Saturday, October 15th was the last day of the 2023 golf season, our standard day for ending a golf season each year. We started the golf season on June 1st and ended October 15th as planned.

We had another wonderful golf season, with outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the fun.joyous.adventuresome atmosphere of a resort course in the wilderness — along with further education of how the golf course now plays a role in the Lodge’s dark sky activities. Individuals can play the historic golf course during the day, taking in the nature in the wilderness. And in the evening be able to stargazing. The new design of the scorecard highlights this.

The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) and golf course maintenance crews did an excellent job providing a unique experience for people playing this historic course throughout the season.

We continue to focus on being a resort-oriented golf course, focused on lodging guests as a priority, while also allowing the general public to play the course. In 2023 we continued to refine our uniqueness, with this year understanding better how to be a historic wilderness golf course which gets people closer to nature while playing golf. This entailed encouraging walking the course, testing a new flag stick (wooden), testing various mowing strategies, and testing new organic fertilizers and fungicide for snow mold and dollar spots.

Outdoor Activity Center (OAC)

As a reminder, we do not have a pro shop, but rather an outdoor activity center since we offer multiple outdoor activities at the resort — not just golf (e.g., biking and hiking). The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) was staffed every day of the season, utilizing the historic cabin structure next to hole 1 tee box during the golf season — a transition made in 2020.  

The golf course opened on June 1st, with the OAC operating 9am – 5pm for the entire season. Tee times were also from 9am to 5pm. This was the same as the previous season. However, we did add an additional guideline in 2023, where golfers had to be off the golf course by 7pm. This is so guests can walk the golf course during the evening daylight hours, and scout for where they will stargaze when darkness falls — playing golf during the day and stargazing at night. 

The OAC staff catered to our qualities in being a historic wilderness resort that focuses on providing an outdoor experience. We have incorporated being fun, joyous, and adventuresome by introducing alternative forms of golf to the Keweenaw (e.g. FlingGolf and Disc Golf).

New Score Card Design

In 2023, we redesigned the scorecard. In the new design, we used more recent pictures of the golf course and integrate pictures and information about how the golf course is also part of the dark sky park.

In addition, we changed the par of hole 4 from a par 5 to a par 4. The hole is less than 400 yards, and most par 5s are 500+ yards.

Tee Time Intervals and a Limit to Daily Rounds

In 2022 we went from 10-minute tee-time intervals to 15-minute tee-time intervals. This year, as we limited the daily rounds to 44 rounds a day to ensure that golfers felt they were in the wilderness, we decided to move to 20-minute tee-time intervals.

This is different than other golf courses. Golf courses in urban areas work off of 7-8-minute tee-time intervals. So 20-minute tee-time intervals and a limit of 44 rounds a day is something counter to most golf courses. We feel the tee-time intervals and the limit of 44 rounds is necessary to ensure guests understand and feel the wilderness aspect of the historic wilderness golf course at the Lodge. This also means that individuals are not rushed, and have no anxiety when playing the course — ensuring a fun.joyous.adventuresome experience.

Fling Golf

This season we continued to offer guests the opportunity to play FlingGolf – think golf, but using a Lacrosse stick to throw the ball instead of hitting it with a club.  We had an array of FlingSticks available for rent at the OAC. Not only was FlingGolf fun and family friendly, it allowed for a unique alternative to golf, broadening our options to guests. We received regular, positive feedback from guests as well as staff on how much fun FlingGolf is at the Lodge. 

Electric Golf Carts – Quiet

The E-Z-GO RXV ELiTE carts continue to be a strong addition to the quietness at the resort, and providing golfers a new experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. These carts are powered with Samsung SDI Lithium Technology batteries, providing golfers excellent mobility without sacrificing the wilderness golfing experience. Each EZ-GO ELiTE was also equipped with GPS technology which allowed us to prevent the carts from driving on greens, tee boxes, or through the rough, which helped us maintain the condition of those sensitive areas, as well as the carts themselves. [read more about our fleet, here]

But we encouraged walking first this season.

