This week we installed individual “light switches” on each of our dark-sky compliant street lights. This is 28 street lights, which are the Truly Green Solutions Cobrahead RWL G2 model light fixtures (installed February 2021).

Keweenaw Power and Lite was able to work through 2 days of late winter storms (ice, snow, wind, and falling limbs), and then 2 clear days, to get the light switches installed before the 2023 Upper Peninsula Dark Sky Festival.

In addition, we installed a light switch for our wallpack on the back part of the Lodge (which is a dark sky compliant light fixture). This allows us to turn on and off, as well as dim, the wallpack light. This is important as we want to lower the light to have less light trespassing when people are enjoying the dark sky park and taking night time pictures of the Lodge.

This improvement is part of our light management plan for the resort, which is a designated international dark sky park — the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park.

More research on how light affects humans and wildlife can be found on the IDA’s website at:

• https://www.darksky.org/our-work/grassroots-advocacy/resources/research/

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

We receive a number of donation requests from organizations and individuals throughout the year. And we are very intentional in who we partner with, which is based upon our values and what we stand for at the Lodge. Thus, we have recently implemented a donation application process, where we ask organizations / individuals to complete a basic form that outlines the request and the reason for the request.

When we evaluate a donation request, this helps us first focus on how the requesting organization and the purpose of the donation fits our value system at the Lodge. Secondly, it helps us focus on how the event relates to what the Lodge is focused on. which is outdoor activities, rustic worldly food, and education. From there we ask more specific questions to better understand the event. 

We have contributed to various organizations and causes over the past several years, We are reevaluating them to make sure they fit our values and that our donation process will be beneficial to help us follow those values with those organizations that we support.

After being the interim general manager at the Lodge since January 2019, John Mueller has now decided to focus full time on the Lodge. He has resigned from his professorship position at St. Edward’s University (in Austin, Texas) to be able to devote his full attention on the Lodge. As a result the “interim” tag is removed.

Below are John’s words about the decision to focus full-time on the Lodge at this time:

I want to wish everyone a happy new year, and may 2023 be a prosperous year for all.

2022 was a good year for us at the Lodge, as we continued to build upon what we have done the previous couple of years to be a four-season (year-round) resort at the top of the Keweenaw focused on outdoor activities, rustic worldly food, and education. In 2022, we continued to be tight on staff. However, we adjusted our services accordingly to make sure that we are all still enjoying and appreciating life (which is one of our secondary values), while still offering quality services and products based upon our brand/image.

As we continued this past year to adjust our services based upon the ideal level of team members, my role in the organization has evolved to fill multiple gaps. We had several untimely departures of staff during 2022, with most of them going onto opportunities that offered growth in their career — which is wonderful to see. We had several members join the team in 2022 that provide a joyous attitude, and contribute greatly to the roles and responsibilities at the Lodge. And the core team at the Lodge continues to be a stable ground for the Lodge operation, and provide leadership and results.

Even with the core team at the Lodge, we still have gaps to fill. As such, more and more of my time was being required at the Lodge. Thus, I made the decision to resign my faculty position at St. Edward’s University (Austin) and to focus full time on the Lodge operations in 2023. My last day at the university was yesterday, December 31st.

With me focusing full time on the Lodge operations, I will be working over the next several months with team members on some organizational structure changes. Thus, there will be some changes with operations in terms of roles and responsibilities as we look to how we are going to operate in 2023. For example, the first change is that the “interim” tag on my role has been removed….and now it is just “Chief Lead” [ that is, if we were using titles; however, we focus more on what our roles and responsibilities are as team members, not titles ].

Thank you all for the support this past year, and may 2023 be a fun, joyous, and adventuresome year. We know how to do that, so let’s continue to focus on our core values, our desired brand/image, and being sustainable financially. This will give us the best opportunity to be proud in what we do at the Lodge, and continue to do fun and exciting things at the resort. Being a member of the Lodge team is special and none of us take that for granted. Go Team KML!!!

