Alaska vs U.P.

[Milliano]

Yeah I just heard from someone that it was the only. Those counties with a lower population density both have a lot more people than Keweenaw County. I wonder what the winters in rural Maine are like. I've lived in Keweenaw County over a winter before... and find it hard to imagine another area feeling as isolated!

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Thanks for the tip on the book, I'll have to find it. I love things like this.

Actually, there are MANY 'frontier' counties east of the Mississippi River. There are 65 to be exact. If you go strictly by population density (6 or less people per square mile) there are 5.

1 in New York (shocked me!) Hamilton County 3.1/sm
1 in Mississippi - Issaquena County 5.5/sm
2 in Michigan - Ontonagon right at the 6/sm and Keweenaw at 4.3/sm
1 in Maine - Piscataquis County 4.3/sm

All rural areas for sure. Only 2 I would really want to live in though those are Keweenaw #1 and Ontonagon #2. The rest you can keep.

Frontier county information I obtained here: Frontier FAQs
Population density here: State and County QuickFacts

I had no idea how they determined exactly how a county gets the frontier designation but the first site gives a rather good matrix of the factors that are taken into consideration.

Piscataquis County Maine has scenery that is just as good as areas of the UP if not better. It also felt more isolated to me as well. The interior of Maine has very few roads compared with many areas of the UP, and many are restricted roads. The climate zone is similar to the UP, though.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Yeah I just heard from someone that it was the only. Those counties with a lower population density both have a lot more people than Keweenaw County. I wonder what the winters in rural Maine are like. I've lived in Keweenaw County over a winter before... and find it hard to imagine another area feeling as isolated!

Yeah it is something else up there, but, it isn't a 3 or 4 hour drive to find a house anywhere. It is here in places. I personally like Keweenaw much better and think it is MUCH more scenic that the area up here. That is a personal thing because I just love water and a view isn't a view with out blue in it. I had the "pleasure" of having to do a job during the winter in Clayton Lake, ME. Now on a map it looks like a town out there, it isn't. It is an outpost where Loggers spend the night and has a bunkhouse with kitchen, a few houses (think hunting camp) for the administration of the logging camp. and a maintaince building for repairing the heavy equipment. That is it. After I left the last town, it was a 4 1/2 hour drive through woods roads to get there in the winter, I never saw another person, vehicle, snowmobile, no sign of other people at all. Kind of freaky actually for this ol' Michigan boy to tell the truth. As for population density figures, look at the size of the other counties involved. Keweenaw is only about 541 square miles, Howard county in NY is 3 times that size, while Piscatiquis county in Maine is almost 7 times as big. The county I live in right now is 6600 square miles. Almost the entire NW top of the State is private roads owned and maintained by the logging industry. It is beautiful, it is REMOTE; it isn't the UP as much as I would like it to be.

As for remote though, did anybody check out Alaska's numbers? Holy Crap! talk about remote. There are counties there with less than .1/sm thats .1. Lake and Peninsula Borough: 1548 people - just under 23,782 Square MILES. I find it hard to wrap my Michigan head around a county here at 6600 sm that takes 2 hours to drive North to South, I cannot even think of one that is 3 1/2 times as big. Darn, that is a lot bigger than the entire UP. I have to go there one day. I don't even know if that is the largest or even the least populated one either, it just happened to be one with a cool name I looked at first.

[YoAdrian]

Originally Posted by Milliano

I might be biased, being from the Keweenaw, but IMO it's by far the best part of the UP and, well basically the whole Midwest USA.

I think it's the most beautiful part of the whole state ... and I've seen pretty much all of Michigan. That was always my favorite vacation spot when I lived in Michigan. I remember driving up US 41 one autumn to Copper Harbor ... the trees created a canopy high over the road, and all their leaves were lit up in brilliant, blazing colors. That was probably the most gorgeous drive I've ever taken ... capped off by getting to see that amazing deep blue water of Lake Superior. Ah, memories.

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

I remember driving up US 41 one autumn to Copper Harbor ... the trees created a canopy high over the road, and all their leaves were lit up in brilliant, blazing colors. That was probably the most gorgeous drive I've ever taken ... capped off by getting to see that amazing deep blue water of Lake Superior. Ah, memories.

I love that drive. On my next visit I hope to get a car just to ride US41 in Keweenaw County. M26 along the lake is sublime too. Then of course there is Brockway Mountain Drive! YouTube - Brockway Mountain Drive WRX STi

[darstar]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

I think it's the most beautiful part of the whole state ... and I've seen pretty much all of Michigan. That was always my favorite vacation spot when I lived in Michigan. I remember driving up US 41 one autumn to Copper Harbor ... the trees created a canopy high over the road, and all their leaves were lit up in brilliant, blazing colors. That was probably the most gorgeous drive I've ever taken ... capped off by getting to see that amazing deep blue water of Lake Superior. Ah, memories.

And , when you top that last hill , and see ahead Copper Harbor , nestled along the Superior shore , one would swear its ether someplace in New England , or Alaska .........Ah, yes , the memories......
I guess Copper Harbor was what kept me coming back to the UP , year after year, to camp , ride the two tracks , take pictures , relax , and eat whitefish.
Over the years , I did discover there was more to the UP , much more , but , that first time........

[YoAdrian]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Then of course there is Brockway Mountain Drive! YouTube - Brockway Mountain Drive WRX STi

That's bumpier than I remember.