Watch (Out) for Falling Rocks: It happened within minutes Monday (Aug. 12) – first a few crumbles of stone, then a few more and then a massive release of sandstone rock from one of the brilliantly colored cliffs that give Pictured Rocks its name. Erosion of the “very soft sandstone” is not that unusual, says Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Superintendent Dave Horne. “It happens relatively often; nobody knows it because you never see it." But two things made this time a rare occurrence: a tour group of kayakers was paddling not all that far from the bottom of the cliff and two videographers were flying drones there, one of which caught footage now viewed around the world. “It was spectacular footage,” says Dave. “It was incredible to get that footage; it’s rare to have such a great view of it.”
Photographers Craig Blacklock and Jon Smithers (with camera) were well aware of how rare that footage was and became even more aware later as calls poured in from as far away as the Netherlands to use it in news coverage. For the two Minnesota professional photographers, the second landslide – the media coverage and calls – became a part of the story. Craig, of Moose Lake, is well known and respected for a lifetime of memorable images around Lake Superior, including two photo books on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. While working on that book, Craig had already had his own close call at Pictured Rocks. He stopped his kayak to take a photo and moments later, where he would have been had he continued paddling, “a dump-truck load of gravel” tumbled off
the cliff. Jon, of St. Peter, also has a strong reputation for his licensed drone videos as well as still photography. They were at Pictured Rocks this week collaborating on a video Craig is producing that will be capture the scenery popular in his earlier book on the park. Drone operation is not allowed within the park – meaning they could not stand within the park – but drones can fly over the park within the proper FAA flight regulations. Standing on a pontoon boat about three-quarters of a mile outside the park, Craig was working on drone close-up shots and Jon on getting the big aerial picture between Miners and Mosquito beaches, when, Craig says, “We heard a ‘Pop!’ off to our right.” A bit of rock crumbled off the cliff, and they thought that was the end of it … until the roar. Then, says Craig, “We heard screams from the kayakers,” and they watched a substantial chunk of the cliff wall detach and fall. Jon’s drone caught the action and after it settled, he steered it first toward the edge of the cliff to make sure no one was hurt there and then over the 20 kayakers, who also seemed to be OK. Once they had established no one appeared to need help, their next response was that of photographic entrepreneurs. “This is obviously a chance of a lifetime to capture … seeing geology in action,” says Craig. They quickly decided to track down the kayak tour company to get an interview with the guide, who turned out to be Van Ouellette-Ballas of Northern Waters Adventures. “I never thought I’d see that, hear it, smell it,” says Van, noting the smell of extremely old dirt. “I was just blown away.” Jon and Craig even interviewed each other about what they’d heard and saw. “We were trying to put together a package,” Craig explains.
They did get the package completed in their hotel room, quickly sold the use of it to a local TV6, and Andrew LaCombe used it as part of his story. Then came an avalanche of requests as the two brokered their work – and payments – from their hotel. What to charge was one question – with the answer depending on the budget of the company – and fending off requests from social media "agents" offering to represent them. Ultimately, the video was seen on nationally on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, a station in the Netherlands (paid for in Euros) and many others. They posted it privately on a YouTube channel, and it had nearly 270,000 views and counting by today. A post on ABC News' Facebook page, which has both the Smithers-Blacklock footage and a video from one of the kayakers, topped 3.5 million views. But the calls weren’t just for the images, they also were getting interview requests. The Weather Channel did a Skype interview with Jon and will be doing a live interview with Craig at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. CT Sunday. It was quite a whirlwind and continued when they visited our offices late Thursday afternoon on their way home … after a couple more interviews with local TV channels WDIO and KBJR. “It feels like we went through a hail storm,” Jon said at our conference table, juggling between cell phone and laptop to make contacts. Once the debris from this event has settled, of course, the real work begins as Craig starts editing the images into a video keepsake of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore … that will also feature one very spectacular, rare videoed interaction between Lake Superior and one of its beautiful shores.
A Final Cautionary Note: One of the most spectacular things about this week's collapsing cliff section in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, according to park Superintendent Dave Horne, is that no one was injured. "They were really lucky," he says of the kayakers below on the water. It was equally lucky no one was on top of the cliff near the edge. "We’ve had people fall off the cliffs," says Dave, who came to head the lakeshore a year and a half ago. Last fall, a young woman standing too close to the edge of a 200-foot cliff, apparently trying to get the best selfie shot, tumbled to her death. Photographer Craig Blacklock says that when he's kayaked along the shore there, he can see that sometimes the edge of the cliff is actually a slight overhang of the sandstone. People walking above think they're on solid ground, but they may not be. Dave says many parks, like Pictured Rocks, are susceptible to rock slides. "How I look at it, any national park, especially in steep terrain, there’s always going to be rock fall." He gives a few pieces of solid safety advice for those enjoying the park: kayakers should stay back from the shoreline or limit the time spent there; campers should never pitch tents at the base of a cliff; and those walking right along the cliff edge on top probably simply should not.
