Tonight:

chris∙moose (krĭs'-mōōs)n.
1. An annual afternoon and evening of revelry, food and drink, games, socializing, costumes, and occasional debauchery, as occurs in late July in the wilderness National Park of Isle Royale, and is widely attended by Park Service employees, friends, and family members. A celebration of summer nights, cameraderie, and the bliss of the liquid-smoked sky.
2. An elusive moose-like creature that roams Isle Royale, dressed in tinsel, with bells on his antlers and stockings on his hooves. He prefers to be called Christopher.

Let's live this word to the fullest - see you on Mott!

PIRATES IN ROCK HARBOR!!!

Okay, they weren't exactly pirates, per se, but the tall ship that sailed in last Sunday generated so much excitement, they might as well have been. The beautiful brig Niagara, and her 41 passengers/crew, graced us with her presence from about 3:30 pm Sunday until sunset Monday evening. They were greeted on the Ranger III dock at Snug Harbor by pretty much our entire population, and the captain, Wesley, generously allowed everyone to swarm aboard and check it out. (They even had a real, gen-u-ine gangplank. It was awesome.) The Niagara's home is Erie, PA - they were en route to Duluth, MN.


The night was spent docked at Mott Island, where they avoided "the fishbowl" and got a warm night of much merrymaking in its stead, complete with fiddles, guitars, dancing, a bonfire, and enough spirits that if they HAD been pirates, they probably still would have been satisfied.


They're gone now, but I think the lovely image of their masts and lines towering over the spruce tops lingers on in everyone's mind.

They did, however, bring something not quite as nice as beautiful views and gangplanks with them - a whole hoard of zebra mussels. Our very own Pete, Marshall Plumer, Paul Brown, and Dan Pontbriand spent much of Monday morning/afternoon diving on the Niagara, scraping the nasty buggers into buckets. Apparently whoever cleaned the hull before they entered the park didn't really do a top-notch sort of job. Hopefully none of the mussel-y vacationers decided to take up permanent residence in our little island paradise.


(A second tall ship was scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon, but they never showed - no word on what's up with that. Very curious.)



In other news, Paul Brown has reported a confirmed find of a deer tick. The tick was found on the arm of a Rock Harbor employee and brought to Brown for identification. (See photo - really gorgeous critter, eh?) Brown emphasized that this is "most likely an isolated incident," but if anyone finds a tick, they should bring it to him to check exactly what sort of tick it is.

Pics From the Snug

I promised you photos, and I shall deliver. Let's take a look at Rock Harbor through the lens of the digital camera...

Firstly, I owe you pictures of the epic Independence Day canoe race, featuring Beth and Katie as the first canoeists (canoers?) back...well, at least of the two NPS teams.

The shabby (but oh so chic) Ben East is looking lovely in the summer haze:

Has anyone ever noticed how funkily beautiful the trees are on the way up to Mt. Franklin?(That's right. These trees are funky.)

I've been hanging out with some pretty rad fungis lately, including this particularly delicious lookin dude (seen on the way up to Lookout Louise), and this gorgeous yellow buddy who posed well with my leg (on the Tobin Harbor trail.)

And as always, we are ENJOYING ourselves here in the Snug, as seen by this delightful Ranger III-Interp Potluck spread:

One last thing - and this photo (of the Fearsome Foursome) goes out to our dear lead interp Andrea, who has left us for ten days to St. Croix. (But not the tropical island one.) Mama, the badasses miss you.

Til next time -

This has been the Snug Harbor Reporter.

Summer Study

It finally feels like summer to me: wicked hot and blaringly sunny. I'm sure that if I dragged someone up here from Missouri right now and told them this was "wicked hot" they'd say, "why the heck are you using 'wicked' as an adjective?", but they'd also probably think this was delightfully cool weather. Regardless, it feels awesome to me.

Huts (I apologize if this is not the correct spelling) informs me that water temperatures 300' out from Mott and 18' down are now at SEVENTEEN DEGREES CELSIUS, which, I know, I know, we're American here, is about 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Ridiculous. That's like, bathtub temperature after you've been sitting in it for hours because you just wanted to read a FEW MORE PAGES. We've been jumping in at least once every day.

