Rocks, shells, sharks teeth, sea glass... just a few of the things you can collect on the beach to remember your time spent there. Of course here in the U.P., you'd be hard pressed to find shells and sharks teeth, but there's an abundance of rocks and bits of sea glass to be found for sure. Joyce Tormala has derived a unique way to display the treasures she has accumulated from the Big Lake. Discovering uniquely shaped gems is a calming past-time in itself, but transport them home, arrange them for viewing and it will bring you a daily dose of that calm all over again.

Good morning!

Real cute! A real gem of a collection of stones.

Impressive stones. Never saw ones with holes like that.

Great picture. I have my own "garden of rocks"
that I have brought with me as I have moved
from Marquette to Colorado and now to
Florida. I continue to look for new rocks, but
the pickings are pretty slim here. Just sand,
not many rocks. Plenty of hurricanes, though!

Enjoy your day.

Good morning from Mishawaka IN. Happy Rocks! I love them. Its nice to start the day with a smile. Have a great day everyone.

Cute picture. I can't wait to get a scientific explanation from our resident geologists about how those holes in the rocks were formed. Erosion from the force of the water over thousands of years, maybe? I really enjoyed all of the information I learned about yesterday, and I have a feeling that it's going to be another educational day here on Pasty.com.

Good Morning From Brighton Mi

Yes we do the same each time we are in copper country . Just can't wait to hit the beach and get in the water looking for rocks. have a nice collection of agets and ore and other minerals on display in my kitchen . The first think that my family and friends do is head for the rock collection. There is a story behind each stone and yes good memories too. The very first thing i see in the morning . Or like you said I pick one up and it brings back all the great days spent in copper country.

Joe

Go check out Sharon Smiths web cam right now. Awesome. Later, Skylar.

Wow, Sharon's web cam picture is gorgeous this morning.

Lake Superior rocks hold such a place in my heart that I keep a large jar of them on my bookcase and a little pouch of them in my purse. Whenever I need a little Michigan, I just pull them out.

At Taylor's Falls, MN and across the St. Croix river in St. Croix Falls, WI we have similar instances of rock abrasion, only the holes are feet across and very deep (they occur in bedrock). I would think the process is similar for these smaller rocks. Here's how I understand it. A small rock is lodged against the larger, immovable rock in an area where there is an eddy. As the small rock spins around on the larger rock it wears away a pocket. The pocket creates its own eddy and the smaller rock keeps spinning and grinding until it wears itself away or is somehow pushed out of the depression.

Second that, Skylar, it's awesome! If you want to check it out, it's from 7:17 am. Also, it's my birthday today, (one more year to the big 5-0 -where DOES the time go?),and I want to thank Charlie and Mary and everyone who contributes here for providing my daily UP fix with such wonderful entertainment over the last several years. My morning routine is Sharon Smith's site, John Dee and then here (along with a good cup of coffee). Thanks all!

LOL! Thanks for the morning smile!

Love the rocks. I have a jar of Lake Superior rocks sitting on my desk at school and on the kitchen counter here at home. Any time I feel stressed I just check out the rocks and remember how peaceful and beautiful it was at the lake when I picked them up.
Have a great day.

mornin from a sub-40 degree Grand Forks, ND

I have a fountain on my desk populated with rocks like these from Lake Superior. It's my little slice of home out here in the east.
It has the added advantage that my boss can hear the water running over the rocks and has to make frequent trips away from his desk.

Joyce, nice picture. It gave me a smile to start my day with! It always amazes me the many mediums people find to express their creative nature. Mother Nature helps provide many options for them.

I just love this picture. Thanks so much, Joyce. What a wonderful way to display your collection. I bet it has been a conversation starter more than once.

Have a great day everyone!

I have one of those grey rocks with a perfectly round depression in it sitting on my desk here at work. I always get the question "why do you have a rock on your desk?" I can't explain it, they don't understand.

Ahh perfect sauna rocks!! I can hear the sizzling of the water and the steam nipping at my back as I look at them.

Those momentos we always collect from each and every trip to the Keweenau sure bring back the experience of when we collected them. I have a collection of beach stones I've collected over the years in our flower bed that I sit by and relax with a cup of coffee every morning. It's not as good as being there.... but it's as close as I can imagine at times.

Great picture. I love walking the beach looking for rocks.

See that heart-shaped rock? I found one like it on our beach at Lake Huron, but with a hole through it. I tied it on a thong to make a necklace, which I wear on Valentine's Day. I inform people that I have a heart of stone.