Tempo Walks

Last season, we brought in a new technology to focus on how the sport was started – walking a round of golf. However, this year we had technical difficulties with the Tempo Walks (Club Car’s robotic caddie), and they did not go out on the golf course (we are working with Club Car on getting this back on the golf course in 2023 so that golfers can enjoy the Lodge golf course while walking the wilderness of the Keweenaw. [ read more about our Tempo Walks, here ] — last year we didn’t have the tempo walks working. And this year we did. We led with walking, and had more walkers than in any of the previous 4 years. Walking activity continues to increase.

Using the CaddyTek EZ-Fold Pushcarts.

Rental Golf Clubs

And our Callaway club rentals continued to be a solid addition to providing golfers the ability to play quality clubs. And a good relationship with Callaway.

In 2024 we are looking to add to our rental clubs along the theme of our historical nature. We are looking having a set or two of hickory sticks available for rent.

Two Tee Markers

We moved away from a four-tee system to a two-tee system: Iron and Copper. This makes the course simpler and more straight forward for golfers and for the maintenance crew.

Flags

We moved away from color-coated flags (blue, white, and red) to a rustic & wilderness oriented flag embroidered with the main KML logo — which is representative of the brand and image of the Lodge. [ These flags are made by Prestige Flags ]

Wooden Flagsticks

We tested out the wooden flag sticks on holes 1 (5-foot) and 9 (7 foot) greens. And then bought all of them. In 2024, we will have all wooden flag sticks, 5-feet high on the greens. 5-foot flagsticks is what the golf course had when it originally opened (history). [ These flagsticks are made by Cheesebrough ]

Golf Course Maintenance

Our golf course maintenance crew did an exceptional job this season keeping the course in great shape, especially since we had staff members leave before and during the season, and we had a limited amount of rain during most of our playing season (approximately 3 inches of rain from June 1st fo September 15th). The core crew worked exceptionally hard to irrigate and mow the turf keep the turf in good shape.

Long-time golf course superintendent, Bill Alband, retired at the end of the 2021 season. However, he was willing to help out in 2022 on a part-time basis this season (marking his 27th year working at the Lodge). This was very important for the golf course maintenance crew as the person that was hired to fill Bill’s shoes left before the golf course opened for the season. This meant that Bill spent the summer teaching John Mueller the ins-and-outs of nuances for maintaining the Lodge course (i.e. co-superintendents). Long-time Lodge team member, Ron Koski, sadly passed away in April. He loved being out on the golf course and working the mowers — fairways and rough mowing. This season, Mason Codre returned for a 2nd year and helped to fill the void of Catman’s passing. He stepped up to handle more of the prep work in May, and focused on tees and rough mowing. Naya Mueller stepped into a new role a the Lodge and mowed the fairways. Mowing fairways became an evening job, as we were able to do that once the golf course were finished playing for the evening by 7pm.

Snow Mold

Snow mold was prevalent in May, with the interesting weather we had over winter — where experienced rain at least once a month, which traps moisture under the snow. With a week of 60 degree weather in mid-April, snow mold took hold. When all the snow had melted after a late snow fall May 1st, we saw 30-40% of each green scarred with snow mold. We let nature do it’s job, and the last day of May saw 90 degree weather to encourage growth. Even with a good healthy growth on the green the last 10 days of May, we still saw a scarring on the greens when we opened June 1st. It took another 3-4 weeks before we saw the greens back to the quality putting surface that we wanted to see for the season.

Bruce Williams visit in May to inspect the course. This was his 2nd year to visit and provide advice on how to improve the playing surface on the Lodge course.

Craig Moore, from Marquette Golf Club, also helped out this season. He provided advice on fungicide applications, and helped apply several applications of a test fungicide in the fall (October and November).

During the summer / fall, we did several sprays with fungicides (for snow mold, dollar spots, and moss). We also did several granular applications of fungicides and insecticides (for cut worms).

We strive to have the greens in excellent shape, good tee boxes, and decent fairways. We were able to accomplish that with the golf course maintenance crew. Especially, with the snow mold experience when the snow melted in April / May.

Aerating and Topdressing the Greens

The team was able to aerate the greens in one day. We closed the course on Sunday, September 17th, and we aerated all 10 greens. We then spent the following week top dressing the greens to fill in the aerated holes with sand. The aerating of the greens in September is to improve the probability the greens will be good next season (in 2024).

