Friday nite

went over to visit the dog drivers at Bruce Magnussen's - not as many there as I imagined - maybe because it is going to be so warm this weekend.  Only about 8 kennels there - perhaps more tomorrow!

We had grilled hamburgs with Jim and then we had a surprise visitor!!  Al Hardman stopped by and spent a good couple of hours with 3 guys that had all completed the Iditarod  -  lots of good stories!!!!!  very fun to listen to!!!

Today was too warm to train again so we slept in and stopped over to Magnusson's again thinking the vet would be here to give the rabies shots - it's a good deal for us - we have 15 dogs that need them and they are only $8.50 as compared to $20 in the office!

10/19 throught 10/20/17

 Some Lake Superior property we looked at - $231,000 for 13 acres and 167' of frontage - about a 250 ft. drop off to the water!!!

 The fallen tree we both had to lay down on the 4 wheeler to drive under with the 8 dog team!!

Managed to get2 teams ran before it got too warm.  You can see from the picture above that we ran into a little obstacle when we went out with the first team!  I didn’t know the first time we went under the fallen tree if we would make it or be rubbed off onto the ground – it’s not like you stop and measure ……..  we did make it but I was glad I have lost a couple of pounds over the last year!!!  Went back later in the day and cut it out of the trail so I have some nice pieces of pine to do “something” with……..  The rest of the day we rode around on the trails looking to see if anything else had blown down and new trails we could use – late last nite Jim (the owner of the place we are staying at rolled in and so we visited a bit with him.  He is up for the big training session and shot clinic they are having across the street at Bruce Magnusson ‘s  (it has always been at the Shaws house but with the passing of Bob, Bruce offered to have it at his place)  Don’t know for sure how many dog people will show up but as I write this there are already 6 dog kennels here with more they know are coming – so that already equates to about 2-300 dogs in the neighborhood!!!!

Didn’t train this morning but probably should have even though it was already 48 degrees at 7:30am.

Today we visited with Jim and then went over to offer our help setting up to Bruce but he and his wife Monica had it all done.   Looks like tonite is burgers with Jim and don’t know if it will be cool enough (supposed to be a low of 58 degrees according the the weather app) to train at the training session tomorrow – even if they only go 3 miles (which they are planning on) it may be too much for our dogs – just because they would get so excited before they even went out on the trail!!!

More tomorrow!

Monday Tuesday and Wed

 Crisp Point Lighthouse

 Areas ravaged by the fire by Rainbow Lodge and the Two Hearted River

 view from the top of the light house

 me picking rocks

 the neighbor's Halloween decor

 an angry Lake Superior

Sunday nite was windy and dark so we did go down the road 2 miles to the easiest access to the Lake Superior beach (right across the street from the Muskellonge Lake campground).  You can see the pictures above!!

Monday we trained only one team cause it was warm (up to 50) too fast.  Because Randy forgot where he packed the rice for the dogs’ carbohydrate supplement (he since remembered he packed it under the floor in the dog part of the trailer) we decided to go to Sault Ste. Marie to the store to buy rice (we normally buy it in 25 pound bags from Sam’s Club – because we thought we forgot it we ended up buying 4 2 pound bags at the grocery store in Newberry – at 4 times the price we would usually pay – and we use 2 pounds a day for the dogs!).  It’s about an hour and half ride and it was a nice day to see more color in the trees (I would say they are close to peaking….)  Found the Walmart and of course I found more stuff to buy – still wish I had been able to talk Randy into clothes shopping at Goodwill for some stuff I forgot, but no such luck!  That trip took up most of the day so it was feed us and dogs time by the time we got back. tCrisp Point Lighthouse – it’s on the Lake Superior shore east of where we are – we took all back dirt roads on the way there and paved on the way home.  Took us about two hours to get there – the last 12 miles took an hour!!!!! They are doing lots of logging and with the recent downpours, the road was really muddy and torn up!!!  We passed 2 logging trucks head on and had to pull off of the road into the woods to let them pass!!!!  We also drove through a lot of the ground that was leveled by the forest fires up here a few years ago- amazing how that changes the terrain!!!  The light house was a delightful destination and very secluded compared to all the other tourist spots (could have something to do with the horrific road you have to go on to get there…..)  There was a couple our age camping in a tent there as volunteer hosts for the week – they are from Duluth MN – the light house has been preserved and renovated over the last 20 years – we even went the 64 steps up into the top!!!  And of course, since we were at the beach, I had to collect more rocks!!!!  Still haven’t found anything exciting like an agate or amethyst, but I will keep looking!!!!!

