[Bydand]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

I'm always amazed when I hear that people don't realize that you can't see the other side of the lake. Lake Superior is bigger than Massachusetts--you can readily see that on a map.

Lake Superior is larger than 10 states if you include the states land and water area:
West Virgina
Maryland
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Vermont
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Connecticut
Delaware
Rhode Island

If you take the bottom 5 you are still smaller area wise than Lake Superior (need to add almost half of Vermont to equal the Lake).

If you go by land area alone you can add South Carolina and Maine to the list.

My wife was born and raised in Mass. She couldn't believe how big the Lakes were when she first saw them. She is still in awe 12 years later when we take our walks along Lake Michigan 2 or 3 times a week. My new Sister-in-Law came out in June and is trying so hard to get my Brother to move back to Michigan so she can be close to the Lakes (among other reasons of course). She was born and raised in Maine and they still live there. She stood on a bluff I like to take lake view virgins to because it is such a dramatic view, and just looked at the lake speechless. When she did manage to voice her thoughts a minute or two later, she just kept repeating "This is SO not what I was expecting, it is amazing!" I bet she said that 20 times.

[crazyme4878]

Thanks for the list, Bydand. I didn't want to start listing too many because I figured I would get myself in trouble! We have a giant map of the U.S. hanging above our computer desk, so I was just glancing at that.

My favorite area is at the mouth of the Two-Hearted River. It seems like most of Luce County is dirt roads transversing the woods. You drive and drive through woods and over streams and finally you pop out in the campground there. And the lakeshore is empty for miles and miles.

I also love the memory of camping on Superior, closer to the Sault. My baby was teething and crabby, so in the middle of the night I put him in the sling and walked up and down the beach barefoot, watching the water quietly lapping, the moon and the stars, with a sleeping baby snuggled next to me.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by MICoastieMom

Speaking of waves on the Great Lakes- my son is in the Coast Guard; he has been stationed on both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. According to the officers and the men who have been stationed on both the Great Lakes and on the ocean, the lakes, particularily Lake Superior are far more dangerous to navigate in a storm. Something to due with the fact that the energy from the waves on the ocean have more area to disperse. There is only so much area for waves to disperse their energy in the Great Lakes, most of the time they cannot adequately, and so the energy keeps compounding itself.

Yeah. There's a reason they ferry all the freighters to the nearest port whenever storms whip up on Superior.

Here in Marquette, another guy got killed by a rip tide a couple weeks ago. No matter how many warnings or plaques they put up, people still underestimate the lake. A lot of times they have to call searches off because the waves are too rough even for the Coast Guard and helicopters.

His body washed up several miles down the shore. A little disturbing to think that the beaches and water were full of people swimming while this body was floating by.

On a lighter note - I think the Great Lakes states / provinces should pool their money and really advertise the Great Lakes - show pictures of freighters getting swamped by waves so that they're almost underwater. Show the clear waters you can see through and the rugged cliffs and the beaches. Show the beautiful towns on bluffs.

So many people are shocked when they see the lakes or even pictures of the lakes. Their perception is Cleveland 1969. If people don't start appreciating this entirely unique ecosystem as an international and global treasure, it's going to be a much bigger fight when everybody else really runs out of water.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Arizona and New Mexico for example, are pretty, but it is pretty much all the same.

You made some good points, but this just isn't true. There is far more diversity of terrain/vegetation/snow/temperature in Arizona than in Michigan. Similar for New Mexico as well.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

You made some good points, but this just isn't true. There is far more diversity of terrain/vegetation/snow/temperature in Arizona than in Michigan. Similar for New Mexico as well.

You're right. Those states are not miles and miles of woods and rolling hills. You can drive and within 2-4 hours cover semi-barren desert - not really barren at all but to many they seem like it, then see some rolling hills, then some aspen forests and pine forests. You can see gaping canyons, and then be up hiking in a cool pine woods and look out over vast expanses. You can leave 100 degrees and in 2 hours be up camping or hiking and better have brought a sweater or jacket.

They may be too dry, too ungreen, too warm for some peoples' taste but they certainly have variety.