About the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge: The Lodge is a four-season historic resort at the top of the Keweenaw, focused on outdoor activities, rustic worldly food, and education. The year-round resort consists of log cabins, a lodge, dining services, access to mountain biking, running, and hiking trails, and a 9-hole golf course. The resort has been a fixture in the Keweenaw since breaking ground on the project in 1934 as part of a WPA program, providing guests with the opportunity to enjoy a fun, joyous, and adventuresome experience among the pristine natural beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — with the Lodge being on the National Register of Historic Places. Guests can play a round of golf, ride the mountain biking trails, hike through the woods, and take a leisurely stroll to/from the cabins and the Lodge. At the end of the day, one can relax in the Lodge by enjoying quality food and drink.

Some of you might have noticed that we have not been as active on social media recently. We have made less than 3 posts in each of the last three months (September, October, and November — and this month, December) Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn as opposed to posting each day.

This has been intentional, as we feel that social media is creating a lot of unnecessary noise in people’s lives and we do not want to get in the middle of that noise. We want to be value added for people, not take away from their experiences in life. We strive to get people closer to nature. We do that by providing a quiet place in the wilderness, a dark sky at night, and more. It also means a quiet mind. Social media has gotten to the point where it is very much a distraction and is full of unauthentic messaging — leading to a noisy mind. We want individuals that are paying attention to our activities at the lodge to have a quiet mind, not a noisy mind.

As a reminder, we want to be clear with our message and not use social media as a marketing tool — rather, we use social media as an informational tool to direct people to the website and learn about the KML — where there is less noise and more authentic messaging.

Many social media channels these days are about marketing, which has caused people to become overwhelmed with information. As well, the social media channels are becoming more about saying “look at me” and making people look good (or look bad, which is an indication of poor intentions). We do not want to be associated with that crowd.

The amount of judgement that people are exhibiting on social media these days is immense. We do not want to be associated with judgement either. Judgement can be in the form of likes and dislikes, positive and negative comments. If you review our values, issuing judgment (be it good or bad judgment) does not align with our values. To live by our values, we should not exhibit judgment on anyone or anything. We should just “be”, and just “enjoy”. That leads to a fun.jouyous.adventuresome outcome — for our team, for our guests, for our community, and for our environment.

Thus, I pulled us back in terms of our social media posts over the past several months, and have posted only occasionally rather than each day. I feel that is the best thing for us to do at this point in time to stay true to what we want to be known for (our brand / image), and staying true to our values. This is against the trend of the current day, where many organizations and individuals are falling over themselves to post and post and post via their social media feeds. Thus, this decision is contrary to advice that people will give us, which is just fine — as we do not use people’s judgment to make decisions, but use our team’s values as our guiding light.

Over the next month or two, I will be looking into setting us up an account with a social media management tool (eg. Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, etc) to make it easier on us to manage our messaging on social media. Then we might ease back into an increase in social media activity again. Or choose to stay quieter.

[ follow updates of our social media strategy ]

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

This past spring we held the a 2022 Keweenaw Photo Contest, with the photos selected to be hung in the cabins, printed on wood from Unrefined Art in Niles, Michigan.

We listed the winners in an earlier post, but we did not show the photos. Here are the photos, and where we currently having the photos being printed and will hang them in the cabins once we receive them from Unrefined Art.

• Nathan Frazier: Quincy Dredge No. 2

• Nathan Frazier:  Rainbow Over Bare Bluff [ Cabin 10 ]

• Chris Guibert: Eagle River Falls [ Cabin 1 ]

• Chris Guibert: Lac La Belle [ Cabin 11 ]

• Joe Hall: Milky Way over Eagle Harbor Marina [ Cabin 12 ]

•  Joe Hall: Northern Lights seen from Brockway Mountain [ Cabin 7 & 17 ]

• Jim Hay: Eaglet at Gratiot Lake [ Cabin 3 ]

• Nicholas Jensen: Copper Harbor Lighthouse [ Cabin 17 & 22 ]

• Margret Keats: Ice Wave [ Cabin 24 & 25 ]

• Nathan Miller: Ice Walk at McClain State Park [ Cabin 4 ]

• Frank Mittelstadt: Boreal Owl at Mount Bohemia

• Rob Mohn: Fall Colors from the top of Brockway Mountain [ Cabin 5 & 14 ]

• Chelsea Murawski: US 41 in Mandan [ Cabin 9B & 16 ]

• Bill Parthun: Horseshoe Bay Waves [ Cabin 2 & 19 ]

• Jeremey Rodriguez: Hunter’s Point [ Cabin 15 & 20 ]

• Jeremey Rodriguez: Swedetown [ Cabin 4 & 23 ]

• Jeremy Rowe: Northern Lights at Agate Harbor [ Cabin 6A ]

• Christopher Schmidt: Lightning Storm over Lake Superior [ Cabin 9A ]

• Mark Upton: Pancake Ice at 5 Mile Point [ Cabin 8B & 18 ]

• Cassandra Wagner: Fall at the top of Mount Ripley [ Cabin 6B & 18 ]

Thank you to all the photographers that submitted their photos in the 2022 Keweenaw Photo Contest. It was wonderful reviewing them, and being able to have quality photos from so many. We look forward to hanging this year’s woodprints in the cabins before the end of the year.

