Northern Lights on Weekend Reflections

Dan Urbanski had a studio in Silver City just east of the Porcupines and was an extraordinary  nature photographer.  His photo of the aurora borealis hangs in the "room with a view" and reflects the light of day a little farther south of Lake Superior.  View the original without reflection at Quietly Wild.  The original was taken when Dan was artist-in-residence at Isle Royale National Park.

Urbanski's love and nature and art has been honored by Friends of the Porkies who support the annual Dan Urbanski Artist-in-Residence program at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the UP of Michigan.   In fact, Dan was the founder of the Friends, an organization open to all who the Porkies and which sponsors Folk Schools and Music Festivals at the park.  For more information visit their website: http://www.porkies.org/index.html.

For more reflected light, visit Weekend Reflections at its founder's blog, Newton Area Photo.

Once more in the Porkies

The M107 bridge and a walkers bridge over Mud Creek displays several signs of being "up north":  the huge drift wood log at the mouth of the creek on Lake Superior; the orange lichen on the concrete; the oh-so-brown water.  You cross Mud creek just before you come to the Union River that is the eastern boundary of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.  This stretch of beach is Superior at its best: beautiful sand, rocks large and small, driftwood galore, and very few people!  For people you go the presentations by the current Artist in Residence at the park.  Mary's Detroit Photo of Lake of the Clouds sent me back to my UP photographic archives, but not too far since this is from our trip last September.

Join other aficionados of bridges at Louis' Sunday Bridge Series.

Monarch of the bridge

Gene is ruler of the suspension bridge over the Presque Isle River which forms the western boundary of the beautiful Porcupines Wilderness State Park.  In our twenty four years of traveling the UP every summer, we have done the trail along the western side of the river several times, in awe always of the waterfalls and amazing rock formations formed by the water.  The bridge is near the mouth of the river and takes you to a piece of land that is an island when the water is high, i.e.,  every spring. 

Join Louis' gang of bridges watchers at the series Sunday Bridges.

Under the bridge

Roaring overhead (just kidding) is M-107 leading into Porcupine Mountains Wildnerness State Park.   Quietly flowing underneath it is the Union River as it enters Lake Superior.  The Union is on the eastern boundary of the park and the Presque Isle River is the western boundary.  It is September and there was no one else on the beach with us that day.  Perfect!  Also no bugs.  Even more perfect!
Just turn around and here is the view looking inland:

For more bridges, be sure to visit Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridge Series.