Happy Thoughts: Maritime photographer David Schauer posted a pic noting the “Happy Trilogy is now complete with the arrival of the Happy Ranger today (Thursday, Sept. 26). The Ranger joins its sisters Happy River and Happy Rover as visitors to Duluth in 2019." The Happy yellow fleet is part of BigLift Shipping, based in the Netherlands, that “specialized in worldwide ocean transportation of heavy lift and project cargoes, with a history dating back to 1973,” according to the company’s posts. For example, the 452-foot Happy River brought wind-turbine parts into Duluth Cargo Connect in May. This looks to be a good year for Duluth-Superior port activity, according to a story by Jimmy Lovrien of the Duluth News-Tribune. “An increase in overseas wheat exports from the port of Duluth-Superior is keeping the port’s overall tonnage on pace to beat its 2018 totals and five-year average,” he wrote. High water levels, making it possible to heavy load freighters without worries about grounding has meant increased ore loads, but the levels also slow shipping in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The port has seen a 5% increase in overseas grain shipments, thanks to an increase in wheat exports, the story notes. But the seaway overall has had a 20% decline in grain shipments because of late grain planting, Bruce R. Burrows, president of the Marine Chamber of Commerce, told Jimmy. The Port of Thunder Bay also is having a very strong year, with 1.1 million metric tonnes of cargo through the port in July – the largest tally of any July since 1997, reports the NetNewsLedger. The Thunder Bay surge was fueled by increases in grain and other bulk commodities, including potash, which nearly doubled from last year at the same time. Meanwhile, if you want to keep those happy thoughts, you might enjoy viewing a Duluth harborcam video of the mellow-yellow Happy River entering the harbor earlier this year.
A Different Kind of Tourists: In Freda, Michigan, an unusual tourist visited the abandoned stamp mill near Heather Anderson’s home. Heather snapped a shot from her front yard, and Jess Haapapuro sent the photo to us. “We thought it was a cool photo,” says Jess, and we agreed. “There's an antlered bull hanging around Redridge also. … My theory is, because of the flooding last Father's Day, the trails are closed and now these guys can roam around in peace.” Freda, west of Houghton in the Keweenaw Peninsula, once was a popular with the human tourists, too, according to the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau. The site mentions: “This was the home of the Champion Mine mill. Freda was also a popular resort destination. Settled in 1910, it had a population of 500 and was located along the Copper Range Railroad. It had a congregational church and a stamp mill along with a barber, physician, saloon and hotel. In 1915, a Catholic church was added followed by a movie theatre in 1917. In 1971, the rails of the Copper Range Railroad were removed and the mill that had crushed copper for half a century was shut down leaving Freda a ghost town.” No ghost that we could see, just a moose-terious stranger.
Tragic Encounters: Autumn is a great time for wildlife watching with so many of our wild neighbors actively trying to bulk up, fly somewhere or engage in a little romance. Encounters with animals and humans can turn dangerous and deadly, however, and there have been tragic cases near the border of Minnesota and Ontario this month. A 62-year-old Minnesota woman was apparently killed by a bear Sept. 1 on Red Pine Island on Rainy Lake, about 10 miles east of International Falls, Minn., and Fort Frances, Ont., according to a report by CBC in Thunder Bay. The woman went out to check on her dogs and did not return, her mother told the Ontario Provincial Police when she called to ask for help. The OPP officers did find the woman's body with a bear nearby, which the officers killed. On Thursday, a 69-year-old Kenora, Ontario, man was attacked by a bear while walking on a rural road and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the CBC also reported. That bear also was killed by OPP officers. Bears may be particularly active, eating constantly at this time of year in preparation for hibernation. Those with bird (aka squirrel) feeders should be diligent about storing them in a secure place at night (see No. 3 on the list below and the mischievous cub photo here from the BearWise site). BearWise, a non-profit organization with a mission to help people live responsibly with black bears, has six at-home bear wise basics worth noting: 1) Never feed or approach bears; 2) Secure food, garbage and recycling; 3) Remove bird feeders at night when bears are active; 4) Never leave pet food outdoors; 5) Clean and store grills; 6) Alert neighbors to bear activity. "Bears have adapted to living near people; now it’s up to us to adapt to living near bears," the site encourages.
A New Park & Cookies, Too: Ribbons were cut and cookies baked as part of the celebration of the new Lighthouse Park in Marquette. The ribbon cutting this week, which included Mayor Fred Stonehouse (our own maritime and haunted author in the center with scissors), took place Thursday, as reported by Brianna MacLean of UPMatters. The property was obtained by the city from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2016, and the first phase of its makeover was completed this year with a new entrance off of Arch Street, a parking area and a bike path. Future plans, according to Brianna, will include refurbishing the captain and station houses "into something useful for the community." The property is within the area managed by the Marquette Maritime Museum and Lighthouse, which includes the familiar red lighthouse. The museum group celebrated with the post (and we don't know who brought the cookies).
G, It's Windy: This weekend you can expect winds up to 432 mph (700 km/s) with G2 storm conditions present … all of which mean good "solar" weather for catching glimpses of the northern lights. NOAA announced that today through Sunday, there will be geomagnetic storms (minor or G1 today and early Sunday, and moderate or G2 Saturday) with elevated solar winds – yup, solar winds – approaching 700 km/s on Saturday. With the moon in a new phase, that should make the sky darker to better spot the aurora likely from the G-storms. The earth weather, of course, makes all the difference for our viewing pleasure. Our quick take from the U.S. and Canadian weather services: Duluth, mostly clear tonight, showers possible Saturday night; Marquette, showers possible tonight, partly cloudy Saturday night; Sault Ste. Marie, showers likely tonight, mostly clear Saturday night; and Thunder Bay, partly cloudy tonight and Saturday night. So pick your place and night to look up in amazement. Or, if the rain prevents the view, just download the nifty Space Weather brochure from NOAA, or the Space Weather poster here.
Because We Can: Do we really need an excuse to use a beautiful seasonal photo to entice you to our shores and inland backroads? We think not, and this image taken in Minnesota this week by Roxanne Distad fit the bill for fall. We love what Roxanne posted, too, because all of us, photographers or not, understand the urge to roam among the autumn leaves. Here’s Roxanne’s take: “Every Autumn I say to myself, ‘Now, Roxy, don’t get all crazy with the beautiful Fall colors … just, calm down! You can't be everywhere at once!’ If I had a SuperPower, it would be to disappear from shooting at one spot, and reappearing at the next. Wouldn’t that be cool!” Yup, it would. For us mere mortals, the next best thing is to pop up, er, drive or bike up, to a colorful shore. Keep in touch with your color peaks with a peek at our four-shore fall color update links.
This Just In …
Our new Lake Superior Collection Gift Guide just rolled off the presses and came with the October/November issue. Do you want to see all that we have that's new or plan for those Big Lake gifts for the holidays? You can do it now at our online Lake Superior Gift Shop, or drop by our real gift shop at 310 E. Superior St. in Duluth to browse in person and say howdy to our staff. Among the cool new items are a diner mug with a Not Just Great – Superior logo, a metal fire ring that encircles your flames with the Big Lake and spiffy new clothing options ready for chilling.
Photo & graphic credits: David Schauer; Heather Anderson; Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; Marquette Maritime Museum & Lighthouse; NOAA; Roxanne Distad