Great Getaways - The Keweenaw Peninsula

I went to the dentist this afternoon. I don't have any of the typical swelling usually associated with an abscessed tooth, and I was having a LOT less pain today. The dental x-rays didn't find anything wrong with my teeth that could be causing the pain deep up into my jaw. I had one teeny tiny cavity on one tooth, but that couldn't be causing the pain I was having. 

However, the x-rays showed my sinuses were HUMONGOUS - way down into the root area of my teeth - almost all the way down to my gum line! I've been cutting down on my Benadryl lately - not taking as many per day as usual. The dentist suggested I bump that back up to see if it will help. If not, they suggested I return to my family doctor for a CT scan of my sinuses. The hygienist said that she once had a sinus infection with symptoms mimicking an abscessed tooth. So, I had good news at the dentist, and it was a lot less expensive than I was anticipating! Plus, I did make a cleaning appointment for Steve while I was there. 

If you enjoyed the link to the video about Copper Harbor in yesterday's post, you should like this one, too. If you watched that video, you may have noticed another YouTube video about the Keweenaw Peninsula. If so, you may have watched it. If not, here's the link to it:

Great Getaways - The Keweenaw Peninsula

You'll notice the host talks about Great Sand Bay. The following map shows you where that is located in relationship to our property. The red arrow points to Great Sand Bay, and the green dot shows you where our property is located.

Hope you enjoy the video.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Discovering - Copper Harbor

It's always something, isn't it? When the time isn't convenient for an abscessed tooth, that's precisely when you'll get one. The pain started on Wednesday evening and is getting progressively worse each day. 

We haven't seen our Saginaw dentists for 2 years. Not a good idea. I called some local dentists on Thursday. Since we haven't established a relationship with a dentist up here yet, I couldn't find one who would agree to see me until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. "I'll take it," I said. I just need to make it through another 22 hours now!

Anyway, since I'm not really in the photo-editing mood at the moment, I thought I would share a video with you instead. There's an outdoor program on TV up here that focuses on the Upper Peninsula. They recently spotlighted Copper Harbor and showed some of what the area has to offer. It's on YouTube and lasts about 22 minutes. Here's the link if you would like to watch it:

Discovering - Copper Harbor

All else is well in the Keweenaw.

P.S. Rest assured. If I like this dentist, I'll make an appointment for Steve, too! No more procrastinating! Lesson learned.

Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sneak Peek Friday

We're moving into the Powder Room (1/2 bath) for today's sneak peek. Now, you know I'm not going to show you everything, but here's a peek at the light fixture that goes above the vanity.

That was pretty cruel of me. The photo on the box isn't even in color! Oh well, it's bronze. 

The next photo IS in color. It's the first faucet I chose for the house - waaaay back when. I fell for it then, and I'm still crazy about it.

Dontcha just love it? The color is called rustic bronze. Sorry, you don't get a peek at the vanity yet!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

The 4th: 31 Minutes

I love sunsets. I love sunsets more than sunrises. Maybe that's because I'm more of a night owl than a morning person. Whatever. We have some pretty spectacular sunsets in the Keweenaw, and we're blessed with a plethora of places to view them. When we were sitting on the motel deck in Copper Harbor on the evening of July 4th waiting for the fireworks to begin, we were treated to a lovely sunset as people began gathering at the waterfront and on the hillside in front of us. I snapped quite a few photos as the sky changed over the course of just 31 minutes. Here's what we saw.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

The 4th: The 3 F's

FREIGHTERS - FOOD - FIREWORKS

After the big parade, we chilled on the motel deck for a while. I had the camera, so I was snapping some photos now and then. We soon spotted our first ships of the day. 

 

We watched a small plane for a while, too. We go to church with a woman named Marilyn, and her husband, Frank, is a pilot. When we talked to them at the church picnic on the Sunday following the 4th, we told them about the couple in this cute little airplane. It just so happens that they know this couple.

 

Here's a shot to remind us what the 4th of July is all about.

It's pretty hard to feel stressed out about anything when we're in a place like this.

 

The Copper Harbor volunteer firemen were grilling dogs and brats in the park to raise funds for the department, so we walked to the park with Marty and Donna to have a quick hot dog lunch. Then, it was time to take the Corvette back home. Steve didn't feel comfortable leaving it in the motel parking lot all evening, as a lot of people would be in town - walking through our motel parking lot to get to the shoreline to view the fireworks. So, we headed back to Calumet - taking the shoreline route of Hwy. 26. This is Steve's absolute favorite Corvette road - hills and curves!

Oh no! There's a vehicle in front of us. Steve had to slow down - and he wasn't really thrilled about that!

Hey, there's another freighter.

We started thanking the Lord for the slower vehicle in front of us shortly after I took the next photo. There was a huge turtle on the road that we may have hit if we hadn't slowed down. That may not have been good for the Corvette, as it sits very low to the road.

Heading into Eagle Harbor.

We turned left in Eagle Harbor and made a quick stop at the property before heading back to Calumet. We grabbed a tiny BBQ grill and the food/supplies for our evening meal, switched vehicles and started back toward Copper Harbor.

Wow, traffic was thick on Hwy. 41!

Yes, that's considered thick! It's not often you see 4 vehicles ahead of you on that section of Hwy. 41. Next, was Lake Medora.

And. . . Lake Medora was busy, too!

We went past the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge again,

and made it back to Copper Harbor safely.The town was a hoppin'!

We visited a few gift shops, but the only thing we purchased was some candy at the Old Fashioned Candy Store. We found Marty and Donna back at the motel, and we all relaxed on the motel deck for the rest of the afternoon - people watching, freighter watching, sky watching and water watching. Look! What's that up in the sky? Is it a bird? No, it's the contrail from an airplane. It's very rare that we see one of those up here (not much air traffic).

Steve fired up the grill for our brats, and we enjoyed a typical July 4th meal of brats, BLT salad and chips. This concession stand is obviously very near our motel, so some of us enjoyed some cotton candy, too.

Another freighter!

As the evening progressed, the concession stand got busier, and people began gathering at the waterfront.

The last photo also showed the Isle Royale Queen IV leaving the dock for the sunset cruise. I have some pretty nice sunset shots from the evening of the 4th, but I'll share those with you in another post.

This guy looked like he was having fun.

The Queen made it back to the dock,

and the 35 minute fireworks show began about 11:00 p.m. As I said before, I used the fireworks setting on my new camera, and that's not the best setting to use when you're not using a tripod. I'll use a different setting for better photos next year.

We clapped and cheered after the Grand Finale and retired to our motel rooms as the town cleared out. About 30 minutes later, we heard more fireworks, so Steve and I stepped back out onto the deck to watch. It was another mini grand finale! We learned the next day that the guys on the island discovered an "unfired" box as they were cleaning up, so they figured they might as well set them off! 

That was it! Another nice day in da Harbor! We really LOVE spending the 4th in Copper Harbor, so we have our reservations made again for next year.

All is well in the Keweenaw.