John Dee.com ::. Journal .::

December 28-
    Ahhhhh....Back on the island! Actually, we returned home Friday, but it still feels so good to be back home. As always, it was great to visit family, but there is just something about the ground in the Keweenaw that I find so stable and secure. It is truly home for me.
    I hope that everyone's Christmas was as good as it gets. Ours was. Gracie is still in that age when everything about Christmas is magical. We headed down to my moms in southern WI on the 20th. That ended up being a day earlier than we had planned, but on the morning of the 20th, Nora and I kind of jokingly said how it would be nice to just head out in the afternoon and arrive in the late evening, rather than get up, me do my work, then pack the car and spend the rest of the day in it. So the idea grew roots and lived and we headed out of town by around 4 pm UP time and arrived around 11 pm WI time and were happy to get a good nights sleep and a fairly relaxing day on Sunday.
    This is the first time in many years that it was a green Christmas down south, but I think the fact that at least the past 5-6 were white is more unusual, as I believe the historical average is somewhere around 60% in favor of a white Christmas. There were some chances for snow and Monday morning, the precip started out as snow, but changed to rain and continued to fall as rain the rest of the day. The morning of Christmas Eve started out with a pretty thick fog hanging over the lake. Which, when combined with the glass like surface of the lake also provided the photo opportunity for this picture.
    The lack of snow and bitter cold like last Christmas did make it nice for going out and about. Taking the pups for their morning walks was enjoyable and we did not have to worry about freezing our nanners off while doing any last minute shopping. The lack of snow also provided a business opportunity for someone, as the outsides of several residences in town were actually transformed into a white Christmas. I did not get out and feel what was used, but it looked to be some kind of a foam, but looked quite a bit like wet snow.
    The lack of snow also did not dampen the Christmas spirit, although I have to chuckle. As I was going through some of the pictures of Christmas morning at my moms, I came across a gem, which I have titled: "I think I had one too many eggnogs last night." I do not remember what brought about that look, but I am guessing it was just not quite ready for the picture and most definitely NOT a hangover! It did not take long for Gracie to get down to the business at hand and see what was waiting for her in all the wrapped up presents. Even Millie and Huck got into action, with brand new Christmas rawhide treats. The funny thing is about 2 minutes after that, my sister asked me how long those would last and I commented "about 60 second more". Sure enough, they were gone about as I anticipated!
    On the 26th, we packed up and headed home pretty early in the morning, arriving around 4 pm local time. We did luck out as the weather both coming and going was good. If we had waited to head home on the 27th, we would have driven head on into a decent snow storm across the northern 1/2 of WI and all of our travels across the UP. Many areas in that region saw at least 3-7" of snow fall, with some locales in northern WI picking up as much as 10" of fresh snow. Driving through the western UP and pretty much all of WI, I can say that the snow was a very much welcomed gift for areas from about Wausau north to around Watersmeet or even a bit north. They were riding in areas like Rhinelander and Eagle River when we came through on the 26th, but things were pretty thin. So that snow on the 27th should have put much of the WI in pretty good shape for the busy period around the holidays.
    Once we got home, we unloaded the car and did not bother to unpack bags or anything, we moved right on to our second Christmas. Gracie was already pretty stoked as she had seen that Santa had left her a train set under the tree along with a bunch of wrapped presents. Does this look optimize the excitement of Christmas for a 5 year old, or what? Although I am not sure who was more excited, her to open them, or Nora and I to watch her. Nora and I also had presents waiting for us under the tree, so we took turns opening them, starting with Gracie. We all made out very well. I think my favorite was this neat little dilly. It is a massage device and I have it in my office. I have to admit that this thing is no gimmick. It really does a great job and can be adjusted to do just specific spots on your back, or the whole thing. It can also do a more gentle rolling massage or a shiatsu type that gets in there pretty good and grinds. It also can provide heat. Right now I am getting a nice heated lower back shiatsu massage as I type! I am guessing that there will be more than one of you reading this that is wondering what make and model, it is the Homedics MCS-510H. Geeze, I hope I don't fall asleep while typing this!!!
