• Wednesday-What'sUP October 25 - 08:25 am

If you enjoy dipping a few worms in the water, then this is a good spot to visit, since it's known to be "hot spot" for great muskie action. Of course that's during the hot summer months, so I'm not sure what this 310 acre small lake will yield this time of year. Lake Stanley, is located near Iron River, over on the western end of the U.P. and by the looks of this photo from Ray Laakaniemi, it doesn't matter if you catch any fish at all, since the scenery alone, makes a trip to its shores worthwhile. The road you travel with the same name as the lake, Lake Stanley Drive, is no slouch for pretty either. I love the way Ray captured the rolling of the road and the covering of leaves on the ground. Right now, the majority of the leaves in the Keweenaw are on the ground, but there are still some yellows and burnt oranges hanging on.

Very nice pictures, Ray! I'd never heard of this lake, but then I've never spent a lot of time in Iron River either.

I think we rented a cottage there one year.

Good Morning. Little white things in the air this morning, also showing up on the cars.

My summer yooper experiences began at Stanley Lake almost 20 years ago. There is a very scenic island on the south end of the lake. The pic of the boat launch is facing west. Beautiful sunsets and decent fishing, but these days there are not as many Muskies as there used to be.

The colors still look pretty good. Are there any colors left anywhere in the UP or is past peak?

I grew up on a small farm 2 miles (as the crow flies)from Stanley Lake and know this area like the back of my hand. In those days, Stanley Lake was good for walleye, and Stanley Creek for brook trout. This lake is just a short distance from Ski Brule (Brule Mountain), originally Sheridan Hill.

Margaret in Amarillo:
In the early 70's, Phil Cataldo built several chalet-style rental units near the north end of the lake. Think they are still being rented under the Cataldo name. Perhaps you rented one.

Good morning everyone. Has anyone else noticed that the bridge cam is more blurry these days? I wonder if you might be able fix that Charlie? Everybody in Pasty Land have a good day.

Very nice pics by a very nice guy. In early 2006 the staff at the
Lenawee County Library in Adrian, MI commissioned a stained
glass artist to use one of Ray's photos that had appeared on
Pasty.com as an end-of-the-month pic (a lovely pic of a dock on
a forested lake) as the basis for a stained glass picture. The
staff gave that pic to my wife on her retirement. It now hangs
prominently in the Lenawee County Library. Happily, the stained
glass artist also made a smaller version of her picture for Karen
to take home. That version now hangs in our dining room
window and looks terrific. All of the Pasty.com pics are
wonderful, but that one is especiaaly memorable for us. (And it
doesn't hurt that I have known Ray ever since we were on the
faculty at Adrian College some 40 years ago.)

Gee its snowing in $ Bay at the moment

Now if that second picture doesn't just scream "Country Roads" by John Denver, I don't know what does!!

Speaking of Denver, the Dr. and I are going to be in Colorado all next week for the GSA conference. After that, we're going to play in the mountains for a few days before returning to the flatlands....

I have never been that way, those smaller lakes are peaceful.

What beautiful pix. And here in Georgia, everything is still as green as can be. (Sigh).

Thanks Heiki; it's good to know that good things do last. We really had a good time.

Brooke (Lovethekeweenaw)...."I have never been that way".....

The Iron River area is a bit like San Angelo, TX, in that "Ya gotta
be goin' there to get there".
So ya know what ya gotta do, eh? :-)

Heiki & Margaret
There is another place on Stanley Lake called "Lac O Seasons Resort" on the east side, about a mile (or less) south of the pic above.
They have several chalet style cabins and also some log cabins, and they even have an indoor pool that is open year round.
I have not seen much activity at Caltado's cabins in years, but that does not mean they are not open still.

I kinda like it that Iron River is not a BIG tourist destination.
They want to be bigger, but really the area in West Iron County is nice because it is not overcrowded... yet.

Those are beautiful pictures of an area that I have not yet seen. Thank you, Ray L and Mary.

I have a question: in the areas of Iron River, Iron Mountain, et al, where do they get their drinking water? Is it from water wells or Lake Superior or Lake Michigan? Does it have an iron taste or aftertaste? (I remember growing up, and my families' farms well water in Iowa always had an awful iron taste to their water, to the point that I could not even drink it. And that was before I got thoroughly spoiled with our wonderful Lake Huron drinking water. :-)

My wife's family is from Iron River and believe me it's not a tourist hot spot. It that way it's really pretty nice. We've been going up once or twice a year for years. Had my closest shot at a muskie on Stanley Lake at dusk. The Lac O Seasons is a great place to stay. While in Iron River be sure to have a pizza at the Riverside, and a sub at Scott's. But Iron River has the problem many small towns do, elderly population, young people don't stick around seeing that there is no work there. Nothing really downtown that would make you want to shop there. Serious shopping is done in Iron Mountain, Green Bay or Appleton. In a way it's a dying community.

(Dlineman) ..."In a way it's a dying community"...

But it's a diehard community.....perhaps in a comatose state. Been tough sledding in that area since the early 60's when all the mines were shutting down. When I departed in early '62 it was like the Great Depression. Out of my graduation class of 110 students, only a handful or two stuck around. I still love the area. It was a terrific place to grow up.

(Marianne)....."drinking water"......

Can't speak for Iron Mountain, but the Iron River area has excellent drinking water. Private wells are rare, even in the country, which in itself is a rarity. Why? Because years ago when all the mines were operating, the ground water level dropped so much, wells went dry in the rural areas due to all the pumping by the mines. I remember my father hauling water in 10 gal milk cans from the nearest municipal water supply. The mining companies cut a deal with the townships. The mining companies provided all the pipe and the townships installed them. It's the only place I ever lived where people living several miles from town received water from township wells. Today, though, they face another problem. All those miles of 50+ yr old pipe are finally feeling their age. One township water dept. employee told me they lose more water through pipeline leaks than actual usage. I imagine there will be a return to private wells someday. In answer to your question of drinking water source, all drinking water in the Iron River area comes from wells, whether in the city or rural areas.

(Yahooinflatland)...."Lac O' Seasons"....

I flat forgot about Lac O' Seasons Resort! Thx for the reminder.

The water in Iron River is excellent. I did hear that they so many holes in their water system they do lose half of their water. That explains why my father in law shells out $65.00 a month for water and sewer for an empty house they have in Iron River. $65.00 a month is the "least" they can bill someone for water and sewer.

Nice to see some photos from home since I'm working in Chicagoland. I'm one of the above mentioned "Youth who leave" (Wykon graduate of 2000) as there just isn't the economy for employment in the region. Hoping to put my time in down here in "Da Big City" and eventually find my way home.

Thanks to family still being in the Iron River area, and fellow classmates and professors at NMU, I still make trips back North as often as I can (a bit more frequent with hockey season upon us).

Hi Josh,
You don't know me, but I've been lifelong friends with your second cousins, Phyllis, Larry, and Alan. I've hunted with Larry for nearly 40 yrs. in the South Brule area. I, too, put my time in Chicagoland, but only got as close to the U.P. as Door County, WI. Hang in there.