We also had a Keweenaw Photo Contest in 2019. You can view those woodprints here.

Woodprints by Unrefined Art

I had preconceived the image Moon Over the Lodge the morning of the day I took the image on Saturday, March 19, 2022. I was talking with a fellow Lodge team member and they were telling me about where the moon rose the night before when it was full on March 18, 2022. I visualized where the moon would be over the Lodge and thought it would be a great photograph. I was going to be guiding a moonlit snowshoe hike that evening and the weather report was stating clear skies. It was all aligning for a good chance at a great shot of the moon over the Lodge.

The snowshoe hike had its challenges because the moon was not going to rise over the hill until about 10:00 pm, while the snowshoe hike started at 8:45 pm. Our group used red light flashlights to navigate the slippery trail in darkness. The reason the red flashlights are recommended when participating in nighttime activities is because red light does not impair night vision as much as other colors of light; so they can be used for short periods of time when needed and participants can then resume the activity without artificial light with minimal impact to their overall vision. The group took its time working its way around the 1.5 mile loop. It was a clear, warm night where the stars shined bright.

The hike finished just as the moon began to rise over the Lodge. I ran to my car and grabbed my professional photography gear. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark IV and I only use Canon “L” lenses and chose the 24-70mm (f2.8) zoom lens. I noticed a large unexpected cloud formation blowing over the Lodge so I rapidly climbed the snow banks and attached my camera to the tripod. All pro photographers use a tripod to capture long night exposures. I actually leave my tripod base-plate on my camera all the time so I can quickly attach my camera to the tripod if need be.

One of the issues I was taking into account was the fact that the Clubhouse is usually very dark, in the last year we have changed all of the outside lighting around the Lodge to be dark sky compliant. The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has been working with the International Dark Sky Association to establish the Keweenaw Dark Sky Wilderness. I knew the Lodge would be “dark” but I had a few tricks up my sleeve to make the Lodge appear well “lit up.” The first was that I was going to take a long exposure that would let what little light was available brighten the whole scene. The second was that the snow on the ground would reflect this light making the Lodge look even more brilliant and “uplight” the big pine. The final trick was the moon itself, I wasn’t sure how much it would brighten the scene but I was curious to find out.

I was watching the clouds quickly moving in and was afraid they would cover the moon soon. I immediately started shooting some images. I use a 2 second timer when shooting on a tripod which gives the camera enough time to stop shaking after I push the button. I chose an ISO of 400 thinking this would give me enough light to get a faster shutter speed and still provide a “non-grainy” image. The first image’s exposure was 20 seconds at f8. I then shot another at 13 seconds at f8. I was a little concerned with these long-of-exposures that the clouds would show some movement and not be sharp. I then opened the aperture up 2.8 which gave me a fast 1.6 second exposure. This seemed to stop the cloud blur. I then took about 5 more shots with different settings.

For me a big part of the process is done in the raw converter of Photoshop. I shoot all my images in the RAW format, which gives me the most leeway in getting details out of the highlights and shadows.

Every RAW conversion is different – for me this is a “visual process” and lets my style as a photographer shine through. For this image I opened up the shadows and turned down the highlights. I shifted the color temperature slightly and added just a few points of saturation. When comparing the photos before and after conversion, you can notice how much brighter the shadows of the clouds are in the latter image. I also slightly increased the exposure.

Image after Raw Conversion:

After the RAW conversion the file opens in Photoshop, I added three layers.

1. A saturation layer where I decreased just the yellow
2. A selective color layer where I shifted the color of the yellow
3. A curves layer where I added contrast.