Wednesday morning we were able to get 2 teams run- though it was right on the bubble for temperature -  it’s a good thing almost all of the trail is in pine forest and shaded so it stays cooler even with the sun coming out!  Now we’re off on another 4 wheeler ride to scout out trails!!!!!

Saturday

Saturday was a good day to be in the UP!!  Up at 8 and ran two teams with it about 45 degrees.  Ran Coal (new) and Oslo together with 8 and Spark and Greg (new) with 9 – it was the first time we didn’t have to have me in front to lead them on the trail with the other 4 wheeler, since they have gotten used to the turns.  So I actually got to ride behind and see how they were running!!  The amazing dog is Chase, a one year old out of Oslo and Doe, who not only ran very hard the whole trail, but got himself out of a a tangle on the fly!!!!  After training a 2 hour nap (us old people need those you know……….) and then we went for another ride in the jeep around the neighbor hood.  We looked at four different camp grounds within a couple miles of here (Pretty Lake, Perch Lake, High Bridge, etc.) and found out the trail the Caldwells across the street are using to train.  By then it was time to go to town for more groceries and church.  The little church is one of three the priest is responsible for (the other 2 in Naubinway and Grand Marais) – the regular pastor had kidney stones so we will have to wait another time to meet him.  We went out to dinner on the way home to the “Wolf’s Den” – a place we had eaten at before and is only open on weekends.  I had whitefish and it was delicious – I think that might be the 4^th time in 2 weeks!!!  Of course it’s abundant here!!!

Over nite had a horrible rain and wind storm!!!!! Thought it was going to blow the awining off from the side of the trailer!!!  They said there would be 30+ mph winds and it sounded like it!!!  Had to wake Randy up shortly after we went to bed because I could hear something was wrong in the dogyard……sure enough, one of Jim’s dogs had broken another chain and was dragging it around ands was in Muggs’ circle and had her tangled up in it!!

Still raining this morning and windy so we slept in and now I am making a pot of ham and pea soup which Randy is not-so-patiently waiting to have done.  The wind has died down a lot but it is supposed stop raining in a while – maybe we will drive over to Lake Superior (only about 2 miles away) to see how big the waves are!!

Since it was too warm to train at 50 degrees this morning- we played tourists!!

Upper Taquamenon Falls

 Picture of the bell from the Edmund Fitzgeral in the Shipwreck museum

 Freighter going thru the straits

Last nite we ended the day of telephone frustration with Randy taking a long 4 wheel drive looking at what trails to train on next to go farther with the dogs while I was on the phone with the Apple advisor trying to unlock my phone.  After dinner we wathched 5 episodes of Wyatt Earp from 1955 – they were pretty good shows back then!!!!

When we got up at 8 it looked pretty cloudy and gloomy out plus was too warm for the dogs to run so we decided to see some of the local sights we had not visited yet.  After a breakfast of ham and pancakes with Bellerive Canadian maple syrup  we set out for Whitefish point and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – it took about an hour to get there and the landscape was beautiful wherever there were maples – I would say we are about 75% color right now.  It was $13 each for admission and that included a movie about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the museum, the rescue boat house and the lightkeeper’s home.  We were there about 2 hours and there were walkways out to 2 beaches.  You can see the picture of me walking and one of a tanker like the E. Fitzgerald out in the narrows off Whitefish Point.  The other pictures are of places around the museum grounds and of Taquamenon Falls, both the upper and lower.  Beautiful with the trees in color. Lots of people with the same idea as us!!!  The parking lots were almost full like it was summer!  Didn’t start raining until we headed for home about 5.  Randy fed dogs and then we took Ashley (the dog handler for Jim Oehlschlaeger- the guy who owns the place we are renting space at) out for dinner to Stump Junction (her boyfriend is a cook there at nite) and we had a “surprise pizza” made just for by Steve.   Tomorrow will barely be cool enough when we get up so we will see how training goes then!