Eagle Harbor Ski and the Copper Dog 150

This week started with a Sunday afternoon ski on the Eagle Harbor Trails out to Great Sand Bay on Lake Superior and back. Although it was a chilly 12 degrees, the closeness of the forest and occasional sun created a comfortable environment for a great ski.

It appeared that the trail may have been groomed that morning and the glide was outstanding! There was a good sized group of us but a few opted to snowshoe instead of skiing. The only point where we felt discomfort on the ski was at Great Sand Bay on Lake Superior where a biting wind off the lake reminded us that winter was still here!

Come along for this awesome ski out to Great Sand Bay by clicking on this link to my GoPro video on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:

Monday turned into a work day as I turned my attention to completing a Keweenaw Destination Development Program grant proposal through the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau to support the development of tourism in the region with a focus on Chassell’s canoe/kayak launch on the Sturgeon River and Chassell’s historic interpretive trail project on the site of the Sturgeon River Lumber Company and the Worcester Lumber Company mills. I also cleaned up talking points for Tuesday evening’s planning commission meeting which would be focused on a final clean up of our updated zoning ordinance which has already been through three public hearings.

Tuesday started in a similar fashion to Monday, but Julie and I got out to ski on the MTU trails to take advantage of the beautiful sunny afternoon ahead of that evening’s planning commission meeting!

Wednesday’s focus was on grant writing and creative projects, but I got out to run with the Keweenaw Running Group that evening. We ran from the SDC at MTU to the bridge and back. There was a lot of snow underfoot which slowed the pace. We had a wind in our faces heading to the bridge which of course calmed to about no wind at all on the return trip!

Thursday turned out to be an outstanding afternoon for a ski! With the Keweenaw Chamber’s SparkPlug Awards dinner that evening and grant work to be knocked out that morning, the Chassell Classic Ski Trail turned out to be a perfect destination! The trail was perfectly groomed after the recent snow and there had been little traffic! Without a cloud in the sky, seasonal temperatures in the upper teens, and outstanding glide, this ski was the perfect afternoon break!

Enjoy a glide through the pine on the upper loop of the Chassell Classic Ski Trail on this video short on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at: https://youtube.com/shorts/sm7eJKsBg9U?feature=share

Thursday night we attended the Keweenaw Chamber’s SparkPlug Awards dinner at the MTU Memorial Union. With Covid on the wane, it was awesome to attend a social event of this magnitude and to spend time talking with and getting to know several remote workers who had recently moved to the Keweenaw! I was humbled to have received two SparkPlug Award nominations for Project of the Year for Remote Workforce Keweenaw and Community Contributor of the Year. It was awesome through the award ceremony to learn about the many people who are working so hard to help move this region forward!

Friday morning’s sunrise would turn out to be an accurate predictor of what was coming on Saturday!

The day was spent finalizing the Keweenaw Destination Development Program grant proposal and getting it submitted to the Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau. With that knocked out, I headed out to volunteer at the Copper Dog 150! Our friend Rob Handler coordinates volunteers for the Bootjack Road crossing in Lake Linden. Many of our friends are there and it is always a good time getting out to support this really cool event! The volunteers keep snow on the road crossing and we create a human wall on each side of the crossing as each sled dog team comes through. You can get an idea about what this looks like at this short video on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

We had an ice storm on Saturday which resulted in the cancellation of the Glide-N-Gorge at Maasto Hiihto; however, it turned out to be a great opportunity to work on a creative project I have going on. Snow moved in on the back side of the storm, so skiing will again be in order as we start the new week!

Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Would you value living in a place with ubiquitous natural beauty that has NO congestion? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will be surrounded by amazing places and activities! Learn more about us by checking the Remote Workforce Keweenaw webpage 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

Take care and check in with us next week!