The newest addition to the Oculus
Inc. staff, Rob Forney, just arrived home from his first site visit as a member
of our team. His mission was to travel to Iron Mountain, MI to conduct a
facility conditions assessment for the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction and Facilities Management. While he spent
the majority of his time working with our client, he also brought back a couple
of factual tidbits from this small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula:
-There is not an actual “Mountain”
in Iron Mountain. The name is derived from the Iron Mountain Iron Mine where
people come to watch actual miners practice their craft while riding on trains
that take them 400 feet underground.
-It is also home to the Pine Mountain
Ski Jump/Resort, one of the highest artificially created ski jumps on earth. Elite
athletes from around the world come to visit Iron Mountain to compete in a
tournament held every February.
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| A Vintage Photo of the Pine Mountain Ski Jump (Not Taken w/ Instagram) |
-While the temperatures can be extreme in
the dead of winter and the black bear population thrives within the forest, one
of the biggest natural threats to humans is deer. The Iron Mountain Daily News reports
close to 1,500 people are injured in deer/vehicle crashes every year with the
riskiest months being October and November.
-One of the biggest tourist
attractions is the Millie Hill Bat Cave which usually takes out-of-towners by surprise.
While Rob did not get a chance to visit , he did encounter a bat inside of
the local Wal-Mart.
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| Metal Cage Surrounding the "Bat Cave" Entrance courtesy of Things to Do in the U.P. |
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