As the distinguished Sean Curry pointed out in his delightful Windigo Weekly, the island's social life is ripening with the summer berries, and every week brings more events. Last weekend we had Thor's party, a fish fry, and the jump off the Ranger dock (coordinated with the one at Windigo). (In really poor reporter fashion, I missed every single one of these events, but I hear they were a blast.) Tomorrow is the Lodge's "Chrismoose" AND the annual summer party at the Plumers', and then next week is the Park Service "Chrismoose." SO MANY CHRISMOOSES. I think I just might not order groceries for a couple weeks here. Ooh, and in a few weeks - South Shore Ranger Challenge, anyone???

I've been slacking on uploading photos, but I promise to get some more up here soon. In the meantime, keep on livin' life to the fullest, and don't give any snacks to that lucky ol' fox. :)

Yours,
the Snug Harbor Reporter

Hey there y'all,
We're here til fall,
And we've never been more alive!
We're having a ball -
Listen to the loon call -
KQC-705!
- from a genius country song I just wrote, entitled "The Interp Saga"

High Season

Let's take a look at some numbers:

130: max number of passengers on the Ranger III, including 2 admin. holds
130: number of passengers scheduled for Tuesday's Ranger

220: number of visitors in the visitor center yesterday (Friday, July 16)
55: number we've had in the V.C. so far today, after fewer than two hours of being open

31: number of people on group permits alone on today's Queen

65: number of people at Tom Gale's evening program last night

Basically, we're getting pretty darn busy in here. It's very exciting. I have my answer to "Where do we see the moose?" down pat. With Thor's party, the Boater's Association shindig, and Lake Superior Day's leap off the Ranger dock this weekend, things promise to remain exciting for a good while yet.

Keepin' you posted,
the Snug Harbor Reporter

Sunny Days in the Snug

A'ight, folks, let's hop into the beautiful, glamorous, could-totally-kick-the-Lorelei's-butt-in-some-awesome-alternate-universe Cisco, and pull into Snug Harbor for a look-see around. How's the ol' Snug doing in this hot and brilliant weather?



We've got a few good stories this week. Also, I just realized that the above photo is not actually taken from within the Cisco, but shhhh, let's just pretend it is, okay?

Numero Uno, our auditorium is just about ready for its grand opening. After nail pounding and saw running for a few hot summer weeks, the guys have unveiled to us their creation: a big, clean, gorgeous building flooded with light and the probably toxic scent of the carpet. We are in love. I never even saw the auditorium last year, and I know this renovation has got to be way better, because this is pretty much the Best Auditorium in the World. You should see the stars in her eyes when Andrea looks at the huge new windows. Our first program in there will be tomorrow, Friday evening, with a special program on island history from life leasee/author Tom Gale. We'll begin holding ranger programs in there next week.


Otter!


Numero Dos, the weather has been exceedingly interesting lately, as have been the generators. Picture this: It's last Sunday. The World Cup Final. Spain and the Netherlands are playing for the cup, in the hugest sports event of the year, and the game ends zero to zero. Half of the interp staff is glued to our hideous Ben East sofas, eyes on the television, as the game moves into thirty minutes of overtime. And then - the power goes. The house drops into darkness.

"Noooo!" someone screams.

Our radios go wild - but then, you all heard the traffic. 230, 238, 801 - they're back and forth, working out the issue. The little generator gets turned on. The game leaps back into view: still 0:0, Spain has the ball - and bam, it all goes dark again. Our radios kick into gear again, but this time, along with the debate over what to do about the power, we have warnings coming in: "Attention all Isle Royale units: we have a massive thunderstorm moving in from the northeast."

Approximately thirty seconds later, the sky opens in a deluge of icy water.

They did eventually get the power back on, with the assistance of everyone from the Mott mechanics to Marshall's sons, and, after running through the rain, we turned the TV back on just in time to see Spain get handed the cup.

Other than the thunderstorms, anyway, the weather has been absurdly hot and sunny. I'm a fan.

