Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the "U.P.") is connected by land to northern Wisconsin. It is connected to Michigan's Lower Peninsula only by the Mackinaw Bridge. Those living in the U.P. are called "UP-pers," pronounced and usually spelled "Yoopers." The Keweenaw Peninsula is a small finger of land about 50 miles long that extends northward out into Lake Superior from Michigan's western Upper Peninsula. Due to the man-made Portage Canal through Houghton and Hancock, the Keweenaw Peninsula can be reached by land only over the Portage Bridge. The house is located on the "wild" north shore. Look carefully for a small red dot that I placed on the map between Calument and Copper Harbor. The property is approximately 4 acres. State Highway M-26 runs through the property with about 1 acre on the lake side and 3 forested acres on the other. The house is on the lake side of the highway.

There are actually three buildings, all on the lake side of the highway. The main house, shown here in the photograph, is closest to the lake. It has vinyl siding and has about 960 square feet of living space. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom. The long side of the house in the picture faces M-26. The opposite side has two large picture windows that face Lake Superior. The lake is also easily viewed from the picture window shown in the photograph next to the main entrance.

A two-car garage is on the other side of the driveway. However, it has not been vinyl sided.

The view in this photograph shows a closeup of the flower garden on the side of the house with the main entrance. Note the entrance to the basement or cellar; the basement can also be entered from inside the house. This is one of the few homes on the North Shore that has a basement. The basement has a built-in LP heater. It also has the hot-water heater and hookups for a washer and dryer (electric).

This spectacular photograph shows a view of Lake Superior from the two picture windows facing the lake. The property has between 250 and 260 feet of Lake Superior shoreline. Our shoreline is rocky, which means that erosion is not a problem. Only a brief walk down M-26 takes you to Great Sand Bay, a very large, sandy beach for great swimming in Lake Superior.

This photograph shows the "back" side of the house, opposite the side featured in previous photographs. It shows the back porch and part of the fenced-in backyard. Lake Superior is clearly visible in this photograph and shows its proximity to the house. For those who are interested, the house was designed, built, and insulated for year-round living. The main living area of the house is heated by a 50,000 BTU LP floor furnace. It is fully adequate to cope with the Keweenaw winter. (The Alaskan Malamute does not stay with the house.)

This photograph shows a view of part of the living room. Note that the entire house has knotty-pine wood walls and ceilings. The hallway on the right leads to the bathroom and the two bedrooms. The grate on the floor is the floor furnace. The window at the far end of the photograph is the window next to the main entrance shown in the first two photographs of the house.

If you turn 180 degrees from your point of view in the previous photograph, you get the following view of the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen area is small with no room for a table. However, it has been completely remodeled with light-blue counter tops and new natural-wood cabinets. There is a "bar" style counter top separating the kitchen/cook area from the main dining area. Notice the gas light above the opening to the kitchen. The house has three such gas lights. Of course, there are electric lights as well, but the gas lights come in very handy during a power outage. All the critical utilities in the house are gas and remain functioning during power outages: floor furnace, kitchen stove, and hot-water heater. The only exception is the well-pump.

The main dining area is opposite the kitchen "bar" and is large enough for a regular dining room table. The window next to the table is one of the two large picture windows on the side of the house facing Lake Superior.

The full length of the house facing Lake Superior is divided by a gigantic stone fireplace. To the one side is the living room area, and to the other side is the dining room area. Each part has one of the two picture windows looking out toward the lake. The smaller picture window at the back of the photograph is on the side of the house with the rear exit facing the fenced-in yard. Notice the television set in the front of the photograph. The house does have cable hookup at a very reasonable rate by comparison with cities.

This is the second building on the property. It is located between the main house and M-26 and is vinyl-sided to match the main house. Somewhat smaller in square footage at 616, it is wired and heated but not plumbed. We use it as an office.

This photograph shows the interior of the second building we use as an office. It has three rooms, the walls of each being knotty-pine wood. The bookcases are free-standing and do not stay with the house.

This photograph gives you a better idea of the size of the fenced portion of the yard. The office building is on the left, and the main house is on the right.

This shows a Weeping Willow tree in the front yard. It is between the office and driveway. Directly behind it is the main house. You can see just a part of M-26 in the lower left-hand corner of the photograph.

Except for niches carved out for houses and cabins along the Lake Superior Shoreline, this part of the Keweenaw Peninsula is heavily forested. This photograph, showing the beautiful Fall colors, was taken looking down M-26 not far from our house.

We close with a photograph of a gorgeous sunrise visible over Lake Superior from our window.