Arch to Stack to No More: The Nov. 30 storm tore asunder the final piece of a Minnesota North Shore natural landmark in Lake Superior. The sea stack (seen here not long before it fell this weekend) in Tettegouche State Park become a stack in 2010 when the bridge between the stone rising from the Lake and the shore fell off the arch. Now the entire sea stack itself was washed away this past weekend, lamented by many photographers and shore lovers. Photographer Donald Jay Olson, who posted photos he took during the storm including the one here, noted: "I went to Tettegouche State Park to photograph the incredible wave activity during a nasty winter storm. I spent about 1/2 hour shooting the Tettegouche Stack. Today I heard that the same storm took the Stack down either last night or early this morning. Here are my final images of the Tettegouche Stack." Two Harbors' photographer and diver Christian Dalbec went below water to see what happened to the sea stack. He found the crumbled rock formation (seen here at bottom) and the roots of the tree that once stood atop it. KARE11 posted a video of Christian talking about the stack. "You can't stop Mother Nature from changing the shoreline," Christian said. "It's just gonna keep eroding. We can look for new things to shoot." The park's interpretive naturalist Kurt Mead was flooded this week with calls from reporters from the Twin Cities and even from the Washington Post. Kurt sent us the sepia-tone 1932 photo showing picnickers along the shore with the arch and its narrow opening. Below that image is a more modern view of the arch before it fell. Kurt also took the photo showing the bare base of the former stack. From that to the complete destruction of the fractured ancient volcanic rock structure did not take long in Earth time, he said. "We think about it being thousands of years old, but the arch was just kind of getting started in the 1930s, and it eroded kind of quickly in geologic time." In this weekend's storm, he added, "there were 20-foot waves bashing into it over and over and over again." The stack itself was about 20 feet tall and likely had been weakened within by water that seeped in and froze. To Kurt, who after nearly six years at the park knows many of its intriguing features, the sea stack was a show piece like Split Rock Lighthouse, but Tettegouche State Park remains a place of majesty along the shore. Along that same shoreline of Shovel Point, the balsam firs and white spruces often become ice encrusted, creating "the frozen forest, the enchanted forest." Asked his take on the loss, Kurt said, "My takeaway? It was a dramatic structure, but geologically speaking it was very young – the rock was old, rhyolite, but the structure itself was a relatively recent phenomenon. … That’s the thing, things change. The same forces that created the arch also took down the arch and the stack." Lake Superior does have a habit of creating, then altering or destroying natural landmarks. One of the more notable recent examples is the two-turret Miners Castle in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which dropped one turret in 2006. Long before that, maybe in the late 1800s or early 1900s, the head of the the Sea Lion fell off in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay.
Among other havoc rendered by the storm: The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge was unable to lift from Monday through Thursday morning while it was being deiced. Maritime traffic flowed through the Superior Entry instead, though, as Jayson Hron of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority explained, "Transiting the Superior front channel to a Duluth dock adds about an hour to the time typically needed to maneuver through the harbor, and time is money, so it’s an added expense." He also pointed out, "The Superior front channel is slightly shallower than the Duluth route, so captains need to use extra caution when navigating, especially along shoal areas; it could also limit ships’ load depth."
Speaking of Impressive Surf: Photographer Christian Dalbec this week also posted a short Minnesota surfing video that shows some of those pounding Lake Superior waves, pretty impressive even during less stormy times.
