Black rocks, blue sea, autumn colors, Suzi
Last weekend, as many of you might recall, was the Weekend of the Susies.
On Sunday, blogging buddy Suzi Banks Baum, from Laundry Line Divine, and I met in person (for the first time) and proceeded to dine at the Sweetwater Cafe in Marquette before driving out to Presque Isle to play along the infamous Black Rocks. (She met up with two Kathys while I was meeting up with two Susies during the weekend. You can read her tale of Two Kathys here.)
You can tell Suzi loves being home in her Upper Peninsula once again
The Black Rocks, rumors say, lie jutted along Lake Superior as some of the oldest stones on the planet.
It’s a wonderful place to stroll with a real live blogging friend.
A lake never before so blue
The Black Rocks are also famous because the young (and young-at-heart) actually jump off a cliff into Lake Superior far below.
I am a scaredy-cat-at-heart and *probably* would never do such a thing, although I suspect Suzi might.
Waves never before so playful
Sunday proved a ch-ch-chilly afternoon here in the North woods. We donned our warmest jackets. I wore a hooded sweatshirt AND a blue fleece and a passing man warned, “You won’t be warm enough!”
The wind blew fiercely, cutting through the thickest of clothes.
Let’s just say the scenery warmed our souls.
Pools among the rocks
I’ll just let you look at the pictures now and pretend you were with us, shall I?
P.S. You’ll never guess what happened (or didn’t happen, depending on how you look at it.) Kath Usitalo, from Great Lakes Gazette, later said she visited the Black Rocks at the very same time!
She asked if we noticed a splatter painted jeep.
I, of course, only noticed Suzi, the lake and the Black Rocks and the man who joked about the jacket. Oh, and the cliff jumpers and the cedar and the algae, but no, did not even LOOK at vehicles in the parking lot.
Suzi, observant soul that she is, had SEEN the splatter painted jeep!
So another blogging friend was loose on the Black Rocks at the very same time!
Isn’t it a small blogging world?
Seagull flies above
Leaf falls below
Ripples whisper a story
Bright green algae provides contrast
Kids will be kids…preparing to jump off the Black Rocks into Lake Superior
Where once there stood three…
Suzi takes pictures
Across from where the kids jump
Jutting rock. He contemplates the jumpers.
Girl prays
Girl is a scaredy-cat (like I would be)
Oh look, here’s a brave one!
Swimming in Lake Superior in October; can you imagine?
Oh look–Suzi brought a thermos filled with delicious hot tea
Green and orange cedar branch
Autumn colors are so beautiful
Gorgeous
Blogging buddies forever…
Just a final question, dear reader. Would YOU have leaped from the Black Rocks cliff into Lake Superior in October? Are you more of a dare-devil jumper or rock-squatter sipping steaming tea?
Lake Superior Spirit 
Oh, I would definitely be a rock-squatter sipping steaming tea, Kathy. We’re big picnickers in our family. Love your lake-side adventure with Suzi BB.
No way I would have jumped. I would have grabbed the tea and joined the Kathys watching Lake Superior.
No, Kathy, no I wouldn’t jump into Lake Superior in October. There was a time, though, when I was a teenager, when I jumped off the pier at Scituate Harbor (Massachusetts) into the 46 degree water for lifesaving class.
Really fine photos here. Love the ripples and the colors of the cedar turning orange and the way you relay the color and vastness of this lake!
Gorgeous! I’d have been a tea drinker. I recall thinking Lake Superior was cold even in the summer…
I’ve been swimming in Lake Superior in August, no way I’d try it in October.
I am a tea sipper from way back – enjoyed your little outing and am jealous of your meet-up but happy for you too
Sipping in solidarity, I would remain firmly planted with you upon the rocks, while a tiny part of me would be standing with the kids, curling my toes over the rock edge and leaping for all I’m worth …
I’m definitely a cliff jumper into the water sort. It’s fun! These days, the water would have to be a lot warmer for my old bones, though.
Such a wonderful day, Kathy, with fantastic photos! So glad you shared the adventure!
I wouldn’t go by myself, but it would only take one friend to persuade me that we should do it. Or even one friend I could persuade to do it with me! I’ve often thought of doing the thru-the-ice jumps in the winter, but only if I have a friend to be crazy with me. Crazy likes company just as well as misery you know.
I love the face on the guy as he emerges from the lake. You can see by his face exactly how not-warm that water is!
Oh, and next time one of us is in the other’s neck of the woods, we should attempt to enjoy tea 🙂
Kathy – I’m drinking in the beauty of this heartwarming post as I sit here with another cuppa morning tea — a double delight!
