The 9-0-6

If you’re a Yooper, this area code is all you’ve ever known. Yes, you read that correctly, the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan still has one area code!

The U.P. and Lake Superior from space, courtesy International Space Station crew, Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center.

It’s things like the 906, that make the U.P. like one big family. Entirely surrounded by the cold, deep waters of Lake Superior to its north, the U.P. shares lengthy borders with Wisconsin and Lake Michigan to the west and south, and touches Canada and Lake Huron to the east. It is connected only by the Mighty Mac to the lower portion of Michigan!

You have to be a bit hardy to live here. There are fewer conveniences and big box stores, a short growing season, no expressways, and a LONG winter, which brings 300+ inches of snow most years. Similar to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), there are plenty of negative aspects when it comes to climate and accessibility.

But oh, what there is:

💙 rugged shorelines and untouched wilderness

💙 unpretentious, caring people

💙 a clear change of seasons, each celebrated and anticipated

💙 the Native spirit and wisdom

💙 clear waters and fresh air

💙 Finnish tenacity and willfulness

💙 beauty and bounty all around

Sept. 6 each year is 9-0-6 Day, a day to celebrate the Upper Peninsula and everything we love about it. Maybe it’s the realness that I love the most. Genuine beauty, nothing artificial about it.

Tread lightly on these lands and they will love you right back.