Small But Mighty: This weekend, the artists around small Herbster, Wisconsin – population 104 – will offer their annual self-guided studio tour to let the world know that big things can happen in small places. The Herbster Studio Tour began in 2009 on a whim, recalls Sara Mustonen who co-founded it with Becky McDowel, who has since moved away. "We knew there were many very talented artistic people living in Herbster, a small sleepy town on the south shore of Lake Superior," Sara says. "People would often ask if they could see our work and personal studios. The idea was hatched to create a weekend event in which each artist’s studio was opened to the public." Adds Jane Herrick, who's helping to organize this year: "It was, and still is, considered a community service in which the public can view quality art and have an opportunity to meet and discuss the artistic process with the artist." She says the tours are for locals and visitors, but all of the artists must live in Herbster, either full-time or part-time. Four of the original 10 artists have stayed with the tour over the past 11 years. This year, there are eight artists who work in fiber, watercolors, jewelry, sculpture, quilting, photo, printmaking and mixed media. The tour runs Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. A brochure details the artists. Jane says inspiration for her artwork (painting and sculpture shown here) comes from her two homes: "I live in two places – Herbster and the south shore of Lake Superior, and Tucson, Arizona, in the middle of an arid dessert. Both are beautiful in different ways. My work in many ways shows evidence of those two environmental influences. But mostly, my inspiration comes simply by experimenting with materials and what those materials can do." Sara, a weaver (whose work is show here), finds her inspiration in her home, too, on Lake Superior: "It is easy to feel inspired by this Great Lake. All one has to do is take a deep breath while looking at this majestic body of water to be uplifted, which in turn transfers to my weaving."
Stamping Out Stamp Sands: The Environmental Protection Agency is granting $3.7 million for the removal of stamp sands from Grand Traverse Harbor off the Keweenaw Peninsula near Gay (indicated with arrow on the Keweenaw map; the Lake Superior map shows all GLRI projects). The grant is part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). “Dredging is underway and expected to continue through the end of the calendar year,” according to an EPA press release. “This work is part of the ongoing effort to save Buffalo Reef, an invaluable part of Lake Superior’s habitat.” The press release quotes EPA Regional Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Director Cathy Stepp: “This GLRI funding will help protect one of Lake Superior’s most productive fish-spawning areas from encroaching mining waste. Years of collaboration between EPA and its partners have resulted in on-the-ground action that will deliver meaningful results for Lake Superior’s fish population, beach-front communities and fishing and recreational industries.” Stamp sands, the EPA notes, are a waste product from copper processing, which historically took place at a mill in the town of Gay. Milling operations ended in 1932, but over time, the stamp sands drifted to Grand Traverse Harbor, covering about 1,400 acres of white sand shoreline and lake bottom. The waste threatens to cover Buffalo Reef, a 2,200-acre reef in Lake Superior that serves as a spawning habitat for lake trout and whitefish. Nearly a quarter of the annual lake trout yield from Lake Superior’s Michigan waters comes from within 50 miles of Buffalo Reef.
Home at Last: Edward “Buster Marshall Morrison was just 19 years old and about one year after his graduation at DePadua High School in Ashland, Wisconsin, when he was killed on July 8, 1950, half a world away from Lake Superior in the Korean War. It would take nearly a lifetime – 69 years – until he would be returned home for a funeral and burial this week. Buster was born October 22, 1930, in Ashland, the son of Edward and Hattie (Roy) Morrison. After high school graduation, he immediately entered the U.S. Army and was a private and light weapons infantryman for the 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was the first causality of his company to be killed in action and the first soldier from Wisconsin killed in the war. According to a Superior Telegram story, his remains could not be recovered after the battle. One year later, April 1951, a set of remains designated unknown X-900 Tanggok, was recovered near Kwang Jong-ni, South Korea. “When identification attempts failed at the Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan,” the story continues, “they were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, for interment as an unknown in Honolulu. In April 2018, the remains were disinterred, and Morrison was identified using dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparisons and DNA. The Army private was accounted for May 31, according to the DPAA website.” This Saturday (Aug. 17) the family invites the Ashland-area community to welcome him home and send him on his final journey along a funeral procession leaving Frost Home for Funerals in Ashland at about 10:40 a.m. The procession then travels east on Sixth Street, proceeding to Stuntz Avenue, then on Second Street West to Sanborn Avenue before heading south to Mt. Hope Cemetery. Graveside services and military rites by the U.S. Army and United Chequamegon Bay Area Veterans will be at 11 a.m. in the military section of the cemetery. Arrangements are with Frost and Bratley Family Funeral Homes.
An Irish Pub with a Local Flavor: Carmody Irish Pub & Brewing – or just “Carmody’s” to locals – was among the first of the new wave of small craft brewers in Duluth. Owner Eddie Gleeson has created a comfortable space for gatherings of friends and also brought thoughtful performances by musicians, poets and others into the pub at 308 E. Superior St. The same folks run Carmody 61 in Two Harbors. The pub continues to offer its own brews, plus the wide selection of beers and spirits, plus a surprisingly tasty small-pub menu. Eddie talks with Nik Wilson about his family roots and his vision for the pub, which is struggling during the current construction on Superior Street (so think about coming round for a beer with a buddy). This is the latest in our series on businesses within this year’s construction zone.
Photo & graphic credits: Craig Blacklock & Jon Smithers; Sara Mustonen; Jane Herrick; Bartley Family Funeral Homes; Konnie LeMay