Oh yeah - - nuttin like a nice hot SOW'-nuh when yer chilled to da bone by swimmin too long in da river or da Big Lake. Slide over, kiddies, and make room for ole Toivo.

In all seriouslyness, I thoroughly enjoyed the slideshow by Keith Meyers in the Guest Gallery, with a bunch of beautiful people having some fun in the U.P. You guys really make me miss home.

It's back on the road for me in the morning. Gotta finish this trip to make it back to Toivola before the snow flies.

True yooper kids sittin' in da sauna. I miss ours when I was growing up as a kid. Nothing like throwing steam and letting it soak into your bones. Oops, rocks are dry!!
(Toivo's right, it's sow-na, not saw-na)

Beware the leeches in Slate River Falls!

Beautiful show! Great subjects and photography!
Thanks for a glimpse at some hard to find locations.Did I see an MSU shirt in a picture?
Even better!

Larry, thanks for the nice comments! Definitely an MSU sweatshirt there at Cliff Falls ('81 grad). I have to second Dan's caution about leeches at Slate River Falls (although I have only gotten one there once). That sauna is hot every night we are up there. There's nothing quite like that plunge into the cool lake once you have worked up a good sweat!

What a lovely slide show Keith! Thanks for sharing them with everyone!

Ahh, I was always perplexed as to how one could "throw steam" as propelling any type of vapor would prove futile indeed. Kudos on the fine shot, nothing like a sauna to depurate the children after a busy day.

Wheatman

Wow...that slide show was awesome.....feel like I just finished a Copper Country Cruise....Thanks for that since I won't get all the way up there this year. :(

And yes....Don't ever forget...it is SOW-NA

People out in the west will argue forever on that pronunciation of sauna. They say SAW NAH. And when you tell them it's Sow-Na, they repeat SAW NAH. They tell me I'm wrong. Then, I get my swedish secretary to say it for them.

very nice pictures. and yes..it is SOW-na.

As a former inhabitant of the Left Coast, not only did I forever hear the name pronounced wrong, I was in constant argue with the majority of people who considered a "hot" sauna about 120 degrees F, when a true yooper knows you don't even get good "laulua" until you exceed 160 degrees.

I'm with you finlander.....I'm a second generation Finn/Swede in this country...spent summers on the farm in bootjack...Gram had a huge SOW-NA...that is about the only way we got a bath. Except for swimmin at the "boat landing" past Dreamland...or maybe Little Traverse on a good day. How I wish for one of those days again...however that particular Sow-na is gone now :( We didn't realize how great we had it as kids up there. Now we do!

To Finlander: Laulu means song so spelling for steam should be (I think) loylua--don't know how to add the dots on top of the "o". And to Mr. Wheatman, I looked up depurate but it's not in the dictionary. Do you mean "purify" to some degree?

Best wishes to all. A²

Cracks me up/ticks me off how people here in Sconie are so adamant that it is saw-na and how people (even of finnish heritage) that say sow-na are wrong. Try asking one what they call the minnow looking fishing lure (Made in Finland). Amazing how angry pronunciation can make these people!!

Depurate -
To cleanse or purify or become cleansed or purified.

Ceratinly what we attain from a good sauna!

Wheatman

Yep! Us Finns do have a row to hoe when it comes to pronounciation (sp?) See, it's bad enough the English language is so hard to spell, no wonder the rest of America can't correctly pronounce 'Sow-na' or Rapala!! (Heck, not sure I spelled THAT right!). Anyway, sounds like the rest of you former and present Yoopers have had the same experience I've had in re-educating the Un-Finn!
THEN add to that the fact that all these 30 plus years I've had to give my "mini geography lesson". "No, Traverse City is not in Upper Michigan" "Okay--- the Upper Penninsula is the part of Michigan north of Wisconsin, south of Lake Superior!" "OH, you didn't KNOW that Michigan is made up of two penninsulas?" Yikes, again! Hey, we're all charged with the task of teaching the rest of the world about God's Country. (But, not to teach too well, don't want overdevelopment to spread it's poison in the UP.)

