First we go back to July of 1950, when they were still talking about the rough winter of '49. They must have measured the Keweenaw snowfall in a different manner back then, because in recent years we've seen reports of 30-32 feet. By the way, last week we saw temps in the 30's in some parts of the U.P. Welcome to the land of perpetual air conditioning.

Now we fast forward 3 years from today, to a celebration of the Immigrant Experience in the Copper Country. Keweenaw Kernewek will recall the Cornish Settlers of the early mining era, with five days of excitement - July 25-29, 2007, in Calumet - with a pasty picnic at Central Mine. Speaking of Central, today is the Annual Central Mine Reunion at the historic Central Church, with 2 services at 9 am & 11 am.

Have a good week!

Love it. Have a great Sunday everyone.

Good Morning from Florida

Bridge looks good...........morning.........

The bridge looks best when you are heading north going over it!!

Enjoy the natural air conditioning. It's roasting
here in Florida. Wish I were in the "906 area
code".

SIX DAYS AND COUNTING BEFORE WE COME HOME AGAIN.

Not a whole lot warmer in the lower half of our Great Lakes State. I'll take it over hot & muggy any day..

Is it my imagine or bad eyes, or have we lost a little of our resolution on the bridge cam. I used to be able to see the room I honeymooned in at the Downtowner 27 years ago, and now it is just not as sharp. Maybe a little lens clean? Maybe a little brain sharpener on this end....

Mornin' We're having rain--who said West Texas was arid?

Does anyone know why the cardamom braid is known as pulla in the Seattle area, and never as nisu?

I spent a year in Finland and have had some wonderful sweetroll there. They always called it pulla. When I told my Finnish relatives that we know sweetrolls and biscuits as "nisu", They told me that any biscuit or bread made from wheat is nisupulla or nisuleipä. Otherwise they are called "pulla". So I guess nisu and vehnä are both Finn for wheat? Where is Erja from Finland? Perhaps she can help out on this one :)

me, WA
where can I get pulla out here?

A call from Calumet indicates the Northern Lights were magnificent last evening. Ann says they woke up the neighbors who woke up more neighbors and the oohs and aahs were wonderful.

I can confirm that the Northern Lights were wonderful last night.
We saw them from our house in Calumet, then hopped in the car
and went to Eagle River for a better view. My son (almost 3
years old) was tired, but his eyes were glued to the sky.

I have gotten pulla from Larson's Bakery in Ballard, Olsen's Scandinavian foods in Ballard,
(that one tasted a little different), and at the
Finnish Community Bazaar in November at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard. QFC used to carry it occasionally, from Larson's Bakery. And, a little farther away, from the Home Baking Co. bakery in Astoria, OR (the best tasting.)
I'm still looking for pasty here though.

The first thing I saw this morning out our bedroom window was the northern lights over Lake Superior. It reminded me of a picture Jonathan snapped last year.

Oops, forgot the Scandinavian Bakery on 15th NW in the Crown Hill area. (for pulla)

Charlie, thanks for the info on the Cornish settlers reunion. After all the Finn talk yesterday, I was going to make a comment that we all would like info/links on all the Keweenaw settlers, and voila! There is one. That's what I meant in an earlier comment about how great the selection of pictures/subjects is on this site!

Remember: the pasty originated in Cornwall!

Am also interested in Hungarian settlers since my Dad's familty is from Kearsarge and I understand there was a Hungarian community near. My Grandpa ran a store out of their cellar (in addition to being a miner and having a small farm) and he spoke Finnish, English, and Hungarian. Linguists, correct me if I'm wrong, but I once learned that Hungarian is the same language root as Finnish.

Good Sunday afternoon to all.

I can't wait to see those northern lights. Only a few more days until I get the chance!

maijaMI:

I once learned that Hungarian is the same language root as Finnish.
Yes, you are correct -- Although Finnish and Hungarian are both members of the Finno-Ugric language family, they are only "distant cousins" ... very distant. Without checking my research, as I recall they apparently split apart many centuries ago, and you'd hardly recognize any similarity today. In comparison, Estonian and Finnish are much closer "relatives", and you can recognise the "kinship" quite easily.

We're going to add another 30 degrees to the CC temp today here in CA, and I'd love to swap! While I love it here, I still look wistfully at the bridge cam (and Tech alumni cams - http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/cams/) every day and miss it.

