Ghosts from the Past

At the first house we visited today, I snapped a picture of a picture hanging on the wall there. It was the Central Mine town and we did a good bit of walking around there. It is very interesting to go these places that were once bustling cities with much prosperity. The old mine companies built houses and towns like they would last forever and now they stand just a memory of the past. It is sad but at the same time such a joy to see. It is sad because I can tell the hope is there that the towns may again prosper but real knowledge that there is nothing here that can recreate that time. The best hope they have is to cater to the tourists and memorialize as much as possible for history. 

There are a lot of things to be learned from the cost of their prosperity too. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Torch lake today. It was a beautiful place but the water there is so contaminated that people sign a waiver when they buy acknowledging that they know not to ever drink it. Oddly, there were homes on the lake. Troy said, "maybe we won't get cancer just sitting here for lunch." I thought it funny and a shame at the same time. People didn't always know how much damage they were causing and it cannot be undone.  Still, I am enormously glad to see these things because they teach me about how I want to be. 

Ok, enough of being a bummer. I got to walk around in Lake Superior today. It was awesome. Superior is my favorite and it was not disappointing today. The water was super cold for a few seconds and I got used to it so much that I didn't want to leave. 

     

We avoided this girl and that is superb because my car is being repainted while we vacation because of a deer. :( 

We walked around Calumet for a while and on other adventures I saw new and wonderful wild flowers that aren't at home. I also picked and ate Thimbleberrys for the first time. They look like raspberries. Very seedy. 

Thimbleberrys 

We had so many adventures today. It was wonderful and beautiful. Just an aside though, Lake Linden museum was a total and complete dud.