U.P. Tourism Seasons

With the lack of high-paying, skilled jobs in the Upper Peninsula, many people resort to the ever-growing tourism industry in the U.P. to make a living. They could be doing this by owning a gift shop, providing tours of a specific destination, owning a small cafe/restaurant near a destination, and even helping to promote that particular destination, such as owning a website. Whatever the case, more and more people are relying on the tourists that come to the U.P. to take in nature's beauty. And there really is a ton to see, peninsula-wide.

And in the U.P., every season is a different tourism season. Let's start with winter. Obviously we deal with lots of snow, the north more than the south (with the help of Lake Superior) - but it's pretty far reaching where ever in the Upper Peninsula you go. The winter season caters to the skiers and snowmobilers the most. I would say by far, the snowmobilers are the largest group to come to the U.P. in the winter time. With hundreds of groomed trails by a variety of snowmobile clubs across the peninsula, it's easy to spend several days exploring the U.P's wilderness by snowmobile. Snowmobilers come from Wisconsin, Lower Michigan, and all throughout the Great Lakes and the United States. During some winters when many other areas are lacking snow, the first place they head is to the U.P. where a lack of snow usually isn't a problem. And if you don't own a snowmobile but would like to experience a ride on one, you can find places to rent them. So the snowmobilers do like our wintry conditions, but we cannot discount the skiers, snowshoers, and mushers who also make the trek to the Upper Peninsula and enjoy the best snow conditions Michigan has to offer.

As the snow begins to melt and the winter sports enthusiasts begin to put away their gear for the season, it's time for many to get prepared for the warm season that lies ahead. The Upper Peninsula draws up a variety of tourists during the warm season. Let's start with one of the more extreme groups, like the rock climbers who search out rock walls and rugged hills to climb. Then you have mountain bikers looking for treacherous trails to ride. You can also find hikers in the same camp as the bikers - trying to seek out the most isolated spot to explore. Then there's the casual sight seekers or families, enjoying the spectacular sights and sounds that the peaceful Upper Peninsula has to offer. Swimming and water sports are big on many of the inland lakes as well as the Great Lakes that surround the peninsula (even though Lake Superior is often chilly). And let's not forget camping - a great family activity. There are a variety of campgrounds that cater to many different people across the U.P. I mean, there is just a ton of things to do during the Upper Peninsula warm season. And I'm sure I'll go more in depth with some of these in the future.

Lastly, as the summer season begins to wane, the leaves begin to change across the Upper Peninsula and turn spectacular shades of red, orange, and yellow. The Upper Peninsula is one of the best locations in the country to view fall colors. The Porcupine Mountains in the western U.P. is noted as being one of the best areas but really, you can't go wrong anywhere you go. The Copper Country has some fabulous viewing areas as well as near Munising in the central U.P. The leaves begin to change sooner in the North and they gradually begin to shift southward. And along those lakeshore areas like Marquette, the peak foliage period is usually the last of them all. Typically, viewing of the fall colors at their peak is in early October, but that tends to fluctuate depending on the weather. But more often than not, early October is a safe bet.

So as you can see, you really can't go wrong when visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's also quite clear why people are taking advantage of the opportunities that tourists bring when they visit and in trying to help promote the U.P. even more. There is just so much to see and do up here and often times, people only have a short amount of time to spend. That's why it's very important to continue promoting the U.P. and what it has to offer so people can keep returning. You really can't go wrong by spending some vacation time in the Upper Peninsula.

Winter Olympics

I hope most of you out there in blog-land have been able to catch at least a little bit of the Olympics the last few weeks. I missed some of the events earlier on last week but have been watching as much as I can lately, because it's almost over. This Sunday is the closing ceremonies already. There is a sense of sadness and depression once the Olympics are over, at least for me. I would compare it to the experience after Christmas, a family reunion, or some other event that was a lot of fun but ended all too soon. The Olympics are an event that unites countries from all over the world to compete in sports. For two weeks every four years (per season), countries all play the same events in the hope of capturing gold, silver, and bronze metals. All of the world events; fighting, wars, and politics get pushed aside for the hope of worldwide comradery during these two weeks. It doesn't always happen but at least the effort from all is appreciated.

A sport that I've been finding myself more and more fascinated by is curling. Within the United States, it's a sport that pretty foreign. There are curling clubs within the United States but they mainly lie along the Canadian border. I know there are one or two curling facilities in the Upper Peninsula, but not that many (and there might be even more - I just don't know of them). I was lucky enough to get a shot at playing curling approximately ten years ago down in Wisconsin while visiting my sister. There was a curling facility a short drive from where she lived at the time and I don't recall the circumstances that brought us there anymore. But I remember attempting to slide a few stones down the surface of the ice and coming up rather short of the target. The game looks pretty basic but after watching it on TV, it seems rather complex. You have guards, sweepers, hog lines, double scoring, you name it. I have yet to understand the rules and regulations involving the sport but would definitely like to learn more about it. The women's gold medal match is on TV right now and it's turning out to be a pretty intriguing game between Canada and Sweden. Here's hoping for future appreciation for the sport of curling within the United States in the years to come.

