I’m impressed, 33% of Yooper Steez readers say they have done a polar bear plunge.  I would love to hear some stories. So if you’ve taken the polar plunge please leave a comment sharing your experience.  Did you lose a bet?  Did you go into shock?  Would you do it again?  Do you do it every year?  Was it a fundraiser for a great cause?

And if you plan on doing one next winter, be sure to make sure there’s a hole in the ice first…

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I left it off the graph, but there were two people who said they have never swam in any of the Great Lakes. If you know anyone who never has, you need to make sure that they swim in one of the Great Lakes this summer!

Which of the Great Lakes have you swam in?

Now that we know how many of the Great Lakes people have swam in, I would love to know which ones you have and haven’t swam in. Which ones are your favorite for swimming? Where are your favorite places to go swimming along the Great Lakes?

Have a great time swimming in the Great Lakes this summer!

According to our poll result 62% of people prefer eating their pasty with ketchup. Personally I think this has been one of my favorite poll questions on Yooper Steez. If you’re new to our poll questions you can check out the poll archive.

As for myself, I prefer naked pasties, no condiments for me. I have nothing against ketchup or gravy, but my usual take is that condiments are one more step between deliciousness and my mouth. However, one person suggested sour cream, and I thought that does actually sound pretty good.

Speaking of the sour cream, for those of you who are in the 4% other category, please leave a comment and let us know what exactly it is you prefer on your pasty.

Our latest poll is always found here.

Two weeks ago I woke a blog entry expressing feeling about Northern Michigan University closing their campus for not just one, but two days.

It was about -14 degrees with the windchill those two winter days. Since that chilly week it has warmed up across the Upper Peninsula in the last two weeks.

The topic seemed to have hit a chord with a number of people. Feel free to read all the comments or post one yourself.

Immediately it inspired me to ask a new poll question, here are the results…

Considering that the windchill was -14 degrees that day and according to our poll results only 10% of people agree that the university should have shut down campus. The other 90% believe it should be at least -20 degrees below zero before shutting down.

The previous blog entry stirred some interesting points from readers.

Wimps. Tech would definitely still be in business. Typical though.

-Babs

I totally agree. Why should college campus close for days ls like that. I am from the Sault and experienced colder weather like that even when i was little. I am now at Central Michigan University and our weather was just as cold with the wind chill. We still had classes. I just went out in layers. Its not even the layers, Just making sure your skin has at least 1 layer like a hat or scarf or hoody. I agree the elementry should close. Most little kids just throw a jacket and gloves on and go out. Most of the time they will not come in early enough prior to early stages of frost bite.

-Nate

“Just goes to show what kind of people they have at NMU.”

Please don’t judge the whole university by the decisions of a few people. I wanted classes that day, and I was greatly disappointed that they were willing to waste my money and time.

-T

I was at MTU for three years, and in that time we never had an “inclement” weather day, or any other cancelation. I remember (maybe in winter 04 or 05) they canceled Broomball for a couple nights becasue the windchill was approaching negative 30…and we were bummed. Never canceled classes.

-Winterberry

So, at Michigan Tech the University is only closed when the wind chill gets to -40 or lower. Yeah. So when all the NMU students were warm in their beds when it was -14, I was trudging through the arctic that is the college campus of MTU wearing my thermal gloves, long underware, my uggs, my ridiculous looking winter chook, and my winter jacket. And guess what? I’m still alive. Imagine….

-Heather T

Never!

Now a whopping 33% said that Upper Peninsula universities should never close no matter what the windchill is. I think if the temperature hit -40 degrees that a number of those people would change their answer, me being one of them. Of course it’s all in good fun here at Yooper Steez, but I have a hunch a few people may have gone for the most extreme answer.

Thanks for all your comments on the previous post, and it would be great to hear your thoughts on the poll results.

The results are in…

Here in the Upper Peninsula we like certain things, and we like them a lot. We love pasties. We love referring to people below the bridge as “trolls”. We love Lake Superior. Turns out, we also love red and black plaid!

Traditionally, red and black plaid comes in wool and is most often seen during deer hunting season. However, it really comes in just about everything. We like Carhartt tan canvas, hunting orange, and camouflage as well, but not overalls.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll. It was a fun poll to do and a little different than the rest. Feel free to comment with your poll ideas, we would love to hear your ideas!

Christmas is the favorite name of Upper Peninsula towns according to Yooper Steez readers. It is always a favorite among locals and tourists.

In second and third place are Paradise and Gay respectively.

The Upper Peninsula is full of several other interesting names that are familiar elsewhere..

• Boston
• Delaware
• Phoenix
• Florida

If you didn’t get a chance to vote before this poll was posted, feel free to leave a comment below to let us know what your favorite town name is, or to share any other interesting U.P. town names.