    I think the present that Gracie loved the most was the train set. It was all she talked about wanting to have for about 10 days prior to Christmas and after researching them, I decided on the Lionel Chief O gauge. It is geared towards kid a bit older than her, but I explained to her all the things to be cautious about (mainly unplugging it before she does anything other than work the remote) and she has done very well with that as well as operating it. It is pretty cool, as it still has the current running through the tracks like the old style O gauge, but instead of a transformer to control it, there is a hand held remote. The remote can also allow you to make the train whistle, ring it's bell or make announcements based on what the engine is doing. The kit came with enough track to make a simple oval or rounded edge square, plus the engine, coal car, box car, tanker car and caboose. I had a pretty big HO gauge train set that I had when I was in JR high and as I watched her play with it, I was already thinking about how to expand the layout with more track, trestles, crossings, etc...!
    We had a pretty relaxing Saturday, including going out to dinner at the Eagle Harbor Inn. The snows from the storm on the 27th were winding down, but as we finished supper and headed home, some lake effect started to kick up. It slowed down the drive home some, but was kind of fun and pretty too look at out the windows.
    Today was a bit of a work and play day. I had my typical Sunday work to get done and then a crew from Land O' Lakes Recreation swung by to go for a ride. So we headed out and I took them to a nice overlook and then we made our way up the trails to Lac La Belle for lunch. The trails were in pretty good shape. Overall, I would have given them an 8 out 10. This is a shot of the trail to Lac La Belle, from the west side, which right there, I would probably give it a 9.5 or 10 out of 10. There were a few spots where running water a week or two ago had put a narrow rut in the trail, but the grooming and cold has been filling them in and are not a problem or a danger and I would suspect that with a bit more snow and grooming, they will be nothing but a memory, as things are cold and there is no more running water to deal with.
    We did not have the trails to ourselves, but they were not crazy busy either. I would guess we encountered about 8-10 sleds on our way up and less than that on the way back. I can say that we got to Bear Belly's just in time, as there were several empty tables when we arrived, but had a line going when we left. The parking lot was quite full of sleds, which is always good to see.
    The forecast looks good for cold in all of the Midwest, with some decent lake effect impacting mainly the Keweenaw from later Tuesday through the rest of the week. If we are lucky, we might even get to participate in a Bayfield Bomber, as it looks like the atmosphere is going to be in a pretty favorable state for that to happen the second half of this week. It does not look like a lot of new snow for the rest of the Midwest, but perhaps a few inches here and there across the Northwoods and plenty of cold to stiffen things up and preserve the snow that is there.
    So my final item for tonight is a quiz. This picture was sent to me by a friend, Gary, living up here. He took it back in early December and it is of a layer of mid-level clouds, with a band running through them. The band is actually a band of clear sky. My question is, what caused this? You can post your answer on the discussion board. I am not sure if there will be anything more than bragging rights to those who guess the process that caused this.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
And talk to you next year!
JD-

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December 21-
    We'll see how things go, but I have a feeling that this entry will be "holiday edition" in length! It's been another whirlwind week and I am feeling like taking it easy.
    About 4 hours after writing the last entry, I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach that felt like it was not going to be able to hold things down. I will spare you the gory details, but that is what happened. I was done getting sick by around sunrise Tuesday, but had also had to work during the last several hours of getting sick, so the rest of Tuesday was spent in bed as I was completely wiped out. By Wednesday I was feeling better, but still a little drained and tired, so I did not to a lot. Thursday was back to normal, but had to play a lot of catch up with the lack of productivity on Tuesday and Wednesday, so was very busy and pretty worn out by the end of the day.
    While I laid sleeping in bed Tuesday, the snowflakes came down steadily all day and into the overnight period. We picked up around 2" in the morning hours before sunrise Tuesday and then 8" from sunrise Tuesday through sunrise Wednesday, with a few more inches Wednesday. The snow was also a dense snow, so it did wonders to repair the loss of snow we had with the thaw last weekend and Monday.
    When it came time to move all that snow Wednesday morning, I was very glad to have Big Red. I was still kind of wrung out, but was able to sit in the heated cab and let the machine do the work. It did take me around 40 minutes to clear our driveway and parking area as well as the neighbors. However, if I were using the old method of the ATV plow and snowthrower, it would have taken me close to 2 hours just to do our driveway due to the amount and density of the snow. So I was a very happy camper while sitting in the warmth, listening to the radio.
    The pups were happy to see the fresh snow. They were able to get out before I moved the snow and then I spent a little time with them around the house after finishing up moving the snow, watching them sniff where the critters have been and then head off into the woods to do some further investigating.
