I don't know where the time has gone!!!!

 

This year's Christmas tree - we got it from the top of a tree someone had already cut down to clear the trail!!!

Kitch-iti-kipi Spring near Manistique - those fish are in the natural spring that stays 45 degrees year round - probably 20 pounds or more

you go out into the spring on a raft using (in this case) child power turning a wheel that pulls the raft out

cooking steak dinner in our very tiny house

formed by the mist coming off from the Tahquamenon Falls  

Annabelle, Elaina and Stephen

Stephen's first hunt with his father

the wheel the kids used to guide the raft along the cable

the falls - first time for the the kids!!!

It should be obvious from the photos that we had our son Lucas, his wife Erica and the 3 grandkids up for an early Christmas celebration!!!!  They arrived on Thursday nite and stayed until Monday!!!!!  We had such fun!!!  Saw all the local attractions and even got a first-time hunting expedition for Stephen hunting the bothersome red squirrels!!!!!  Even had a hot dog roast in the fire pit here!!!  2 of the 3 kids stayed overbite with us while the others got to play in their hot tub in the room in Newberry!!!!  Also saw 2 bald eagles on our way to the Kitch-iti-kipi Spring - so that contributed to Erica's wish for "nature sightings"!!!!

Since then we have still been training every day and at  one point were up to 24 mile runs but the ground was still frozen and still no snow so we cut back to slower and shorter runs!!!  The race meeting happened Thursday so it looks like the race is still on but who knows when we will get snow (very unusual for this area and this time of year - last year we had a couple of feet on snow on the ground at this time) and what the covid 19 restrictions might be on January 9th!!!!  I will keep you informed!!!!