tastes like winter: A lovely town called Escanaba

This is my first day off in a week. I can't remember the last time I worked seven days straight. That in itself is a challenge. Instead of going out last night and finally exploring the bar scene, I passed out around 9:30pm while cuddling with Timothy. It's not the worst way to end an evening.

So, where am I? I'm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, more specifically, the southern part of this northern territory. Escanaba is a small town with a population of approximately 13,000. With little finances, I have succumbed to the pull of SuperWalmart. There is no Safeway, Target, or an organics food store. The organic food here, which is in small numbers, is quite expensive. Even Walmart has ridiculous prices, such as $1.88 for one zucchini! Of course you can probably guess that there is no mall here, which is no problem for me. However, there is one street that is considered the "downtown" area. I was suprised to find a Swedish and a Greek restaurant in town. I hope that one day I'll be able to check both of them out.

The lovely sign everyone gets to see when entering downtown Escanaba. Down this street you will find a few bars, a tobacco shop, some restaurants, and other needs such as dog grooming and hair salons.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, often referred to as the "U.P." is obviously very close to Canada. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that people from here and northern Wisconsin have a dialect very similar to that of some Canadians. They say "aye" a lot at the end of their sentences. Escanaba is near Lake Michigan, while Marquette, the biggest city in the UP region and only an hour away, borders Lake Superior. I look forward to visiting this college town, which is home to Northern Michigan University.

This is simply a map that outlines the entire state of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is separate from the mitten-shaped part of the state. The drive from Escanaba to Chicago was merely 5.5 hours. Escanaba is located near Iron Mountain, directly south of Marquette.

The study site for this project is very large. We often drive through smaller towns on our way to the forest including a place called "Powers". I find that an amusing name for a town. One of the things I love about the woods out here is that it's very diverse. Some of the deer traps are located in relatively open areas, but most of the forests are very dense. Trees encountered range from spruce to cedar to white and red pines to aspens. Walking or running off trail to get to trap sites can be challenging since the ground is covered with fallen trunks and/or branches. The canopy layers are relatively closed, but there is still plenty of sunlight that manages to poke through. Since we're so far up North, however, there are less sunny days and they're very short during the winter season.