Looks like that stubborn patch of snow on Mont Ripley, finally melted into the ground. This encompassing view of the Ripley shoreline comes courtesy of Rob Wetton over in our Guest Gallery. I hope he didn't get dizzy spinning around to get this span in focus! I don't know about you, but I'm thinking a comfortable chair, a good book or fishing paraphernalia, a pair of binoculars and the beverage of your choice... makes for a good way to spend an afternoon!

Morning from SE MI

Good Morning from Tampa. Everyone is recovering from the Lightning lost. But like the hearty souls from the UP the Lightning will rebound this Saturday. Have a great day

Good Morning all from Jacksonville FL

Rob's shot today reminds me of the panoramic view from Bare Bluff to Mt. Bohemia, which appeared on the Pasty Cam last October. To see more panoramic shots over the last seven years, go to the search page and type in "Pastyvision" in the Google Power Search. It will complain that you misspelled "panavision", but it provides some delightful links to a broader view of the U.P.

By the way, I enjoyed quite a panoramic view of the peninsula's tip yesterday, from the top of the tower at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. We are down the homestretch completing the high speed wireless link to Copper Harbor, and while mounting a couple of antennas I took in a 360° birds-eye view of the Keweenaw hills. Sorry I forgot to take along a camera :o(

One month from today we look forward to treating you to a free pasty, if you are one of the first 400 to show up at Pasty Fest 2004 in Calumet's Agassiz Park. Pasty Central will be joining with Main Street Calumet to host a July 4th afternoon of fun and food, from 11am - 4pm. Hope to see you there!

Is summer here yet? Can I plant my garden?

My peas are up!

Charlie.....I know that July 4th will have me running up and down the Calumet Hill between Pastyfest 2004 and Lake Linden's all class reunion Pasty Picnic.....I love the 4th and it is always a problem because I want to be everywhere in the Copper Country. Every town and village has such a great party....but this year "PASTYS RULE"!!

Good Morning from Palm Beach Florida, another warm day here in the 90s

I'm still trying to figure out a way to get to Pasty Fest 2004. It will be about a 24 hour drive with my wife and kids in the car but I think it would be a great way to start our vacation. Now I just have to convince my family of that!

very cool picture

Good afternoon from Germany. Nice panorama shot!

Beautiful picture. I agree with Mary about the chair, a book, and beverage of choice:)

We would love to plant our garden. If we could wade through the mud. Most of land is still under water. Possibly this Sunday if we get more sun. Great picture. Can't wait until end of July to finally get to the Copper country for our annual 2 week migration north.

Do we want to do any 'folksy' stories of Mt Ripley?

Good Morning!

It's Friday!!!! Yeeha!

I read a comment from yesterday from someone who said the back and forth chit chatting makes this website drag.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading every comment someone has to offer. To me, it makes the day more enjoyable to have "conversatioins" with so many neat people! I have learned so much history, felt sympathy, and laughed over whats written here. I hope that others feel the same way, and this website will be here for a long time!

This picture reminds me of family visits to my grandmother's house in Ripley during the 50s and 60s. We passed through last summer, and it was like going home again. Thanks for providing the pictures on this site. They provide a much-needed visual reminder of "God's country."

Good morning fellow yoopers from portland, another great day in the northwest highs in the 80's, looking foward to coming home in july!

Sure seems like it's summer here. Some of the wheat is ready to be cut, the corn is thigh high in some of the fields, and the soybeans are going great guns. So different from MI!

Greetings from Phoenix, AZ. Nice to see water, grass and trees. 110 here today. Would be nice to be in U.P!

To the Tampa folks - sorry, guys, but my Flames have been awesome and those of us who are long time fans are pulling for a cup win on Saturday. Had no one to watch the game with last night, but I did the victory dance with my 14 year old Siamese cat, much to her chagrin. Sunny here in Milw today - we are finally drying out a bit. Looks like a good weekend for the first real summer festival - RiverSplash. Wish you could buy pasties at it, but can't have everything.

