• Monday-What'sUP July 23 - 03:25 pm

It just so happens that two of our regular Pasty Cam contributors were recently photographing the same U.P. subject, one from the air, the other on the ground. E. Neil Harri, was up in the sky, flying over Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring), right around the same time Melanie Rossi Hakala was on the ground, visiting this major attraction here in the Upper Peninsula.

Kitch-iti-kipi, is Michigan's largest spring, measuring two hundred feet across and 40 feet deep. The crystal clear water gushes out of the fissures in the underlying limestone at a rate of 10,000 gallons a minute and does so year round, no matter the weather. The constant temperature of the water stays at a cool 45°. If you pull yourself across the expanse of the Spring, with the self-operated and tethered raft there, you'll get to see the trout that live in the Spring, along with a number of tree trunks and branches that have fallen in the water.

The Spring is located in Palm Books State Park, which is on US-2, six miles northwest of Manistique, then 12 miles north on M-149. You have to see it to believe it, as it truly is an amazing attraction. Neil and Melanie's photos are terrific, but seeing it in person is quite the treat.

Special thanks to Neil for taking to the air for his snapshots and to Melanie, who did the legwork down below.

WOW! What a beautiful place!
Thanks Neil and Melanie for the 'visits' to the Spring!

Beautiful. In the case of the school of fish, that explains why they're so smart.

A great combination of shots from two of our regular Pasty Camists, who take us off the beaten path in the U.P.

Just an update from the L.P... Here in Petoskey, my Day in History collaborator (and better half) is making good progress. At the rate Edie is recovering from a severe allergic reaction, we should be headed North again in a couple of days. From her hospital room I can look down on the Bay and see the sand bars and dropoffs, maybe not quite as dramatic as Neil's shots above, but still a pretty lofty view.

Thanks for all the kind comments on yesterday's Shoebox Memory, and the flood of emails that followed. Edie had several visitors today, one friend we haven't seen in many years, who mentioned he saw it on the Pasty Cam. Sorry I missed you, Mark, and blessings on your ministry here in the Petoskey area.

Amazing pictures! Have always enjoyed the Spring
from ground level but the aerial shots are just
outstanding! Thanks!

And thanks for the good news Charlie! Isn't it
wonderful how people pull together when someone they
care about needs help? Tho most of us have never
met you, we care and send our prayers.

Wishing Edie a speedy recovery!

Very nice photos! Can you swim in that spring?

Big Spring...one of my first memories of the UP, back when you had to pull the raft across. That looks like a school of sharks in a feeding frenzy.
Edie and Charlie: glad to hear the recovery is making good headway. God's speed back home.

The spring seemed a magic place when I was there years ago. It's like looking straight into the heart of the UP. Would love to go see it again. There are so many special places in the southern direction of the UP that's easily passed by on the way to the familiar treats. Special thanks to Neil and Melanie for sharing with us. Makes my day!If you've never been there you must go. And safe travel home for you and Edie, Charlie.

I want to go here.

I visited the spring about 1940 with my folks. My sister's husband worked for Inland Steel Co. at Gulliver. It was amazingly clear water. We would drop bright new pennies into the water and be able to see them hit the bottom of about 40 feet of water. Watched them through the glass bottomed raft. Water clearer than the ocean.