I'm going to have to rely on someone else's expertise in the area of Marquette to explain where these scenes can be found. Barry Seymour labeled them as Black Rocks, over in his Guest Gallery. Doesn't this brave young man have that 'do you dare me' look in his eye? Or maybe it's a 'double dare' look, I'm not quite sure! No matter though, it looks like a refreshing place to cool off after a day of work, travel or just bumming around.

The obligatory disclaimer notice: Pasty.com/Pasty.net and its employees warn you not to try this at home... or anywhere else for that matter! :->

That is at the Cove at the Island in Marquette

good morning from Commerce twp.

Good morning everyone.

Question for all you experts: is the Freda Cross Cut Road a 'good' road? {It doesn't have to be TOO good since we drive a 4WD Silverado!} I decided to test the powers of Map Quest and put in 'White Pine' and 'Freda' and it takes a way which completely avoids the Freda Cross Cut which is plainly marked on my maps! Wassup?

Thanks so much for your help!

maijaMI - where in Commerce Twp? I'm in Wixom

Cool place to go swimming. Any thing like that in the Keweenaw? Later, Skylar.

Good morning everyone from northern Indiana!

Can you swim in Lime Jello?

smf: I'm right off of Commerce Rd. west of Union Lake Rd. behind Clifford Smart Middle School. Our first house was in Highgate sub on Loon Lake Rd just down from the Finn Camp. There's also Doug in Wixom who posts here.

A cloud has fallen on the bridge!

NMU'77

Frieda Cross Cut Road is very smooth, I'm trying to remember from last year, it may be just gravel.

Wasn't it orginally the old railway road bed? Possibly that's why you can't find it on your map. It is on UniversalMAP's "Copper Country of Michigan's Upper Penninsula" Look for it $ 5.95, it has a red cover and can be found at local area gas stations.

Hey, thanks Mr. Bill!

I was thinking it was an old RR bed and maybe it wasn't a 'regular' road - more like a rails-to-trails type deal. My hard copy maps {a couple of those detailed county roads books} did show it, but the on-line Map Quest ignored it. I was going to go out to Freda that way and then back the Covered Road.

Can't wait to come back to my adopted homeland for a week in September!

Thanks again!

Many a NMU student has taken the dare to jump in the cove at Presque Isle in Marquette. It is always a favorite hot spot when the weather climbs into one of those rare UP days with hot sun. The dares are especially fun to watch in the first warm days of spring when some unsuspecting freshman thinks there is nothing to it and jumps into the deep freeze.

Nice pictures Barry (a.k.a. Sky Masterson)

morning all. looks refreshing.

we've been to that spot, NE corner of Presque Isle, didn't jump in though. just north of Marquette a very nice park with deer everywhere. but I myself liked little Presque Isle better which is further north of there. anyone else from around Marquette? do you know ranger Jeff Glass @ Gitchee Gumee campground? how is he doing these days? we where there last year and once again in 98. great campground.

Hey Marja and smf, I am in Commerce Twp too... I live just North of Lower Straights Lake at the corner of Commerce Rd. and Newton.

Good Morning from the sunshine state, but going to rain today which is ok with me. Looks like another great day in the UP comimg back again this fall to see the colors and take a plane ride with my brother in law Neil Harri.

Does the spot in question ever get as warm as Lake Huron on a good day(high 60's, low 70's)? I've been in Munising Bay, by Bay Furnace campground; in the sandy shallows it's not too different from out in front of our place near Cheboygan.

Another 40 hours and we hit the road, Keweenaw here we come!

This is my kids favorite swimming spot. All four have jumped many times from this spot!
They always try to get me to jump, no way! The water is about 25 feet deep. It is so pretty when the big sailboats go by out on the big lake. If you are in Marquette, Presque Isle is a must see! Still very hot in Florida. Missing da yoop. Can't wait to bring the kid back up to NMU the end of the month!

Good Morning,

Although our's was not as picturesque; we had a swimming hole in an old farm pond that we jumped, dove and "cannon balled" through summer in! We had an old "raft" from a barn door, a swinging rope from a hay mow and we were set. After about ten minutes, the mud on the bottom of the pond was so stirred up, that we all looked as though we were in a mud bath! When we were done swimming, we would have to run through the water from the farm well (extremely cold!) to rinse off all the mud. Only then could we ride our bikes home.

