Darrel's website |
Mary Nordahl Shortly after Darrel and I had started communicating online, he sent me an email with a photo attached of the most beautiful scene of fall colors I had ever seen. He said he had taken it at the Porcupine Mountains. I had never heard of those mountains and when he told me they are in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.), I wasn’t even sure where that was. The one thing I did know was that I had to go there. I had to see, with my own eyes, that amazing beauty which Darrel was able to capture in a photograph. The truth… I wondered if he had copied it from some famous photographer's site, sent it to me, and said he was there and took the photo himself; to impress me, you know. Well, it didn’t matter, I still knew that someday I would be on that mountain with all that beauty > Oh yeah, I no longer believe that Darrel copied someone else’s photograph, after watching him in action, I know it was his. We talked about taking a week off work in the fall, not only to show me the Porcupine Mountains, but to tour as much of the North Shore of the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, aka the South Shore of Lake Superior, as possible. Before we knew it, Fall was approaching and we needed to get started with our plans. Darrel spent many hours researching the UP, with a goal to see as many water falls and lighthouses as possible, setting the itinerary so as not to miss any opportunity while on our travels. What an amazing job he did! Friday Sept 21 Our first stop was Potato River Park to snap some shots of the Upper, Middle and Lower Falls. With steep ravines and hundreds of stairs, this was a shoot that was going to test our strength and endurance for the type of itinerary that was planned for the next 8 days. After that workout, we headed to Superior Falls. As we pulled into the parking lot, the winds picked up and we kept our eye on the dark clouds spinning above, threatening rain. We hugged a chain linked fence as we walked along the trail to the falls to protect ourselves from falling branches in those 70mph gusts of wind. We snapped a few shots of Superior Falls then headed for the cascades just as the winds were settling down and finished up our shoot there. The clouds were clearing so we raced down an extremely steep paved path to Little Girls Point on the Superior shore to catch the sunset. We were lucky to get there just in time and were able to pick up some pretty good colors on the horizon. After those wicked winds the sunset provided the perfect mood to calm and relax us for our overnight in Ironwood. Darrel kept a close eye on the weather forecast. It looked like rain may accompany us on our planned itinerary, so after predicting the rains path, he quickly rearranged our schedule so as to miss as much of that rain as possible. I think Darrel should have been a meteorologist. He did an outstanding job keeping us dry on our journey. Actually, with 36 waterfalls and 18 lighthouses, along with numerous other stops, I could write a book about this trip. It’s amazing what we were able to do and see in just 8 days. But instead, I will list our itinerary along with a few comments and consider writing the book later. Saturday Sept 22 Powderhorn Falls in Ramsay Presque Isle River State Park East trail from South Boundry Road to Nawadaha Falls Lake of the Clouds Overlook (first of two visits) Bond Falls (80 feet wide, 50 feet tall) Agate Falls Overnight in Ishpeming (one of our three nights with a pool and hot tub) Sunday Sept 23 Black River Falls and Gorge Picnic Rock on Lake Superior in Marquette Marquette Breakwater Lighthouse Marquette Lighthouse Reany Falls (a cute stream of cascades) Upper Dead River Falls - Awesome! (7 falls) Wagner Falls (at dusk) Overnight at Scotties Motel (great room until you saw the bathtub) Monday Sept. 23 Pictured Rocks Cruise (oh my gosh!) Wagner (my maiden name) Falls Alger Falls (low water) Tequamenon Upper Falls (the Niagra of the UP) Lower Tequomenon Falls (steaks on the grill) Whitefish Point Lighthouse - (one of the two oldest on Superior - great sunset photos, too) Overnight at Super 8 in Newberry (great service, toxic hot tub) Tuesday Sept 24 Crisp Point Lighthouse - (another beauty, miles of forest roads; tried to take snowmobile trail to Grand Marais. Oops) Grand Marais Lighthouse - (asked Darrel if we could move here instead , lol) Sable Falls - (gorgeous, but a little too sunny for the shoot) AuSable Lighthouse (1.5 mile walk each way - walked back after some great photos and got soaked in a