Last week we had a couple days of unseasonably warm weather, so Deb Simons and her hubby, Ron, made the best of those nice days to do some more exploring. Today they’re taking us along on their adventure to Canyon Falls, seven miles south of L’Anse. They were treated to scene after scene of fall color beauty. Deb said they hadn’t been to the falls there in about 25 years and were bound and determined to get there before the bad weather hit. They made it there just in time, because the past few days have been quite chilly, with rain off and on.

But just look at the Autumn colors in Deb’s photos. I think my favorite is that first shot with a blanket of leaves covering the ground in the Canyon Falls park. A close second for me, is the twisted tree trunks. It always amazes me how a tree can grow when its roots are exposed and so twisted and tangled looking. Canyon Falls and Gorge are often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Michigan. Deb’s fifth photo gives you a glimpse of the gorge wall and you can see partly why it’s often called that.

Deb recorded a video of one of the fall cascades. Make sure your speakers are turned up, so you can get the full effect of the rushing water and the sounds. It’s the next best thing to being there.

Beautiful Deb! Great timing too. Rocky cliff is my favorite.

Last night i found a 50 year old flyer from the Copper Country Vacationist League - a map of the CC. Some things are still there - the Elms Motel in Calumet advertising 5 channel TV and the Hut Drive Inn. In Copper Harbor there's the Brickside Store - wonder if that is where the microbrewery is now? One thing on the map - at several locations across the CC are the "bear pits" - which no longer exist. They even have the "Covered Drive - Freda" marked. And yes, they do have the Sturgeon River Gorge marked where today's pictures are from!

Greetings to Jbuck and all:

No offense.

I think there might be an issue. I believe, all the photos were taken in the Canyon Falls area in Baraga County.

The Sturgeon River Gorge is located in Houghton County and is quite dramatic. Well worth a ride / Short hike in the Spring time.

It has been a few years (50+) since I was last there. A photo would help but I can't seem to attach one.

JT

JT, perhaps they are two different things. I took a picture that says what we were seeing.
Here's a link about Canyon Falls and Gorge: Lake Superior Circle Tour
I absolutely love the leave carpet also, Mary. It was the first thing that grabbed me when we got there. I also loved the twisted tree trunks. So amazing. The place was packed, which surprised me. We purposely waited for a Monday but itdidn't matter. Anyway, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to go exploring.

Guess even old maps can be wrong! Didn't mean to take attention away from Deb's excellent pictures!

No worries, jbuck. I enjoyed your info.
That's what this site is for.

Simply stunning Deb! Beautimous!~

Jbuck...those bear pits when we were kids were just amazing. Dumps with bear crawling all over, chowing down on all kinds of leftovers. People found cool stuff too...I remember hearing someone
found an old coffee can full of old coins! I also remember a time a drunk got out of a car ready to wrestle a bear. Thankfully, he listened to everyone that screamed at him to get back in his car~

Has anyone ever found a Native American Marker Tree? They bent them when little, so they'd grow bent to mark trails.
Native American Marker Trees

Mary says: Stay tuned for next week, Wednesday. I'm not certain it is a Native American Marker Tree, but there's a bent tree found on the Gratiot Lake Overlook trail for that day.

Way cool!

JT asked me to add this photo that he took in the Spring of 1971, in regards to the Sturgeon River Gorge in Houghton County. The Sturgeon River, which is located on the Baraga/Houghton County line, travels through both counties.

If you look closely to the right there is a man standing along the river with the green foliage as the backdrop. This makes the gorge height at the bend roughly 55-60 feet high.

Thanks, Mary for going to that trouble. It was fun to look back on those pictures. We'll have to go there next year.

Wow Deb…you’ve got a good eye,
ever think about taking pix professionally?
I especially like the third pic… it looks
like fingers trying to scoop up a handful of dirt.

Donna, the only bear pit we ever went to was Copper Harbor, and we never missed it when we were around there. But this map shows there was one near Silver City, one SE of the "New White Pine Mine", and one between Central and Eagle Harbor. We just called them dumps!

Great shots. Thanks Deb.
Watch those leaf carpets on wet days. They can get real slippery, especially on those smooth rocks.

WOW! So much reminiscing.

I too remember the "bear pit" in Copper Harbor.

And a FIVE channel TV?
Our TV in Houghton in the 70's only got HALF a channel. Channel 6 out of Marquette only came in half the time and then mostly snowy. Look how far we have come?

I remember that half-channel too D.A. but also remember getting a Canadian channel from time to time when Marquette didn't come in. Some interesting shows on that Canadian channel too.
I recall the bear pit being off to the right side of the road and down a gully as you neared Copper Harbor. We never got out of the car!

Yes, George!

Every so often Thunder Bay TV (I think) would tune in. They would be broadcasting some of the strangest shows I'd ever seen. "R" rated TV from Canada some 50 years ago!

Thanks D.A. for jogging the memory, I believe it was Thunder Bay. And some of those broadcasts were a bit risque for sure!

Greetings D.A., George and all:

Your memories are solid. That was the luck of analog (Frequency) television, the Lake skip.

If you lived up on the "hill" in the 60s and 70s, basically Quincy Mine to Copper Harbor, there was a two direction TV antenna sold in the CC that would pick up both WLUC-TV in Marquette as well as CKPR out of Fort Arthur // Fort William (now Thunder Bay Ontario).

Nothing skips when there is a snowstorm between you and the transmitter.

Cable came, then digital and that was the end. Digital doesn't skip much, only bends a little.

JT

I remember that channel. Even the commercials would shock me.

Loved going to Copper Harbor to the dump to try to see the bears.

And often the highlight of the week (or longer) for these lonely, soon to be engineers (me and my roommates).

J.T.,

I had a great, old school, E.E. Professor at Tech that taught us everything regarding the NTSC signal and how it was generated and decoded.

It was an excellent foundation.

Thank you, Alex. Yes, I would have loved
being a photographer. That time had passed.
Now I just take them for my pleasure and
pasty. I am planning to do a photo book with
my adventures from this year for my viewing
enjoyment.