I have a beautiful Lake Superior rock from the Brimley area on my desk that I have used as a paper weight for the last 26 years of teaching. When I retire in a few years, it will go with me.

The Webcams we host here at Pasty Central are always interesting and informative, especially for a glimpse of live weather conditions. But this week I think we have seen at least 2 of the most beautiful shots - on Monday from the Houghton County Airport, and then this morning from Sharon Smith.

I have a jar of Whitefish Point sand sitting right behind me each day in my office. Now, if I was just sitting in that sand on Whitefish Point, that would be even better!

3 1/2 days and we're off to see the UP

Good Morning!
Thanks to Joyce, I'm all homesick and jealous. I have tossed the kayak into the Lake (is there any other?) just once this year and have had to content myself with the Huron River and Lake Eerie. Waaah!!! But I have some fabulous wallpaper, again Thanx to Joyce.

wow!

Mary: it's passtime. past means past, gone. "i love stories of the past." "in past times the miners..." Pass is to go by, spend, as in time. "Go passed exit 3l..." "Rock collecting is my favorite passtime." SORRY! your English is so near perfect, but this one bugged me.

Mary says: I stand corrected, but if you want to get real technical, it's not passtime either....it should have been pastime, no hyphen, no extra t. According to Merriam-Webster. Sorry for the linguistic error! :-)

Awesome cam pix, Charlie!

Those rocks remind me of a sauna, but I have also seen rocks like them before. Little things like this make me homesick for the UP.

There are times I just think of throwing it all in and getting out of here and coming up there to "start life all over again". I just may do that someday... and my family is prepared!

I have a reserve of Misery Bay sand that I sprinkle into my shoes in the morning. It makes me happy.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe there is an agate near the top of this picture. I sure have missed the last few summers sifting through the rocks looking for these precious beauties. Very little compares to the tranquility.

Beautiful pictures to start a beautiful day. Hope everyone enjoys it. Thanks for sharing.

I would say that there is a chance that a couple of those rocks may have come from the beach in this pic. 'Great Sand Bay'.... one of my favorite spots in the Keweenaw. I was doing my Keweenaw thing the other day in search of our color season, but there wasn't much color to find. But you are never at a loss for beautiful shots in the Copper Country. I even found a few left over blueberries to munch on.

I, too, am waiting to hear from Dr. Nat and Capt. Paul about the unique features "our" Lake Superior rocks have. I've carted my rocks from that shore (thanks, Dave, for another great shot) nearly to the Pacific and they rest all around my house. I guess they're my Yooper worry stones.

Mike, ex Yooper stuck in Florida - Whereabouts in Florida are you stuck? My husband and I are stuck in NE Orlando at the University of Central Florida. The only reason we agreed to be stuck here for the next few years is that it pretty much guarantees that we won't get jobs here teaching when we're done. Ah,... the ONE good point about being here. I sure miss 'real' seasons and snow - can't say that about hurricanes!

Shouldn't liguanerd be linguanerd? Anyway, we have lots of big beautiful rocks surrounding our pond down home from our shoreline in Aura and from Pte. Abbaye. We brought home one once that looked just like a mitten (lower UP). And, no, it didn't have the UP connected to it by the Mackinac Bridge!

Great choice for the morning picture, it really rocks!! ha ha , ha

Morning from Houston!

Speaking of rocks, while biking around Mackinac Island last week I noticed hundreds of small piles of stones stacked up like columns and pyramids along the beach. Is this a native american thing, or just some tourist fad?

Good morning from Vegas!
The little holes in the rocks can form in a few ways. Karen P.'s explanation about how a rock spins around in an eddy and wears away a hole is correct. We actually call these potholes. The other way little holes can form in the rocks can be due to slight variations in mineralogy. Some minerals are more resistant to erosion than others. These minerals will be worn away faster, forming a hole. Time and wave action can smooth out these holes.
I have rocks from all over the world sitting on my desk at work and littering my house. No one at work questions it, it's part of the job. But last time I moved, the moving men thought I was a little crazy. One of them tried to pick up one of the boxes. It was very heavy and he asked me, "What do you have in here, rocks?" I looked at him with a straight face and replied, "Yes." He didn't think it was funny, especially when he found out just how many boxes of rocks geologists lug around the world with them.
Have a great day, everyone!
Eight more days and I'll be in Houghton!