sudden downpour) Sable Falls - (took great pictures after the rain!) Overnight at Super 8 in Munising (non-toxic hot tub! deluxe continental breakfast..Yum, Yum) Wednesday Sept 25 Alger Falls - (more water this time, got it right!) Munising Falls - (finally, a photo of us together) Chaple Falls - (bonus - we found a spectacular show of colorful shrooms and fungi) Miners Castle at Pictured Rocks - (water shooting out of holes near the bottom!) Munising’s ‘Hidden’ Lighthouse - (got it better than Sunday, with cobalt-blue sky) Christmas Lighthouse & Coastguard Light - (it’s Christmas all year in Christmas, MI) Scott Falls Canyon Falls (barely made it before sunset) Overnight in L’Anse at the Hilltop - (boy was I wiped out! a little cranky, too) Thursday Sept 26, The Keweenaw Peninsula Baraga Lighthouse - (caretaker came by and let us tour inside, got to climb the tower and stand on catwalk) Hungarian Falls - (beautiful fall color, 2 big falls and awesome overlook) Houghton/Hancock/Portage River Bridge (the only bridge to the top of the Keweenaw Peninsula, got some information from a mail carrier at the visitor center) Eagle River Falls Park (tall falls near a wooden dam) Eagle River Lighthouse Eagle Harbor Lighthouse Copper Harbor Lighthouse (took boat tour on choppy Lake Superior waters to tour grounds) Overnight in Copper Harbor - Reservations were at the Pines, but couldn’t stand the smell. Got a refund, and checked into the King Copper Motel- Excellent bay views and clean room! Friday Sept 27 Copper Harbor Lighthouse (distant view from beach overlook) Jacobs Falls Fort Wilkens (another unplanned bonus - well maintained with great displays) Bete Grise Lighthouse Sand Hills Lighthouse FJ McLain State Park Lighthouse Silver Creek Falls Ontonagon Lighthouse (beautiful beach with rolling waves) Bonanza Falls Porcupine Mountains Lake of the Clouds Overlook (second time, more color) Gabbro Falls (three drops in a row) Overnight at the Quinn in Ironwood Saturday Sept 28 Foster Falls on Potato River (one of Darrel’s favorites) Loon Lake at Copper Falls State Park Loon Lake Beach - (blustery winds suddenly came in, took as sign that it was time to head home) Drove scenic highways 169 and 2 back home in peak fall color. What an amazing trip we had! There is so much beauty surrounding the North Shore of the Upper Peninsula that we can't wait to see what the South Shore has to offer. |
centerpiece made by Valerie |
Valerie Davidson [Ed. Note: We sent the Murdock Reunion Quilt for Valerie to safeguard, as she did the beautiful family tree that started the quilt for the 1995 reunion in NY. We didn't have a place to hang it, so no one was getting pleasure from this treasure. It was on the guest bed, under a big stack of finished quilts, quilts in process, and the results of exciting fabric shopping.--NAM] Dec. 26: The Reunion Quilt! I'm assuming that the photos I recently pored over were ones that filtered somehow to the surface of our photo box, and it was quite exciting, actually, to see that project again in all its painstaking detail! My "office" has nothing on its walls yet, as it's what is euphemistically referred to as a "work in progress." I'm thinking to put up some of Alonso's B&W early works, and now the Reunion Quilt. Speaking of my "office," I think maybe when you refer to your guest room you should say "guest room"... :-) Your friend's shock upon seeing your disarranged home reminds me of a story Sue Iverson told me when Jerod & I visited MN back in 1990. Their home had clearly been broken into, because all of Evets's father's camera equipment had gone missing. Beyond that, however, they found nothing else awry. However, when the local police came to make a report, they took one look at Sue's sewing room and assumed it had been tossed. (Sound familiar?) [Ed. Note: I had removed all the stuff from the "guest bed" and put it on and under a card table, which took up a lot of room. Two stacks of stuff went temporarily into the living room, where we also had detritus from wrapping gifts. When Michael came in, he said, "What happened to your house!?" --NAM] I'm using some of my 3-weeks break to prepare for the GRE (Graduate Record Exam), as part of applying to a Master's program. I want to protect my technology job with a corresponding credential or degree, so I researched the on-line programs for a Master's in Education with a Technology emphasis. The one that appealed to me the most is in Columbia, Missouri, nicknamed "Mizzou." I don't like the way California institutes of higher learning are