And numero tres (because all good things come in threes), we've had an inordinate number of visitors tumbling off docks into Snug Harbor lately, including, in an odd twist of events, the old dean of Andrew's high school. We haven't determined yet if this is an omen or not, but it has provided lots of fun upper body workouts for our staff, and so far, everyone has come out in tip-top shape. So watch your step, people, and keep your ears and eyes open.

Til next time,
Your Snug Harbor Reporter

Post-jump-into-Rock-Harbor

Tobin Harbor Sunset

Interps Andrew and Leah during the epic Fourth of July canoe race, taking second place!

REQUEST FOR REMOTE REPORTERS

Are you a reader of the Snug Harbor Reporter blog? Do you live either at Mott Island, Windigo, or in Houghton? This message is for you! I’m looking for three remote reporters to send me a weekly update (just a paragraph or few) from your area of the IsRo world. You can include everything from wildlife sightings to crazy visitor stories to gossip and drama to unusual events to photos of your area. If you’re interested, (and I hope a few of you are) please email me at eedengate@gmail.com.

THANK YOU!!

Interviews with the Daring Dozen

There are nine NPS employees and three NPS family members who live here in Snug Harbor, apart from the camaraderie of Mott Island, and just down the path from the Rock Harbor Lodge. That means that not only are we right at the start of trails and adventures (which is cool) but also right in the midst of swarms of visitors, who seem to have this sixth sense that enables them to pick out rangers even when they’re out of uniform, and consequently ask them five million questions. You gotta love it. Sort of.

This post is intended as an introduction to the dozen Snug Harborites.

Meet the Plumers

Marshall Plumer is our District Ranger in Rock Harbor. He’s working on his seventh year as District Ranger here, with four previous years as a seasonal ranger. He’s here with his wife, Dawn, and their two twin sons, Forrest and Col. The Plumers live in Chassell, MI (south of Houghton) when they’re not in Isle Royale. Out here, they live in the Ralph House, just southwest of Snug Harbor proper.

Marshall Plumer, District Ranger (201)
Where were you born? Coco Solo, US Panama Canal Zone
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? I have all kinds of favorites. Three things: fishing, kayaking, and - fishing.
What previous jobs have you held? Bartender, grocery clerk, bio tech.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? Okay, let’s see…I’m sure there’s a lot. They don’t know that I’m a Zonian. You’re born in the Canal Zone, you’re a Zonian. (Marshall’s parents worked in Panama, his mother as a nurse, his father first with the Catholic church and then with the U.S. Army. They traveled around; Marshall’s brother was born in Quito.)

Dawn Plumer
Where were you born? L’anse, MI.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Hiking and kayaking. They’re both right up there.
What previous jobs have you held? I worked at North Cascades, Voyageur, two parks in Hawai’I, Independence – and Isle Royale of course. I worked at my relatives’ marine: Witz’ marina.
What’s something most people on the island don’t know about you? My legend here: In Windigo I split many cords of wood by hand, faster than the trail crew. I love splittin’ wood.

Forrest and Col Plumer
Forrest and Col are thirteen (they’ll turn fourteen on November third.) They were born in Bellingham, MI, and they make a dynamic and entertaining duo to interview.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale?
Forrest: Fish.
Col: Kayak.
What do you guys want to be when you grow up?
Forrest: Uh…probably Marine Corps.
Col: Park Ranger.
What’s something most people on the island don’t know about you?
Forrest: My favorite place to be is in six feet of powder after I’ve hopped off a 20 foot cliff on my skies.
Col: My favorite thing to do is skiing. Um…I don’t know…
Forrest: He’s the only person in the U.P. who plays the bassoon.

Meet the Interp Staff

Andrea Tavegia, Lead Interpretive Ranger (210)
Where were you born? Flint, MI.
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Painesdale, MI. Just south of Houghton.
How many seasons have you been coming here? This is my second.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Go moose huntin’. Yesss. I don’t shoot ‘em. But I hunt ‘em.
What previous jobs have you held? Interpretive Park Ranger – the last park ranger job I had was at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Before that I was in the Everglades. Before that I was a customer service agent at Kenai Fjords National Park. And before that I was a professional student and research/teaching assistant. Before that I was at Big Cypress National Preserve – and before that I was a wildcat.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? This is a small island. Everyone knows everything about everyone.

