After a weekend of cloudy skies for the first Upper Peninsula Dark Sky Festival, the universe still taunted us with an amazing Aurora display that was mostly concealed behind a thick layer of clouds. However, that cloud bank stopped about 15 miles (by road…not direct line) from my house. So, we ventured further south to catch the lights of the north (as did about a hundred other people, too - evidenced by the line of lights coming down the bluff in the picture).
One of the things that I love about the Keweenaw is the interesting way nature mixes with remnants of human industrial history. This particular location is the ruins of an old copper mill. It has everything you would expect of an abandoned industrial complex - concrete, rust, broken glass, and graffiti. Juxtaposing all that with a mesmerizing giant solar storm in the atmosphere gives us an interesting perspective on the beauty and the hardship of the universe…and of the Keweenaw.