Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

Upper Michigan Waterfalls (September)

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Yesterday I took another trip to Upper Michigan, intending on getting some photos of the waterfalls I photographed back in September (but with much more water because of the snow melt).  And I realized that I still hadn’t blogged my September photos…oops!  And I really want to blog them in order…which is why I posted some photos of Copper Peak yesterday.  So here are some more photos from my trip in September.

I really only have one photo of a waterfall to post…I ended up taking more macro photos that would make good desktop wallpapers or screensavers.  :)

Potawatomi Falls:
Potawatomi Falls

Thistle

Autumn Leaf

Tree on the North Country Trail

nature

nature

nature

Lake Superior shore at Little Girls Point
Lake Superior Shore at Little Girls Point

Lake Superior Shoreline

Yep, that’s me enjoying the sunset on Lake Superior!
Lake Superior Shore at Sunset

~keep smiling!
Kim

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Copper Peak Ski Flying

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

I’m posting some photos from September of the Copper Peak ski flying area which is about 3 hours north in Upper Michigan.  Copper Peak is the highest ski jump in the world.  Where Olympic ski jumpers compete at heights of 90 meters and 120 meters, Copper Peak starts at 170 meters high.  This is why they call it “sky flying” instead of “ski jumping”, with ski flyers soaring about 600 feet to the ground.   It is the only ski flying jump in the western hemisphere, with only 5 other jumps located in Europe.   Skiers need to qualify to go on any of the ski flying jumps, and only about 100 people in the world are qualified.

Unfortunately, nobody has jumped Copper Peak since 1994.  A non-profit organization, staffed by volunteers, operates the chairlift, elevator, and gift shop in the summer. Proceeds from these operations are being invested in maintenance and upgrades upgrades to the facility, both for the enjoyment of summer visitors and in hopes of being granted a future ski flying event.

A view from the bottom:
Copper Peak ski jump

I snapped this photo of the landing area when I was about 3/4 of the way up the chair lift:
Copper Peak ski jump

The jump…you can see people on the platform at the top. You ride the little elevator 18 stories to that spot.
Copper Peak ski jump

If you’re brave enough, you can climb the stairs all the way to the top of the jump:
Copper Peak ski jump

The last section of stairs…what a view!
Copper Peak ski jump

This is what a ski flier sees from the top:
Copper Peak ski jump

A view to the North - that’s Lake Superior out there:
Copper Peak ski jump

Ok…time to go back down the stairs:
Copper Peak ski jump

Just some fun with photoshop…this was a rusty piece of the stairs:
Copper Peak ski jump

If you get a chance to travel to Upper Michigan, I recommend checking out Copper Peak!

~keep smiling!
Kim

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Spring at the Eau Claire Dells

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Occasionally I like to escape and take some photos along the trail…okay, I like to do it more than occasionally.  I decided to check out the Eau Claire Dells since the ice was breaking up and the water was high.

The main dells area doesn’t usually look like this:
Eau Claire Dells

Here’s a closer look, with some of the ice wedges stuck on the edge:
Eau Claire Dells

And even closer…these ice chunks were about 10-15 inches thick!
Eau Claire Dells

The real gems of the day were not along the river…I found them in the woods.
This tree reminded me of “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Eau Claire Dells

Streams from the melting snow were my favorite by far.
Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

I spent a lot of quality time with this tree…I was drawn to its long mangled roots.
Eau Claire Dells

Eau Claire Dells

Happy Spring everyone!

~keep smiling!
Kim

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Signs of Spring

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

This weekend I traveled to Birnamwood to visit my parents and took a short detour to the Eau Claire Dells to see the raging river.  I just realized that I’m nowhere near finishing up processing all the photos I took there, so I’m just posting one in celebration of our fine weather this week!   There are more to come, as well as some highlights from Sara and Adam’s wedding out on a frozen lake!

signs of spring

~keep smiling!
Kim

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