Visit Duluth
First Saltie of 2017
Lake Ontario arrived in Duluth on Sunday, April 2, 2017. The first oceangoing vessel of the season, it loaded grain for delivery to Italy.
First saltie reaches Duluth
The Duluth News Tribune reports:
The first oceangoing vessel to reach Duluth this shipping season was celebrated Monday with the traditional ceremony to mark the milestone.
The Lake Ontario took on a load of wheat at Riverland Ag/Duluth Storage on Rice's Point on Monday, after officially passing beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge on Sunday evening. Dignitaries including Duluth Mayor Emily Larson gathered aboard the ship on Monday for the ceremony, presenting the crew with several gifts.
The gifts included a nifty cap from Lake Superior Magazine (which you can spot on Capt. Costelus Morosanu in KBJR’s report about the first-saltie welcoming ceremony).
The ship departed on April 5, bound for Italy with 19,000 metric tons of wheat.
Barb Gaiser of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, won Visit Duluth’s First Ship Contest with a guess that was just two minutes off the official arrival.
+ Grain shipments help Thunder Bay shipping to a fast start: “The Port of Thunder Bay opened with a solid week of shipping to start the 2017 navigation season, with March volumes above the 10-year-average,” says the CBC.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Log Slide Overlook Closed
Where the Log Slide Overlook once stood.
Log Slide Overlook tumbles at Pictured Rocks
According to a post on Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore’s Facebook page:
The Log Slide Overlook is closed. Heavy snow, ice, and sand deposits followed by erosion has caused the viewing platform to break off and slide about 100 feet down the face of the dune.
After the spring thaw is complete, park rangers will assess the site. If it’s stable enough, they intend to rebuild the viewing platform farther back from the edge. In the interim, park officials recommend viewing the dunes “from an area near the overlook. Another great view of the dunes is from the beach at the end of the Sable Falls trail or from Grand Marais.”
The overlook sat 175 feet above Lake Superior atop the Grand Sable Dunes. It’s called the Log Slide for the wooden chute that early logging companies used to send timber down to the Lake for transportation.
+ In other U.P. erosion news: WJMN-TV reports that exploratory drilling at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park has been halted due to erosion concerns, brought to light by photos of the muddy mess from the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition. The Michigan DNR said in a news release that Highland Copper must restore the damaged areas.
Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior
Porphyry Island
Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior is accepting applications for Porphyry Island Artists in Residence and assistant keepers for the summer.
Want to spend the summer at a lighthouse?
Non-profit Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior is looking for artists in residence and assistant lighthouse keepers at Porphyry Island Light Station, near Thunder Bay.
The Artist in Residence program brings four local creatives – from photographers to writers – to the island for one- or two-week stints. Transportation, accommodations and a gallery space are all provided. Apply by May 20.
“As a resident of the lighthouse your main responsibilities will be to share your work with visitors,” the application page says. “At the end of the residency, artists will be asked to donate a piece or part of their work to be auctioned at the CLLS’s annual lighthouse fundraiser.”
Each summer the group hires two assistant keepers to staff the lighthouse, engage with visitors and help with day-to-day administration and upkeep. Keepers live and work (and play) at the light station from July 4 to Aug. 25. The jobs are designed for college students interested in history, tourism and the outdoors. Applications are due by April 30. There’s a video, too, about past students’ memorable experiences on the island.
+ In the upcoming June/July issue, a Toronto writer will tell us about being an artist in residence last summer!
International Wolf Center greets 1 millionth visitor: To mark the milestone, the Ely, Minnesota, center will celebrate on Saturday, April 22, with half-price admission, refreshments, family activities and special programs. 2016 attendance was up 27 percent over the previous year.
New option for local maple syrup: Thunder Bay entrepreneurs debuted the Nor’Wester Maple Company, with its first batch of syrup going on sale in early May. The CBC has a story on the venture, which joins Fort William First Nation as a local producer in the area.
In Wisconsin, meanwhile, maple syrup production has grown about 15 percent since 2014, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Danielle Kaeding reports. This year, the up-and-down temps have made for an inconsistent sap run.
From a U.P. forest to the Final Four: The hardwood floor for this week’s men’s college basketball championship originated in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This ESPN story looks at how it was made.
Meanwhile, a Lake Superior team is among the final two in the Frozen Four. The University of Minnesota Duluth will meet Denver on Saturday for the NCAA hockey championship. The Duluth News Tribune has a story.
The search for Minnesota springs: In the 1920s, aquatic biologist Thaddeus Surber documented hidden North Shore springs and remote streams. The recent rediscovery of his long-forgotten map inspired a DNR project to officially inventory the state’s springs, Great Lakes Echo writer Carin Tunney reports. (Know of a spring? Let the DNR know via this web app.)
World’s oldest known loon returns to U.P.: After wintering down south, ABJ was photographed at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. He will turn 30 in June.
Think our spring potholes are bad? Could be worse, as a couple of subscribers pointed out when they sent this fun video link.