    With the fresh snow, I really had hoped to be able to get out for a ride and enjoy the quiet trails, but one thing led to another and I just could not find the free time. I can say that all of the trails I did see from the truck were in very good shape and the view from both trail cams on the site are a good representation of how things are up here.
    I was not the only one busy this week. Gracie recovered full and quickly from her two procedures and probably could have gone to school on Tuesday, but we had already planned to keep her home and wanted to play it safe. She was very excited to get back to school on Wednesday.
    On Thursday, Gracie and Nora got busy making Christmas cookies. They produced 3 varieties Thursday and another 2 on Friday and then the real fun began...making them disappear!
    So it's hard to believe that this will be the final entry before Christmas and the second to last of the year! The forecast has been bouncing around all weekend, but seems to have settled into one that will provide some welcomed snows to much of the Northwoods the first half of this week, with some LES to keep the flakes flying in areas of the UP and northwest lower MI the rest of the week and weekend and then perhaps some more snows in the much of the Northwoods early next week. So I believe folks wanting to head north to play in the snow should be able to do just that in many areas of the north. With that said...
Have a Merry Christmas!!!    and...
Good night from the Keweenaw..
JD-
December 15-
    Wowza. Do you ever feel like you are the pinball that has just spent about 10 minutes being smacked around inside the machine and have just found your way through the bumpers for a brief rest? Well, that is kind of the way I feel right at this moment. All for good reasons, but still, what a busy past few days!
    The reason why I did not write last night was that we all were in Marquette (pups too), as Gracie had to have some minor surgery to have her adenoids removed as well as some ear tubes put in. The poor girl was really struggling with allergies and ear infections, so a trip to the Ear, Nose, Throat, (ENT) doctor a few weeks back put her on the fast track to have the work done. This morning was the big moment and I think I can now honestly say that I personally think it is way easier to the the one going under the knife than the one to have to wait. Not that I was a nervous wreck or anything and we were told the surgery would only take around 15-20 minutes for both procedures to be done (which it did), but still. I guess it is easier to be the one sleeping through it all. Plus they gave her some nice medicine to relax her around 30 minutes before the surgery, which I think both Nora and I needed more than her!
    Well, all went as good as they could have. She was not nervous before even getting the calming medicine. Nora and I got to witness a "drunk" Gracie for around 45 minutes. She went into the OR and the Dr and nurses said she was perfectly calm, looked around at all the cool things inside and then drifted off to sleep when they gave her the anesthesia. The surgery took around 20-25 minutes, Nora and I were then brought to her bedside in the recovery room before she even woke up, so we were there when she came to. About 90 minutes later, she was rolling out of the hospital and has been just fine the rest of today. If you are a local and have a child that needs some surgery done, I would strongly recommend Bell Hospital in Ishpeming. The staff there really knows how to make a kid feel comfortable before a procedure, and they were great to Nora and I too!
    So it is nice to be back home, safe and sound. I did my Sunday and Monday work from the hotel room in Marquette and while I have done my work from the road many times, it is always stressful, as I really do not have much in the way of backup, plus some of the procedures are different. Toss in driving to and from in less than 24 hours, the stress of the surgery and that is why I feel a bit like that pinball! But as mentioned, I am home, we had safe travels and I have a little cutie pie laying in bed watching a movie all safe and sound and free of ailments that plagued her for several years.
    The rest of the past 7-8 days was also pretty busy. Gracie had her music program on Friday with her kindergarten class. They sang some Christmas songs as well as some songs they all learned through the school year so far. I must admit that I was a little worried about how I would handle such a program. I have sat through a handful for others kids and was a little bored and wondered how parents could sit through them year after year. Well, now I know. You have to be a parent (or grandparent perhaps) of one of the kids in the program and then you think it is the best! I really did enjoy the whole show, theatrics an all!
    On Saturday, we headed into "town" (Calumet) to take in a visit with Santa. She is still a little shy when it comes to getting too close to jolly old Saint Nick, but Santa's helper was able to get her coax here close enough to snap a shot of the three of them in close proximity!
    Then after bidding Santa a Merry Christmas, it was off to see the sled dogs. Every winter in the middle of December, a couple of local dog teams and their keepers come up to Calumet and take kids (and some adults) for a ride around the park on the dog sleds. It seems like every December provides some kind of a challenge. There have been years when the snow was just deep enough to allow the rides to happen and there have been a few years when the snow was plenty, but it was bitterly cold. Last year was one of those cold and snowy years. This year there was plenty of snow, but it was warm, which the dogs do not like, and also led to some soft snow.
