A Green Merry Christmas from the Keweenaw!
Who would have bet on this? It borders on the surreal, but we are actually having a snow-free Christmas this year in the Keweenaw!
I took this photo across the backyard while the sun was out on Christmas Eve. It’s hard to believe how green the grass is! With snow dwindling down to nothing over the past week, a time normally spent cross country skiing had to be turned to other pursuits.
We actually had ice on the lake this past Tuesday to reflect a beautiful sunrise!
Unfortunately, there wasn’t near enough snow to cross country ski. As a result, I made the best of it by focusing the next couple of days on wrapping up a photo book that covered our trip to Finland last March which included the Border to Border Ski.
Wednesday evening there was just enough snow it spots to merit strapping on the YakTrax for the Keweenaw Running Group 4.5-mile run from the SDC to just past the bridge and back.
Thursday I worked with the Chassell Township Clerk, Lynn Gierke, on finalizing submissions to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the township’s 5-Year Recreation Plan and our first quarterly SPARK Grant report.
Late that afternoon, Julie and I went out to the Keweenaw Land Trust’s Lily Creek Nature Sanctuary to help set up the lights for that evening’s Winter Solstice Celebration.
Friday we hit the pool at MTU’s SDC and I got in a 2,000 yard swim before going into the Chassell Township Office with Lynn to finalize and submit the SPARK Grant report. We received some timely assistance from Chris Holmes at UPEA on some final tweaks we needed to make to our project’s boundary map.
Saturday we ran up to Cross Country Sports in Calumet. They are helping me with the repair of the Rossignol ski that I sheared the binding off of in Finland. It turned out that there was a defective plate on that run of skis and they needed the receipt to be able to check out what might be possible. We did some last minute Christmas shopping while we were there.
On the way back we stopped at MTU’s SDC where I went for a 5.4-mile run on the Tolkien Trails and Julie took the dogs for a walk out on the Isle Royale and Superior Loops. With temperatures in 40s, the snow was gone. You just don’t get opportunities like this to do a clear trail run in late December, so I just had to get out there!
Yesterday, twenty-eight of us met up at the Tomasi Trailhead at Maasto Hiihto and went for about a 6.25-mile hike up into Churning Rapids. Again, who would have imagined hiking out here on clear trails on Christmas Eve?
You can see my GoPro video from the hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
After the hike, we had a really nice dinner with friends in Chassell!
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at this link: https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.