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Resources

We improved our resources for golf course maintenance in 2023. We purchased a Foley reel grinder and a Foley bedknife grinder to be able to keep our mowing units in better shape. Having mowing units that are sharp helps keep the grass healthy when cutting blades of grass. As well, we purchased a Bobcat mini-excavator to do special projects around the Lodge, including on the golf course.

Now that the season has come to a close, the grounds crew is preparing for the upcoming winter in order to prevent snow mold and other casualties that could possibly harm the course in the future.

Island in the Pond on Hole 6 Removed

Started to temoved the island on hole 6 in November – no snow in November — Martin, and John. [ Updated 2023-12-24: Chris and John finished removing the island ] 

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Wildlife and Nature on the Golf Course

An aspect of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s golf course that is regularly commented on by guests is the likelihood of seeing wildlife on and around the course. Whether it be crows sounding a “wake-up alarm” around the cabins, painted lady butterflies feeding on nectar from the viburnum planted in front of the lodge, deer eating apples from the apple tree along the Hole 4 fairway, or the occasional black bear that strolls through our campus, one-on-one encounters with wildlife really emphasize for people the surrounding wilderness landscape and connect them personally with our environment. These are just a couple of the many examples of wildlife encounters around and on the golf course this past season. 

A pair of Sandhill Cranes nested on the course again this year. Their nest was not successful; however, they remained on the course throughout the season until they migrated south.

We recognize the value of maintaining healthy ecosystems and getting the chance to encounter wildlife in such ways. To help protect our environment while preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf (ASCP-Golf). ASCP-Golf is an education and certification program developed by Audubon International to help enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. The ASCP-Golf program takes stock of and then develops a plan for improvement around six key environmental components:

• Environmental Planning
• Wildlife and Habitat Management
• Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
• Water Conservation
• Water Quality Management
• Outreach and Education

Much of our effort to gain this certification will occur without much notice by guests. However, when you visit us over the next several years there are some aspects you might see. For instance, an effort to convert some of the areas of rough to help local pollinators and aid in Monarch butterfly migration by planting native wildflowers and grasses and bee population.

If you see work being done on the course and are not sure what it is, please ask. We are very excited to talk about the future of the ASCP-Golf at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

[ Learn more about the application ]

[ Read the 2022 Golf Season Recap ]

Looking Forward: The 2024 Season

Looking forward to the next season, here are several items we will be focusing on in 2023:

• Continue to promote exercise / walking, by carrying one’s bag, using a pull cart, or using a Tempo Walk 
• Continue to improve the historic nature of the golf course
• Continue to improve the wilderness nature of the golf course
• Increase the awareness of the wildlife and nature associated with the golf course
• Moving through the process of becoming a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course
• Wooden flag sicks (5-feet)
• New tee markers, made by our team

Until June 1st, 2024, the golf course is now closed and has been put to sleep for the winter.

[ a historic wilderness golf course ]

— not a golf course in the wilderness —

UPDATE December 24, 2024

With no snow on Christmas Eve Day, Chris and John finished up removing the island in the pond on hole 6.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

We held our annual light management workshop for the 3rd year in a row. This time we incorporated the workshop into a seminar with Visit Keweenaw as part of their Sustainable Tourism Seminar Series. This seminar, held November 10th in a lunch-n-learn format, was the kickoff session for seminar series.

In 2022 and 2021 the light management workshops that we held were at the Lodge. This year, with the partnership with Visit Keweenaw, the event was held in Hancock at the Keweenaw Community Foundation office (236 Quincy St). There were 13 attendees, including the guests, speakers, and organizers.

By being incorporated in the Sustainable Tourism series we expanded the topic of the seminar. In addition to including info about becoming a designated dark sky park (Keweenaw Dark Sky Park) and light management, we had a worldly-focused guest that talked about light pollution and how that affects stargazing, our everyday health, and the health of wildlife and ecology.