If We Weren't a Little Crazy … we probably won’t live here. That’s the takeaway from the Perfect Duluth Day video compilation of craziness spawned by the weekend storm. Don’t try this at home. Unless you live by Lake Superior
On the Storm Front: The swath of heavy snow along the Lake Superior shores extended from Duluth eastward, of course. Jeffery Garrett at Brickyard Creek Community (we think he's plowing here) reported this for near Red Cliff, Wis.: "Forty-four inches of wet, heavy snow in four days, accompanied by powerful winds off the lake, has taken a toll on our trees and roads. Since the snow stopped Sunday evening, there has been an incredible amount accomplished. Still, due to the significant damage to our forest, there are at least several more weeks of effort before there will be a sense of normalcy." One family ended up stranded a few days beyond their planned Thanksgiving holiday and gifted the community with a new winter motto (seen here) that they posted. For snowfalls tracked by the National Weather Service (NWS) out of Duluth, the top storm official totals were logged in Washburn, Wis., (31 in.), Cornucopia, Wis., (26 in.), Herbster, Wis. (24 in.) and Duluth (23.5 in.). You can log onto the full NWS-Duluth list. To the east, the NWS out of Marquette noted totals of 12 inches upwards of 15 inches in and around Marquette. The Keweenaw towns logged less than 10 inches, whereas some towns near Lake Michigan logged upwards of 29 inches. You can see the full NWS-Marquette list for the weekend storm.
Plodding Plowing: Many Minnesota and South Shore towns – including Duluth – were still digging out at the end of the week, finding places to put all that snow. In Duluth, the mayor held a press conference Wednesday to apologize for the slow going, calling the unplowed streets "embarrassing," as reported by Nachai Taylor of Fox21. Two schools had to be closed for three days since street access was not possible. "I have spoken with our staff and with the school district," the mayor posted on Facebook. "The closing today of Lowell and Myers Wilkins because of continued snow clearing issues goes against everything that I strive for as a leader – public education access in our schools and neighborhoods of low incomes. This neighborhood and these schools need us to show up in the biggest way. Not as an afterthought." A BusinessNorth report on the mayor's press conference and some of the plans going forward, including technology that might alert residents to the plowing schedules. The story quoted her explanation of the issues that added to the deep snows: “The combination of a holiday weekend, of machinery that was really strained and stressed, that was functioning and then broke several times with the weight and compaction of the snow, the degree of blowing and drifting, this was a very different snowstorm than the ones I have experienced in the past four years. The combination of things made this very difficult.”
A Modest Roar for 704: We loved this post from the St. Louis County Rescue Squad: "Two of the heroes of the 2019 Blizzard. The first is vehicle 704, a 1999 Ford F-350 one-ton with dualies. A Sheriff's Office forfeiture asset with an interesting history, it's been our plow truck for over 15 years. It has terrible box-rot, corroded wiring (the lightbar sometimes blinks for no reason), and the fiberglass flares have been pierced many times by all manner of objects. It's clearly at the end of its service life, but it just won't quit. It made the difference on several rescues over the weekend, plowing paths to gain access to medical patients, assisting stranded motorists and freeing our own rescue vehicles. The second hero is the guy inside it. "72-Dan" Hamilton came down (with partner Jan) from Up North to assist in several operations during and after the storm. An engineer in the mines by day, Dan is also a "Knot Nerd" as well as one of our swiftwater rescue team leaders. You may have seen Dan (with partners Aaron and Ben) in Steve Sola's viral video of us training in the Duluth Harbor October 21st. Dan's a fine teacher, mentor, mad scientist and a valuable asset to the Squad."
Tip U.P.s: For its Travel Tuesday on Facebook, the Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association invited people to post their best U.P. travel trip tips for a chance to win a pair of U.P. socks because (and here's a tip) "you should always remember to pack some socks for your travels." The visitor bureau's website already has 98 good tips for all year. Among our favorites for this season are No. 44 (pictured here) and No. 25 from Sherry Stuer: "Always bring a Thermos full of hot coffee and a bag of Trenary Toast before you leave the driveway in case you get stuck in a snow drift or lost on the Buckhorn Trail. Just pour yourself a cup of coffee and open your bag of Trenary Toast and start dunking away with all that deliciousness." There was another great tip, too, noted on that Facebook page this week. Among the Top 10 ski resorts listed on 10Best.com was one lone ski enclave in the Midwest – Mount Bohemia in Lac La Belle, Mich. Way to snow, Mount Bo!
