Monday, July 6, 2009

Another day in Paradise


After Kissy Missy and I went to Hell, we just simply had to go to Paradise.

Paradise is on the shores of Whitefish Bay, part of Lake Superior, in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Whitefish Township School is located there, as are Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal and Methodist churches. In the winter, Paradise regularly gets more than 20 feet of snow, so it truly is a paradise for snowmobilers. Robert, Katherine, the Drummer, Kissy Missy and I noted something truly interesting: There are biker bars in both Hell and Paradise.
In Paradise, the biker bar is the Yukon. The snow caved in the roof of this log cabin a few years back, but a new roof has been raised above the log walls. There's a grate on the floor where snowmobilers can knock the snow off their boots. Behind the bar, there are Christmas lights - made of illuminated shotgun shells. The men's room contains graffiti dating back to at least 1977. There are boards missing from the floor of the hallway leading to the lady's room.
And when NASCAR came on the tube, every TV in the place was tuned to it.

We went to Paradise on the Fourth of July, and the community put on a completely awesome fireworks show. It lasted about a half-hour, launched from a pair of barges out in the bay. It was one of the best shows that I've seen in a long time, as you can see in the composite image.
But it got chilly next to the big lake - right after sunset, we could see our breath.
Makes sense that Paradise would be a lot cooler than Hell.

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