    None the less, Gracie sure loves to visit with the dogs. We showed up just as a local team was being readied to give some rides, so Gracie got to hang out with them and share some kisses. We then stood in line waiting for her turn to take a spin around the park. I held our spot in line while Nora and Gracie went to visit with some other dogs. These two were beautiful Siberian Huskies and were there special to have their picture taken with. It wasn't long after that that Gracie got to climb aboard the sleigh and be pulled around the park. I got to ride with Gracie several years back and I have to say...with my love of dogs and the snow, and adventure...if I did not already have my plate full, I could see doing that as at least a hobby. It was so cool to be pulled by the dogs and when they hold the CopperDog races in March, it is so cool to see them at the crossings out in the woods. Things are dead quiet, except for the jingle of a bell on the lead dog (if there is a bell) and then an occasional bark from one of the team members. Otherwise it is just the sound of the sleighs runners gliding across the snow. That must be one heck of an experience when you are out in the middle of the Keweenaw Woods on a winters night!
    So getting onto the weather. We are just a few hours away from the current thaws ending. It looks like temps will be dropping to around freezing by a little after midnight and the rains will change to snow and it looks like a pretty solid 5-8" will come down between the time of change over tonight until it ends Wednesday early evening.
    We did take a hit. Some areas harder than others. Fortunately, the temps did not rise above freezing until late on Friday and we even had a low and heavy overcast for most of the week. So low at times, that we had freezing fog. For those who are wondering what that is, it is when the moisture in the air is still in vapor or even liquid (very small droplets) form, but the air temp is below freezing. Many of you are probably wondering, "how can you have the water in liquid form if the air temp is below freezing". It's easy, it's magic! Just kidding, it has to do with the way that water works in relation to a thing called vapor pressure and is way too complicated for this forum, but trust me, it can happen, and when it does, it can paint the landscape in a beautiful icy frosting. Some of the most memorable events like that have preceded some big snow storms up here. This time...not so much.
    Being around so much snow really gives me a first hand view of many of the unique things it can do. Besides all the different types of snow and the way it will stick to just about anything if given the chance. I have seen upwards of 6" of snow accumulate on a single powerline. When it changes form due to temperature swings, it can become more like molasses than snow. Here is Millie checking out a drooping ribbon of snow hanging from the porch roof on Sunday. Not long after that picture was taken, the ribbon calved off.
    So as mentioned, our beautiful snowpack of just a week ago has taken a hit, but I still have around 12" on the ground as I write and it is a very dense snow. So will make for an excellent base. On our way back from the hospital today, we did pass a few sledders out riding the trails north of Calumet. The trails that I saw from around Hancock north did still have a good base on them and given the new snow coming, should be in pretty decent shape in 2-3 days.
    I was selfishly most worried about the "snow mat" on my driveway. Since getting Big Red, it is not nearly as hard to "pank down a mat" as it was before, but it still always a shame when I have a nice one in place and then it goes and melts. For the most part, the mat is holding. This was the shot of it Sunday morning as the pups and I were returning from our walk. It did get mushy and in spots where it was thicker, the vehicle tires did rut it up, but this afternoon I scraped off the excess with Big Red and the blower and this was the sight of it just before I sat down to write this entry. By tomorrow morning, it will be re-frozen and probably have a little bit of fresh on it and I can whip it back into shape for hopefully what will be the rest of the season!
    So for some reason, perhaps all that has gone on in the past 24-48 hours or just hat I know much better snow conditions lay not too far ahead, but this thaw has really not been a hard one for me to take at all. In fact, I was able to take advantage of some of the warmer temps.
    Speaking those warmer temps... I am proud to announce that Big Red's shelter is officially done! This past week, I sprayed the walls with the foam kit I had, then put in a layer of fiberglass insulation in the walls to bring the R value up to 33. Then finished off the walls with OSB and today, I had the pros come out and spray the ceiling with closed cell to give me around an R-30. The garage door was installed early last week as well as the ceiling mount heater. So now he (or is it she?) has a nice warm stable to hang out in while not busy moving snow or another heavy lifting job. I still have some lighting and storage I plan to put in, but those are projects that are fun and can be done at any time.
    So.....I can finally say that ALL of my major building projects are done!!! That is until spring when we put a new pool in. Actually I am going to either do only some of the work, or none of the work to put in the pool, depending on the route we go.