Brad Barnett kicked off the seminar by showing a video about the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park and then introducing John Barentine and John Mueller (me). John Barentine joined virtually via Zoom from Tucson, Arizona, where Dark Sky International (fka, International Dark Association) is located. [ Dark Sky International is the governing body of the international dark sky park program and designation. ]

John Barentine is the founder of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC. He is an Arizona native and comes from the “dark side” of science — professional astronomy. He grew up in Phoenix and was involved in amateur astronomy there from grade school. He obtained a master’s degree in physics at Colorado State University and a master’s and Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout his career, he has been involved in education and outreach efforts to help increase the public understanding of science.

His presentation focused on conserving the wilderness of the night sky. He provided data to showing that light pollution has increased throughout the world, and how special the Keweenaw is in terms of low light pollution. He discussed several examples of how other areas are addressing light pollution, and what the science is behind better lighting. More specifically his talk was organized around:

• Why the wilderness of the night sky is important
• What is light pollution
• What are the effects of light pollution
• What is the solution

Interesting points he made:

• Studies show that street lights do not offer more benefit in visibility to the driver when traveling less than 35 mph. The vehicle’s headlights is sufficient.

Below is a link to the slide deck he used during his presentation.

[ Download John Barentine’s Presentation Slide Deck ]

The Keweenaw is home to some of the darkest skies in the Midwest. This provides visitors and residents access to incredible stargazing opportunities and even the chance to experience the Northern Lights. During the seminar  a discussion on ways to foster the Keweenaw’s dark skies and the science behind light pollution prevention. We touched on actions we have been taking to establish the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park in Copper Harbor and why fostering dark skies are important to the region.  

John Mueller from the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge & Keweenaw Dark Sky Park filled in gaps from John Barentine’s talk and connected John B’s talk with the Keweenaw by providing examples of what the Lodge has been doing the past 2-3 years in terms of minimizing light pollution.

The connection between John B. and John M. is that John B. was the initial Program Manager for the Lodge when the Lodge was going through the International Dark Sky Places nomination. At the time, John B.  was the Director of Public Policy and Director of Conservation for the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in Tucson, Arizona.

[ Download John Mueller’s Presentation Slide Deck ]

Below are pictures from the event.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

The November 11, 2023 Aurora Photography Workshop was the third photo workshop of the fall at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and the eleventh workshop of 2023. Throughout the year we offer night sky photo workshops every month as part of our educational initiatives at the Keweenaw Mountain in association with being the headquarters of the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park.

It was a calm fall day and a peaceful evening at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. When reviewing data from our weather station after the workshop, the temperature only fluctuated 4 degrees in a 24 hour period. One of the good things ( or bad things, depending whom you ask) about being on the Keweenaw Peninsula is that the weather can change quickly. The old statement, ”If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour” resonates with the Keweenaw residents (but is said by many around the country – Keweenaw residents fully grasp that we are surrounded by Mother Superior on 3 of our sides).

Five guests attended the workshop, all of which were staying at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. We have noticed over the past year that guests are booking their stay to attend the workshop and take advantage of the Lights Out! The Lights Out event at the Lodge is a three-to-seven day event where the Lodge turns off all the street lights and other lights to increase one’s stargazing experience.

Nate Bett was the instructor for the class. Nate has a diverse background in photography including attaining an MFA from Parsons The New School For Design in 2012, working for Canon cameras at trade shows and teaching photo classes at NMU.

The Night Sky Photo Workshops are broken into two segments: an inside presentation and an outside, hands-on portion. This night’s class started at 7:00pm and Nate launched into a digital slideshow covering topics like: preparations for a night sky photo shoot, Aurora basics, camera settings, and picking good locations.

The weather stayed mostly agreeable for the outside portion of the class. Nate gathered the group and they headed to Hole 5 of the golf course. Nate did a demonstration with his camera and helped a participant to focus her camera.

The clouds started to move in quickly and some light was reflecting off of them from the town of Copper Harbor. I frantically set up my camera to show the group my process. I was able to take this image of Jupiter framed between the trees before the clouds rolled in and the class ended.

Our next photo workshop will be held during the new moon in December, on December 9th:

• Stargazing: Northern Lights Photography Workshop, December 9, 2023 
  

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  John Mueller

  founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

The October 15, 2023 Aurora Photography Workshop was the second photo workshop of the fall at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and the tenth workshop of 2023. Throughout the year we offer night sky photo workshops every month as part of our educational initiatives at the Keweenaw Mountain in association with being the headquarters of the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park.

