The Northern Tour

Carrie and I left for the cottage on Friday February 12th. Our plan was to stay at the cottage for Friday and then leave for north of there on Saturday morning. We arrived about 830pm or so and unpacked.

Saturday we left for Land O Lakes to snowmobile. We arrived early, unloaded the trailer, and headed out for the day. We went north past Bond Falls and then into Bruce Crossing where we stopped to purchase a plat book of the area. Once we got our bearings, we headed north to Greenland. We stopped for lunch at the Pit Stop and ate pretty light. Onward, we went north on trail 13 and then headed out into the backcountry to do some exploring. The snow was pretty setup so not much chance of gettin stuck unless you pulled a pretty dumb move. We played in the forest for a bit and then headed south for LOL. We got back around 530 or so and went to have a few drinks with Sally and Doug (our hosts). Pizza for dinner from Grizzlies.

Due to deteriorating trail conditions, we loaded up and headed for Twin Lakes, Michigan on Sunday morning. We were on the trail about 900am and headed north from there. Through Houghton, we still went north for Copper Harbor. This is always a great ride for us and one we try to hit once a year. We stopped for lunch at the Mariner and as always, it was great. In CH, we grabbed a bit of gas. At the station there was 4 smashed sleds parked. I assumed they were all seperate accidents but after getting home on Tuesday, I had read this was one accident with some serious injuries.

We headed south from there and got a bit turned around but eventually made it back to the truck and loaded up. We went in for a beer and then headed back to LOL. It was a slow ride for the most part as it was coming down pretty hard. It snowed nearly all day with periods of white out conditions. In some places there was 12" of new snow. Leftovers for dinner on Sunday.



Our drive home.



Monday we left from LOL and went to the northwest. We headed across the Cisco Chaing where I found a sweet hat on the lake. Finders keepers. Then north to Lake Gogebic. There was a line on that lake where the snow went from average to deep with snow over the windy. It was great. We stopped at the Hoop-n-Holler for a hot chocolate and then headed north to Silver City to see Lake Superior. Again the snow was off and on all day with tons of fresh snow everywhere. I stepped off the trail and could not kick deep enough to get to the ground.

Heading south, we stopped at the Gogebic Lodge and warmed up. The wind on that body of water really gets whipping. South again, we made it back to LOL and loaded up the snow machines. We did leave to get back to the cottage then monday night. On the way, we stopped in St. Germain for dinner at the 19th hole. We spent the night relaxing and really just doing nothing as both of us were spent. We had traveled about 575 miles in the 3 days on the snowmobiles. For the most part, we had great trails but there were a few blatter busters in there also.

Tuesday we got going at the cottage. I plowed and shoveled and we took off pretty early to get home. It was a great weekend in the north. We are lucky to have parents that will watch Cam when we are gone. It sure does make life easy.

Lake Alice Ice Derby

On Friday February 5th, Cam and Carrie and I took off for up north. We had left early around 1pm or so as we had plans to try and catch a few night vintage races in Harshaw. We arrived and unpacked, ate a little dinner, and got things loaded up for ice fishing on Saturday. We headed over to the races around 7pm as they were scheduled to start then. After a 50 minute delay, racing was underway. We stayed for about an hour after that and Cam said he was cold. He did really well playing in the snow with his truck waiting for the races to start.

Saturday we got going and headed for Lake Alice for a fishing tournament. Once there, we got the 4 wheeler unloaded and went and registered for the tourney. We had a lot of fun playing tackle, pulling Cam in the sled on the lake, fishing, and eating.



We had quite a crew out there at my Dad's shack and another crew based over at Uncle Dean's house. We ended up not getting anything. There were a few people around us that were catching some nice perch but we were not able to figure out the system. We packed up around 230 or so and headed for the area that they were holding the raffles and such. Danny ended up winning a bucket of some sort but other than that, we were skunked.





We headed back to the shanty and loaded up Ole Blue and headed home. We stayed in for the night.

Sunday I needed to get a few things done around the house. My small deck by the front door was shifting with the frost. At some point if it moves far enough up, we are not going to be able to open the door to get into the place. I ended up taking the sweep off the door and removing the first deck board closest to the house. Hopefully with the addition of the gutter there will not be much movement but something for us to watch. From there, Cam and I did some sledding in the driveway and picked up the garage.

We packed up and headed to Dad's to help him step into the 90's and get a computer. Home to Pewaukee by about 430 or so.

It was a good weekend for fishing - just not catching...

Relaxing in January

We made yet another journey north for the weekend arriving on Friday night late. Saturday we got going and headed for Lake Alice where my Dad had his shanty for the week. We got there about 9 or so and started putting tip ups in. As I put the second one in, Dad had a flag and got a 30" musky. The season is closed so it went back in the hole.



Cam had a good time out on the ice getting pulled behind the ATV, playing football, and also with his trucks.







We stayed out there until about 1pm. We packed everything up and headed back the BCR to change and then head to the Mirek's for dinner. Spencer made some great ribs, salad, and potatoes. After dinner, we continued to talk and tell stories of our fall escapades as we had not seen them in quite awhile. We stayed until about 8pm and then headed back home.

Sunday, we got going and I was going to change the slides on the snowmobiles but quickly realized that I did not have the right tools. Carrie and Cam went sledding for a bit and other than that, we packed up and headed home.

It was a great weekend for weather with temps in the teens and sunny. I love January.