 100 steps. He recommends that you take a flashlight, although it is well lit and shoes that are good for wet surfaces, as the humidity is high in the mine making flash photography more difficult underground there, too. Don said it shows up as fog in the photos or thinks it may possibly be ghosts?

A highlight to any trip UP North is spotting a moose. Don hit the jackpot when he slowed for a traffic jam 10 miles south of Covington, where several cars had stopped to watch a cow moose and her calf. He said the calf was harder to see in the tall grass, as it alternated between nursing and trying to browse like mom.

As he passed through Crystal Falls, the hill looking down Superior Avenue in downtown Crystal Falls intrigued him, so another stop was made to snap a photo of the view looking down the street and beyond.

Don made numerous other stops along his route and mentioned that he enjoyed a number of delicious Lake Trout and White Fish meals. He said he plans on coming back in the fall, with an ATV and some camping gear, to enjoy some of the off road exploring that he wasn't able to reach this time.
Taking this tour with Don, today, shows you just how much there is to see and do here in the U.P. It takes more than one visit to really get to know the beauty of our Peninsula.

we have yet to take a ride to crystal falls

Down to just two weeks now until we're UP, but who's counting??? ;-)

You are, of course . . . I think you're counting the hours!

And, as a fellow Texas resident, I envy your upcoming escape from the broiling weather here.

What a trip! Thanks!! We'll be there the 1st
week of August and can't wait. We'll be stopping
in Silver City for a couple of days before heading
on to Lake Linden. Just want to see some sites
there, too. We've never stayed around there.
Can't wait to get out there to pick some
blueberries and some thimbleberries. I can taste
them already!!! This trip of Don's got me
anxious! Thanks for sharing! Oh, and I love the
moose picture!

I love all the pics but especially the first one!

That hill just south of South Range on M-26
always catches my eye. Last time it was a sea of
solid white Daisys. This time it's a bed of
yellow and white. Is it ever just green grass? If
you don't like the wild flower color patterns
just wait a few weeks. And that view down the
hill in Crystal Falls just oozes hometown
Americana.

When almost all my original time was spent here
in the winter as a student I never got to know
the unfrozen U.P. so I have to keep coming back.
I had a great time this trip. I didn't go to any
of my old favorite places, except for Lake Trout
dinner that is. I went to mostly new places,
although the M-26 roller coaster ride along side
The Lake never gets old.

Next trip I'm headed up to Bare Bluff and back
out to High Rock Bay and Keystone Bay for some
back country camping.

Good pics. Love the U.P.

Thanks for the tour, Don. And like Deb, I love the moose pic. My husband and I were fortunate enough to see a 'mama' moose and her calf in Yellowstone Natl. Park years ago. It appeared to be a newborn.

My father and I saw a moose at exactly the location Don saw the
moose and calf a couple of years ago. Wonderful tour, Don!

Neat view from South Range.

Kosk,

Here is the exact location, 100 yards to the east
of Hwy-141, just south of Tracy Creek, 8.2 miles
south of Covington.

http://tinyurl.c
om/q55nfqt

Pretty close to where you saw them, but not an exact hit. Thanks,
for sending the information. Much appreciated.

I took a 2nd look and I was wrong. For sure it was
here, 2 miles further south in this swampy area.

http://tinyurl.c
om/qb4hjb9