It was a calm fall day and a peaceful evening at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. When reviewing data from our weather station after the workshop, the temperature only fluctuated 4 degrees in a 24 hour period. One of the good things ( or bad things, depending whom you ask) about being on the Keweenaw Peninsula is that the weather can change quickly. The old statement, ”If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour” resonates with the Keweenaw residents (but is said by many around the country – Keweenaw residents fully grasp that we are surrounded by Mother Superior on 3 of our sides).

Four guests attended the workshop, all of which were staying at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. We have noticed over the past year that guests are booking their stay to attend the workshop and take advantage of the Lights Out! The Lights Out event at the Lodge is a three-to-seven day event where the Lodge turns off all the street lights and other lights to increase one’s stargazing experience.

Nate Bett was the instructor for the class. Nate has a diverse background in photography including attaining an MFA from Parsons The New School For Design in 2012, working for Canon cameras at trade shows and teaching photo classes at NMU.

The Night Sky Photo Workshops are broken into two segments: an inside presentation and an outside, hands-on portion. This night’s class started at 7:00pm and Nate launched into a digital slideshow covering topics like: preparations for a night sky photo shoot, Aurora basics, camera settings, and picking good locations.

The weather stayed mostly agreeable for the outside portion of the class. Nate gathered the group and they headed to Hole 5 of the golf course. Nate did a demonstration with his camera and helped a participant to focus her camera.

The clouds started to move in quickly and some light was reflecting off of them from the town of Copper Harbor. I frantically set up my camera to show the group my process. I was able to take this image of Jupiter framed between the trees before the clouds rolled in and the class ended.

Our next photo workshop will be held during the new moon in November, on November 11th:

• Stargazing: Northern Lights Photography Workshop, November 11, 2023 
  

  ---

  

  John Mueller

  founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

September 30th, 2023 proved to be an excellent day for the 2023 Fall Color Photo Workshop. The weather was perfect; the temperature was in the high 60s with very little wind. This year we did not have any participants but I still led the workshop to dial in the itinerary, timeline, and pacing. Plus, it was an excellent day to capture some images of the fall foliage that the Keweenaw is known for. This was the second time the Lodge offered the workshop, with the first time being the weekend of October 8-10, in 2021.

At age 30 I went back to school at Colorado Mountain College for their Professional Photography program. One of the required classes was called Creativity and Visual Thinking. It was in that class that I was introduced to the elements of composition. Learning these tools expanded my visual palette and made me a better photographer. I have created this workshop to focus on these fundamentals.

In the past I have conducted a similar class for the City of Sandpoint Adult Learning Program. I dug up my notes from the past workshops and put together visual examples to help people connect to the material. I spent an hour in the morning reviewing the material and then headed out to the first location, the Delaware Mine.

The Delaware Mine is about 10 miles from the Lodge and is located along the Keweenaw Ridge. It is a private business and one of the many Keweenaw Heritage Sites which are official partners of Keweenaw National Historical Park. I entered the gift shop to pay the fee to be on the grounds. To be on the property you must watch a short introductory video which covers the history of the mine and some safety concerns. This helped me get in the mindset of the site and I was eager to grab the camera gear out of the car. I began taking photos of the old deteriorating mine buildings that are slowly blending into the natural landscape.

I moved my camera around looking for new angles, trying to think outside the box. I found a patch of fall leaves and work on a composition that had depth and color.

I spent about 45 minutes taking photos around the surface of the mine. I decided not to descend into the mine , and stay focused above ground on the fall colors.

I hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes to the next stop on the tour, Wyoming Road. I have photographed this location many times over the last 10 years that I have called the Keweenaw home. It is a visually stunning display of color; a quiet dirt road lined with aspen and maple trees.

I was in luck. The morning had remained overcast which softened the light and made the colors more vibrant. Max Foster, a fine art photographer from Minnesota, and I agree that “Overcast days are great for shooting fall colors.” I spent 20 minutes at Wyoming Road and then drove down the ridge to Haven Falls, a small roadside park near Lac La Belle. The falls @ Haven Falls in the fall season can range from just a trickle to a raging stream. This time it was just a trickle. I spent 20 minutes waiting for people to come and go before I could shoot the composition that looked right to me. I was able to compose a few images that I was happy with.