By Rose on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 11:31 am:

Speaking of Lake Superior items on the desk...This is my photo to gaze at when I am weary. I imagine my toes in these pebbles and sand.

Ahhh...

Come on now - sharks teeth?

Some of my favorite rocks are the beautiful boulders along Lake Superior in Grand Marais near the AuSable Point Lighthouse. I have some in my guest gallery, but I don't know how to insert them here. Anyone who has ever walked along the beach from the Hurricane River Campground knows what I'm talking about.

Thank you, Dr. Nat for your explanations. I can imagine that your rock collection is fantastic!

43 hours to go

I know the "recipe" for uploading photos within messages has been given here before, but I've never paid attention (bad me). But I thought it was funny today, on the http://www.pasty.com/cam/index.html page, that the "featured sponsor" is New Dimensions Crushers - Industrial-Strength Rock Crushers!!

Bet those happy rocks wouldn't be too happy any more...

Have a great day!

Rose, thank you so much for sharing your picture of the water, rocks and sand. I have now made this my wallpaper. I can feel the refreshing cool water on my feet.

As to those grey stones with holes in them...I got one many years ago from "Scotty" who owned/ran/lived above a museum (pink building right around the corner where 123 turns) in Paradise. This must have been around the mid 60's. He called them "lucky stones" and used to have a rope strung from one end of a large room to the other loaded with them...all shapes and sizes. Still have my "lucky stone" but have had no luck finding my own, although I have found several that were almost worn through...maybe my next trip! :)

Glad to see I'm not the only person who likes to have rocks in her wallet. I have quite a collection of Lake Superior and UP rockage. My dad often called me Greta-got-rocks. I've also acquired a few rocks from around the world from friends who travel - a piece of obsidian from Armenia and a little stone from one of the penguin beaches in South Africa are two of my favorites. One of the little stones currently in my wallet has 2 fossil indentations.

Happy Birthday to my nephew Darin & to my eldest daughter, Lisa & tomorrow to my youngest son Darren. Hope they have a great day.

Hey, Doug Smith in Wixom, are you from Gingleville?

BTW, someone told me, not long ago, that it's illegal to remove the rocks from the beaches . . . I knew about that rule at Picture Rocks, but was unaware that the same rule applied anywhere else along the shoreline . . . Am I breaking a gazillion rules with my rock collection, or do I have rocks in mine head for letting them pull mine leg?

Rose, you photo brought so many memories in just a glance! That for sure is "our" lake. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Next week I will be THERE!!

I have a rock at my desk from da yoop. It looks kinda like a speckled egg; people like to pick it up and look at it. It makes me smile. I also have a treasure box on my dresser full of old pictures, grandmas fancy hankies, jewelery from the 40's that my Aunt Katherine wore, and rocks and small pieces of drift wood from the Yoop. Also a bottle of sand from the beach at Mackinaw city near the bridge. :) My guests like to look through it when they come over and we talk about the things in it, and where I got them.

Since unique rock formations (love 'em)seem to be the topic of discussion--if anyone who knows anything about geology gets this far on the page, I would love to know how the perfectly round white spots formed in the sandstone found along the shore between Gay and LacLabelle. Some of the larger white spots have a little pink sandstone spot exactly in the middle. The is a picture in my album of some of this sandstone.

Raven - The Pictured Rocks is a National Seashore which is protected by the National Park Service and prohibits removing anything. The same is true for Isle Royale. However, I am sure no one would say anything about taking a rock or two from any of the public beaches in the Yoop. That doesn't mean you can back up a dump truck and load it with rocks to sell.

Speaking of Great Sand Bay, I can remember when the entire bay was all sand and it seemed like the beach was bigger than it is now. We had picnics on the weekend when we were the only people on the beach. Of course when you went into the wanter, you quickly realized why.

I don't keep any Superior rocks on my desk, as I have enough rocks in my head.

Raven: Lake Superior throws us new rocks regularly, so I don't mind taking a few!

I think that one white rock on the upper left was once used in an X-Files episode.

hello from Arizona, I love the pics today! makes me real homesick! take care everyone.