It was there for many years until about four years ago. Then, a developer bought the farm ground and bull dozed up all the buildings, and fields to make way for apartments and townhouses.

Anyone else have a favorite swimming hole?

Take care and have a good day,
Cindy

The locals do this at Canyon Falls on 41, south of L'anse. Always make sure of the water depth, since there is much more water in the spring at any of the falls.

That is at Presque Isle in Marquette, where I am thrilled I will be tomorrow!

Oh... how I wish to be up in the Keweenau. Nice cool morning this morning. Enjoyed my coffee out on the patio. Hello to maijaMI and SMF. I'm over here in the Highgates.

NMU'77:
I don't think Toivola to Beacon Hill (near Freda) crosscut road is an abandoned railroad grade. At least not its entire length. Too many sharp corners and short "hills" that are too steep for a train. The abandoned grade is still in use by recreationists and berry pickers but it is located farther to the east of the crosscut road. The road is what we call a "two-track"; Basically two ruts with a higher ridge in the middle. Usually with lots of mud holes and washouts along the way. The road is usually passable with a car during the summer. A friend and I just traveled the length a couple of weeks back. The road was once used as a leg of the Press on Regardless road ralley, if that says anything for the condition it is often in.

Hi to Doug, maijaMI, SMF - I check this website daily. I live north of Union Lake in the Heritage Hills sub. My oldest starts as a freshman at Northern and my youngest starts as a 6th grader at Clifford Smart in September. I love this site. It's so fun to read all the posts. Have a great day all - it sure is beautiful here in Oakland County.

hey NKR, I grew up in Mishawaka--what a small world.

When my kids were little they always enjoyed throwing small rocks into the cove just to hear the splashes they made. Is still such a beautiful little corner of Presque Isle. Something very magic about that park. I never tire of visiting it.

We've had a couple of mornings here down-state that, at first breath, made me wonder how I'd gone to sleep in Lansing and woke up in Eagle River. Then the coffee kicked in and I realized it was all wishful thinking. We've had some wonderful UP-ish weather down here lately, even a few Superior-ish storms. I sat on the deck in back and watched a real Banger roll in a bit ago, and was looking in the right direction as a lightening strike took down one of my neighbor's trees. Fell right into my yard . . . FIREWOOD!!

Unfortunately, the same storm brought another of my neighbor's trees onto my husband's car. ;-( We've decided, after a good look through, that our neighbor does not have trees growing in his back yard, he has standing dead-wood. Wish he'd let me back there with a chain saw . . .

The Freda CrossCut Road is generally very negotiable with even a small car, let alone a 4wd pickup...other than during some wet n' muddy springs (a seasonal road, so obiously closed to motor vehicles in winter). While not the smoothest stretch of gravel and dirt road, 'tis an easy way to enjoy a few miles of "bushwhacking" (?). The road was never a rr grade. Close at hand, though, are stretches of the old Copper Range RR grade between MillMine Jct and Redridge (generally very driveable), as well as the already-noted Covered Road (ex rr ).

rnr:

Ahhhhhh, 2-tracking in the UP, one of my favorite things! The challenge is a lot less in the 4WD Silverado than in the old Chevette i had in the '70's, tho you know i never got the Vet stuck! Came real close a few times...... The turning radius was a lot less than the current unit too!

Thanks very much for the additional info!

Reminds me of the Eau Clair Falls (or I think they are called)...

Boy does that look fun! It has been so hot here in Houston, Heat Index was 110, I sure would enjoy splashing around in the cool waters of Michigan!

I won't dare go in any lakes here, terrified of the water snakes!

Galveston is disgusting, very yucky beaches and water..not to mention quite a bit of shark attacks lately!

Enjoy your Lakes! Hey, any legends about spooky water monsters up there?

Nate in Iron Mountain.Raised in Mishawaka also 50 plus years. My son went to school with Jim Alwine. Any relation?

All this talk of gravel back roads has me wondering -
now that the mines are closed in the UP, are the stamp
sand piles used up? Is stamp sand still used to surface
roads in the area or does the UP use gravel? The by-
product of mining was used for everything- roads,
shoulders, even for maintanence-free cemetery plots! It
was a lot 'prettier' than gravel. And if there are any
mining experts out there, can you please explain the
stamp sand process to us?

