Decking the Trail 17 Bridge and a Shout Out for Bosio Bisquit Co. in Tapiola

This past Saturday morning I would run the trash and recycling to the Chassell transfer at the DPW Garage and then head out to Maasto Hiihto where I would meet up with Mark Roberts, Mark Klein, Wolf, Jason, Pete, and Stan to continue our volunteer work on the Trail 17 Bridge over Swedetown Creek. The first order of business was to finish applying the flashing tape over the laminate beams as we had run out of tape with three to go the day before.

We would then start screwing down the twelve-foot 2 x 6 treated lumber to form the bridge’s deck.

With Mark Klein laying out the lumber, Pete, Jason, Wolf and I followed behind with our impacts to drive in the screws. At several points along the way we needed to tweak the spacing to account for warped lumber.

By the time we reached the end of the span, there was a perfect fit across the twenty-four foot laminate beams with 2 x 12s on each end.

The two Marks and Stan would be working on the first leg of the boardwalk while we were decking the bridge. We would go on to assist them.

It is a bit intense, but if you would like to see the construction of the bridge in just over a couple of minutes, check out this video on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:

After nearly four hours we called it a day. I stopped at home to grab a late lunch and then I headed over to Centennial Park in Chassell with my waders and rock picker to pull trash for two hours from the water in the area where MJO had pulled the ruins of the former waterfront boardwalk from the lake. There was about a forty-foot stretch that was full of old broken plates, broken glass, and an array of metal. I would fill a five gallon bucket with easily sixty pounds of trash as well as part of trash can I brought along. Many of the plates had stamps on the back noting they were produced in England. The most interesting finds would be the head of a large axe, a large rat tail file, and large-linked rusty chain.

Sunday morning, Julie and I would drive down to Tapiola with our friends Sue and Beverly to have breakfast at Bosio Biscuit Co. I would have an egg and turkey sausage biscuit sandwich and Julie and I would share a bowl of their chicken enchilada soup. Both were outstanding! The owner, Stephen Bosio, is really cool guy who grew up here, went to California, and came back to start this business which has been going for just over a year now.

Check Bosio Biscuit out if you have the opportunity to swing through Tapiola! Give Stephen a follow on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/bosiobiscuitco.

That afternoon I would push my recovering foot as far as I have since before all this went down on September 9th by going on a 6.1 mile hike at Maasto Hiihto and Churning Rapids with our hiking group. We would start off on the Skyway Trail up above M-203 which the Hancock Trails Club was able to establish with the help of a grant from the Klungness Family Foundation.

We would connect up with the Sunset Trail and then take in the view from the observation tower along Ruby Marsh. There are three beaver lodges you can see from the tower with this photo picking up a couple of them.

I will share more from this hike 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.