    When I hung the last piece of OSB, put all the tools away and cleaned up any mess from the construction. It did not even occur to me that I was done with all my major building projects. It actually hit me a few hours later. Don't worry, I still have plenty to keep me busy. I will be ramping up the work for the final Ride-In next month, as well as keeping the website up to date (I have been slacking on the snowcover maps for around a week). Nora and I just sent out a bunch more raffle tickets. The buying was hot and heavy in the last 7 days and we are now up to ticket 288 to sell next. Plus, they are selling them at the Mosquito Bar in Toivola now and hopefully Shelly and the crew are getting lots of demand there with the sled being there. With all my other free time, I plan to get out on skis, snowshoes, sled and also have some FUN in the woodshop! With no strict schedule I can fiddle and faddle and have a fun time building things for the house. Boy oh boy, this not having a major project hanging over my head is sure going to take some getting use to!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
JD-
December 14-
    Time got away from me, so will write tomorrow. There will be no forecast text, but I hope to be able to get the graphics out, as there is at least a bit of good news in the snow department in the next 10 days.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
JD-

December 7-
    T'was 3 weeks before the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.... (insert a whole lot more words I can't exactly remember)...when out on the driveway there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter... it also woke up the pups and got them to banter...Away to the window I flew in a flash. Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash...(insert another bunch of words I can't quite remember)...When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a brand new 2015 Arctic Cat Crossfire Highcountry from the good folks at Rt12 Arctic Cat in Arlington Heights IL over'der!
    Yep, it's here! It arrived around 12:30 Wednesday night and I am a happy camper. I really love the color and graphics this year and am already thinking about keeping this one! We'll see how things go and if I get permission from the boss, but to me, it is a sweet looking sled. It still needs to get insured, so I have not taken it on a ride yet, but getting it insured is pretty high on the to-do list this week! I also need to take it down to M/M Powersports to get the shorter a-arms put on.
    Even though I have not gone out on a ride on the new sled, I did get out for a couple of rides this week. Friday some buddies came up from WI and MN and I drove down to Toivola and parked at the Mosquito to drop the sled and ride. It always cracks me up how I need to re-learn all the stuff to bring and do before heading out on a ride. It only takes a few rides for me to get into the groove and have the pre-ride process be fairly automatic, but those first few, I really should have a check-list!
    I did manage to remember everything and it was a pretty nice day for a ride. Overcast, but temps around 30 degrees and a great early season snow pack. I know that just a few weeks ago, the snow was even deeper, but to be able to ride on around 18" of nicely set up snow the first weekend in December is truly a treat, even for these parts. Add to that some good friends and it was a very fun afternoon on the sleds.
    I have to admit that I was not absolutely stoked to ride. I was certainly not dreading it either, but I honestly could have lived with myself had I decided to not ride. That is until I fired up the sled and headed out into the woods. Then that familiar joy came back instantly and I was very happy I had NOT chosen to skip out. We did not do anything too crazy, just tooled around here and there and enjoyed the afternoon on the snow.
    Then it hit me...I just could not hold back any more...I just had to come out of the closet and break the news. While I do love snowmobiling, I am also a granola eating-tree hugger! Well, a little bit of sarcasm and I certainly do not mean to insult folks that consider themselves to be hard-core environmentalists. I too love the great outdoors and do like to treat it with respect. I also love to ride a snowmobile, but enjoy non-motorized snow play. I am also proud to live in an area were the vast majority of the non-motorized folks get along with those on the motorized toys.
    So after the ride, we all went in and had a nice dinner at the bug bar and then I headed home to enjoy the rest of the evening with my family. Which primarily consisted of falling asleep on the couch with Gracie cuddling next to me while watching a preciously recorded showing of the live version of Peter Pan.
    The next day consisted of welcoming Kelly and Adam- the two gentlemen that did the sled restoration for this years ride-in sled, to the house so that they could get the sled all dialed in. When Kelly dropped it off a few weeks ago, it was running and running pretty good, but there was a bit of a bog. So the first thing they tried was the settings on the carbs. When that failed to bring about the results they were shooting for, they broke into some boxes and whipped out a pair of brand new carbs for the machine and got to installing them.