Nice photo today. How deep is the water in this spot
and how high up is this guy's diving rock?

My son,daughter,his friend & I went there last night for a drive. I'd never been at the Black Rocks before. It is beautiful. There were two teenage boys diving off the rocks. There were some big waves coming in. Guess it is about 30'deep. My kids informed me that they have dove off those rocks several times & still do. ( Some things a mother is better not knowing LOL) My kids are 30 & 34 years old now. I always enjoy going thru Presque Isle, it certainly is worth seeing if you come to Marquette. I also enjoy just sitting & watching the ore boats at the docks.

Just who are you NMU 77?

I too am NMU 77.

To combine a few stories, I remember a crash during the 73 POR just around the bend from where this picture was taken. Short race for those folks.

Happy swimming and press on regardless!

Yeah thats Black Rocks, at Presque Isle you hang a sharp right to the parking area when you go down the big hill on the backside of the Island. It's a great place to jump from!

I have SCUBA Dived that cove area to and found some fun stuff, lots of change, Jewerly, Car Keys (Never found the car... the remote didn't work anymore wonder why?) etc. Favortite past time for the NMU Students, and part of the Freshman Induction! I was moved into my dorm only 5 hours beofre I jumped!!

Trish:
Ironically enough, the last major use of the abandoned copper mine poor rock piles has lately been to cover up the (alledged to be contaminated) remnant micro poor rock stampsands that were left from the historic mining period. A perfect example can bee seen along the shoreline of Boston Pond, located in north central Houghton County.
The red stampsands that once lined the shore there, where many people once swam and turtles once laid their eggs, are now totally covered with large mine rock and a chain-link fence. This rock is very high grade copper berring ore and is also very high in copper arsenides such as "Mohawkite".
I have also heard that some of this red stampsand will be necessary for use in the making of red tinted sidewalks in historic downtown Calumet.
Most all of the 250 plus remnant rock piles that were once left, as you know, have all been used for the making of US 41, M-26, and other local roads.

Just received an email from Gary Dreyer, who sent a link to clear up a discussion back in May 2004, about the Eagle Harbor Fire Dept. #2, Willys Jeep authenticity as an actual fire truck or just something that had been put together over the years. Check it out: Fire Service Jeeps Thanks Gary!

Cool dip? Yeah, it's a cool dip alright. Water always near 52 degrees in the summer. Unless you're near Picnic Rocks or the Cove.

Raised in Marquette and spent many a hot afternoon at Black Rocks with friends daring one another to dive in. Didn't stay in the water long, though. This guy should be on a reality TV show!

Boy do I miss the Black Rocks at Presque Isle. Can't wait to get back! Sunny Florida is OK, but it's just not the UP

HN, St. Johns. You were up pretty late this morning! You seem to know all the good places to eat out at. Are you any relation to my wife? A few years ago, after we retired, we started out the driveway with plans to eat out. Before I left the drive I asked,"Where do you want to go?"
She replied, "I don't care. Let's go some place we haven't been." I backed up and drove into the garage. Wrong thing to do! This is a true story and it made our local small town newspaper also. It was kinda tense around home for a few days!! LOL.

Another great place is at a small turnout just past the Phoenix store as you are heading for Eagle River. About 1/8 of a mile from the store on the right is a nice swimming hole...Used to be MANY along this part of the river but the development has made most inaccesible.

This jump is known as The Launchpad, one of the best spots at Black Rocks. I've always found it interesting the way total strangers will meet out here and encourage each other to make the toss, when normally on the street they wouldn't say a passing word to each other.

I guess the theme today is "small world." Hi Doug, smf, Lori, and Kris. Kris, I agree. If you have to be in southeast troll land, the lakes area is a wonderful place to be. You will love Clifford Smart--it's an excellent school. (As is Central)

More small world: Jerry, Florida: Neil Harri is my cousin, or I guess properly my Dad's cousin. (or Dad's cousin's son? Doesn't matter.) I know your sister, and my brother and I look forward to seeing them when we are in Eagle Harbor. They were at your family reunion when we were just there.

I will be in Marquette area next week and am grateful for today's discussion. I will definitely go to Presque Isle.