Kudos to Rob for capturing a grandiose panorama of the cynosure of the area. His camera is an obvious vade mecum for him and all indeed.

Wheatman

Good morning from sunny, warm San Jose. GREAT picture today! I wish I could be at this year's Pastyfest :-(
To shelly/Yankee in Texas... DITTO!

Great picture.

There was a ski jump at Ripley years back. I had a friend who tried it with down hill skis instead if the heavier jumping skis. Well he ended up landing upside down if you can picture that. No worse for the wear. Probably a contributing factor to the removal of the jump.
Shelly,thank you for your support. I think the CC is a multicultural,urban,rural,serious,goofy,cool,hot place in a small area that grabs all our hearts in so many ways. Thanks to the folks who put in their time and energy and to all those who have such a wonderful eye with a camera,and to the HAND that created it for us to get attached to in the first place.Amen and Tank you please.

Dumb question from someone who's never been to the Copper Country--since the name is "Portage Canal," does that mean the canal was created--dredged--or is it a naturally occuring body of water that was simply deepened to accommodate larger boats?

To Shelly a Yankee in Texas. My sentiments exactly. Keep up the great communications.

Jiggs....It is a naturally made canal(portage). It has been dredged from time to time to maintain the ability to accomodate deeper drafting ships.

And which way did the water flow in the canal---houghton to chassal way or houghton to the north breakwater or both ways???

Jiggs: Dredged straighter, wider and deeper. I'm most familiar with the piece that goes toward the South Entry from Portage Lake. The original canal followed the Portage River and was completed during the 1870's. It was very twisty and a challenge to navigate. It was dredged to its current state in the 30's or 40's.
You can still see the old canal and there is some great fishing along it. I can't imagine the lumber ships towing loaded barges around these corners. Like the miners we talked about yesterday, these sailors were a special breed, as well.

Actually only about 3/4 of a mile of the canal was dug to connect it to Lake Superior at North entry, the rest of it was there, but the whole stretch was dredged for the boats.

I too like the chit-chat that goes on here. Lots of interesting historical stuff is shared that might never see the light of day otherwise.

Dave, Laurium - You just keep doing what you're doing. That's all good stuff to know.

Take a peek at my Gallery to see the Drag Line used to cut the new lower channel. Humungus for those days. Its the very last Gallery.

By the way, that is a really neat picture. I love it.

Thanks all for the discussion on the canal. As Ken said, the chit-chat is great--because you always learn something! What a great virtual community.

All this info on the canal is neat. I learned something that I had been taught in grade school a "few" years ago about the canal and how it came about. Anyway, here is a pretty nice website about the canal's history, may answer a lot of questions including the direction the waterflows:
http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=985

Mr. Wheatman, do you get Word of the Day from Dictionary.com? If so, did you notice that the winning spelling word in the National Spelling Bee in DC was just a Word of the Day this week?

If you are referring to autochthonous, no I was not cognizant it was WOTD. Kudos on the young scholar's win.

Wheatman

Would like to see more relevant, historical 'chit-chat'. Would like to see less news, sports & weather broadcasts from around the country, accompanied with related personal issues/problems. Phone lines & e-mail are great for the exchange of personal information with your 'friends'.

Bruce, Missouri: Was your grandmother's name, Alma?

Speaking of sports, has anyone heard about the bet between the Governors of California and Michigan concerning the NBA Finals??? The story goes, if the Lakers and Arnold wins, Granholm has to eat asparagus, strawberries, an In-N-Out burger, and drink wine while wearing a Lakers jersey. However, should the Pistons win, Granholm will treat the "Governator" to a pasty, Vernors, and chocolate covered cherries while wearing a Pistons jersey. Lets just make sure it's a "Pasty Central" pasty he will be eating!! hehe ;-) GO PISTONS!!

Check out the joke played on Gov. Granhom referring to the above "Pasty Bet" Phony Schwarzenegger fools Granholm

Just a word from yesterdays picture and comments. I am an illustrious guide at the Quincy Mine and the approximate depth of the #2 and #6 shafts are 9260 ft. on the incline, and about 6800 ft. vertical. Unfortunitly, we will never know the exact depth as the mine is flooded up to the 7th level (where we take the tours in).

