Taking Advantage of Some Awesome Weather

High barometric pressure has settled into the Keweenaw this week which has provided brilliantly blue skies and pleasant conditions! We have been getting outdoors on a daily basis to take full advantage and not allow this opportunity to go to waste!

Starting with Sunday morning, I would hit the rail-trail for an easy going 4-mile run which was punctuated with conversations along the way with our friends Marty and Dan. I enjoy having the opportunity to keep residents informed of the many things we have going on in the township. Not only is it beneficial for them, but it allows me to gain insights and valuable feedback on the projects we are undertaking.

Sunday afternoon our hiking group would meet up at the Black Creek Nature Sanctuary for a hike to Lake Superior. I would have the opportunity to talk at length while hiking with remote worker Charles Closmann who will soon be featured in an upcoming remote worker vignette as well as remote worker Jon Schmitt with the Michigan Small Business Development Center who will be reaching out to provide support to Tactical Taco in Chassell. Our hike would cover a little over 5-miles over the forest-covered dunes until we reached Lake Superior.

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

Monday morning started with a 3,300-yard swim at MTU and then I wrapped up the National Park Service’s Trail Safe video series which I had largely binge watched over the weekend. This is a required prerequisite for an upcoming chainsaw re-certification two-day class I will be taking for my role as a volunteer sawyer on the North Country Trail.

Julie and I would then head down to hike 3-miles out-and-back on the North Country Trail westward from US 41 to Canyon Falls and the Canyon Falls Gorge. The Sturgeon River was still swollen with spring runoff.

The great thing about hiking in early May is that you encounter absolutely no mosquitos or flies! As this can be one of the busier places during the summer, we were surprised to only see four cars in the parking lot when we arrived. You can see my GoPro video from our hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

Returning back to Chassell, our Chassell Trails grooming crew would meet up with Joel Larson who is going to allow us to expand the classic ski trail onto his property. This is largely a wooded area that will add excellent terrain to the trail system both with a good steady climb as well as downward sloping runs.

Tuesday, I would attend a Team Peninsula meeting where we would receive an excellent population presentation by Richelle Winkler. Some key data points relating to remote work noted that 9.7% of Houghton County residents and 16.9% of Keweenaw County residents work remotely. It was also noteworthy that household income has shifted upward beyond what would be considered inflationary which would be partly attributable to remote workers in technical fields bringing well compensated positions to the region.

Being an absolutely amazing day weather-wise, Julie and I would then take a drive up to Copper Harbor. We would make stops at Ten-Foot Falls, Eagle River Falls, Jacobs Creek Falls, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, Silver River Falls, and Manganese Falls. The spring runoff charged all of the streams.

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

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.