Hey Ric, Wi - that would be "10 Foot" as we called it when we were kids. Used to bike there from Mohawk. It was a great place and would be really rolling there after a big rain the night before.

Steve In South Bend, I had an Uncle Jim who recently passed away. He was in his 70's. Probably not the same Jim. What years did your son go to Mishawaka?

To Paul the Troll from Webberville: Funny story.

SOORRY but IT Is spelled Keweenaw not Keweenau

Ten-Foot is especially beautiful in the fall!

Never dove at the Black Rocks in Marquette, but sure did at the White Rocks on Negaunee's Teal Lake in the late 50s and early 60s. Those old swimmimg holes sure were great.

Hey! I know that place! Spent a fair amount of time right there... what a rush!

On driving the Freda Cross-Cut Road:
I can also vouch for the realtive ease of this corridor as I drove it with my '90 Buick Century sedan in August 1999 after a nice long swim with a friend at Misery Bay.

I can't say as much though for a then nameless road which runs off the Freda Road just west of, alongside, and later behind Redridge Dam. This road eventually crosses a bridge over the Salmon Trout River on it's way to the Obenhoff Road straight west of Atlantic Mine. Probably a road better left untraveled by a mere Buick sedan but we made it all the way through nonetheless and the trip was never boring. LOL

Hello all from the north shores of Rice Lake. Having a great time wish you were here. Nine more days of being here in heaven. Cold night last night at McLains. The furnace kicked on. Having fun trying to get lost. Its also a blast just to sit all day on the bluff at the campground. Good bye for now.

Thanks everyone for all your comments.Was up in Copper Harbor last week. Met Sharon S. and had a great time. Cried halfway home. However, now I don't feel so alone in the love of the place. I wanted to turn around and head back up.

rnr,
thanks for the info on the stamp sand. It was so unique
to the UP.
Must go and rinse the blackberries I picked. Pie for
dessert tonight!

Nate Alwine, Did you grow up in the Twin Branch area of Mishawaka? Knew some Alwines who lived in that area but can't recall the first names. Must be old age setting in.

Good afternoon from Waterford. Nice day down here
below the bridge. How are the blueberries looking
so far? Are they ready for picking? Will have to
head up that way to pick some for Wild Blueberry
Pies! UUM! UUM!

Ah...the indestructable young. Nothing bad can happen to you. I wonder if there have been injuries or deaths at this spot. Maybe only to a few, but would not like to be one of the few (or be the one who has to rescue the injured and/or face grieving parents).

A few years back we watched a group of young daredevils jumping off rocks in the Sturgeon River Gorge near L'Anse. Looked like fun and dangerous at the same time. (Part of the fun?)

I was in the military and have done EMT/rescue training, etc. However, I would advise against doing what is pictured today or what I saw at the Gorge. Maybe it was all the safety training or that I am a boring parent, but I am alive.

Greetings everyone. Doing a little searching on some of my relatives from up north. My grandfather is Elmer Lusa from Wakefield and my family still vacations frequently on Lake Gogebic. Hope all is well with everyone!

I am another boring parent. I first saw these pictures this a.m. and just thought of all the dangers lurking. Things happen so quickly and can ruin a life (lives). So, I'm with Jimmer the boring!

Hey Chevysac a.k.a Rusty Charlie -- How'd *you* know? Drop me a line.

The water was COLD that day - not sure of the degrees, but it was crisp. The jump is about 10 feet, the water 15 feet deep. I've made the dive in the past - just be sure you jump OUT far enough to avoid the rock you're jumping off and you'll be all right.

I've been happily visiting this site for years, but always bemoaned the lack of Marquette pictures. I finally resolved to take matters in my own hands, come up and take a few. They make nice wallpapers, so feel free to grab as many as you want.

Thanks to all for the kind comments on the pictures.

Hey Brad of Canton. Daughter, son-in-law, grandson and two dogs heading up tomorrow to McLain, should be there Saturday (they should be on lot 90 or 91). Used to camp there and sitting on the bluff was my favorite pastime. Now when we go up the first two weeks in June we sit by the picnic area enjoying the view. Everyone have fun..........

This is the same look my neighbor had on his face before sticking a metal fork into a toaster to retrieve a stubborn bagel. His therapy is going pretty well these days and he says the tingling is decreasing a little bit each month.