Just down the road was another roadside park, which is next to the mouth of the Little Gratiot River: Jackson Park. Jackson Park is not on most people’s radar, however, the park is an excellent place to launch a kayak or sit next to the slowly moving river.

I set the camera up on the riverbank and was able to photo some interesting reflections of the surrounding woods. There was not as much color as I was hoping for, however, the park still was an interesting place to photo.

One of the reasons I chose September 30 for the Fall Color Photo Workshop was that there was a cider pressing event at the historic Central Mine townsite. Cider pressing has become a tradition every fall in the Keweenaw and I had yet to make it to the festivities. I stopped by my house and picked up Amy, who is both my wife and OAC team member, and we headed up the hill to the Central Mine. I was also thinking this might be a fun and interesting event to add into the mix for the photo workshop – a chance for participants to photo people and drink some fresh cider that they could make themselves. The volunteers were friendly and the fresh cider was sweet and slightly tart.

After the cider pressing we explored the town of Central and discovered the old blasting shack. The dark, black rocks of the ruins created an interesting contrast against the colorful backdrop. A final stop at the infamous Central Church proved challenging. I have photographed this icon many times, however, I found it difficult to incorporate the fall colors into the image. I moved around the church, exploring it visually, trying to create an interesting composition. I found some red oak leaves across the street and laid on the ground until I came up with a satisfying photo.

We had one final stop on the itinerary for the day, the little visited Monk Trails at the top of Jacob’s Creek. The sun was starting to break through the clouds and the nice soft light was becoming harsh. We quickly headed to the pond for a few quick shots. This property offers a lot for photographers to explore; canyons, ruins, ponds and trails are around every turn. I’ve been here many times and seem to discover new areas on every trip.

After an hour of exploring we called it quits. The light was too harsh for photographs and I felt satisfied with everything I had seen and done.

After some reflection I have narrowed down what we will like to offer for the 2024 Fall Color Photo Workshop. It will be a one day workshop that is offered on four different days during the peak of fall colors. This will allow multiple opportunities for guests to participate and also have some options if the weather is unagreeable. We like to say the fall weather on the Keweenaw is unpredictable, but as Ansel Adam’s said, “Bad weather makes good photography.” Feel free to reach out to me anytime during the year if you are interested in joining the 2024 Fall Color Photo Workshops. I can be reached at chris@keweenawresort.com or (906) 289-4403 ext 4.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

Last Friday, September 22nd, the golf course maintenance crew finished up the aerating and top dressing the greens on the golf course.  On Sunday, September 17th, we closed the course and aerated all the greens. Then throughout the following week we top dressed the greens, finishing up no Friday, September 22nd. 

Doing the aerating at this time of year is now our regular schedule, with this being the 5th year in keeping with this schedule.

Yes, at the top of the Keweenaw, we still have good weather to play golf. So some golfers question why we are aerating the greens at this time. We would like to continue to have a quality putting surface to play on.

The reason for performing the aerating is because of the good weather. We should not aerate when there is poor weather (e.g. rain, snow, etc.). We need to take advantage of this weather when we can. Prior to 2019, aerating was pushed back as far into the fall season as possible. As a result, aerating would not take place every year because the weather would turn wet before being able to aerate.

[ USGA: Why do golf courses aerate putting greens ]

If we are to continue to have quality greens on the Lodge golf course we need to improve the probability the golf course maintenance crew we can do a quality job. Aerating in mid-September is part of that strategy. This strategy also means greens will be ready earlier in June (rather than in mid-July if not later). [ see the aerating / top dressing schedule for next season, 2024 ]

If you are still wanting to play this week, the golf course will be open during the aerating and top dressing process. Golfers will need to play around the green which the crew is working on, and then come back and play that hole or play another hole to ensure you get your full 9- or 18-hole round completed.

The green fees are still the regular green fees as they stay the same throughout the season (June 1st to October 15th). You can find them online here.