    That did the trick, so Kelly pulled two of the ride-in sled's cousins out of his trailer and we got ready to go for a little ride. Saturday was also a nice day for a snowmobile ride. A bit cooler, with temps in the mid 20's, but a rare showing of Keweenaw winter sunshine was going on and made for comfortable conditions. It sure was a hoot riding in triplicate down the trails on those vintage sleds. The trails were in great shape and not very crowded, although the few riders we did pass all gave us an enthusiastic thumbs up. There is just something about a vintage sled that makes any snowmobiler smile. Even with trails in great shape, one does not want to spend all day on a sled from that era, plus we did not want to put a ton of miles on the ride-in sled. So we shot up to the Vansville Bar for a warm-up and to wet our whistle and then headed back down to the house. Got the sled all loaded back into the trailer for its trip down to the Mosquito the next day.
    That day was today and the moving of the sled into the Mosquito went pretty smoothly. Kelly and Adam removed the hood and that made the sleds height small enough so that all we had to do was tip it on its side and work it through the doorways. No doors needed to be removed this time...See Don... I told YA! :)
    Once inside, we moved it into its display spot for the next 5-6 weeks, Kelly and Adam put the hood back on and I did a bit of cleaning up of the sled and then took the opportunity to get a picture of the two men responsible for restoring that sled back to its full glory...and then some! On the right is Kelly who procured the sled and just about all of the parts needed for the restoration, as well as all of the body work. On the left is Adam, who rebuilt/restored the sweet looking 340 fanner to prime condition. I was the lucky one that got to ride it to the Vansville and back yesterday and can testify that it runs fantastic and has way more power than I thought it would.
    Since starting this website, I have been fortunate enough to meet some really great folks. It is unfortunate that the members of our society that do not snowmobile are typically exposed only to those knuckle heads that do something illegal or unworthy of note, but still get their names the paper and the activity of snowmobiling suffers from a bit of a false representation, but those of us that do snowmobile are able to know and experience the truth about our activity and its participants.
    With all the crappy stuff that goes on in this world, the main way I have found to be able to cope with and get through all of it is to think positively, do as many kind things for others as I can and to surround myself with others like me. It is guys like Kelly and Adam that make me very happy to be part of the human race. Even though they will likely be embarrassed by what I am about to say, they are the true heroes of our world and I am honored to have been able to get to know them.
    We have already sold 219 tickets and I have a feeling that I will probably run out of the first 1000 printed and will need to print more. A wonderful problem I hope to have!
    So the sled is at the Mosquito and will stay there through mid-January. If you were to go there tonight or tomorrow before around 1 pm, hoping to purchase your tickets, you would be out of luck as I forgot to bring some tickets with me (I believe I did that two years ago with the other raffle sled), but will be heading back down tomorrow afternoon to drop off a boat load for them to sell. After being at the Mosquito, it will move to M/M Powersports in Hancock until the day of the ride-in and will then head over to the hall for the banquet. A reminder that you will be able to purchase tickets where the sled is being shown and also on line. The online sales will occur until the day before the banquet and tickets will also be sold at the banquet itself. Lets get going on getting rid of those first 1000 tickets!!! I know that Kelly and I have talked about not having a problem with the winner turning around and selling it. The sled would probably fetch upwards of $4000 in it's condition, so even if you are not a huge vintage sled fan, there is the element of financial gain as a reason to purchase some tickets.
    This week I was also involved in another fundraising effort. I am a member of the Keweenaw Trails Services. We are the local entity responsible for maintaining the snowmobile trails up here. Recently, some of our funding has been cut and as a result, I purchased some donation boxes to be put out at local businesses that cater to snowmobilers with the goal of making up the deficit and maybe even more. We currently use an old building in Mohawk for our groomer barn. It is not big enough to hold all the equipment and is not long for this planet. So we want to be able to either acquire a different building or build our own, but all of that takes money which we need to try and raise. So remember, when you see these boxes up in the Keweenaw while snowmobiling, Gracie needs a new pair of shoes....err...I mean, please drop a buck or two, or even some spare change into them. You may not think that a buck will do much good, but multiply that by the amount of snowmobilers that this area sees in a season and problems could become a thing of the past. Right now we have 30 boxes out and I just ordered up another 20 more. My plan is to have a box at every business that a snowmobiler would go to while up here. Once that is done (hopefully before the end of January), I will let everyone know and if you are at a business that does not have a box available for donations, please be sure to ask them why, as it means they turned us down for some reason. But not yet! I will let all of you Snow-Warriors know when it's time!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
JD-