under the thumb of major technology giants and their pricey gadgets and other money-making schemes. This, at least, is the plan as sketched-out so far. Actually, it generally turns out that on-line education is MUCH MORE WORK than classroom education, but after considering the price of gas, the less appealing local programs, and the number of hours I would spend simply going to and fro in evening hours, this is my choice. Meanwhile, my role as a middle school broadcasting "program director" is expanding into what I have dubbed "Phase Two." Now we're steady enough on our feet to invite footage and ideas from the school population at large. They can fill out an idea sheet and discuss the means by which their idea could work its way into a broadcast. Believe me, I watch the morning news with a different eye now! Almost forgot... in my Creative Writing class, we do publications, so I'm very familiar with the "T of C" challenges. I like to find a single student who is organized enough to take on that chore for the current project. I learned my lesson on the very first publication last year, when I spent approximately TEN HOURS preparing a heap of stuff to send to district publications. We've just completed our second publication of the year. The first was a general magazine format, with stories, poems, advertising, and humorous graphics. This second one was a new idea I had this year, to do a parody of a tabloid (no sex or violence allowed!). The outcome is over-the-top hilarious, with a wide variety of very random and creative stories (everyone seems to love random humor, but it's hard to teach). May I send you a complimentary edition? This week, I'm working on an "advertisement" for Phase Two with footage I filmed in some of my classes. I'm also reading a HILARIOUS book called Funny in Farsi written by a woman named Firoozeh Dumas. The book was lent to me by the new teacher in the classroom next door, who just moved down from Canada. Her name is Phiroozeh and she says she has never before encountered anyone at all with her same name. (We call her Phi, pronounced "fee.") I'm also doing crossword puzzles like there's no tomorrow. I see it as a healthy addiction. (Have I mentioned the story of the woman who came out of brain surgery and asked for a NY Times Crossword puzzle, in order to assure herself that she still had all her marbles?) Guess that's enough chat for now! |
Gallery photo |
Claudia Lindsey December 2: Dear Family and Friends on the East Coast and elsewhere. Winter has finally arrived here in Sunny Southern California. This morning we woke up to ice on the lawn and on the cars in the driveway. If it had rained it would probably have snowed. We did have a good hard rain on Friday, and Saturday was cold and Windy. It is time to dig out the heavy sweaters and coats. Most of the Christmas decorations are up and the presents bought. Now all that is left to do is some Christmas baking. This year Isabeau will be helping me in the kitchen. Dennis, Martha, Isabeau and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. |
|
|
Ronald Murdock Two things: 1) My favorite (and only) daughter really does read the Muse. Cool! 2) I need to update my Who's-Who entry. Ron and Diane Murdock (Andy, Walter, Kari, Ben, Bart) Thanks for your good work on the Muse. Our family does enjoy it. BTW- Kari, I think you should write up something for the Muse, yourself. (So should I, for that matter.) |
|
Dotty Salminen Nov. 26 - I got hit with a serious virus on my computer so have been (miserably) without email contact and since Randy and Gloria both spend a lot of time working from home I don't like to tie up the phone line. After many hours working on it Gloria finally has the computer working in "safe" mode only but at least I can get and send email..and play games. I want to let you all know that I hope you had a very nice Thanksgiving. We stayed here and had Logan & Cassie and Penny for dinner. Dillon, Tucker, Viki, Casey and Scott came over later (had to get in a game of Scrabble). Now, on Monday morning the leftovers are all gone. There is finally a little ice on the small ponds but still a lot of colored leaves on the trees. Our hope is that we will have snow soon because Gloria's mother and cousin are coming from South Africa to spend the month of December and they have no idea what it is like. Today I will begin my Christmas cards. I want to get them done before the guests come. But first I have to check out the many emails that came while I was "down". |
|
Top /
Muse Home /
Who's Who / What's New |
