Waiting on Winter
Winter continued to struggle with making its appearance in the Keweenaw this past week as El Niño caused the temperature to climb to 54 degrees as recently as Thursday. That eight inches of snow I talked about here in Chassell in my last issue is long gone. One benefit to the warm weather was that we were able to have Ted Keranen come out to provide the annual shock to our well which did not get squeezed in before we left town last month. It also meant that skiing was not going to interfere with meeting preparation as I needed to turn out minutes for Tuesday’s Hancock Trails Club board meeting and I could work with our Township Clerk Lynn Gierke on making sure we had everything lined up for the township board to final approve and pass a resolution regarding our final MDNR 5-Year Recreation Plan. The additional time also allowed me to work on details related to our December 23rd SPARK Grant report. Continuing to look for silver linings, I was also able to get in bare pavement runs on both Wednesday and Saturday.
Thursday, we took advantage of the warm weather and drove out to McLain State Park with the dogs to do a two-mile hike on the Bear Lake Trail.
Thursday night just before midnight, I went down by the lake to take in the Geminid meteor shower. Over the course of just over 40 minutes, I saw 21 meteors and enjoyed a low glow aurora glow on the northern horizon. No luck catching any meteors on my phone’s camera, but these shots will give you an idea about how beautiful the night sky can be here in the Keweenaw.
I spent Friday working on a book project that I have in process. Saturday, Julie put on an alcohol ink demonstration at the Well Read Raccoon at the Marketplace in Houghton. After helping her set up, I did some grocery shopping and put in a 4.6-mile run along the waterfront in Houghton.
I couldn’t help noting those determined to ski on Mt. Ripley as I was running along the waterfront!
Sunday, our hiking group met up at the Houghton County Fairgrounds to take a hike through the Swedetown Creek Gorge at Maasto Hiihto led by John Diebel. There were intermittent rain/snow showers along the way, but it did not deter us from getting in 4.6 miles.
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.