The final step was adding some texture to the snow banks under the lights where the highlights were blown out (meaning that the highlights were so bright that details were difficult to see). I did this by cloning parts of the other snow bank with the clone tool. The final image is a dynamic moonlit shot of the Clubhouse. The long exposure let the Lodge seem brighter than it really is and the moonlit clouds captured a dynamic, fleeting moment that is now forever documented.

To learn more about night photography please join one of our photo workshops; the next one is on April 2, 2022. Stargazing: Northern Lights Photography Workshop is instructed by Nathan Bett.

Below shows the light fixture changes that have been made around the lodge building to be dark-sky compliant.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

As part of the Keweenaw Alliance Breakfast in September 2021, John Mueller, owner of KML, was one of the panelist talking about the summer 2021 tourism activities in the Keweenaw. He focused on 3 points: staffing, occupancy, and trails. The panel consisted of Brad Barnett (KCVB), Jen Julien (Vault Hotel), Wyndeth Davis (KHNP), Sean Gohman (KHNP), and John.

Slide desk from John’s talk on September 22, 2021

[ view the slide deck from the talk ]

Yesterday, Monday, September 13th, the Eagle Harbor Township Board  met to review and vote on the application from Diamond Towers for a special use permit to build a cell tower. This is the 263ft cell tower that is proposed to be located on US Hwy 41, across from the Lodge.

The Eagle Harbor Township Planning Commission had reviewed and voted to recommend to the board to deny the special use permit. The board adhered to the planning commission’s recommendation.

The Board agreed with the Planning Commission that the following two required standards for approving a special use were not met:

• 10.5.1(A): The Special Land Use shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner harmonious with the character of adjacent property and the surrounding area; and
• 10.5.1(B): The Special Land Use shall not change the essential character of the surrounding area.

As a result, the Board denied the cell tower special use permit application.

It is good to see that we, as a community, are aware of our natural surroundings and understanding the value of the tip of the Keweenaw. That said, now, more than ever, we want to help find a solution to the mobile phone communication situation. If you want to join in, you can stay abreast by going to our projects page, “Improving Mobile Phone Communication“, staying abreast on the activities associated with this project, and even better yet, getting involved as a community member. Fall in love with the problem as a community, so that we can find a better solution.

The Eagle Harbor Township Board will vote again on the special use permit application submitted by Diamond Towers V LLC for the proposed cell tower across from the Lodge and Brockway Mountain Road. This meeting is in-person at the Eagle Harbor Township Hall, with comments accepted in-person, written, and email. 

What: Eagle Harbor Township Board Meeting
When: September 13, 2020 at 7pm
Where: Eagle Harbor Township Hall

[ Zoom link for viewing only: Zoom Meeting Instructions | Zoom Meeting Link (meeting id: 738 312 0244, passcode: 321) — comments to be made in-person ] 

The board will be reviewing the special use permit for the Diamond Communications proposed cell tower. The Eagle Harbor Township Planning Commission and the public have expressed their thoughts on this tower in past meetings, and should continue to speak up at this meeting about this proposed tower. As well, written comments can be submitted prior to the meeting via email to office@eagleharbortwp.org and/or clerk@eagleharbortwp.org. 

Below is an image of what potentially the tower will look like and where it will be located. This is based upon the balloon test that Ramaker and Diamond Communications did in late May. In the picture, you will see the red balloon at the top of the tower.

The Lodge strongly encourages the public to attend and voice their opinions on the proposed tower.  Many members of the public attended a previous Eagle Harbor Township Board meeting on this same permit application that was held on April 12, 2021, and the more recent Eagle Harbor Township Planning Commission meeting on August 10, 2021. 

At the April 12th hearing, the Board voted to send the pending application for the cell tower special use permit back to the Zoning Administrator for further review in order to ensure compliance with the Township’s Zoning Ordinance.  The permit application is now back before the Planning Commission and, if approved by the Planning Commission, will go to the Board.  Public input concerning the tower remains extremely important.  Balloon and drone tests completed since the April Board meeting have confirmed the significant impact on views that the tower will have on the Lodge and Brockway Mountain (photos can be found in the link below).

At the August 10th hearing, the Planning Commission voted to recommend to the board to deny the special use permit. The planning commission reviewed the updated site plan that Diamond Towers submitted, and went through each point required for ensuring the site plan was complete. Commission members agreed that the site plan was complete.

