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Some other links of recent interest to Pasty Cam watchers:
• Ancestors 2007   • New Arrivals 2007
• The Hut Inn Re-opens Eight years ago on the Pasty Cam: 05/03/99 ^{Printed on Recycled Internet}

Eight years ago the Pasty Cam stood on the shore of Lake Medora and watched the sunset. The quiet beauty of the northwoods has been a vital part of this website since the beginning, intermingled with the history, culture, wildlife and people of the region.

Before our family moved to Eagle River, I used to keep a daily diary of our lives. (Last night's news of Ronald Reagan's diaries reminded me of this.) But when we moved to the U.P., our fascination with this corner of the universe led to this daily feature - long before the word 'blog' had ever been invented. Almost a decade of producing this photo diary (phlog?) has been the result.

Good Morning from rainy Missouri

Good morning from an unfortunately not rainy Freiburg. We had an April qualifying for August - sun, sun, sun and no rain, and temps in the mid 20s (°C). Just reading the temps in Houghton (HCMA) feels like relief.

Mornin'

Good Morning, Everyone! Wow, some of you all were up early this morning! (Danbury, if you are in Germany, yours don't count as early, though, with the 6-hour time difference the other way.)

Good morning one and all!! Stormy night here outside Houston, with more storms on the way this afternoon. If we get much more rain, I won't be able to get out of downtown later today......

Just a note, there was a post yesterday about the New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes and their possible cause. Late last night the Dr. and I responded to that question for anyone that was interested.

Good morning all! I've always loved the Eagle River Falls. Will see them in 4 weeks, but who's counting?

Who gets up that early?

I neglected to mention what a beautiful picture that is of the Lake Medora sunset. I love that little lake any time of the day, as we have driven by it.

Capt. Paul & Dr Nat, you all stay safe. I can remember some wicked storms in Houston as I was growing up. My bedroom was on the front corner of our house, and it had windows on two sides, so it could get really spooky in a huge thunderstorm at night, with my whole room lighting up from the lightning. I also remember that there was street flooding south of downtown many, many years ago, and that would be even worse now with all of the new roads and buildings.

Congrats, Lowell, on your Early Bird! Gas is $3.09 here. Not good. Summer is coming and I'm a school employee. Plus classes don't start up again until after Labor Day this year, so my first check will be even later than usual! The later start-up date will be great for many, though. Beautiful weather ahead!

Dr. Nat & Capt. Paul: Your info on rifts yesterday was very interesting, as are all of your posts. But Dr. Nat didn't say anything about the Keweenaw rift. I know you've told us much info before, but tell us again, please!

(although Roudy's information was probably the most 'accurate'....)

Just a quick update for those of you interested in What's UP with my nephew Kevin and the progress towards his bone marrow transplant...
He will be admitted at Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit on May 15th, to begin the process of getting him ready for the transplant. His donor is a 26 year old young man, so please keep Kevin and this young man in your prayers. Thank you!

Prayers are coming Kevin's way!!

Great to see the pictures of Lake Medora, spent many summers there as a kid with aunt Ilene and the gang. Beautiful lake!

I made the scene from the Eagle Harbor webcam my background this morning. At 8:19 a.m. the sunshine on the brilliant, blue water was just beautiful!

Keep us posted on Kevin. I will be sending prayers for him and the donor.

Lol, Roudy’s information gave me a good chuckle, even though his info wasn’t that far off, just a bit whimsical ;-) So here goes the "cliff notes" explanation (Warning, science content ahead!!)