Also in the U.P.: As of Sunday, sales of marijuana for recreational use became legal in Michigan and retailers logged $221,000 sales on the first day, according to Kathleen Gray's story in the Detroit Free Press, which included a cannabis glossary. Cali Dankovich of TV6 also reports on the state allowing sellers of medical marijuana to sell recreational products. But not all cities in the state and certainly most in the U.P. forbid recreational marijuana sales for now. An exception is Marquette, where the city council has approved recreational sales within the city limits, but applications for such operations will not be accepted until March 1, 2020, when the ordinance goes into effect. Although Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.'s council voted to ban sales, Lake Superior State University within that city offers degrees in cannabis chemistry and cannabis business. (The LSSU site quotes Vangst 2018 Salary Guide for starting salaries of $62,500 in that business.) Although marijuana is now legal in both Ontario and Michigan, you cannot, however, take marijuana across the border between the two Saults. Possession remains illegal by U.S. federal laws.
That's the Spirit: Glensheen in Duluth lights up its version of Marcia Hales' Spirit in the Lights for public viewing on Tuesday next week. The walk-through display once housed at Marcia's Park Point house will live on at Glensheen, along with a few additions. The tours will be open daily free to the public through Dec. 28 (closed Dec. 24 & 25). Even though the self-guided tours are free, you should check in at the Glensheen Ticket House, where you might want to buy a tour ticket to see the 25 Christmas trees and decorations inside the mansion. Marcia says she'll be hanging out there some days this year to greet old friends who came annually to her home and to sign the Spirit of the Lights books about her amazing 300,000-light walk-through display and how its magic affected those who visited.
Here's Johnny: Cheryl Minnema, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, will be signing her work at Zenith Bookstore in Duluth on Saturday. Her latest children's book is Johnny's Pheasant, published by University of Minnesota Press, and we reviewed it online. Our editor caught up with her via email to ask about her delightful books featuring Johnny and his grandmother.
How did you decide to become a children's book author?
I was working on a poem about my little brother Johnny and decided to try turn it into a children’s story instead. I write a lot of poetry about my family members and experiences, and these drafts inspire the stories. I remembered not having any children’s book as a child with contemporary Ojibwe characters and have known it’s been a need in children’s literature. Within a year of deciding to write for children, I went back to school to further my writing skills. I went on to receive an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University, St. Paul.
Where does the character of Johnny come from … and why have you chosen (so far) to make him and his grandmother the lead characters?
The characters are based on memories of my little brother and grandma. I think Grandma is actually a mixture of both my mother and grandmother.
I love the gentle humor and sassy, but respectful attitude of Johnny. Are you hanging out with 4-year-olds to get this insight?
No, my own kids are grown (18 & 13). I was raised with a lot of humor in our lives and still feel playful at heart. I work with children as an Ojibwe beadworker and facilitate the Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Activity Kit for school-age children through the Minnesota Historical Society. When schools study the history of the bandolier bag and utilize this curriculum, I get invited to be a guest artist. I enjoy inspiring children to not only learn the history, but to also be creative and have fun while doing so.
Obviously Anishinabe culture plays a significant role in the telling of the stories. How is that being received in the Native and non-Native communities?
I get positive feedback on the stories themselves and comments about how nice it is to see ourselves as Anishinabe people being represented in children’s literature.
What's the favorite thing you've heard about your new book so far?
How lovely the story and artwork fit. Julie Flett’s work is beautiful and powerful.
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Snowblower: We leave you with the sight that greeted the staff at The Jamar Company in Duluth when the garage door went up after this weekend's snow.
Photo & graphic credits: Donald Jay Olson; Kurt Mead/Tettegouche State Park; Christian Dalbec; Christian Dalbec; Perfect Duluth Day; Brickyard Creek Community; Jan Swart; Glensheen; Minnesota Historical Society; Michael Wunch/The Jamar Company