I am now heading out to enjoy the 75 degree sun and be lazy the rest of the day, after all, it IS Friday.......
Take care out there in Pastyland!!

Dave, Laurium: No golf for you today? LOL It is a beautiful day!

I would like to win the lotto!!!! Sadly though, I probably won't. Sometimes we just have to accept things as they are without being critical. No offense meant WOW. I enjoy reading the relatively "insignificant" posts by people connected in some way to the UP.

Dave of laurium. That web site you quoted did not work for me.( about the dregging of the canal)

well, i think the flames are gonna win, but im pullin for tampa, i dont care what anyone says no one deserves the cup more than dave andreychuck and martin st louis

http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=985

There ya go Cliff

just trying......Thanx, I was just getting ready to re-input the link. There was a lot of good info on the canal lighthouse's at that page also.. Oh!! Nope, no golf today, up to my elbows in paint brushes and rollers doing domestic stuff.So Sad!!

To Jeff in Portland, from Jeff in Eugene: What's
the scoop on pastys up in Portland? Have you
found any restaurants or bakeries that offer
them, or is mail order still the way to go here
in the Northwest?

I'm a native Oregonian but made many UP
trips while temporarily in Indiana, and the UP,
its food and people have a strong draw for me.

Thanks!
Jeff Johnston

I personally haven't found many pasties out here, but I avoid the city like the plague. I have had a few, but they were nothing like a good old U.P. pasty.

Jeff-
If either of you find a pasty place out here, please let me know!!

Here's an idea.....make your own and start a Pasty Craze out there! :)

Charlie & Company,
Word on the street is that the governers of Michigan and California have a running bet going over who will win the upcomming NBA Championship. As part of his agreement, Gov. Schwarzenegger has promised to be pictured eating a pasty (among other Michigan food products) at his desk with a Pistons jersey on if the Lakers are defeated by the 21st century "Bad Boys". I think it would be a good idea to start a petition or take some other form of action so that if, in fact the Pistons do win, Arnold will consume Michigan's finest pasty, one from Pasty.com of course. What do you think? This would be great publicity if you/we could infact pull it off. Just some food for thought.

Ok, so my browser wan't refreshed or something... I guess it's old news. Just got caught up in the thought of the Terminator have a Pasty.Com product.

If Ahhrnold had a Pasty, then he would start a Pasty Craze for the people of
Caly forn yah.
That would be great!
I can see it now,
Hollywood Stars finding it posh to be seen with Pasties, instead of Starbucks coffee cups...Diva's demanding them while on tour, life styles of the rich and famous showing Donald Trump in a Da Yoopers t-shirt sitting in his palace in the sky...

To the Jeffs in Portland and Eugene,
When you come up to to the Seattle area, try the British
Pantry in Redmond for pasties. They happen to be
Lancashire pasties which have carrots in place of the
Cornish(and my favorite) rutabagas.

WHAT A SHOT! I love it! You can see the bridge in the extreme left corner. THAT'S Pastyvision, if I ever saw it!

First car races of the season are finally here!!At The Adventure Speedway in Greeland tonite !!!! It will be a great time for the whole family !! Summer is finally here!!!!

To Weary old Woman: Didn't you know, we are all friends here.

Mr. Wheatman: WOTD is not in my dictionary.

How about this tongue twister. Isch biddly oten dotin, bobopa diten datan, whyenchu.

bthecute1: Huh?

Bthecute1,
our family version was
Bee biddly boten boten, bo bo bedeeten dotin -
swadish! sorry so strange a post, folks, but I think it's
an old camp song chorus....

To SummerCamp: Whatever it is, I like my version better.

To Pasty-Fest: Who is making the Pasties?

Maybe we should stick to palindromes. :)

Weary old woman ..say ...you may be right ..

