Orehenge: Sure England has its Stonehenge, but Marquette has its Orehenge, when the sun and the ore dock at Marquette's lower harbor line up a few times each year. This sunrise photo was taken a week ago by newly arrived wedding/elopement photography specialists Lindsey and Rob Morrow, a wife/husband duo who started their True Presence Photography business in 2017 in New England and brought it to the U.P. about three months ago. As to this photo, Lindsey tells us, "The backstory is that the sun rises right through the ore dock twice a year, about 30 days on either side of the winter solstice. So around Nov. 20th and Jan. 20th. Plus there’s a little bit of wiggle room, so a day or two on either side of those dates. You’ll want to be there for the couple of minutes right when the sun crosses the horizon at the official sunrise time of day. And to get this 'star' sort of effect, you need to set the aperture of the camera to as high as you can. For this one, I set it to f/22." Lindsey, a native Yooper, reminds us also that Jan. 20 will be the next chance to experience Orehenge.
Ups & Downs of a Lift Bridge: As work continues on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Hancock and Houghton, the Michigan Department of Transportation gives an update on closures – advisories for those coming home late or leaving early between the towns. Closures of about 30 minutes each will be required next week and the following week multiple times between 12:15 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. These will delay for vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Between closures, traffic will be allowed to clear, MDOT says. Next week, closures are planned for early Thursday (Dec. 2) and Friday (Dec. 3) and the week following for Tuesday-and Friday mornings (Dec. 7-10). This work is part of the ongoing repair project to help ensure continued safe and reliable operation of the bridge. If you want to see what's happening as it happens, check out the Michigan Technological University webcam focused on the bridge.
What Was Not Lost, Has Been "Found": The mayor of Nipigon, Ont., Richard Harvey, might have been amused by this headline Monday on a blog: "Sunken Ship, Gunilda, Discovered in Lake Superior." He would be amused because he owns and operates By the Bay Adventures, a sailing and diving charter that has offered guided dives on the luxury yacht for years. The tricked-out yacht Gunilda sank after being grounded in 1911. Story has it that its stubborn, cheap (though apparently rich) owner, a Standard Oil investor and executive, first refused to pay $15 to be guided through the waters near Rossport and then when the yacht grounded, refused to hire a diver to check the damage and a second tug to prevent it from sinking. Needless to say, the yacht ended up 280 feet down in Lake Superior. Because of the depth, the yacht has guarded much of its treasure and, according to the By the Bay website, "A gold covered bowsprit glitters under dive lights, the binnacle houses the ships compass and the entire superstructure is intact. Looking inside one sees the furniture and a grand piano in the salon as well as personal items still in place." A video with sound track by Terry Irvine shows a 2011 dive, 100 years after the yacht sank and with its gold intact (in photo). A great video posted by Brett Halderson shows a 2017 series of dives on the Gunilda, which then was "Beautifully preserved in 38 degree water with nice visibility and no zebra mussels. This is one of the best wrecks of its kind in the world." The Gunilda does have a sad history … though no one died when it sank (crew and passengers were already off before the "recovery" started) but two divers have perished. At 280 or so feet, it is a "technical" and difficult undertaking for divers requiring a special trimix in their tanks and plenty of planning.
Ice on the Island: Black Warrior Marine / TowboatU.S. Bayfield posted great icy shots Wednesday from Devil’s Island within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. These were before the single-digit temperature snap on Wednesday evening and the gale wind warnings and freezing rains on the Wisconsin shores. The 24-hour marine towing, salvage/recovery, diving service had a busy summer of recovery jobs around the peninsula, including a boat that exploded and caught fire at the Washburn marina and one at Michigan Island that took on water and sank at the dock. The crew just recently raised a sunken sailboat off the beach at the Washington Avenue trailhead that sank in July. "Why did it take so long?" they posted. "Well, that’s not an easy answer. Technically, the boundaries of the City end at the waterline. So, the boat was out of the City’s jurisdiction. The DNR had regulatory authority over this matter and was trying to work with the boat owner for its removal." A judge finally declared the boat abandoned and gave authority to the city for its removal, the post continued. The boat was floated and towed to the marina and then was loaded onto a trailer for salvage. "The cost for removal will be about $5,000, which the city of Washburn may need to absorb for now. Says the towboat crew: "If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help off-set the cost, please send a check to: City of Washburn, PO Box 638, Washburn, WI 54891. Please include your name, address, and write 'sailboat removal' in the memo line so that a donation receipt can be sent to you. … While it took months for the boat’s removal, we are very glad to have it out of the water before ice over. This eliminates the potential of the boat breaking apart and spreading fiberglass along the shoreline." Yes, the good towboat folk might appreciate the quieter days of icy weather, with clouds and a slight chance of snow forecast for the Bayfield Peninsula on Saturday and a bit of sun on Sunday. Meanwhile, the weekend outlook for the Minnesota shore looks to be cloudy and blustery. In parts of the Upper Peninsula, Saturday could have sun and Sunday could have snow.
