After the Storms: The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore staff will soon be able to assess damage from strong storms late last fall. "Emergency funding has been received for some known needs, including repairs to the Michigan Island and Rocky Island Docks, repairs to Raspberry boathouse doors, trail rerouting and repair of stairs on Sand Island," according to the park's spring newsletter. Most of the dock cribs and retaining wall for the public dock at Devils Island were destroyed in the storm, adding to already needed repairs there. That dock likely will not be opened this year. Several campsites and trails among the islands also are closed. Find a full list of closed areas at the park's website under Alerts.
On the park's Facebook page, along with the unidentified photos posted above, NPS staff advised: "Be safe when visiting the park. Keep a lookout even when traveling to the islands. There may be branches, logs, and even ice floating in the water that can cause damage to boats."
Big Foot on the Big Lake: Red Rock, Ontario, documentary filmmaker Dee McCullay has released his latest work on YouTube: Sasquatch on Lake Superior II. A captivating storyteller, Dee specializes in paranormal tales for his Thunderstryker Films, most of the stories generated from the Lake neighborhood. Both the original Sasquatch on Lake Superior and this sequel focus on first-person accounts of encounters with Big Foot in the northern bush with an appropriately eerie-voiced narrator. Whether you believe or not, as Dee puts it, "Something is out there."
A Feathered Friend: Another video gaining some wide attention from Red Rock is also a documentary of sorts. It shows how a ruffed grouse has taken a shine to Red Rock resident Brian Swanson, following him around, reports Gord Ellis for the CBC. Din-Din, as Brian named the little fellow, won't take food from him, but definitely appreciates his company. "I went for a walk to the neighbours yesterday and he walked half way and then met me on the way back," Brian told Gord. "It's almost like there is a border there he just stays in."
A Long Time Brewing: Craft breweries seem to sprout every day around Lake Superior's shores, creating a great regional network of tasty enterprises. It's good to remember, though, the long history of brewing in this region. Duluth's first brewery started up in 1857, not long after the city itself was named, leaving a business trail to today's Fitger's Brewery. A more modern brewery, though, is celebrating its 23rd year this weekend and through next week. South Shore Brewery in Ashland, Wisconsin, plans to punctuate numerous beer specials and a new anniversary brew release with raffles, music, birthday pizza, a taco bar, prizes and culminating with a beer cake. Events take place in Ashland and Washburn. Check out the Art & Science of Beer Anniversary Week schedule and maybe take Mom out for a craft beer on Mother's Day.
A World-Class Brew: Earth Rider Brewery in Superior claimed a bronze award (here in the photo) in Nashville at the Brewers Association's World Beer Cup, called "The Olympics of Beers." Winners were selected by an international panel of 295 beer judges sampling 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries in 66 countries. Out of that massive mashup, Earth Rider's North Tower Stout earned the bronze in the Oatmeal Stout category. The brewery describes North Tower Stout as "an ale with malty accents of chocolate, coffee and dark fruit balanced with a restrained hop presence." The brewery distributes its craft beers in the Twin Ports and along Lake Superior's south shore and Minnesota's North Shore.
What Next for Silver Islet Store?: The next step is uncertain for the 1870s-era Silver Islet Store near the end of Ontario's Sibley Peninsula that's home to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, reports Matt Prokopchuk for CBC Thunder Bay. The store has been for sale for awhile, with the current owners wanting to retire from the seasonal business. One problem for the sale seems to be a dilapidated government dock behind the building. The current asking price for a sweet right-on-the-water property and a welcoming business, listed with Malcolm Clark of Avista Realty: $349,000 (Canadian).
A True Sense-of-Wonder Workshop: Next Monday will be the beginning of 1,500 regional sixth-graders heading to the Duluth waterfront to learn more about the watery wonder right on their doorsteps. The St. Louis River Quest focuses on the Duluth-Superior Harbor and the St. Louis River Estuary, bringing together a wide variety of experts at hands-on learning stations on board the Vista Fleet's Vista Star cruise boat and in the DECC Pioneer Hall. Groups of students arrive all week and carry passports from station to station. They are encouraged to write poems or essays about their experiences for the annual writing contest. Putting your hand into freezing water is a perennial favorite, as Katie Croft (front in top photo) and Colton Milner discovered at an earlier quest. At right, students learn about loading ore boats without swamping the freighter. St. Louis River Quest is a volunteer organization started in 1993 to increase the children's understanding of the river estuary, its ecosystem and the commercial, industrial and recreational activities tied to it. Adele Yorde, River Quest board president and public relations director for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, a lead sponsor of the program since its beginning, says, “We help students understand what goes on in this harbor — and the impact we each have on its environmental health and economic vitality." Thomas Vaughn hung out at the River Quest a couple years ago and reported on the enthusiasm of students and volunteers for Lake Superior Magazine.
A Cliff Hanger: A daring rescue last week saved a woman who had fallen and was precariously hanging from a 70-foot cliff (in photo at right) along Lake Superior near L'Anse, Michigan. Two Michigan DNR conservation officers aided a 25-year-old woman who lost her footing and ended up clinging to tree roots high above the Lake. She was able to phone 911 and was located via her phone. Conservation Officers Kyle McQueer and David Miller responded. David scrambled down beside her to hold her against the cliff. “She told me she had Huntington’s disease, and had very little to no strength in her arms and legs,” David told the Detroit Free Press. “She had been holding on to tree roots to keep her from falling the rest of the way down the cliff and onto the ice below.” Kyle got a tow strap from his truck, tied it off on a tree and tossed it to David. The woman held the strap as David lifted her to a safer place where Kyle and a Keweenaw Bay Indian Community officer, among the others who arrived, tied her into the strap and lifted her up. In the top photo, Kyle, on the left, originally from Ostego, started with the DNR in 2017, and David, on the right, is originally from L'Anse and began work with the DNR in 1996.
Award Worthy: Our congratulations to two Lake Superior Magazine contributors who have earned honors in the 2018 Arrowhead Arts Awards. Photographer Craig Blacklock, 2018 George Morrison Artist Award, and filmmaker Karen Sunderman, 2018 Maddie Simons Arts Advocate Award, will be part of the May 23 ceremonies 5 p.m. at the WDSE-WRPT studios in Duluth. Craig has frequently contributed photos to the magazine, including our first "centerfold" of the Lake in 2004. Karen recently did her first story for the magazine in 2016, "Looking for the America," about the beloved and ill-fated SS America.
Photo & graphic credits: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Thunderstryker Films; R. Swanson; South Shore Brewery; Brewers Association; Jack Rendulich; River Quest; Michigan DNR.