Casey Verstrate, Interpretive Ranger (211)
Where were you born? Grand Rapids, MI
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Grand Rapids, MI
How many seasons have you been coming here? Two.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Fish the inland lakes.
What previous jobs have you held? I worked for a car wash, I worked at a rest home, I worked at a furniture store assembling furniture. I worked at a farm for a summer. That was pretty intense. I worked for the city of Grandville, hence all my T-shirts. I think that’s it.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? Heck, I’m not that mysterious. I’m Dutch. I am a master bacon chef. My ponds were ruined by a shopping mall.

Leah LaCasse, Interpretive Ranger (212)
Where were you born? Marquette, MI.
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Marquette, MI. I was in Floral City, FL for a little bit.
How many seasons have you been coming here? First!
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Moose whispering. Wildlife stalking.
What previous jobs have you held? Whoa…I worked at Gander Mountain, cut boxes at Kohl’s. I was a wilderness counselor…professional student…campground attendant and marina attendant.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? I saw Bob Dylan in concert back when I was younger and didn’t know I was seeing a superstar. I was like six years old and I thought I was in hell.

Wanda Naylor, Interpretive Ranger (213)
Where were you born? San Jose, CA.
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Near Eureka, CA (far northern California) – I’ve been there for the past forty years. Went there to go to school and never left.
How many seasons have you been coming here? This is my first season.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Hike and botanize – look at new plants and see if I can figure out what they are or learn something about them.
What previous jobs have you held? I was an elementary school teacher for fourteen years and I’ve also worked or volunteered in probably about nine National Parks at this point, and two California state parks. My all-time favorite job was a volunteer job, chasing bears in Yosemite, and educating people how to encourage the bears to be wild.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? I got to live in Moose, Wyoming, when I worked at Grand Teton National Park, and lived in a little log cabin. It was really neat. That’s where I saw my first moose, and I’ve liked moose ever since.

Liz Dengate, Interpretive Ranger (SCA) (214)
Where were you born? Detroit, MI (lived in the city until age four)
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Ferndale and Ann Arbor, MI

How many seasons have you been coming here? This is number one, baby.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Jump off docks.

What previous jobs have you held? Wilderness ranger in northern California; community organizer with the Sierra Club; three years as a coffee shop barista; nanny; research assistant; etc.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? You all know I was home schooled, I Irish dance, I’m a vegetarian, I had a ridiculously odd childhood that did not include a television, and I have a pet hedgehog named Pippo who is AWESOME. What else is there?

Andrew Johnson, Interpretive Ranger (SCA) (215)
Where were you born? Brwyn, IL.
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Brookfield, IL – or Kalamazoo, MI. I go to Western.
How many seasons have you been coming here? This is my first.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Probably hiking. Backpacking. My favorite place is McCargoe Cove.
What previous jobs have you held? I did restoration on a forest and prairie – plant restoration. Worked in a cafeteria at Western. I worked in a restaurant a while ago.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? I like to ride my bike really far places. I like to play hackey sack a lot. It’s like my favorite thing to do.

Meet Steve

Steve Juntikka, Maintenance (239)
Where were you born? Royal Oak, MI
Where did you live before coming out to the island? Houghton, MI. I’ve lived there pretty much my whole life.
How many seasons have you been coming here? This is my first season.
What’s your favorite thing to do on Isle Royale? Take pictures of bryophytes.
What previous jobs have you held? Laser operator, a sawyer (going out in the woods, cutting trees down, and making sure you don’t have a log roll on top of you), an automated optical inspector. Yeah, I’ve had quite a variety of jobs. I was a biology teaching/lab assistant.
Something most people on the island don’t know about you? What most people don’t know about me…I have a lot of different hobbies, such as studying the bryophytes, studying garden slugs. Yeah, I’m into horticulture some now, trying to grow some organic vegetables that you can harvest just by harvesting some seeds. I plan on trying to develop an online website store selling garden seeds by mail. That’s something I’m working on right now.

And, coming soon, an interview with law enforcement ranger Pete Sweger (202), after his return from Windigo…

Happy Independence Day!

