Back in the Hood!
Julie and I were on a bit of a hiatus from the Keweenaw spanning the last couple of weeks. Going farther away than Minneapolis with our 2003 Tahoe with over 355,000 miles on it was not holding a lot of appeal over the last three years. With our newer 2017 Tahoe with under 100,000 miles and a gap in planned activities, we headed out for a serious road trip to see family and friends! Our travels would take us to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Des Moines, Iowa, and Lawrence, Kansas. We had a great time catching up with everyone along the way!
While on the road, I received some great news from Visit Keweenaw that we had been awarded a Destination Development Grant for our bicycle skills trails and beginner level mountain biking trail! I would get the word to Ebb and Flow Trailworks and they started work while we were still on the road. I stopped by to check out the progress this past Thursday with Eric and Brett Palosaari.
Eric and Brett are making excellent progress on what will be an excellent recreation feature for Chassell Township to serve area residents and visitors. These guys do outstanding work! If your community is looking to establish mountain biking trails, give them a serious look!
The timing of this grant award was excellent as I would also receive word that we will be awarded a Keweenaw Community Foundation Grant to update the signage for our Chassell Trails system which needs updating to address changes and additions we have made to the ski trails. This KCF grant will also allow us to incorporate the addition of the bicycle skills trails and beginner mountain biking trail.
At this past Thursday’s Chassell Planning Commission meeting, we would vote to advance our amendments to the Zoning Ordinance as well as the Development Guide to the Township Board requesting that a public hearing be scheduled for both. I notified the commission of an upcoming meeting this coming Tuesday with Chris Adams on the Hamar Creek brook trout restoration project. Township Supervisor Lynn Gierke and I will start the RFP process to secure a prime professional for our Natural Resources Trust Fund grant project involving improvements to the Sturgeon River Launch site. We had not been successful with our Keweenaw Community Foundation grant proposal seeking funding for the Pike River rail-trail decking/railing engineering work, so we will be discussing this with the Township Board this coming Wednesday. We have $3,200 in local commitments for this $11,500 project. If anyone would be interested in helping fund this project, please let me know as additional funding support could help us move this project forward as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has indicated that it will support the construction if we address the needed engineering.
Julie and I squeezed in swims on Wednesday and Friday mornings over at MTU. After the Friday swim, I had a really great conversation at the Prickly Pine in Houghton regarding interest in a project in Chassell that I will revisit here as it ripens. Also on Friday, I learned from Brian Waters that Jam Services plans to install the adjustable boat ramp dock at Centennial Park this coming Tuesday.
Yesterday we drove down to Ontonagon County with our friends Jennifer, Sue, and John for the National Trails Day event on the North Country Trail at O Kun de Kun Falls. The weather was beautiful with nearly clear skies, temperatures in the low 70s, and hardly any bugs. John Diebel and I would hike in with our saws and, with help from Cindy Mackenzie, we cut up and removed fallen trees that were blocking access and the view of the upper falls.
After enjoying some time at the falls, John and I would continue eastward on the North Country Trail to clear the trail to just past the next creek as the Forest Service plans to come in this coming week to do chainsaw work on to the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River.
You can check out my GoPro video from our time on the trail at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:
After hiking back out, we would drive back by way of Nisula to make a stop at Red Hen where we enjoyed a late lunch before heading homeward.
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 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.