• Thursday-What'sUP January 25 - 09:30 pm

The Mary MacDonald Preserve at Horseshoe Harbor is 1433 acres of the largest and highest quality mainland preserve for bedrock beach and bedrock glade communities in Michigan. And just think, it's located right here, at the tip of the Keweenaw, one of the many gems of this area. Recently, Taana Kalliainen and some friends did some snowshoeing out to Horseshoe Harbor to see what they could find. From the pictures she's sharing with us today, it looks like they struck gold out there with some interesting ice formations on the rocky shoreline. It always fascinates me that the ice takes on that beautiful blue hue from the sparkling Lake Superior waters.

Thanks for the great pics!

that last picture is amazing--ice clawing its way back to mother Superior.

Great pictures Taana!

Excellent shots! Thanks for the pics...and the information. It's nice to have for future outings.

Those pictures are great! Thanks for sharing!

Be sure to click on Mary's Horseshoe Harbor link for lots of interesting info. I didn't know there were peregrine falcons there.

The Nature Conservancy is the best organization for saving our natural areas to be enjoyed by the public. If you are looking for a cause to support, check them out.
Your pictures certainly capture the essence of Horseshoe Harbor, Taana.

Wow, I love the 3rd and 4th shots but all are great!

I've always admired The Conservency's work. I hope some day soon to rejoin it when my circumstances allow it. Been to some awe inspirting sites esp. in Door Co, Wisconsin. Truely a worthwhile group to join.

You can join The Nature Conservancy's free online community at nature.org.

For those who haven't been, Horseshoe Harbor is a treat. Rent a bike from the place in the middle of Copper Harbor and go down that dirt road at the end of town and you will probably be the only one there in what seems like a private paradise. There is a nice ridge to climb to enjoy the breeze coming off the lake.

The info in the link Mary provides About Horseshoe Harbour is well worth the read; lots of interesting facts (except for the age of the conglomerate which is wrong ;-). At any rate it is a fantastic place to visit if you want to feel like your the only human left on earth!! It's an excellent place to study the rocks and geology of the peninsula as well......

Wow!! First time I had a chance to get here today and my pics are featured! Thanks! My friends and I had a good time snowshoeing that day.

Great photos!

The Nature Conservancy and the UP's own Keweenaw Land Trust are both good groups trying to keep land in the public's hands.

Oh soooo COLD!

Capt -- what is the age of the conglomerate?

Great posting today and much needed reminder of the urgency with which we should all embrace the land protection efforts underway in the still, as of yet, wild UP...

"Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it."
- Theodore Roosevelt, 1903

"We can never have enough of nature."
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

"It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."
- John F. Kennedy

"Having to squeeze the last drop of utility out of the land has the same desperate finality as having to chop up the furniture to keep warm."
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

"Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."
Native Cree Prophecy

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it." ~Henry David Thoreau, "Chesuncook," The Maine Woods, 1848

"Let us a little permit Nature to take her own way; she better understands her own affairs than we." ~Michel de Montaigne

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~Native American Proverb

Good suggestion to join The Nature Conservancy's FREE online community! You get a monthly email featuring Michigan news and other updates on what's happening in the world of conservation. Go here to subscribe:
https://support.nature.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=postlogin_xx

wow, them are some awesome pictures. I love how the ice is making its way back to the lake. looks like a giant hand with claws extending clawing at the water.

we need to perserve land like this. this is really breath taking.

Some preservation is a good thing but let's make these beautiful places accessible to everyone and not just to the select few who are in top physical condition and can put on a pair of snowshoes or a backpack and hike into these areas. They need to be open for all of the public to enjoy. I'm not saying to destroy the area with a maze of roads but all of these types of preservations should be accessible by one road or at least one ORV trail.

Does anybody else see the struggles by google to place ads in the context of the site's pictures?

Horseshoe Harbor is accessible by road in the summer. If you click on the link Mary gave it gives directions. I'm going to go back for sure in the summer when it's about 70 degrees warmer. :0)

Oops, didn't realize they continually change, these adds were on the bottom of the page with ice pictures.

DaveofMohawk,
One of the things that is preserved at these sites is the remoteness and solitude. Putting in roads would destroy that. There are many readily accessible scenic areas that anyone can get to. We also need to save some of the remote ones too...

Google ads? I see no Google ads here!
Ahh the joy of Ad Blockers!

Nice quotes, Joe.

It's good to remember, I think, that not every inch of the planet needs to be accessible to all humans at all times. There ~are~ other species, after all, and not all of them can tolerate vrooming engines, fat tires, and petrol fumes.

I find the Google ads to be quite entertaining, with some very colorful side excursions to the discussion. And I'm sure they must be contributing to the continuation of this site, as have the other local sponsors for years.

Talking about Google Ads- I get Google Ads at the bottom of the Pasty page that have to do with New Zealand. Maybe because I live in Christchurch, New Zealand.(Interesting?)

Am I first? Naw, it's 7:34 a.m. in Michigan.

Just what I need to see..... pictures of meth!! Thanks Google...

The conglomerates are well over 900 million, probably closer to 1 billion years which is slightly younger than the basalts.

Goooood morning, Keweenaw! Happy Friday! Those are great pictures of a beautiful spot. I wonder wehat the fishing is like in horseshoe harbor? Anybody know? I plan to find out for myself next summer... Great day, all!