Ok, so my title is a few days late, but I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. For those of us who remained behind in Snug Harbor, we partook of an amazing feast prepared by the Lodge (they also supplied very festive beaded necklaces, hackey sacks, paper airplanes, and beach balls) and a canoe race. (NPS didn't do so hot in the race, but both canoes managed to tip each other, and that's what it's all about, right? We were proudly represented by interps Leah and Andrew in one canoe, and ranger Beth and natural resources Katie in the other.) Following the race, everyone jumped off the dock, naturally.

On the fifth, Robert hosted a pork+rice+beans party up at his house, which was a very delicious party indeed, lemme tell you.

And in breaking news, Casey Verstrate outran four other topnotch interpretive taggers in a high stakes game of Kick the Can Tuesday night at the Ben East. His success was partially due to a dead (and granted, rather small) spruce that he managed to push directly into the path of one of his pursuers. Stay tuned for details to follow - revenge is sweet.

A couple of weeks ago, we found a beautiful luna moth over outside the lodge; pictured here is Andrea, giving the little guy a perch:

I would also like to point out (to Captain Bill, especially) that our cover photo is now, at least for the time being, a stellar photo (thanks, Andrea) of our very own Ranger III. :)

A Few Guest Photos and a Loon Update

A couple of our rangers have given me some awesome photos that I'd like to share with everybody:

One, the above photo from Carl, of the Snug Harbor staff taking off in the Lorelei for Windigo for customs training. They make a majestic sight, eh?

Two, this photo from Marshall's sons' friend Thomas Schmidt, of a pile of happy sunning snakes near West Chickenbone, which is pretty awesome.

AND: An important reminder: A few inconsiderate visitors disturbed a nesting loon on the near Tobin Harbor island last week, causing it to play dead repeatedly - luckily it hasn't abandoned its nest yet, but a closure has been put into effect for boaters around the nesting area. If one stays far away and gives the loon its space (observing from "binocular distance," as they say), you can catch a pretty amazing view of a nesting loon if you head over there on shore. Just remember not to paddle too close!

Welcome to July

Somehow it's already July, and almost the fourth, which is crazy weird. The summer is flying by. I'm standing in the V.C. on this warm and sunny and gusty day, with waves rolling in higher than I've seen them yet and rocking all the little concessions boats. Should be a lovely trip back on the Queen for all of you Mott Island-ers heading out today for the fourth...

Let's run through our wildlife/nature report, which I know everybody is pretty psyched for:

Firstly, I hear there's a litter of little baby fox kits over on Mott, squirrelin' around with their mom. I have not been lucky enough to see the little buggers yet, but there have been plenty of sightings.

Secondly, the wood lilies are everywhere, and they come in these ridiculous, outrageous colors like something in a bowling alley or on a Hawaiian shirt. I had no idea that that particular shade of pink existed in nature. It's incredible. (The above photo I took on the Stoll Trail.)

Thirdly, it turns out there are leeches EVERYWHERE in Tobin Harbor. I was on a bug hunt, and every other rock I flipped over had a couple little guys clinging to it. Were you all aware?? Personally I thought they were only in the inland lakes. At least the Tobin leeches are normal-leech-size, unlike the Nessies in the inland bodies of water.

Fourthly, we've got a warty but beautiful lady moose hanging out in Snug Harbor. Check out these photos:

All in all, life is progressing very happily in Snug Harbor, with midnight hikes to Lookout Louise, cross-country adventures, successful harbor walks and evening programs all around (feel free to come check them out whenever you feel like receiving a damn good education), lots of moose sightings, and every day some new weather that has absolutely nothing to do with whatever the weatherman predicted.

This weekends marks Independence Day and a very quiet time in Rock Harbor, with half the staff dispersed to the mainland for fireworks and otherwise revelry. I hope ever-body, no matter where you celebrate this delightful holiday, enjoys the heck out of him or herself. Until next time -

Liz

Snug Harbor Reporter

(I do love that title)

P.S. I almost forgot - a few pretty pictures from sunrise off Scoville Point a few days ago:

P.P.S. And just to make you all jealous, the most delicious fish I have ever eaten (caught by Levi, cooked by Andrew and I):