Last evening, we left for Brockway Mountain, west of Copper Harbor, about 9 PM, driving slowly to avoid hitting wildlife along the forest-lined road. In fact, halfway up the mountain, a gray fox crossed our path, the first I had seen in several years. Atop the ridge, the scene resembled a failing drive-in theater with several cars parked in the unlit lot, awaiting the show. We slipped into an open space, facing north and overlooking the invisible lake.
While we waited for the Northern Lights to develop, we were more than entertained by a zillion stars in the clear night sky, bisected by the stellar haze of the Milky Way. Jupiter gleamed from the southwest and numerous meteors streaked across the sky, some quite spectacular and long-lasting. Then there were the passenger jets, blinking their way across the night sky, no doubt traveling to or from exotic locations.
Our fellow attendees began to give up on the vigil by 11 PM and we were left alone atop Brockway Mountain. Our final observation was of a large ore ship, its lights shining from the dark expanse of Lake Superior, surely heading for "some mill in Wisconsin." We descended to Eagle Harbor at midnight, humbled but still optimistic.