Many of the sports featured during the Winter Olympics are quite commonplace in the Upper Peninsula. There are hundreds of cross country ski trails across the U.P. and some are more developed than others. The Noquemanon is a cross country ski marathon that takes place at the end of January every year in the Marquette area. It draws cross country skiers from all across the United States. Ski jumping is also very big. Tournaments are held at the Pine Mountain and Suicide Bowl ski jumping facilities each winter and draws athletes from all over the world. It's not uncommon to see ski jumpers participating in these two respective jumps that have also ski jumped in the Olympics. There are several different downhill skiing facilities across the western and central Upper Peninsula and they often feature different ski races from time to time. The U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame is located in the heart of the Upper Peninsula in Ishpeming. Several of the nation's biggest and best skiers have been elected into the national hall of fame.

And then we have speedskating. In Marquette at Northern Michigan University, an education and training facility has been developed for several Olympic sports including speedskating. The United States Olympic Education Center has been established in Marquette for awhile now and not only trains athletes in their respective Olympic sport, but it also allows them to achieve a quality education while doing so. Even though Apolo Ohno was not a part of the speedskating program at the USOEC, he often visited and did some training there. Alison Baver attended the USOEC and in the 2010 Olympics, picked up a bronze metal for her involvement in the 3,000 meter relay. Shani Davis, a long-track speedskater and a former athlete of the USOEC, picked up a gold and silver medal at the recent Vancouver games. Marquette was host to the World Cup Short Track Speedskating event this past fall and also hosted the United States Speedskating Team Trials that solidified the team to represent the United States at the Vancouver games. So all of the faces you see competing on the U.S. Speedskating team were here in the Upper Peninsula this past fall. It just goes to show you that Marquette and the Upper Peninsula play a major role in the Winter Olympics every four years.

With the Winter Olympics coming to a close, it's time to look back on the excitement the Olympics have brought across our nation and the world. The current medal totals for the U.S. are a record for a Winter Olympics and it shows our strengthening power in the winter sports movement. We have medaled in sports that we haven't had any success with for the first time in years. Meanwhile, we continue to show our dominance in snowboarding and hockey. The Olympic games are ever changing and no two events are ever the same for a particular country. Some athletes rise from adversity to capture a medal while others struggle (even some of the favorites predicted to win). It's an intriguing spectacle that occurs every four years. Once the Vancouver games have wrapped up after this week, it's another four-year wait to see stars like Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, and Shani Davis compete for a gold medal. However, it's only two years away until the next Summer Games take place. It'll be here before we know it.

Trying to Enjoy the Water

I'll be honest; I am not a big fan of water. Never have been and probably never will. Even when I was little, I had no desire to learn how to swim, even though practically everyone else I knew was swimming and having the time of their lives. I guess I could never get over my fear of drowning. To me (and I am sure many people will agree with me), drowning and being burned to death are two of the worst ways to die. We went to the Wisconsin Dells water park when I was around eight years old and remember going into the wave pool and being sucked under a wave. It caught me off guard and freaked me out pretty badly. A few years later, I went into a deep area of the lake at my uncle's camp and started panicing; thrashing around in the water trying to stay afloat. Luckily a cousin pulled me into a shallow area. Needless to say, I've had scary moments with water that I will probably never get over. Most of the time on a hot day, people will head to the beach. I'd rather head into a place with air conditioning.

Visiting my uncle's camp and spending time with my cousins was probably one of the best moments I remember in the summer time when I was little. But I must admit, I'd always get annoyed at their persistence in getting me to learn how to water ski. For many summers, I'd always put it off, coming up with some sort of an excuse. Finally, when they had other people trying to learn how to water ski, I succumbed to their pressure. I gave it the old college try and struck out on my first adventure. And wouldn't you know, that was my only attempt since. I ended up losing my balance and diving face first into the water. I remember dropping down into the water and eventually bobbing up to the surface. It was the weirdest feeling and it pretty much freaked me out. There were many times when I'd ride in the back of the boat and watched my cousins on water skis and was awed at their talents. And it wasn't just skis, but wake boards as well. But I was never envious at what they were able to do behind that boat. It simply did not interest me in learning how to water ski. And the thought of suddenly losing my balance and falling out in the middle of the lake where the water is 50 or more feet deep was not too pleasant of a thought, either.

I never really got a big kick out of riding Sea Doos, either. I really don't understand the fascination behind them. This was another water toy that my uncle owned. I took a few rides with my cousin on a Sea Doo and ended up flipping the thing - not once, but twice. And even though in all of these experiences I had life jackets on, it was still not good enough for me. Just the thought of going overboard and dropping into the water was enough to scare the living daylights out of me. An enjoyable day at the lake for me is to simply wade in a shallow end of the lake, maybe ride an innertube, and just relax. I'm not into the watercraft, high-speed fun. What can I say, I'm kind of boring when it comes to that stuff.

And even though I have a fear of the water (yes, I have come to this conclusion some time ago), I still enjoy heading out to the beach every once in awhile to cool off. It's been incredibly hot the past few days and the thought of taking a dip in Lake Superior seems so refreshing this evening. I think that's where I am going to head right now.