Nancy:
OK, let's see if I can explain this without getting too deep into chemistry and geology. The sandstone between Gay and Lac LaBelle is called the Jacobsville Sandstone. All the sand grains are held together with cement. In geologic terms cement isn't only the stuff we make sidewalks from, it is also the minerals that hold all the grains of a sandstone together like glue. In any case, some of the cement holding the Jacobsville sandstone together contains a tiny little bit of iron. Now here's where the chemistry comes in. In the presence of oxygen, iron turns into iron oxide, which is red. So at one time water carrying dissolved oxygen flowed through the Jacobsville sandstone, oxidizing the iron and turning it red. So why are those little round white spots left over? In the center of the little spots there is a material that likes reacting with oxygen even more than iron likes to react with oxygen. So this material basically sucked up all the oxygen in the area before the iron could, preventing the iron from turning red. Materials that react easily with oxygen include certain types of minerals and especially organic matter. We have numerous red sandstones out here in the west and it is very common to find little bits of ancient organic matter in the center of the little white spots. Lastly, the spots are known as "reduction spots." In chemistry, iron that has reacted with oxygen is "oxidized" and iron that has not reacted with oxygen is "reduced," hence the name.
I hope this explanation wasn't too technical. The whole chemical interaction of water and rock and oxygen is a topic many geologists are still studying today.

Marsha:
I'm happy to hear that, since the greatest portion of mine rock garden to date is Superior Rock. Since it was collected over a long period of time, I would truly hate to have to truck it all back up there.

Yooper in PA:
I'm glad that the sites are protected. I would hate my kids and future grandkids to miss seeing things close to the way I did because some numnutz decided to cart it all off for their collection.

Nice rocks! I like the one that looks like it came from Roswell, NM!!! You can't help but smile when you look at them, so artistically arranged!

Sistah #3, don't forget the Trader Joe's whole beans in the blue can! I'm at school and don't have your e-mail address with me. Can't wait to see all you guys (or is it 'all yous guys'?)!

yooper66,
very nice photo

Rose, Great picture! I can feel that ice cold water and the sand and stones on the bottom of my feet. All the way here in CA. How refreshing.

the ideal setting on lake superior to watch the sun set is on the point at Great Sand Bay,,,over the years have seen many from there.

Guess it's my turn to chime in on Lake Superior geology, but I'm not quite sure what to say; Dr. Nat has pretty much covered everything for me.... isn't she a sweetie ;-)

I have a question. What's worse than having to move one geologist across country?? Try two!! Since Dr. Nat and I are both geologists, moving companies don't very much like us anymore. Both of us have immense mineral collections; Dr. Nat's is mostly from the four-corners region, and mine is Lake Superior/Keweenaw oriented.

If one wants to see a great mineral collection, go to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum on the Michigan Tech campus; it is spectacular!!!

Just an aside....I just read FRNash's note from yeasterday as I have been sitting a death watch since Sunday, but as a commerical pilot, and although I have never had an incident flying (not 110 MPH, but a little faster) I still pass my exit sometimes when talking on a cell phone so have decided to try and minimize that activity. Thanks FR for what amount to basic ground school for private pilots. All that typing must have taken awhile. Shiny side up............

Yooper66 - The picture of Sand Bay has brought back so many memories. It is my favorite place in all of Michigan. My grandparents had a 'camp' near where the monks are now. What wonderful memories of growing up there. As an adult I still feel the pull to this very spot. Spend many an evening sitting at the scenic lookout enjoying the views when up in the Keweenaw. Picture will be my wallpaper until ????

Often think of moving up there without thought or consideration of anything or anybody else. (But for now I will stay here and be miserable.)

Thanks for the great pic.

Please! How do you find Sharon Smiths website?????????

Here's the url, but you can also get to it from the bridge cam page:

http://www.aviewfromthefield.com/

Everyone have a really nice evening!

See ya in the morning. :)

I keep Lake Superior rocks on my desk at school. It's a reminder of calm and peace on those stressful days. The kids often ask about the rocks and I just tell them they are from a magical place.

We have a large rock from Lake Superior - from
McLean's Park- on our kitchen counter. We call it the
'watch rock' since whoever does dishes puts their watch
on it. We've had it there for years, our little bit of the UP.
It's great to see how many folks posting on here today
have a Copper Country rock in their homes...

p.s. since we're talking rocks, just wanted to let you
know that the lava dome in Mt St Helens has shifted at
least an inch to the north in the past day. We're getting
ready for the eruption, though it'll be nowhere near as
big as the one in May 1980

We buy from Longview Paper, which is 35 miles from St. Helen's. In conversation today, they stated that no one is currently allowed to go above 4500 feet, just as a precaution.

