Last night I wrote how much I love where I live.
Today I got a list of reasons from Dick Wagner. It made me chuckle and I thought I should share some of them.
I've revised my list to be "You know you're a Yooper when."
1. You consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by.
2. You're proud that your region makes the national news 100 nights a year because Ironwood is the coldest spot in the nation.
3. The Dairy Queen is closed from October through May.
4. You don't think it's strange to be invited to a friends house to take a bath when they call to say, "The Sauna's hot."
5. You have worn shorts and a coat at the same time.
6. Your town has an equal number of bars and churches.
7. You have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number.
8. When vacation means going to "Camp" less than 1/2 hour away.
9. You know several people who have hit a deer--more than once--and gutted it on the spot.
10. You often switch from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day.
11.You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, and eat your lunch.
12. People wear camouflage at social events, including weddings.
13. You carry jumper cables in your car and your kids know how to use them, even if they aren't old enough to drive.
14. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
15. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
16. You name all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
17. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your Mountain Ash.
18. Down south means Green Bay.
19. A brat is something you eat.
20. Pasty rhymes with nasty and the best are with rutabaga.
21.You take your Mom out to fish fry every Friday.
22. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
23.You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
24. You drink pop and bake with soda.
25. You can actually drink Vernors without coughing.
26. You know that UP is a place, not a direction.
27. You know enough friends to rock a pickup out of the snowbank.
28. You nay not be able to spell it, but you know how to play euchre.
29. A significant amount of your cold weather wardrobe is orange.
30. And finally, you wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Skiing in a storm
Tonight I had to ski.
It has been two days since I'd last had my feet locked in to a pair of skis and my body was begging to get out.
Still, it was one of those nights that works hard to keep you in. It was a long day. I got in late from Media Box. We had a late dinner, two games of checkers and I wasn't moving fast to get the kitchen wiped down . But I had to go.
Pulling out of the driveway, I second guessed driving to Blueberry. Lakewood was drifting shut and I fishtailed the turn to cross the river. Jeeze Louise the snow was piling up fast.
Plows heading east on County Road 480 made clouds when they passed threatening to steer me into the bank, but I recovered. When I got to Blueberry I busted into the lot, the only car and from the condition of the track, the only skier for at least an hour.
The gauge in the car read 5 degrees. I could tell there was a wind, but I wouldn't be cold. I chose my no-wax Salomon's and set my watch.
Most nights I ski by myself. It feels so good to be out in the air, the quiet, the snow. Tonight the track's humps looked like two legs stretched out under a blanket, but my skis found the grooves and dropped in easily.
Right away I knew this wouldn't really be a ski, but more of a walking glide, plowing snow with my skinny little tips. Approaching a light pole on the first rise I looked back to see if anyone was following. Not a soul. But my tracks, two shiny cuts stood out against the smooth fresh snow as if I was writing my name on a blank sheet of paper; not the letters, but certainly my identity.
I love where I live.
The beauty that surrounds us in Marquette ranks too rich for words.
The pine boughs caked with snow were so ripe for my trail trick, but no one was following to douse with snow. I would have to save it.
And no fresh animal tracks laced across my path. The critters tonight, big and little, are laying low and waiting out the weather.
Making the bend I felt the wind at my nose. My eyes blinked back the driving snow and then I gave up. I skied along with my eyes shut until I felt the row of Jack Pines break the wind. It's good for your balance to feel the trail in the dark with your feet.
Slowly I climbed the hill, my breath cupped in the neck of my parka. My furnace was fueled and firing. My energy was rebounding.
We have so much to be thankful for. Tonight it was the spontaneity of skiing alone in the night, during the eye of the storm, breathing winter and tasting the fresh snow as it layered on my top lip.
Before I left the house I listened on Public Radio to our governor, Jennifer Granholm, deliver her 7th State of the State address. Bless her. Michigan is suffering. But she's doing her best working through a mess of the economy. She spent the hour giving us the hard facts and her plan to inspire the future. I appreciated her hope. But out on the trail, I was wishing she was with me. I thought about her as a leader, a woman, a mother, a wife. Who and what inspires her? What keeps her energy moving forward?
