Sun Dogs

Happy Wednesday!

It's pretty glorious out there! Frosty and cold, but the sun sparkles on it all. And the lake is undulating all the pack ice that set in the bay. I'm not going out there today!

This past weekend was the Copper Dog 150. It spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning in Copper Harbor. Now, Brady loves animals, but he is afraid when dogs bark.

Can you imagine all the yipping we just had here?

I think he's desensitized for a bit.

We sat on a snow perch and watched some of the racers take off. It was pretty fun! He was into it, so it was fun. Ha!

On our perch - Photo by the legendary Steve Brimm

Boy, there were a lot of people in town. It was a little nuts with parking. I thought "How the heck does this town do it in summer time?" 

Then I remembered that most of the snowbanks turn into parking spots. Just like that!

We also went out for a little... adventure. I pulled him in his blue sled while wearing snowshoes (both per his request). It was the only way I could convince him. 

He is not a fan of winter, but when the sun is out, I try.

We went past the community garden.

He was outside, so I let him be lazy

Then we went down a path that must have been a snowmobile reroute. I couldn't tell, but it was heavily tracked. Then we swerved to where I thought the ski trail was. 

I love this view of the Nose of Brockway.

"Ski" path to the nose

But we did not make it too far down that path. I won't pretend that breaking trail on snowshoes while pulling an eight-year-old in a sled is a walk in the park. I sweated.

A lot.

But he didn't want to go too far, so we turned around and cruised through some more panked areas and went to see the horses. 

He loves the horses. It's his happy place. I have to drag him away from them each time. But I'm glad he enjoys it. They are peaceful to visit.

He is an animal man to the core.

So, I didn't think I'd have anything new and exciting to share this time, but I do. I just can't stop!

Link time!

I just uploaded a new video for Snack Break Sessions. I take you to "The Gap." But this time I also supplemented more content and photos on my adventure blog!

Yes!

I got the CHV adventure blog going again! Check it out and make sure you are caught up.

And here is the link to the podcast. I added a new one to the feed yesterday. This one dispels the common myth that we are all stuck in the Harbor in the winter. It's titled "Gregg Patrick: A Plow Master!" A very knowledgable guest, by the way. I hope you like it.

I still have two more exciting things to tell you, but not all at once. Oh, man. This is just so great!

I hope you have a lovely day!

Keeping Winter Bright

Hello from the ridiculously white great north!

Yes, we got a lot of snow.  The report was 20-something inches, but the wind gusts dispersed that into drifts, so it wasn't an even layer of snow... in most places.

It was blown clean over here and over your head over there with an extended peak at the top making it clear which direction the wind came from... for hours.

I'm not going to bore you with my sob story of how long it took me to dig myself out (or the fact that I haven't even finished yet!) because Yoopers everywhere have their own story.  And many had it worse.

I want to talk about the snow being FUN!

Because, before the storm, I was dedicated to making the Copper Harbor tunnel luge right off my front porch.  Yup, that's right.  A tunnel luge.

It took a few random hours of digging when I could get outside according to Wee-man's schedule.  But the day before the storm was predicted to come, one friend watched Brady P while two of my girlfriends came by to help me dig until the bottom tunnel met the top tunnel.

Oh, glory and joy in my heart!!!  We did it!!!

Then we quickly tried to shape the rest of it to get a smooth ride from the top to the bottom -- a length of approximately 30 feet.

Haha.  The smooth ride never happened.

But we rode anyway with our limbs whipping around and voices squealing.  Here's a video of one of the pioneer rides!

Oh, man.  It was so fun.  We had about a dozen people try it out the first day.  And the next day, some of the town's school girls came and sledded for three hours!

I was elated.  That was exactly what I wanted to do -- create something fun to bring the community together over outdoor activities.  I mean, that's the mission of Copper Harbor Vitality!

We sledded for those couple days, but then it snowed and snowed and snowed as I mentioned above.

I did a few runs today to see how much work the luge needs.  The tunnel needs to be dug out a bit.  I'm not normally claustrophobic, but I started to feel that way as I wriggled myself out backwards at the bottom.

The only problem is that I can't find my scoop shovel!  I honestly think it's buried in the snow. 

How ironic.

Well, I'll get that baby up and running again, don't you worry.  If you want to come and check it out, please do!  Just bring a shovel.  Wink.

And now for a special offer!

All this snow is very, well, white.  And I'm a woman who loves bright colors.  Do you know what is full of bright colors?  My wildflower pictures!

 

A teaser of color!

Right now, I'm offering a great sale on all items on the Copper Harbor Vitality website of buy 2, get 1 free!  Woohoo!  Put a little color in your life, save some cash and support one of your favorite artists!

Sounds like a triple win to me!  

Just use the coupon code 3COLORS at the checkout.  And start shopping here!  The offer expires on St. Patrick's Day.

Thanks again for reading.  You are a rare breed -- a person who reads!