The Midcontinent Rift is a major scar in the North American landscape, despite most of it is covered; one exception is on the Keweenaw Peninsula where it outcrops abundantly. The rift basically starts in the middle of Lake Superior above what is believed to be an ancient mantle plume or hotspot, much like Yellowstone or Hawaii. One arm of the rift extends southwestward along the Keweenaw Peninsula and into Wisconsin, Minnesota and eventually into Kansas. Another arm extends southeastward into Lower Michigan and ends abruptly near Detroit (the result of the Grenville Orogen front). Most rifts have 3 arms, but the Midcontinent is unique in that the third arm has not been definitively located as of yet (although the Thiel Fault running north into Canada is a possible culprit). The rift is very similar to the present day East African Rift as part of the continent tried to separate, but was not successful in its attempt. As the rift developed, two major fault zones set up; the Keweenaw Fault on the east and the Isle Royale Fault on the west. Once the crust was thinned enough, lavas began erupting and filling the basin. These eruptions were not continuous however, and in quiet periods sediments were allowed to fill the basin and continue the down-warping of the area even more.

The Keweenaw Peninsula makes up the east flank of a large basin under Lake Superior; Isle Royale makes up the western flank. The Keweenaw is cut roughly in half lengthways by the Keweenaw Fault. The fault marks the boundary between the Midcontinent Rift (Portage Lake Volcanics) and sedimentary rocks deposited from the south (Jacobsville Sandstone). About 30-40 million years after the rift formed, the entire region was subjected to intense compression from the east and southeast (Grenville Front) which turned the once normal Keweenaw Fault into a high-angle reverse fault and ultimately stopped the Rift from ripping apart North America. Unfortunately, the fault is poorly exposed on the peninsula, but there are a couple places where it does come to the surface. At about the same time, the deposition of native copper was occurring on the Peninsula. It is thought that the same compressional force that reversed the faults also squeezed enough copper ions out of the basalts and concentrated them at a weak point in the rift; the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Is that a good enough explanation, or do I need to fill in a few holes???

Thanks Mary for the update on Kevin. Thank God for the organ donor program & its participants. Miracles do happen!! I'll keep Kevin in my thoughts & prayers.

We're thinking about Kevin, and we will keep him in our prayers.

Thanks, Capn Paul! (and Roudy yesterday)

Question: does this rift have the potential of becoming active anywhere between the Keweenaw and Detroit?

Mary, Thank You for the update on Kevin. I was going to Email you. Prayers are with the whole family.

Capt Paul,
Thanks for the info. I was pretty sure you would enlighten me. Hope you have a rock solid day.

Hello all, sad day here. My co-workers and I went to a funeral for someone we worked with, a good friend we lost over the weekend. He has 2 teenage boys and died suddenly, it is going to be very hard on them. We are going to miss him.

No worries Maija, the rift hasnt been active for millions of years, so I wouldnt buy any extra earthquake insurance. However, this is geology, so nothing is forever!!

Mary,

I'll continue to remember Kevin and everybody involved in the
transplant procedure in my prayers.

Hooray for Kevin! I will think positive thoughts and hope for only a good out come. God bless the 26 year old guy and others like him to give to another the gift of life.

i believe that lake medora is home to an original
fish not found anywhere else. anyone have
info on this?

Whoa! As we were sitting at the dinner table this evening, two wild turkeys were walking up the path we use from the beach! They heard our voices and strutted off into the woods. I got out my Michigan bird book, and as we thought, they are non-migratory, and according to the map of where they live, they are way far north of their natural habitat. Has anyone else seen a wild turkey(s) in the Keweenaw???

Stay tuned to Saturday's Pasty Cam, where we'll feature a picture of possibly the same turkeys you saw this evening. Saturday's pair was spotted in Eagle Harbor.

My prayers are with Kevin and his family. I pray the transplant is a success. Thanks for the info Mary.

well greta, they may not be that far north of
their noted habitat. wild turkey have been
proliferating in lower michigan over the
years. i've seen many groups near traverse city
in recent years and i agree -- conditions there
are not as extreme as in the keweenaw.

Congrats on finding a donor (and the funds) and Good luck with the further medical proceedings.

The Lake Medora Whitefish is/was the unique fish subspecies. I haven't heard anything for many years - but thought the occasional netting done by the DNR wasn't turning up any whitefish.