You can always find our latest poll here.

Photo courtesy of James M. Phelps

No love for February

28.4% of votes selected February as their least favorite month in the Upper Peninsula.

No explanation is needed here. We can all safely assume it has to do with being in the middle of a long winter with lots of snow. It probably has nothing to do with being the shortest month of the year or Valentine’s Day.

An impressive 75.3% of voters picked either January, February, March or April for their least favorite month. There appears to be just no love for winter.

Reading through some of the guestbook entries has shed a little light on the subject. Interestingly enough Brian Richards said this of his favorite U.P. tradition…

Aside from the obvious-pasties, saunas, and such, I think what my favorite tradition is just dealing with the trials and tribulations of feet of snow on a regular basis. I guess that falls into a way of life whether we like it or not rather than a tradition but lets not split hairs.

– Brian Richards

Now take a look at our poll results for favorite month in the upper peninsula

There are a few shared votes for February and July being either a favorite or least favorite month. With the number of skiers, snowmobilers, and hockey players we’re a bit shocked so many people don’t like the winter months.

Those few people who voted for their favorite month in the winter are quite likely to be the same people voting that the summer months are their least favorite.

Regardless, just as Brian said, it’s a “way of life”.

If you’re one of the 75.3% who voted one of the winter months as your least favorite, why do you make the winter sacrifice to continue living in the U.P. through the long cold winter?

As always, with the closing of one poll is the opening of another. Check out the latest poll.

Today we’re starting a new poll… A few months back we asked our readers “What is your favorite month to be in the Upper Peninsula?” The answer was clearly July, with nearly a quarter of all the votes.

It is officially July 1st! The favorite month of our readers. You have made it through a long winter once again and without question July is starting off as a beautiful month as we head into the 4th of July festivities.

Naturally, we thought since we’re here in the favorite month of the Upper Peninsula that it would be fitting to ask…

What is Your LEAST Favorite Month to be in the Upper Peninsula

View the poll results and leave a comment.

Anyone who has ever driven on US-2 five miles west of St. Ignace has seen the famous Mystery Spot sign. There’s no missing it, and there’s no missing which direction to go to find the Mystery Spot.

According to their website the story of the Mystery Spot goes as follows:

In the early 1950’s, 3 surveyors named Clarence, Fred and McCray came from California to explore the Upper Peninsula. They stumbled across an area of land where their surveying equipment didn’t seem to work properly. For instance, no matter how many times they tried to level their tripod, through the use of a plum-bob or level, the plum-bob would always be drawn far to the east, even as the level was reading level. As they continued their research of this land, they noticed a constant feeling of being light-headed. Later, realizing their queasiness and problems with the surveying equipment only occurred in an area about 300 feet in diameter, they felt they had discovered a “Mystery Spot”.

– mysteryspotstignace.com

During the last few weeks as we head into tourist season we took a poll asking “Have you been to the Mystery Spot in St. Ignace?” A couple of us at Yooper Steez have never been to the Mystery Spot, despite driving past it dozens and dozens of times. Bugsy claims that he and his brother begged their parents to take them there each time they drove by. But they have still never made it. So, have you been to the Mystery Spot? The results are in.

Of the readers at Yooper Steez, it was almost split down the middle. Essentially, half of the voters on Yooper Steez have been to the Mystery Spot, and the other half have not.

Perhaps you’re still wondering what the Mystery Spot is if you haven’t been there. One suggestion is checking out photos on Flickr to give you a good idea. When visiting the Mystery Spot don’t be fooled if you start to feel light-headed. Many people report the feeling after the visual illusion of gravity changing.

There are also other Mystery Spots in the United States, including one by the exact same name in Santa Cruz, California.

If you didn’t have a chance to vote while the poll was live, feel free to comment below, or let us know in general what you think of this famous Upper Peninsula roadside attraction.

And once again, with one poll closing, another poll has opened. Check out the latest poll.

Thanks again to James M. Phelps for another great photo.

Naturally, there is going to be a bell curve on this graph. Those who live in Ironwood aren’t going to make nearly as many trips across the bridge as those living in St. Ignace or Sault Ste Marie. Though it looks like most people average between 2 to 5 round trips across the bridge in a year.

If you’re new to the site and didn’t get a chance to vote, feel free to comment below and let us know how frequent you cross the Mighty Mackinac.

To go along with this question, please elaborate below and let us know why you cross the bridge as frequently or infrequently as you do. Is it for family? Business? College? Vacation? Or other reasons.

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Don’t forget, with the closing of one poll there is always a new poll to answer. So check out and vote on the latest poll.