How I wish she could have these Blueberry nights in her life too. To be in the track and feel the cold wet on her face, be awed by the beauty of the snow drenched trees. It works miracles.
And tomorrow it will only get better when the winds subside and the sun appears. The scene out of my kitchen window overlooking Lake Superior will likely catch my breath and make me pause, like it does most days, with wonder.
We are changed by the power of this place and the preciousness of this landscape.
More testimony to my mantra; "Everything gets better when you get outside."
Even . . .in a storm.
It has been two days since I'd last had my feet locked in to a pair of skis and my body was begging to get out.
Still, it was one of those nights that works hard to keep you in. It was a long day. I got in late from Media Box. We had a late dinner, two games of checkers and I wasn't moving fast to get the kitchen wiped down . But I had to go.
Pulling out of the driveway, I second guessed driving to Blueberry. Lakewood was drifting shut and I fishtailed the turn to cross the river. Jeeze Louise the snow was piling up fast.
Plows heading east on County Road 480 made clouds when they passed threatening to steer me into the bank, but I recovered. When I got to Blueberry I busted into the lot, the only car and from the condition of the track, the only skier for at least an hour.
The gauge in the car read 5 degrees. I could tell there was a wind, but I wouldn't be cold. I chose my no-wax Salomon's and set my watch.
Most nights I ski by myself. It feels so good to be out in the air, the quiet, the snow. Tonight the track's humps looked like two legs stretched out under a blanket, but my skis found the grooves and dropped in easily.
Right away I knew this wouldn't really be a ski, but more of a walking glide, plowing snow with my skinny little tips. Approaching a light pole on the first rise I looked back to see if anyone was following. Not a soul. But my tracks, two shiny cuts stood out against the smooth fresh snow as if I was writing my name on a blank sheet of paper; not the letters, but certainly my identity.
I love where I live.
The beauty that surrounds us in Marquette ranks too rich for words.
The pine boughs caked with snow were so ripe for my trail trick, but no one was following to douse with snow. I would have to save it.
And no fresh animal tracks laced across my path. The critters tonight, big and little, are laying low and waiting out the weather.
Making the bend I felt the wind at my nose. My eyes blinked back the driving snow and then I gave up. I skied along with my eyes shut until I felt the row of Jack Pines break the wind. It's good for your balance to feel the trail in the dark with your feet.
Slowly I climbed the hill, my breath cupped in the neck of my parka. My furnace was fueled and firing. My energy was rebounding.
We have so much to be thankful for. Tonight it was the spontaneity of skiing alone in the night, during the eye of the storm, breathing winter and tasting the fresh snow as it layered on my top lip.
Before I left the house I listened on Public Radio to our governor, Jennifer Granholm, deliver her 7th State of the State address. Bless her. Michigan is suffering. But she's doing her best working through a mess of the economy. She spent the hour giving us the hard facts and her plan to inspire the future. I appreciated her hope. But out on the trail, I was wishing she was with me. I thought about her as a leader, a woman, a mother, a wife. Who and what inspires her? What keeps her energy moving forward?
How I wish she could have these Blueberry nights in her life too. To be in the track and feel the cold wet on her face, be awed by the beauty of the snow drenched trees. It works miracles.
And tomorrow it will only get better when the winds subside and the sun appears. The scene out of my kitchen window overlooking Lake Superior will likely catch my breath and make me pause, like it does most days, with wonder.
We are changed by the power of this place and the preciousness of this landscape.
More testimony to my mantra; "Everything gets better when you get outside."
Even . . .in a storm.
Granite Peak
It's rare that a Yooper chick travels SOUTH to ski, but when Darien Schaefer and Vicki Baumann invite you to play at Granite Peak and explore Wausau, Wisconsin, the car gets packed in a hurry.
Vicki is long time Operations Manager at Granite Peak Ski Area, the former Rib Mountain. Over the past 8 years she's seen the area grow under owner Charles Skinner from 14 to 74 runs. But what is most exciting about this transformation is how Vicki and Charles are working to make Granite Peak affordable and fun!
Saturday night skiing and snowboarding under the lights from 4-9 costs just $15.00.