Where was this picture taken? It looks like Calumet.

Yes, indeed the northern lights were magnificent last night! They weren't only in the north, but so strong they covered the whole sky, and the shimmering action was awesome. Even though it was chilly out, we stayed out past midnight.

oh that what i would have love to see as the Northern light here are not as nice
Therese

Was the Ramada originally the Downtowner? Or is there another motel in the view?

Oh, those Northern Lights! Someone please post pictures from last night!

Hmmm...I see what looks to be an old C&H building behind the "Snow-Mometer" (if I may coin a term) and a church steeple in the far back center rising above the skyline.
Any local historians out there know exactly where these signs were once plunked?

By elf, troy, mi on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 04:13 pm:

Hi ert,GA The Downtowner is across the canal in Houghton just to the left of the bridge and the Ramada is on the Hancock side. Our family always stays at the Downtowner. Second floor end unit or The Bunker are our favorites. Along with a carry-out of pasties with a prune or apricot tart to top it all off.

Last week we completed an upgrade of the in-house Pasty.NET wireless system in the Ramada, and it is working great. Anywhere in the building - including the Upper Deck Restaurant - you can open up your laptop and browse in the fast lane. Pasty.NET wireless also serves the old power house building across the canal (the stone structure with the green roof), which houses the Smart Zone, and several up-and-coming high tech businesses.

Thanks, elf, troy, mi. So we have 2 motels in our view of the bridge. We used to have a Downtowner here; it sat empty for several years and they just tore it down a couple of years ago and built a new fire station on the site.

Poor birds, sitting on Sharon's deck rail, wondering where their buffet went. Dang bear!!!

me in WA,
the folks at the British Pantry in Redmond make
pasties. They're pretty good, but have a bit of carrot- so
they're Lancashire pasties, not Cornish.

Being that I was once a resident of Calumet, could those signs be located on Red Jacket Road and Calumet Avenue or Mine Street, just south of the Calumet High School?

How frequent are the Northern Lights? I've never seen them. Is it possible to see them in August when we are up there?

Your read my mind sg/Milford! I was just going to ask the same question but I was wondering about early september (labor day). Anyone know?

The Northern Lights were also seen further South! We were in the Mainitowish Waters, WI area and had a fantastic light show! The show was in a brilliant white..would love to have seen it in green, but who's complaining? My kids have chided me for 10 years as I have waited oh so long to finally see that show!

Thanks for a great web site! It takes me on many mind trips!

I have never seen the northern lights as they were
last night. When my son woke us up at 3:15 in
Hubbell, the sky above us looked like saturns
rings. I have never seen concentric circles
like that in the lights. They slowly dissolved
into shimmering waves across the sky.

It's supposed to be claer next few days, so if you missed last nights show I'm sure we can see them again tonight.

Troll Diva, Ferndale,

If you look on the web site: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html you will see the extent of N-L coverage. Try a google search for aurora forecast or similar terms for many internet sites which have space weather forecasts.

Aurora displays depend on sunspot activity.

www.spaceweather.com is a good site to check out the forcast.

Isn't that the old Calumet Armory building? It looks like the steeple is St. Anne's on 5th St. This is the area behind the CHS, isn't it?

How about that Lance Armstrong's win. Quite impressive.

Looks to me like the old C&H warehouse that was most recently Rowe Moving and is now a part of the Historic Park. Red Jacket road would be on the right of the picture.

ATV CLUB ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING WED JULY 28 @ 7 PM IF YOU`D LIKE TO COME !AT THE CALUMET VFW POST

You are right PJ. That is the old Rowe Moving Building.

Looks like these signs might have been on Calumet Avenue, looking at the warehouse building. The library, part of the National Park now and former Lake Superior Land Company building, would be to the right, and Mine Street would be just on the other side of the rise, in front of the warehouse.

I was wondering if those of you viewing the northern lights were aware you'd be able to see them or if you must rely mostly on "chance"? I live in northern Illinois and have seen the northern lights twice way down here. The last time was just a few years ago. I had taken my pup for a short walk around the block in the late evening and as we turned the farthest corner to return home I saw a red-orange glow in the sky that at first made me think I was witnessing the glow from a fire in the direction of my home. We walked a little faster and kept watching the sky and realized this was the aurora, not a fire . . . what a treat for us!! Needless to say we stayed up way past our bedtime!!!

Thanks Bobby, I will check that out.