UP 200 Sled Dog Race

This weekend is the UP 200 Sled Dog Race.  Fourteen teams participated this year.  They started in Marquette Friday night and arrived in Grand Marais, which is the turn-around point, around mid-day yesterday.  Temperatures along the route were in the 40s and 50s, which is too warm for the teams, but great for the spectators.  Once they arrive in Grand Marais, the teams rest in our baseball field.  The town plows out spaces for the mushers' rigs and equipment to line up.  There are also numerous checkpoints manned by locals to help direct/stop snowmobile traffic to protect the dog sled teams.  This event is a qualifier for the Alaskan Iditarod race.

First Cross Country Ski of the Year

It is embarrassing to admit that yesterday was the first day of cross country skiing for the year.  Between working on the book, weather issues, the holidays, and the trip -- it just didn't happen.  I'm going out again today before the meltdown.  Temperatures during the next week are supposed to be in the upper 30s and 40s.

First, when I drove to town I captured a picture of the road commission.  This plow is used to remove the snow banks.

The national park trails yesterday were perfect.

Lake of ice on the Great Lakes

When I drove to and from Marquette yesterday, I noticed how little ice cover there is on the Big Lake. I just looked it up. The ice coverage of all five lakes is only 8.9 percent. This is weird. Usually, by this time of the winter, most of the lower Great Lakes are mostly frozen over. The Lake Superior average for this date is 32 percent. The current ice coverage on Lake Superior is only 3 percent.  The comparison stats are below.

 

     Mid-February 2014                                 Mid-February 2017

Lake Erie, 95.8 percent                                     8.4 percent

Lake Huron, 95.5 percent                                19.0 percent

Lake Superior, 94.6 percent                              3.0 percent

Lake Michigan, 82.3 percent                           10.1 percent

Lake Ontario, 43.4 percent                               2.9 percent

Grand Marais Snowshoe and Winter Picnic

As promised today I will post photos from the snowshoe and winter picnic I went on with friends, Jamey and Lois.  It was sunny, but cooler than we expected.  With all the snow it was difficult to find enough wood for the fire, but we managed.  The fire started on top of the snow (of course), but soon burnt a hole in the snow nearly two feet deep.  After we went back to the car, we drove around town so I could get a few more photos.  I had a great time on my trip, but it is good to be home.

Snowshoeing in....

The fire started on top of the snow....

....and then burnt its way down.

 

As the fire burnt down, it revealed the layers caused by different snow storms.

 

 

 

Inner harbor lighthouse...

High snow banks....

Outer  harbor lighthouse with lots of shore ice along the break wall...

There is almost no ice in the channel, which is bizarre.

Shore ice, which us locals call icebergs.