Show me 5 hours of heart healthy entertainment for that price! It won't be at the movies.
If you need to warm up, check out the live entertainment in the newly remodeled Historic Chalet. Granite Peak is surely the Saturday night hot spot for central Wisconsin.
Vicki has also added family-friendly festivals. Her aim is on target. Kids 12 and under ski FREE with a family combo ticket.
Can't squeeze an entire week off? No sweat. You can still make memories for the gang with a ski trip to GP. Take advantage of their 3-day weekend lift and lodging special. Stay and ski for two days, and the 3rd day is half price. Check out all the deals at www.skigranitepeak.com.
Vicki is long time Operations Manager at Granite Peak Ski Area, the former Rib Mountain. Over the past 8 years she's seen the area grow under owner Charles Skinner from 14 to 74 runs. But what is most exciting about this transformation is how Vicki and Charles are working to make Granite Peak affordable and fun!
Saturday night skiing and snowboarding under the lights from 4-9 costs just $15.00.
Show me 5 hours of heart healthy entertainment for that price! It won't be at the movies.
If you need to warm up, check out the live entertainment in the newly remodeled Historic Chalet. Granite Peak is surely the Saturday night hot spot for central Wisconsin.
Vicki has also added family-friendly festivals. Her aim is on target. Kids 12 and under ski FREE with a family combo ticket.
Can't squeeze an entire week off? No sweat. You can still make memories for the gang with a ski trip to GP. Take advantage of their 3-day weekend lift and lodging special. Stay and ski for two days, and the 3rd day is half price. Check out all the deals at www.skigranitepeak.com.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Warm Up to Winter
Month 2 of the new year has started and winter in the Great Lakes region is still in full swing.
According to Steve Fleegel, Meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Negaunee, regional snowfall through the month of January is up 30% over normal. That means at 156.1 inches, we’re 51.8 inches above average.
And it’s not just snow that’s making this winter so memorable. Temperatures are also lower than normal, a whopping 5.3 degrees colder than typical for January.
“They work together,” explains Fleegel. “Those cooler temperatures create more lake effect snow off the Great Lakes.” He says traditionally February has the least snowfall of the winter months, but he expects a second snowfall peak in March.
Bottom line, winter isn’t going away any time soon but don't go burying your head under another blanket. I've got a better cure for your cabin fever.
Trust me, EVERYTHING gets better when you get outside.
Come out and play with Jesie Melchiori and me.
We're hosting the first “Warm Up To Winter,” three day women’s snowsport symposium beginning this Thursday, February 5, at Marquette Mountain Ski Area. 
“The goal is to get women together, outside and having fun,” says Jesie, Guest Relations Manager at Marquette Mountain.
The package price is $179. Women can choose three classes ranging from beginner to advanced skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or even telemark skiing. The package also includes lift tickets, equipment, meals, morning yoga sessions and a special dinner Friday night at Sam Behm's L’Attitude Café in downtown Marquette. Heather is cooking up a tasty apres ski party for us.
Gail Anthony at County Inn and Suites has also arranged for a special lodging rate for those who need a bunk for Thursday and Friday. . .heck, at Marquette prices, stay all weekend.
We’ll have all the tools to improve your skiing or try something new, plus sessions on how to dress for the cold, take care of your skin, and work out sore muscles.
If you've been to the Becoming an Outdoors Woman weekends in Big Bay you'll recognize the format. And if you've been paddling with Ladies of the Lake sea kayak symposium or pedaling with She Cycles bike symposium, you'll understand how much fun it is to bust out of your comfort zone in the company of women teaching you new skills.
Jesie says, “If you have been looking for a reason to start skiing or snowboarding, this is it.”
I've long believed that, when Mom skis, the whole family will ski (or snowboard) so if you want your family to get gliding, get Mom out there having fun.
I've long believed that, when Mom skis, the whole family will ski (or snowboard) so if you want your family to get gliding, get Mom out there having fun.
Don't hibernate, Participate.
For details on Marquette Mountain’s Warm Up to Winter call 800-944-SNOW or visit http://www.marquettemountain.com/.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
