I've heard lots of folks comment on feeling like they're almost home when they drive through Houghton and get to the bridge. Ron Martinmaki gives photo credits to Dan Martinmaki on this angle we're viewing. The snows have given us a reprieve for the time being, but be assured there's more to come!

Tomorrow is opening day of rifle deer season here in the U.P., so if you're out for a walk, be sure you wear something orange, so you won't be mistaken for a deer. Here's hoping it's a safe season for one and all.

Indeed may all the hunters bag the biggest buck yet and we have the safest season ever!

The Great Spirit be willing!

Happy Hunting.......In honor of the season...could we see that wonderful picture of the Yooper on his bike with his buck?...........It tickled me because it showed SISU.....I loved that picture and there may be some of our "gang" who didn't get to see it........[:>)....

Mary Lou,

A link to the picture you requested:

http://www.pasty.com/discuss/messages/994/1698.html

That deer picture with the bike was hysterical. We are cooled down here in Texas but alas...no snow so we will content ourselves with the various UP webcams..thanks, dad for the websites:)

Jean,
Where is Texas are you?

I had to print and post this die-hard deer hunter on his bike here at work. Now THATS a deer hunter!!!!

I love the bridge!!! So many memories from my youth growing up in the center of Houghton involve that bridge. You can see the little shack where the "coffee maker" operates the bridge quite well in this shot. When we were kids walking across the bridge, sometimes the bridge would go up and we would walk all the way to the lift span and put our hands under it as if we were lifting it ourselves. So unsafe!!! It's probably a felony to do that today.

I have to agree that I feel I am almost home when I see the bridge. I have been gone from the U.P. for 12 years and everytime I come home to visit my parents, that bridge is a site that says I am back home.

Technically, (and this is technical) if arriving via US 41 it's the "purest most vitalizing air" sign and if arriving via M-26, it's the Quincy Mine Shaft. However, the sight of the bridge is the ultimate, end-all, be-all sign that I am truly in the land of my birth!

Chrs, Il. Thank you...I enjoyed the picture all over again...and the comments. This fellow is a winner ( in the UP)...and I'd rather have him and his bike at my "camp" than an MBA Harvard grad with his BMW.........this guy gets things done!!

Has anyone looked at the LakeCam (http://www.cableamerica.com/Michigan/Lake.shtml) today? It looks like it's been moved indoors and the view isn't nearly as good as it was. You can't see what the lake is doing without the shore and rocks there. I hope the arrangement is only temporary.

Maybe the "gales" threatened to blow the camera to Canada?? Or rather out East here cause now we've had the huge wind for the last 2 days. Bet the Great Lakes had some awesome whitecaps this past week. Interesting how the lake can look it's most beautiful when it's most dangerous.

"Most beautiful when it's most dangerous" That sounds like the human condition too.

The bridge scene is especially beautiful today.I look at it several times a day. It is interesting to see how different it can look at various times of the day . Love it!! It is a cold day in N. Ga.

The Bridge Cam is wonderful at the end of
the day when the light is going down.
What is that pin-wheel like design in the snow
just to the left of the Ramada parking lot?
Something under the snow made a design?

I've never stayed at the Ramada so not certain.
I think I'll have to stay there on the next visit.

Scott, Wisconson,
The pin-wheel like design is a labyrnth. You can read a bit more about it here:
Hancock Labyrnth

The top pic would make a great wallpaper! I'd love to see it in 1024x768.

Stay with John at the Downtowner.......He has been there since 1977, and is a pilot and always been there for me regardless of when I dropped in. I may be a little biased though as my wife and I honeymooned there in 77, the first year they owned the place and the first year we were married.........walk to the Ambassador and downtown Houghton. The Downtowner is not a chain. These are real folk who live and work at the same place. 4th of July we sat on the deck and watched fireworks over the bridge. nice folks........

Scott, Wisconsin
Good eye on spotting the Labyrnth. Supposedly if you start at the middle and walk around, it is suppose to bring calm and peace to your life. I have yet to try it but some day.

As I understand the labyrinth, you're supposed to start on the outside and work your way in, you're "centering" yourself as you move inward. And then ending the process, follow the path outward again.

http://www.lessons4living.com/walking.htm

Hey Missin' in NJ...I live on Lake Michigan and we had those gale force winds on Wednesday night. Our home faces due west and we sit on top of a dune so the winds hit us head on. A Grand Rapids radio station reported that gusts reached 87 mph along the lake. I'd bet they did if not more. We could see our windows moving in and out and the house creaked like an old ship. I fell asleep reading about "Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes". What a night. We survived without any visible damage. It's exciting, yet scary. The noise of the roaring wind and lake was the loudest I've ever heard it. Yooper from Lake Superior Land on the second of the great lakes.

I went to the link for the Hancock Labyrinth and I noticed some beautiful stained glass work in one of the pictures by a local artist named Karen Bell Hansen. Does anyone know how to contact this person? Does she have a studio or a gallery of her work in Hancock? I'm very curious to know and would appreciate any information.

I thank you all for the info
I had no idea!

By the way ... where does the bridge cam call home? We tried to find it on vacation this summer and couldn't tell for sure.

To Cindy in St. Clair Shores, Karen Bell-Hansen was married to a professor in the MTU Fine Arts department. She did some work raising money for the dept, too, I think. I know that professor is no longer at Tech. I think he's out in WA somewhere now. If you were to call the Fine Arts Dept, (906/487-2067) they MIGHT be able to tell you how to get ahold of her. ? I agree; her work is beautiful!

Thank you, Nataboo. I appreciate the information and I'll put a call in to the Fine Arts Department at MTU.