Eagle River and ... The Grand Canyon???

In Marquette we got our first glimpse of the magnificent Lake Superior.  I'm not a Linguist but the origin of 'place names' we use to describe things has always interested me.  For example, one of our local road signs got a lot of publicity a while back.  It was a sign that pointed the way to two of our towns but a lot of folks used it to "make a statement."  No, I'm not getting all political on you, in fact, I just wanted to tell you about "Prosperity."  You see, the little town was originally named "Frog Level" when it was chartered in 1851 and remained that until 1873 when the townsfolk decided they deserved a more distinguished name and officially changed it to Prosperity.  Well, the origin of the name "Lake Superior" was not quite that bad but, it is interesting.  Seems that the French trappers who originally lived and hunted in this area referred to the lake as "le lac superieur" meaning "the upper lake."  During the French and Indian Wars, the British, ever the creative land managers, dubbed the lake "Lake Superior" explaining that it was, indeed, the largest on the continent. People have always used unusual designations for the rivers, lakes, mountains, territories and often even their homes as a way of commemorating events, people or things.of importance to them.  As we traveled northwestward we began to see two recurring words - "Baraga" and "Grand Canyon."  The former we weren't familiar with but the latter, having last seen it in Arizona and doubting that it had been moved, piqued our interest.  We pulled into a park where it was mentioned and decided to take a look.  The signs we saw indicated that the trail was about two miles long.  By that time it had begun to rain rather hard so we decided to go only a little way to a river running nearby.  The Sturgeon River is a swiftly flowing waterway busily carving its way through the rocky landscape and the unusual color of the water

Grand Canyon of Michigan

testifies to the presence of tannin from the fallen leaves and brush.  Down below where we stood the river drops over the fifteen foot high "Canyon Falls" and enters the 300 foot deep "Grand Canyon of Michigan."  The canyon, while about 5,700 feet shy of the one in Arizona, is impressive in its own right and the people of Michigan have every right to be proud of this beautiful feature.  While we did not make it all the way to the canyon because of the weather and the distance I did find a picture of it so you could see its beauty.  We really regret not being able to make it the whole way down the trail and if you're ever in this area we certainly encourage you to do so.  It was also at about this time that we realized that Canyon Falls and the Grand Canyon of Michigan are both located within the boundaries of Baraga State Park which, in turn, is in Baraga County along the Keweenaw Bay so we were still wondering......  Not much farther along US-41 we saw signs indicating the way to the "Bishop Baraga Shrine" and it was there that we learned ... "the rest of the story!"  Frederic Baraga was born in Slovenia in 1797 and, following the death of his parents, was raised in the home of a professor at the clerical seminary at Laibach.  Although in 1821 he graduated from the University of Vienna with a degree in law his thoughts were frequently occupied with clerical matters and in that same year he entered the seminary.  He was ordained as a priest in 1823 and for the next seven years rapidly established an excellent reputation.  In 1830 he came to believe that his true calling was to minister to the Native Americans and Aboriginal Canadians so he left Europe for North America and embarked on a ministry that is one of the most successful, often astonishing and always inspiring stories imaginable.  His work among the people of Canada and the United States continued for the next thirty eight years including consecration as the first Bishop of the upper peninsula of Michigan in 1853.  The shrine that memorializes this extraordinary individual is, itself, remarkable.  It includes plaques highlighting his achievements and you'll really want to take the time to read them.  The memorial itself consists of a huge, thirty foot, copper statue of Fr. Baraga standing on a cloud of stainless steel.  The cloud is supported by five laminated wooden supports symbolizing his five missions.  It sits on a bluff overlooking Keweenaw Bay allowing this saintly man to continue watching over his flock.  It was great to visit the shrine but we had a long way to go in order to get to our home for the night, the Eagle River Inn.  Rain had begun falling again and with twilight coming on fast we needed to get going.  By the time we made our way up the remote highway to the inn the rain was coming down in buckets.  Our arrival was a bit soggy and made somewhat mysterious by our reception there. I won't go into detail but, let it suffice to say - there wasn't anyone around!  We did manage to get checked into our rooms and looked out the windows to see - WATER!  Yep, the inn couldn't be closer to the lake without being a hotel for fish!!  We took photos showing the shoreline from our back door so you could see for yourselves! And, while the local folks might be used to all of this, for us it was rather enchanting to share a bottle of wine sitting next to a large window overlooking this turbulent fresh water ocean with the wind swept rain rushing noisily around the eaves.  So, we'll close on that note and start getting prepared for tomorrow's adventures.  See ya.