Back in the thirties, the road that is now at the top of the dunes
was right on the shoreline, but the shifting sands probably made
it impossible to deal with. I've got a picture on a map that shows
it. Now if I coud just find it. Interesting thought: The roads that
have been "shifted" slightly and what we don't see anymore. for
example: on the 5 Mile Point Road at the first smoothly curved
right angle turn, which used to be a hard right angle corner....off
to the left was supposedly a dance hall. Anybody know anything
about it?

I keep jars of rocks that I picked off the beaches
in the Copper Country. Put some water in with them
and they look nice and shiny that way. Reminders
of the Copper Country.

When the five little grandkids get to be "too much", I get out the bucket of Grand Marais rocks and a bowl of water. Keeps 'em busy for hours! The rocks also help me calm down when living in the most densely populated state becomes "too much". Glad to hear that so many people enjoy them as much as we do.

I have a couple jars of rocks in decorative jars round the house so I can see them every day. I also have some larger ones in my flower garden. I put some of them around the base of a small fountain I have on the patio. Sure brings back a lot of good memories.

We also have our own collection of Lake Superior rocks, some in the house and I have a box in the garage from east of Munising, that are scheduled to go in a sauna stove someday. 'Course I've been threatening to build a sauna for about 25 or 30 years now. :o) I like my Superior dreamin', not California dreamin'. Has anyone looked up at the moon tonight? Beautimous! Hei, Kaija!

I have several Jacobsville Sandstones right across the room from me by the woodstove. 2 of them are about the size and shape of a regular brick. Horizontal red and thinner white lines right through. Had em for years!

JIM; THAT WAS LESH'S FARM, WHERE WE USED TO HAVE CROATION PICNICS IN THE 30'S. ALSO WAS A DANCE HALL THERE. I REMEMBER THEM PLAYING BOCHA BALL & QUITE THE FESTIVITIES. I HAVE TO GO BACK THERE & SEE THAT SPOT AGAIN.

Raven, I'm not Doug from Wixom, but I AM from Gingellville. You too?

Great looking moon being observed here in Lower
Michigan. Has been quite the picture the last few
nights.

Is the one on the lower left under the Roswell rock a pothole or shaped by hands for a tool? Hard to tell from here.

This picture of the rocks is just what I love!!! I had to set it as wallpaper on my computer. I fixed a Lake Superior centerpiece for my sisters and daughter this summer. I saw the idea in a magazine. You take a plastic plant saucer, add some beach sand and then some colorful rocks. Include some agates. I spray painted mine to make them look shiny. Then put in three little pots. I used some clay pots and some clear blue pots. Put votive candles in the pots, and there you have a picnic table candle centerpiece.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the post, the interesting comments, and the great lessons in the history of rock! I've been hawking rocks for years- some are simply dropped into the pocket while others are dragged in a beach towel. Out of respect for nature, I always leave more than I take.
This hobby began as a careless rebellion against weeds. I didn't know where the flowers ended and the weeds began, so I decided to gather some rocks to "pank" the soil after digging the weeds. They came back with a vengeance, so I figured "What the heck-stay then, but don't cross the rocks." That didn't work either, so I went to the beach and found some aliens and gargoyles to give them something to fear! The weeds grew over, around, and underneath the intimidating rock creatures.
I do this to relieve stress and anxiety and in order to accomplish this goal, I had to develop a new attitude. Change my tune.
While I was concentrating on the sights, sounds, and scents of the great outdoors, I noticed the change. I saw hearts of glass! Hearts of solid stone! Friendly faces! Now when I am engrossed in the bore of a chore of weeding, I take the time to notice and, yes, PLAY with the border rocks. Sure, it's a nuisance when winter threatens. I move them to their winter corner, where they are protected by the white blanket and out of the paths of the scoop and plow.
When Spring has sprung, there they are,patiently waiting for their new location. It's like when we were kids, remember? Our seasonal toys were hauled from the basement or attic and we ran from one to another, saying "Hey! I remember this!" or "Hey! I forgot about this one.I haven't seen these in years!" Where to begin-what to play with FIRST!
When I am unable to take care of my garden ornaments, I just might bring them back to where they came from. I won't need the truck. ROCK ON!

My husband and I have gathered hundreds of pounds of wonderful Lake Superior "gems" over the years and two of our favorites are the agate and what we refer to as Indian Paint Pots or "Lucky Rocks". I love the still life you have created with your paint pots! Our livingroom hosts quite a collection of these little charmers and my desk at the office sports a "two-holer" which serves as a perfect place for my paper clips!