To "just trying"...your lhdigest.com site is wonderful! There is so much history of the Keweenaw area that it amazes me how people like you help us to study our heritage. I've always loved the lighthouse mystique And the lonesome sound of a fog horn must have nearly drove keepers wild in their isolation. It helps me to do a time relationship considering the first dreging of the channel was done about the time my grandfather was a baby! To the "--- Old Woman"...just relax and take the site for what it's meant to be, fun and interesting.

Weary Old Woman, I agree with you. Too much gossip.

Also... does anyone have a reasonable guess if I could still find a room somewhere around Calumet for the 4th activities? I'm working on the better half go up there and it's like pulling teeth to get a commitment. And Charlie, would we be able to find fellow "Cammers" at the Pasty Fest? Thanks.

Pasty was mispronounced Pastry on CNN today
(specifically they said "meat and potato pastry"). There
was a story about a bet between Michigans Governor
and the California Governor (Granholm (sp) and
Arnold). I think the bet is about the NBA tournament, if
Arnold wins Granholm will send Arnold "meat and
potato pastries" and something else that I can't
remember because I was so taken aback by the
mispronunciation of pasty.

Rick

Ms Katie, I won't pass up a free pasty, but I'll be wearing camouflage with my camera, so you probably won't see me lurking and taking photos of everyone chowing down their pasty's. My low carb diet will take a beatin that day. Lookin to see everyone there....don't forget, first 400 get freebie pasty's.

What can you expect from CNN, short for Communist News Network....

Ms Katie.....try this link for rooms...good luck:
http://www.uptravel.com/Communities/Calumet/calumet_mh.htm

I'm hoping that as Pasty Fest draws nearer we can try to set a common time to meet at a predesignated area. We should also have name tags with our pasty cam name on them.

There already is a time and place, Agassiz Park 11AM to 4PM on the 4th of July, Keep It Simple...

Bridge cam has a reflection of a room in someones house.

A great photo Rob! Never have seen a view from that angle.

Several mornings this week while rushing to work on a special assignment at Finlandia University, I had to slow down for white tail deer ambling across U. S. 41 between the airport and Hancock. They were beautiful creatures but, just like some UP drivers, they didn't signal their intentions either!

Since moving to the UP, I've been impressed at how truly friendly people are. It's heartwarming to be greeted by a broad smile and a friendly howdy-do. And based on recent messages about the Quincy Mine, my next week's adventure will be a tour of the facility. Then, on the way home, I'll stop at Peterson's fish market for some truly fresh Lake Superior fish for dinner. By the way, what is the origin of the designation "Kowsit Lats"?

Reference comments about pasties, pastries, and Pasty.com, I've introduced some city friends to the site and have been accused of misleading them to a porn site simply because I didn't tell them how to spell PASTY.

Thanks, danbury of Germany, for your words. You know words can be a powerful thing.
By the way, Mr. danbury, did you buy that motorcycle you were planning on getting. Just remember, when you are flying down the autobahn at a hundred miles an hour, the life you save, may be your own. Be careful.

Question while we are on the subject of the mighty "Pasty".......what is the correct spelling of two pasties????..or Pastys??......I know the rule about" "dropping the y and adding es"...however, wouldn't two Pastys be considered a proper name like two Marys......?? ...or do we consider the esteem in whuch we hold the Pasty?? Where are the spelling police??

Plural of pasty is pasties.

I'd say so, too, majia, but as an "outsider" allow myself to prefer pastys, just for the fun of it! ;)
What do the Yoopers write?

Everone should e mail C N N and tell em to correct the PASTY story.
Then again with the death of President Reagan
..they probably never would get to it..To bad he never came to Laurium, like he said he would.That was to.. come to the home town of the Gipper for those who may not know.

Andytofu,Seder Bay, Kowsit Lats is sort of 'Finglish' for what the place used to be. A cow pasture for the miner's animals. Nice view from up there of the Portage Canal.

Whether it's pasty's or pasties, I don't worry about the spelling, I just want to eat them......

Great picture Rob, also liked the Dreamland. Do you know if the pilings to left of the picture was the old Messner coal dock?