The Answer: Who is a Trebek Winner?: Lakehead University lecturer Randy Wilkie has earned an award named for the late Jeopardy host. The Royal Canadian Geographic Society awarded Randy the Alex Trebek Medal, named to acknowledge Alex's support for the society. The medal annually recognizes an educator who has made significant contributions to geographic literacy in Canada. "Having taught geography at the high school level, Wilkie brings a wide range of teaching skills to teacher candidates," the announcement of the award says. "He now 'teaches teachers how to teach geography.'" Randy is a regional councillor for the Ontario Association for Geographic and Environmental Education, Northwestern Ontario. He has helped develop the Ontario geography curriculum and geographic literacy programs for the Ministry of Education, conduct workshops and create geographic teaching posters to advance geography in the province. He became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society in 2018.
Seasons Greetings: In Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the city announced the winners of the Mayor’s Christmas Card Competition this week. About 200 submissions were received from elementary school aged children, and six were selected to be used as the Mayor’s annual Christmas Card. The winners, seen here, were from Layla Katagis, 10, of St. Mary's French Immersion Catholic School with a cool dude Santa in sunglasses; Abbie Dasa Kumar, 12, of St. Paul Catholic School with a festive Christmas tree on a background of Christmas lights; Keyana Lois C. Lancita, Age 12, of St. Paul Catholic School with a shushing Santa with a full moon outside; Benjamin Keenan, 5, of Grand View Public School with a happy fellow by a Christmas tree; Michelle Chevrier, 7, of Queen Elizabeth Public School with a perky reindeer and CeCe Cistaro, 9, of Holy Cross Catholic School with a smiling elf. “I am really pleased to see an increased number of children participating this year, and I look forward to sharing the creativity of our local students with leaders like the Prime Minister and Premier, along with people across our community,” Mayor Christian Provenzano says of the entries. Besides their images being used for the mayor’s own greeting cards, the winners also receive a gift certificate and a copy of their card personally signed by the mayor.
Getting in the Spirit: We love the energy the Lake Superior Zoo and the Great Lakes Aquarium are bringing to Duluth this holiday season along with some fun events. This Saturday (Nov. 27), the zoo features its Wild Winter Craft Show with numerous local vendors from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and then will turn on its Larger Than Life Lights display with six ginormous animal inflatables plus an assortment of holiday-themed lights from 6-9 p.m. (And, of course, take time to visit the real animals, too.) The lights will be this Saturday and Sunday and then Dec. 2-5, 9-12, 16-19, 23, 26, 30 and 31. Meanwhile, it looks like the search is on for Great Lakes Aquarium's executive director Jay Walker (who we believe may be hiding here in the new Great Lakes water table) and zoo CEO Haley Cope Both had agreed to jump into Lake Superior if their fundraising goals were met during Give to the Max. The goals were reached ($12,000 for GLA and $5,000 for the zoo) and now the jump is on … watch live at l:30 p.m. CT Nov. 30 on the aquarium or zoo Facebook pages (if we can find Jay by then).
Photo & graphic credits: True Presence Photography; Michigan Technological University; By the Bay Adventures; Black Warrior Marine/Towboat U.S. Bayfield; Lakehead University; Terry Irvine; City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; Lake Superior Zoo; Great Lakes Aquarium
Around the Circle This Week editor: Konnie LeMay