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The September 17, 2023 Aurora Photography Workshop was the first photo workshop of the fall at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and the ninth workshop of 2023. Throughout the year we offer night sky photo workshops every month as part of our educational initiatives at the Keweenaw Mountain in association with being the headquarters of the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park.

During the spring and fall we change the theme of the night sky photo workshops to focus on capturing the auroras, commonly known as the Northern Lights. This time of year is loosely called the aurora season.

Twenty (20) people signed up for the class – which is the limit for the workshop. So we turned people away that wanted to attend after we hit the 20-person mark. That said, only 11 people attended.

Nate Bett was the instructor for the class. Every time I listen to Nate teach, I hear his passion for photography in every word that comes out of his mouth. He is one of those teachers that loves sharing his extensive knowledge.

The Night Sky photo workshops are broken into two segments: an inside presentation and an outside, hands-on portion. This night’s class started at 8:00pm and Nate launched into a digital slideshow covering topics like: preparations for a night sky photo shoot, Aurora basics, camera settings, and picking good locations.

Throughout the class, coffee and water are provided, and usually a special treat is created by Chef Wi. For this class, she made zucchini muffins with white chocolate chips, orange zest and currants from South Africa. These delicious muffins were right out of her personal recipe book that follows our Rustic Worldly Food dining concept.

As the class worked through the digital presentation I kept looking outside to check the weather. The clouds were not going to break and it was going to remain overcast. I informed the class we would not be able to do the hands-on, outside portion of the workshop. Nate offered to stick around and work with people on any camera questions they might have. The guests were excited to get some one on one time with Nate and his expertise.

During the class I did receive an update from the Michigan Aurora Chasers Facebook group stating that a major solar G2 storm was going to hit the next night. I shared this information with the class and a wave of excitement filled the room. After the class I went right to bed to be rested for the potential showing of the next night’s aurora. And what a show it was…

Our next photo workshop will be held during the new moon in October, on October 15th:

• Stargazing: Northern Lights Photography Workshop, October 15, 2023

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

The August 18th Night Sky Workshop was the third photo workshop this summer at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and the eighth workshop of 2023. We offer night sky photo workshops every month of the year as part of our educational initiatives for the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park. 

Tom Oliver, a former KML team member, now working in outreach for Michigan Tech, instructed the class of eleven appreciative learners from across the Midwest. Tom has a very engaging and enthusiastic teaching style and knowledge of the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park that makes him a great fit for instructing these workshops. These classes are broken into two segments: an inside presentation and an outside, hands-on portion. 

The class started at 8:30pm and Tom launched into a digital slideshow covering topics like: preparations for a night sky photo shoot, astronomy basics, camera settings, and picking good locations.

Even though I have been a professional photographer for over twenty years, I always try to be fearless and persistent in learning on a daily basis, which is one of the core values of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. For this workshop I wanted to try to get a good picture of the night sky with my iPhone Pro Max 13. Many guests come to the workshop with just their phones and I wanted to expand my skill-set of using a phone for night sky photography. The OAC recently purchased a Kobra Tech tripod mount to hold smartphones for photography. I have been wanting to test this mount out so I thought the outside portion of the workshop would be the perfect time to test the mount.

As Tom was finishing up the main presentation I ran outside to check the weather. It was 10:10 pm and there was still some twilight blue sky to the west and north. 

I suggested to Tom that we hold off for about 20 minutes for total darkness before bringing the group outside. “Does anyone want to see my presentation on the Northern Lights?” Tom asked. The group, eager for knowledge, enthusiastically said “Yes!”. We finished up inside around 10:30pm and headed outside. It was dark with just a little smoke in the air from the Canadian forest fires. The core of the Milky Way was already looming over the southern horizon. Tom and the group headed over to the fairway of Hole 5 of the golf course to work on capturing images of our home galaxy. 

I decided to head to the front of the Lodge to do the test of the Kobra Tech phone holder. I set the phone to capture a 30 second exposure in a raw digital format file. This type of file would give me the best post-processing capabilities in Photoshop later.  I then shot it with my Canon 5D Mark IV with a 2.8 L 16-35 III lens attached. I used these settings: lens set to 16mm focused on infinity –  ISO 3200 – 15 seconds at 2.8. 

