This is Michael's third trip here for snowmobiling, so he's seen quite a large part of the geography here, from 170 miles north to 180 miles east to 80 miles west. He had not been to this very scenic place before, so we decided to ride there today. The destination was Lake of the Clouds near Lake Superior southwest of the town of Ontonagon. It's located in the Porcupine Mountains along the Lake Superior shore. It would be a rather long ride, but we chose to do it today because we're in the middle of a deep freeze this week and Monday was forecast to be the warmest day of the week. Yeah, it was forecast to be a high of 6 degrees. We first rode to Pat & Dawn Keefe's home on Lindsley Lake, part ... read more

When I awoke around 7 AM, there was an inch of snow on Rita and the temperature was 27 degrees. Although it didn't look like anything was sticking to the pavement, I didn't want to take the chance that I might encounter some ice on the highways. So I hung around the Gateway about as long as I could and decided to get on the road at 11:00 AM. The weather forecast for home was a high of 51, but the temps were going to drop to the high 20's at night so I didn't want to wait so long that I would run into those temps at the end of the ride. So I knocked the snow off the bike, saddled up, checked out of the lodge and headed south on US 45. The road ... read more

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them and I always enjoy your comments) I've been to Big Bay quite a few times, but always on a snowmobile. On snowmobile trails you ride from the town of L'Anse on the Keweenaw Bay in an arc along forest roads through the Huron Mountains direct to Big Bay, which is about a 50 mile ride through the forest with nothing in between. I figured this would be a spectacular ride now with all the color. I started out leaving Copper Harbor on Brockway Mountain road which takes you over Brockway Mountain, the highest point in the Keweenaw Peninsula. What a beautiful vista in all directions. I can only hope the pictures show it decently. The weather was even cooperating. The temperature was around 40 and we even got some ... read more

I wrestled all morning with the decision to ride today or just lay low at the Gateway Lodge. After having a late breakfast, I started thinking that with the snowmobile pants and all the other gear on it wouldn't be too bad to ride. It was about 36 degrees and passing snow showers all day and WAS kind of iffy. If the temps should drop below 32, it wouldn't be good to be on the road. About 2:00 I decided to give it a go. It's about 75 miles to Lake of the Clouds and with all the right clothes on, it was comfortable to ride. Lake of the Clouds is in the Porcupine Mountains in the northwest of the Upper Peninsula right near Lake Superior and the whole area is beautiful in all seasons. The ... read more

I'm heading out early tomorrow morning on another solo adventure. The weather is probably going to be the biggest challenge with rain tomorrow and pretty cold temps up in the north country. Three wheels makes it a lot more safe and doable, though. I'm going to ride as many two lane roads as I can and just use the interstates to get away from Chicago and bypass other large towns. Let's hope the color is at it's peak and I get some clear weather to get good photos.... read more