• Monday-What'sUP August 9 - 08:11 am

Manitou Island has a lighthouse on its south end and another on its north end. This unique natural arch photographed by Tina Hyrkas, is located on the north side of the island and just a little west of the Manitou Island Lighthouse, which we featured a few weeks back. It always amazes me that Lake Superior can whip up so much power to carve art, such as this, over the years. The second shot is of course a deflated balloon. I'm sure that some little tyke probably shed a few tears, after accidentally letting go of the string. Tina says that, "All over the island you will find balloons and the strings that used to have balloons on them. It has something to do with the wind currents coming off the mainland. They travel through the air over the water, and drop right on Manitou island or right near it and then float in." Now that's an interesting bit of information I bet not too many folks knew about!

Good Morning Mary,
Haven't seen any info on who won the Copper Man Triathlon. Any word?

Now we know where all of those balloons end up :) Thanks for my new knowledge of the day

Morning all.

Bridge Cam Shot sure looks beautiful this AM. Makes me long to be in Keweenaw rush hour traffic. Good to see your post this AM Mary, looks like you are getting back in the swing of things. Enjoy the day everyone!

Great shot of Manitou!

Hi everyone,
I'm starting to get back in the swing of things, slowly but surely. We're on our way back to Green Bay this morning for a check-up with my surgeon, sure would rather be at Manitou checking out the balloon population! :-) Hopefully I'll get the green light to start doing a bit more. Thanks again for everyone's wishes and prayers!

And those are just the balloons that don't make it to Canada over the Keweenaw Flyway. It's probably a spring and fall migration like all the raptors and accipiters seen flying over then along the ridges.

Do the balloons then go south for the winter?

;)

Hmmm...is it possible that the ballons return to the south for hot air?

I found a ballon two years ago on the beach at Sturgeon Bay on Lk Michigan (the MI side of the water)along with a note from some kids in Wisconsin. I sent a letter to them and we kept up a correspondance till last Christmas. They released it from their home in the middle of the state so it travelled quite a ways.

Most of those ballons get their hot air from the Washington D.C. area.........just a thought.

Traveling over cool or cold water causes the air in the balloons to compress making the balloon smaller and less bouyant. Then they sink. Wind currents must be perfect to land there in succession.

Please! I hope the photog picked up the dead balloon before leaving! The UP doesn't need litter!

It's more than just litter, it’s dangerous: animals can ingest latex balloons; and shorebirds' legs become entangled in the strings. I've seen ducks, geese, and great blue herons lose their legs--or worse--after getting caught in monofilament.

yes yes yes yes I picked up the balloon! I don't like litter, and I do realize that it has a potential to be dangerous for the animals! So don't worry about the scooby doo balloon causing any harm on the island! Thanks for viewing the photos!