As you can see the Canon camera had a superior image quality. Since this is just my first test with the iPone on a tripod I still need to do some more experimenting. Afterwards I did some web searching and found this article stating that “Night Mode‌ isn’t available when the 48-megapixel setting is on”. This made me rethink what I did and what I need to do next time.

I circled back to Hole 5 to meet with Tom and the rest of the group. Tom was working with a couple from downstate on their first night sky photos they have ever taken. They were ecstatic with their results. The wife had given this trip to her husband as a birthday surprise since he was interested in learning astrophotography. It was dark and I could not see their faces, however, I could feel the smiles on their faces. They were done for the night; happy with their results. Tom walked over to another individual to give some pointers while I walked back with the couple towards their cabin. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for offering these classes,” the wife exclaimed! “You are welcome!” I joyfully responded, “This is what we love to do.”

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

On Saturday evening – Sunday morning of August 12th and 13th, we hosted a stargazing party as part of our activities associated with being the headquarters of the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park. This stargazing party coincided with the Perseid Meteor shower, and the guests were rewarded with clear skies, falling meteors, and crystal clear views of the Milky Way.

The Perseid Meteor shower happens every year when the earth passes through the debris field left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This comet is on a 133 year orbit around our Solar System and was last seen in 1992. The trail of debris varies in density and is most dense with meteoroids near the middle. When the earth passes through the densest part of the debris field that is when the peak of a meteor shower will occur. This year the peak fell on the night of August 12th into the early morning hours of August 13th. 

When the Outdoor Activities Center (OAC) team realized this was only a few days away from the new moon, we knew this would be a great year to view the peak of the meteor shower because there would be little moonlight washing out the night sky. We decided to hold the viewing party on Hole 4 fairway of the golf course, which is one of the darkest open areas in the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park. Also for this event we extended the Lights Out program where we turn off all the street lights and other lights around the property.

A Dark Sky Walking Path, that is in its infancy and still being fully developed, was used to guide patrons to the viewing party area on hole 4 [ We are in the process of having signs made so we marked the trail with orange flags and some rechargeable lights that we set on the ground ]. OAC team member Amy O greeted people in front of the Outdoor Activity Center and pointed them in the direction of the viewing party. We work to create intimate activities at the Lodge and the Dark Sky Park, and this event followed those guidelines in order for people to get closer to nature. Having guests walk a quarter mile to the viewing area got people away from headlights of cars pulling up and the lights guests have on in their cabins.

OAC team member Max Collings and I set up 12 chairs in the center of the fairway for guests to relax and take in the view. We patiently awaited their arrival. Around 10:45 people started heading out and we greeted them with a warm smile. Many people brought blankets and jackets because the temperature dipped into the low 50’s, let’s just say the air was “brisk”. About 20 people wandered out in small groups and settled in. At 11:00pm the sky was cloudy with only a few stars peaking out on the low horizon; we could see clear skies in the far distance. People chatted quietly within their groups while others just sat back and waited. Around midnight the clouds blew out and the starry sky appeared. The core of the Milky Way loomed over the Southern tree-lined horizon. 

“OOOOHHHH” was exclaimed from the group as the first meteor zoomed overhead. “Wow – that was a long one” I heard from behind me, spinning around but missing that particular meteor. The meteors come predominantly from the north but they were visible across the whole sky. Tom Oliver, one of our instructors of our Night Sky Photo Workshops was taking pictures. He captured this shot of the meteor shower over the Lodge as he was walking out to meet the group. 

Steve Hirsch, a photographer from Ohio, set up his camera gear and was able to get this image out on Hole 4.

The group sat back and watched the dark sky light up for the next few hours. Most people were quiet with an occasional “oooh” or “ahhh”.  I must have seen somewhere between 50 and 100 meteors from midnight to 2:00am. I do not think anyone was counting, most people were just enjoying being present and not quantifying the experience. Some people left before the 2:00 am ending but some others stayed even later to take in the night sky. The Perseid Meteor shower did not disappoint and those that persevered were gifted a clear viewing night. 

This event will be something that will be permanently implanted into my memory bank and remembered as a joyous gift from the heavens above.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship