Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Snow Chasers - Part II


On Saturday we took our second trip to Paradise in as many weeks.
However, this time we weren't chasing the snow, 
just the blue clear sky and the beautiful sights of the UP.

 Our son, Riley, and his girlfriend, Lindsey, joined us,
and our first stop was at the Whitefish Point Lighthouse,
north of Paradise on Lake Superior.


Lake Superior - Brrr...


Riley, Lindsey, and Steve.


My crew on the far right.



Frozen ice hanging from the rock.


Just a spectacular view and day!


We came along this snowmobile pulling a groomer of sorts 
for the paths and the many cross-country ski trails in the area.
We told Steve to stay off the groomer! 


And then the Paradise groomer came through...


The Tahquamenon Falls is a wonderful destination whether by
 snowshoeing, cross-county skiing, snomobiles, or by car!!


If you need a summer fix,










Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Snow Chasers - Part l

Well, old man winter just isn't cooperating. Sure, we have 12 - 14 inches of snow in the woods, and the two inches of snow we received yesterday helped the snowmobile trails...but it just doesn't snow. We like to see it snow, and snow, and snow...

So, on Saturday morning, as we sipped our coffee and looked at a clear blue sky, the weatherman announced that the UP would see lake effect snow bands, heavy  in some areas, so we checked out radar on the computer, put on our boots and warm clothes, hopped in the car, and chased the snow!


Not much as we ventured north of Trout Lake...but it was getting dark to the north, so we headed to Paradise - literally!


The farther north we got, the harder it snowed!


Lake Superior is out there -- somewhere.


Paradise was truly Paradise!


It was lunchtime, so we decided to head over to the Tahquamenon State Park for lunch at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub. But when we got to the entrance, it was snowing so heavy it was hard to navigate. Yay!!





Lunch was wonderful as usual. We wanted to take a walk to the Falls, but it snowed so hard the entire time we were there,  that pictures wouldn't have done the Falls justice. This weekend our son and his girlfriend are coming to visit, and we hope to take them to the Falls at which point I'll take winter pics of those magnificent falls and share them with you all.



My feathered friends update:


This cute couple has been frequently visiting my feeders - all plump and feathery.
Does anyone know what they are? Finches?











Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Zoom, Zoom...

That seemed to be my theme this past week. Zoom, zoom...
I realized I posted those words twice on my Facebook wall.

We all know this has been an unusual winter, but we have had our moments in the UP 
where it has been snowing like crazy...for a few minutes anyways.



Which made our road/snowmobile trail spectacular.
So Steve and I took a ride to St. Ignace for lunch and ended up with a 100 mile ride.


Remember this lake we four-wheeled to this summer?


Ahhh...


On Friday we returned once again to the lake with part of the Westhouse Family - 
our friends from downstate who were UP for the weekend.


The trails were unbelievably awesome!


And we had a GREAT time with the Westhouse crew!!
Nothing but smiles and laughter with them!


Saturday, Steve and I went to the Soo I-500 Snowmobile Race
It is the longest snowmobile race in the world.


People come early in the week to get a spot for their campers.


The warm temperatures made a mess of the track.
 The graders scraped up the excess snirt (snow and dirt mixed together).


State of the Art in da UP...it tells you all you need to know: 
laps to date, and who is in what place.


The track turned from snow to snirt to dirt in no time.


But we stayed warm and enjoyed every part of the weekend!