This one is my least favorite:
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan"
"Is that near Detroit?"
"Not exactly!"

To "Missing the UP"


When I was in 4th grade (back in the '70's) in Kalamazoo we had Michigan history week. The teacher said we had to learn Michigan geography and handed out a outline map of the mitten! I complained that the other part wasn't on the map. Her response was "That's okay, nobody lives up there anyway." No wonder a few years later all my friends thought I was moving to Canada!


Now I live in New Mexico - which by the way for all you who don't know, IS part of the U.S., but is constantly assumed to be a foreign country.

I don't want to be a crab or anything but . . . when did Pasty Cam become a family album? I come here for a breath of outdoors in my dreary cubicle and want to see the beautiful scenery (which isn't to say that the families in the album aren't perfectly lovely people, of course).

Marge,

Since the new photo gallery, Pasty Cam has been doing a weekly spotlight. It just so happens that this whole week is for vacationing around the U.P. So, don't get your undies in a bunch and besides this site is great no matter what the photos are. :) Have a good day, eh!

You might want to check out the new photo gallery and I am sure you will find some photos without families. God Bless da U.P.

Or you could upload some photos yourself and get in on the fun!

Hi Star-currently in NM

Whoa- who would think a teacher would do such a thing! Wonder if she remembers that behavior with pride?
Anyway, remember the T-shirt and bumper sticker squabbles during the Mich. statehood 150 Yr. anniversary? The little teeny tiny UP and the nice big LP? Like Joan Rivers used to say, "Oh, grow up!" We Yoopers knew they were just jealous.

Hei, A2/Royal Oak, If you hold down the alt key and hit 148 you'll end up with ö. Pretty neat, 'eh? ä = alt 132, å = alt 134, Ä = alt 142, Å = alt 143,Ö = alt 153. These were passed on to me by a born in Finland Finn. You're welcome!

Pytavay, A2, you're right about the steam. But it's almost impossible to tell anyone how to pronounce it, isn't it? :>) löylua.

To Ken from da UP. Thanks for the language signs. For your further information, A² is achieved by depressing the NUM LOCK and holding down the Alt key while typing 02226. A good sauna provides lots of löylua. Kiitos.

If you go to the character map on your computer. It will tell you the keystrokes for lots of different symbols including ©, ½, £, °, etc. The character map is usually under accessories in your program files. You need to click on a symbol and then it will tell you the keystrokes in the lower right corner.

It is spelled löyly.

HC,MI
I agree, you got it right!

I'm glad I'm not the only transplanted Yooper who has to defend my pronunciation of Sauna. Gets my Sisu up but that's nothing new living downstate. To add insult to injury a friend of mine said she likes Sour Cream on her pasties. What next air conditioners in the change rooms??????

sk,lower-Yooper,

Are you the second street Sue that I know?

Ok. I'm late on the Sauna part, but that is one of my kids on the bench. Sauna is pronounced: "Female pig-na" Sow-na

Heh, I found this page on Google with the search words "made in finland"+laulu when trying to search for the lyrics to a song I heard today. Yeah, it's spelled löyly, and true löyly is 90C, without bathing suits in the sauna (it's unhygienic and prohibited in most places). :) Nice waterfall!

Hey Jenni....mina olen suomemlainen/YO YO ....HEY HEY for now!Keep in touch.

Jenni...Haloo...Taallia pushuu..J KoskiSaanko..lle souomenlain yo?kiitos.

Does anyone know the history of "Bootjack?"
Was there a person with that name?

jj in Hancock. I was told the area is shaped like a bootjack......(the tool lumberjacks used to help take off their heavy boots). There was a lumberjack named Johnny "Bootjack"..his real name was Johnny Reheum (sp)..he "threw" together a small log cabin on property along the lake owned by his sister Anna Reheum (sp) Studer. The cabin was a temporary shelter and was expected to last the winter while he worked in the woods...... I sold the property in 2002..(about 85 yrs later) and the cabin was really a mess......but the new owners are in the process of restoring it and it is standing proud and tall..and it makes my heart smile......we enjoyed the cabin for so many years. It will now serve the new owns as a bunkhouse for their fammily!!