I'd rather be fishing, but I bet he was having a good time. Has anyone seen Sharon's bear lately? I guess the blueberries will be ripe soon. Hello to the Wixom, Commerce, Wolverine Lake folks.

Hey Nate from Iron Mt. I was born and raised in South Bend. Went to John Adams. I now live in Mishawaka. Both my daughters graduated from Mishawaka HS.

Press on Regardless.........and Jon Davis and the Library.......and my mug #9 "Skyflake" because I was a skydiver.......Now that do take me back...all the way to 1967. It was the summer of love somewhere else, but we were just glad to have a little summer.

I travelled the Freda Cross-Cut about 15 years ago in a 2wd '78 Chevy pickup. The only trouble I had was at a short bridge - I just had to be sure my wheels lined up with the timbers. It wasn't a perfect alignment - an inch or two of the tires were unsupported, but it was easy enough to make it across. It was only about 8 feet long as I recall, maybe less. I recall several two-tracks leading off of what seemed to be the main track. I wasn't too sure if I was choosing the right track at every fork, but I came out in the right spot (I think) - seemed like someone's backyard (at the south end).

Hey Karen what about the Waterford folks? Don't
forget to include us all.

Hello Karen; What about us Waterford folks? Don't
forget to include us too. Thanks.

Sorry about the REPEAT!!!

I'm sure thoes of you who are complaing about how dangerous jumping from the rocks is NEVER did anything that was dangerous when you were kids... Sounds just like my dad, now that I'm growing up he is finally telling me all the stupid things he did!! :-) Guess I will do the same thing when I'm a Dad!

(Sarcasim - LOTS of Sarcasim - just wanted to be clear... :-)

Hello from Houghton,
The thimbleberries are ripening fast. I picked last night, while being chewed up by the knats or noseeums or whatever they are, but have 5 jars of jam to enjoy or give as gifts!!!!!

How do I get on your gift list?!! :->

PFD from Houghton, I'll take a bottle of the
thimbleberrie jam. Have you any information on
the blueberries? I'd like to get up that way when
they are ripe. Thanks.

First jumped off the rocks at Pirate's Cove in 1980 and I'm still jumping nearly 25 years later... it's fun to knock the shine off the college kids when they see an old fat white guy
outdo them. My kids love that spot too. I have to laugh when I hear tourists say stuff like "You're not gonna let your kids jump off there, are you?" Like I could stop them if I wanted to...

Downstate Don, I picked wild blueberries this evening. This a very good year for them.

Did anyone hear the tv 6 news report on cougar sightings in South Range. Can anyone update this for me.

Hey big sister, PFD... I know you'll give your little sister a jar of that thimbleberry jam as a gift. Trade for a bread machine? hugs... Little sister.

In South Range, wow! Do they live there, or could it be
a big lynx? if it is a cougar, realize that they are
predators and will stalk you silently from behind. If you
see one, scream, yell, wave your arms, look bigger than
you are, and if you have kids with you, put them up on
your shoulders. I'd rather run into a bear any day than a
cougar.

My friend downstate (SE Mich)saw on the local news that someone from Monroe County (I think it was Monroe) captured video of 3 cougars near their home. Wonder what the DNR will say about this one?

To flying troll Tech 69...Sure you were skydiving and not on something else during your summer of love. You want your Masculine Fantasies realized and an Adrenaline rush like you have never experienced before, try Bongee Jumping California Style at the Bridge to Nowhere.

The DNR just acknowledged the existence of cougars in the Keweenaw recently. Despite their showing up in newspaper articles and photographs. It seems they hadn't any gotten any funding or filed an nvironmental plan so therefore they didn't " technically" exist

To all Yoopers reference cougars/wildcats, or whatever wild critters, we recently noted strange footprints hopping from one spot to another here in Sedar Bay. EEK!

my niece and I saw a black cougar on the cutoff road to 41 just outside of Eagle Harbor two or three summers ago.

Bob Fartas...very, very funny. All this talk about Mishawaka brought to mind that my Copper Harbor born cousin lives there. Her childhood home is being sold, much to her dismay (and her Mom's), but that is another story. So some of us marry out of the CC and hence only come back when we can....this is in reference to the conversation the other day. Spent Wed and Thurs in the beautiful state of WI at the Land's End headquarters for the big sale.