Change of the Season

The past week saw the calendar flip from August to September. I could not help thinking about this same time of year as a boy when Labor Day approached and I knew my grandmother would soon be driving my sister and me down to Rhinelander to put us on the Greyhound Bus back to Chicago. Being a perpetually upbeat person, I have to acknowledge a hint of melancholy this time of year due to this recollection. The appearance of fall colors surely provides a trigger. This also spurs my recollection of taking the bus up to Chassell in September in the late 70s before the start of a fall quarter at Michigan State to help my grandmother close the cabin down for the winter and then driving her down to Chicago. Frozen in my memory is heading down US 41 along an icy blue Keweenaw Bay flanked by blazing fall colors to the opening chords of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”.

So maybe there was a bit more urgency this past Monday to get out into the woods for an adventure. We did not need to turn the cabin over so Julie and I headed down to hike one of our favorite segments of the North Country Trail along the Sturgeon River out to the east of the Canyon Falls roadside park.

You can see my GoPro video from this hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

This happened to be the 100th North Country Trail video that I posted to my NCT Playlist on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube Channel, so I shared the playlist with the NCT staff and board of directors and discussed the importance of the trail as a key asset supporting economic development.

We did not swim this past week, but I got in a 5-mile rail trail run on Tuesday and a 5.3-mile Tolkien Trails run at MTU with the Keweenaw Running Group on Wednesday. Some unseasonably warm weather was on the way for late in the week so I was motivated to avoid the heat.

Thursday was spent turning over the cabin and cutting grass ahead a really nice presentation at the Chassell Heritage Center put on by Joe Youngman about trumpeter swans and peregrine falcons.

We would return to the North Country Trail on Friday with our friends Mark and Jennifer, but more about that next time.

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.