Thursday, December 31, 2015

Boat Ramp Road Hike

Happy New Year to everyone!

Yesterday I went on a hike with friends, Lois and Carol.  We decided to walk down the road that goes to the boat ramp on Sable Lake and beyond.  There was little to no wind and just a bit of snow with temperatures in the mid-20s.  We hiked for 1.5 hours.  My knee if feeling stronger and stronger.  Yea!!!






Small waterfalls with ice along side the road....





Sable Lake boat ramp....




Grand Sable Dunes from the boat ramp....





Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Winter Scenes in my Yard

The other night I walked around my property with friends, Jamey and Lois.  Of course, I had to take a few photos.  Currently we only have a few inches of snow.  We were supposed to get ten inches the other night, but that did not happen.

One of my many apple trees....


Jamey walking down my south path....


I love snow on evergreens!




We also hiked the south end of my neighbor's property.  There are various vehicles....



Jamey and Lois's dog, Bear, always leads the way.


Apples still on the tree...



Tuesday, December 29, 2015

School Forest to Lake Superior hike

Yesterday I wanted to continue rehabbing my knee.  My friend, Lois, and I parked at the bridge in the School Forest and walked the roads to the bluff at Goebel Beach.   The erosion has continued.  Now the bluff is cantilevered even more and the bluff is nearly vertical, so it would be impossible to get down to the beach and then back up to the bluff. 

Red pines in school forest.....


The bluff, which is 30-40 feet above the beach.


Don't get too close Lois!


Using my camera's zoom function, I captured this photo of ice on driftwood.


Looking straight down the bluff.....


Apparently the new owners of Sportsman's Restaurant assessed the integrity of the foundation and supporting structure of the building and deemed it too expensive to fix.  It appears that they are removing all the usable items, tearing the building down, and building a new structure.  We hear that they are going to re-orient the new building to be facing the bay with large windows.  They hope to be open by June or July.  I wish them luck.  I am sure building in Grand Marais in the winter is a challenge.



Monday, December 28, 2015

Sable Lake area Hike

The day after Christmas I went on a short 45 minute hike with my son, Kevin, and his family.  I decided that I wanted to test the knee some more.  Thanks to a knee brace, I made the hike with only a bit of pain toward the end of the hike.  We selected a flat trail and hiked the south Masse Homestead trail that runs from H58 to Sable Lake.

Trail head and heading south toward Sable Lake...





We also visited my friend, Rene's mother Ruth.  She is 93 and requested to see my sons and meet my grandchildren.



Saturday, December 26, 2015

Merry Christmas!

It was great having both my grown sons and their families at my house for Christmas!  I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas eve and day!

Santa did come!




I think Keenen likes his remote control car the best!


Like father, like son!


Turkey!


Shrimp appetizer!


The first Christmas full moon since 1977 occurred last night.    The next full moon on Christmas will happen in 2034.




Friday, December 25, 2015

Lake Superior waves for Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to everyone!  Yesterday was an usual Christmas eve in Grand Marais.  It rained the entire night before, which melted most of the snow.  The winds were intense so at my house we were without power for 14 hours.  Other parts of town had their power restored sooner.  Although the winds died down over the course of the day, they were still causing Lake Superior to kick up her heals.  Some of the photos below I took; others were taken by a guest photographer:  my son, Jonathan, using my camera.  I stayed home to babysit by grandson while Jonathan and my daughter-in-law, Jessica, went out and toured around town.

Late morning, Jonathan and I ran to town to do errands.  We just had to go to the end of Coast Guard Point to check out the waves.





Later in the day, Jonathan got a few more photos of the waves.




Then Jonathan and Jessica went out to the Log Slide.  Normally, this time of year you cannot drive out there.






 


The woodpeckers have been hard at work...



Christmas eve....


My grandson, Keenen.



Getting ready for Santa...