Snow!!!

 

The three of us skiing outside of Gaylord, Michigan in January 2023.  An amazing day with ideal temperatures, near perfect trail grooming and glide, exploring a new network of trails through the North Michigan woods.  My wife even got to try out -- some might say absconded with -- my new skis that day and approved of the purchase/two-year wait for them to arrive from the Madshus factory in Norway.  Ski camber does eventually wear out with use, so it was time to upgrade after 20+ years on the original pair, purchased at G Sport in downtown Trondheim way back in December 1999.  The pair in question has become my rock skis for less than ideal conditions although they still wax up quite well.

 

Well, here we are.  Another Saturday, and a busy weekend in store.  But that's ok given most of the activities on the agenda.  On the toy soldier front, glossing will commence in earnest later this evening for those 16 Saxon cuirassiers. If all goes well, I will be able to get the initial coat applied by the end of tonight's planned session. 

I had hoped to get started with this much earlier in the week, but the last seven days have been taken up by syllabi revisions (date changes, etc.), online course page revisions, and of course various meetings of one kind or another.  Most of these online via Zoom, but a couple were actually in-person on campus.  You know.  All of that annoying real life stuff that tends to get in the way of more worthy pursuits.

Speaking of worthy pursuits, we have finally had a respectable snowfall after several minor dustings since the end of November, but not enough to do anything with besides sweep off the front porch and walk. But, we now have a good covering on the ground this morning with cold temperatures. Just enough snow, four or five inches maybe, for some old rock skis. 

So, off to visit some local trails (1o minutes down the road from the house) on a pair of cross-country skis midday today after clearing the driveway with Ol' Blue the Snowblower (she's actually red) and brushing off the car. 

Late this (Saturday) afternoon, some more double-checking on course documents and the creation of a couple of Google documents to share with students when classes commence for Spring 2025 on Monday morning.

Sunday (tomorrow), it looks like I am shuttling the Young Master to his monthly meeting of the Young Aviators/Experimental Aircraft Association 30 minutes away, so the afternoon will be spent doing that with some more course preparation on the ol' laptop while I wait around for Paul to do his thing there.  Three hours in a cafe on a Sunday afternoon ain't exactly a hardship though.

Finally, there are several pairs of skis to prepare for our upcoming annual three-day ski weekend in Northern Michigan next week. So, lots to do over the next several days, but I can't wait to hit the trails at Forbush Corner, Hanson Hills, Hartwick Pines, and/or possibly Cross Country Ski HQ Nordic ski centers in the Higgins Lake/Grayling areas of the state. The forecast calls for continued cold and light snow through the coming week. Yes!!!  

We pull out of here late Friday afternoon for the 2.5 hour drive up to the small VRBO house we rent each year for the extended January skiing weekend getaway.  Charming, cozy, and no more than 15-30 minutes away from the ski areas mentioned above.  Plus there are many more in Michigan, both groomed and ungroomed.  Extensive trail systems and less extensive.   And that's not even including the Upper Peninsula , which has some of the largest Nordic ski centers in the Midwest.  Time and snow permitting, I'd like to explore them all!  

In particular, an area that I would like to revisit after too many years is ABR Trails outside of Ironwood.  The center is huge with something like over 70 miles of groomed trails at this point (they've extended their network since last we visited in 2009).  The Grand Duchess and I used to spend several days there early each January way back, before the Young Master arrived, skiing and wrapping up with traditional saunas before showers and donning clean, dry clothes followed by dinner somewhere along the way back to the motel.  

The trip was a straight drive up Highway 51 from Central Illinois to the Wisconsin-Michigan state line.  About 7.5 hours or so, not including occasional stops, if memory serves.  Somewhat ironically, it would take us longer to get there now by car than it did then although we are now in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan ourselves!  But I digress.

In the meantime, lot's to do and not enough time during the next six days, but when enough snow falls, you've gotta roll with it.  There's a bad trail groomer's pun in there somewhere.  In the meantime, mount up and get that Piston Bully moving! 

Happy Weekend Everyone,

 Stokes