You asked, “Would YOU have leaped from the Black Rocks cliff into Lake Superior in October?”
I jumped into a fjord in Norway and the water was so icy I actually thought my heart would stop. It wouldn’t be the height that would stop me from jumping off the cliffs into Lake Superior, but I guarantee you, the temperature would definitely stay my leap.
Jump?! No no! My heart would surely stop and I’m not ready for that. Too much beauty to enjoy there first. And, of course, the tea.
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I will go with the tea drinking crowd. I shocked both my girls when I jumped off the pier into Torch Lake….in July on a very hot day. No way would I jump into Superior in October!
I’m not entirely certain if I would, and might not actually decide until the very last moment. I have jumped from high(ish) places and swam in cold waters in the past but the memories are fading. Would most likely be content with rock-sitting and tea-sipping, but there is still a part of me that says *who knows* 🙂
The lake was beautiful last Sunday, lovely photos!
Most definitely a rock sitting tea sipper. Brrrrrrr. Thanks for taking me along. Lake Superior is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Such a beautiful place. I want to visit there someday. I’m not sure I’d be a cliff jumper, but like the idea that there is tea sipping for when I chicken out. 🙂
Hmmmm…I have taken this jump many times, but in October? I can see it all now, right before my very eyes. Kathy warms a thick red blanket around a fire, a neat, small fire that the authorities would not fine us for….and I’d be just like that girl, prayerful, contemplating the deep blue. But then, what the heck, I jump. I fly like those gulls, for just a few seconds above the clear, intoxicating waters that beckon me always, I would jump right in. And, as I have experienced many times, my animal body would propel me right out of the water. Like the guy in the picture, you just launch out of the water, no matter what, when it is that cold. And there would my intrepid Kathy be, with the warm blanket and maybe a big thermos of more tea and oh, a vegetarian pastie all warmed for my chilly body to gobble up. No chattering teeth! Got ketchup? xoxox S
Beautiful photos. I would have leapt, but maybe not in October. I like the guy coming up out of the water with that “Mother XXXXX It’s COLD” look on his face. 🙂
Great experience sharing your experience. Love your photos and accompanying dialogue. Thanks!
No, No, No…I would not have leaped from those rocks because it sounds like the water is too cold. If it were warm water on a warm day, yes. What a lovely area you live in.
What a wonderful post, Kathy. I LOVE meeting blogging buddies in real life. Looks like you all had a fabulous time out on those rocks. What a glorious setting! I, too, would be too scared to jump off those rocks. YIKES!
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
These pictures are beautiful!! I love the deep, blue lake! My favorite lake that feels like home to me ♥ But no, I wouldn’t jump in the lake during October but would love to relax on the rocks sipping hot tea or coffee ♥ And visiting with you, my dear friend ♥
Thank you!
Absolutely positively would not jump voluntarily into Lake Superior in October.
I think my blood is now too thin for even watching the jumpers jump into Lake Superior. But, surely a thermos of hot tea would do the trick. 🙂
Doesn’t someone need to be a bit of a nut case to jump into the cold water? I dont call it cowardly or whatever name you might want to give to anyone not wanting to jump off those rocks. I simply call being smart and realistic. I’d have sipped hot tea and felt no envy at all.
I would not jump. It would be too cold for me. I love these pictures. Such a beautiful place. I am glad you shared them.
In Your photos I love cliffs and rocks. I would not jump!!!
For some reason, I thought you and Suzi were sisters…you know, real blood sisters!? I would definitely jump into the lake…a cold water plunge is exhilarating.
Loved the photos! Jump off the proverbial cliff? It seems there are many cliffs, not involving cold water below that I continue to tumble right on over them suffering whatever the consequence. Neat post.
Kathy:
I am a “rock squatter”-I would rather just stand on the rocks and admire Lake Superior from there.
Nancy
I’m definitely the tea-sipping squatter, Kathy. But if I had been there with you….I could have been convinced to take the plunge. That’s what friends do, don’t they? They encourage us to live life to the fullest, rather than fear what is out there. ❤
I would never leap, but boy would I love to sit with an easel and my oil paints and capture those shots.
While I do like a good swim, now and then, I would not jump off a rock into Lake Superior (or any other northern lake) in October – unless it was one of those lovely summer-like days we might get during the fall months. I would much prefer to be bundled up sipping tea, watching the cliff-jumpers and shaking my head at such foolishness. I’m getting to be such an old fogey, aren’t I? lol
Lovely photos, by the way, and how wonderful to be able to spend such a day with a blogging buddy in-person! 🙂
I’m the kinda person who likes her showers warm even in summer! 😮