The planning commission then reviewed the special use permit as it relates to meeting all the requirements for a special use permits. The commission members agreed that the special use permit for the cell tower in the proposed location did not meet the necessary requirements for being harmonious with the surroundings. More specifically, they determined that the following two required standards for approving a special use were not met:

• 10.5.1(A): The Special Land Use shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner harmonious with the character of adjacent property and the surrounding area; and
• 10.5.1(B): The Special Land Use shall not change the essential character of the surrounding area.

As a result, the planning commission will recommend to the board of Eagle Harbor Township to deny the special use permit.

If you are unable to attend the September 13th in-person board meeting and would like to submit written comments, those may be sent to: Eagle Harbor Township Zoning Administrator, 321 Center St., Eagle Harbor, MI 49950, and/or to office@eagleharbortwp.org.

Previous blog posts about the proposed cell tower:

• Eagle Harbor Township Planning Commission Recommends Denying Special Use Permit for Proposed Cell Tower (August  17, 2021)
• Proposed Cell Tower: Eagle Harbor Township Planning Commission Meeting, August 10th (August 5, 2021)
• Update on the Proposed Cell Tower: Drone and Balloon Test (May 20, 2021)
• Results of Eagle Harbor Township Board Meeting; Proposed cell tower to be reviewed again by the Planning Committee (April 15, 2021)

And our projects page focused on addressing the problem of cell phone communication:

• Improving Mobile Phone Communication (at the top of the Keweenaw)

It was announced this past month that the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge would become the title sponsor of the Trails Fest event that is organized and run by the Copper Harbor Trails Club. This event begins tonight with registration, and will run through Sunday, September 5th.

• 28th Annual Copper Harbor Trails Fest, presented by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (Sept 3-5, 2021)

At the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, we are excited about being the title sponsor and continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Copper Harbor Trails Club and the mountain biking community. The interest of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and the Copper Harbor Trails Club align because both organizations are looking to foster silent sports in the Keweenaw.

The Copper Harbor Trails Club fosters mountain biking, hiking and trail running at the top of the Keweenaw by designing, building, and maintaining world-class trails (trail system currently ranks 3rd in the USA, 5th in the world). The club started 20+ years ago at the grass roots level, and has blossomed into a professionally managed organization that respectfully works with the community, the land owners, and visitors to create a destination outdoor activity playground for people on wheels and foot.

With new ownership of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in September 2018, the focus of the resort has been creating an environment that promotes an active lifestyle, with mountain biking being one of the primary outdoor activities. Seeing mountain bikers enjoying the outdoors at the top of the Keweenaw is a joy for the resort team. Since the Copper Harbor Trails Fest further provides a platform for mountain bikers to enjoy the Keweenaw wilderness and the world-renowned trails of the Copper Harbor Trails system, it makes sense for the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge to be the title sponsor of the main event that the Copper Harbor Trails Club organizes and operates makes. More specifically, supporting the Trails Fest supports the world-renowned trail system, fosters a healthy lifestyle, and increases the knowledge and skills of mountain bikers (through education). 

Fostering World-renowned Trails

By supporting the Trail Fest, we are also supporting what the trails club does in terms of maintaining and building trails that are recognized around the world.  The trail system is known in the midwest, the country (ranked 3rd), and internationally (ranked 5th). 

Fostering a Healthy Lifestyle

By supporting the Trails Fest, we are helping foster a healthy lifestyle for people. Mountain biking and trail running both require individuals to be in a good health. Events like Trails Fest encourage people to stay in shape and get outside.

Educational Focus

We have an educational focus at the Lodge with our outdoor activities. When we do our organized bike rides, we are continually providing biking instructions and pointing out information that is interesting on the rides. As well, we do the same with our Morning Miles organized hikes, where we provide information about the plant species and the animals in the area. Starting in 2022, look to see various coaching and skills workshops during Trails Fest.

Long-term Agreement

The agreement is a 4-year agreement starting this year (2021), with the option to extend further into the future. This is long-term opportunity is important in creating a strong relationship, and allows for a vision of mountain biking to continue to flourish in the Keweenaw. Such relationships allow fostering of outdoor activities such as mountain biking.

We are excited about being the title sponsorship and continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Copper Harbor Trails Club and the mountain biking community in Copper Harbor, in the Keweenaw, in the United States, and around the world.