Today it is supposed to get to almost 40 degrees. That means that its Chaco season once again.

Today we went canoeing with Anna. She is leaving tomorrow and moving to Washington. We replaced the wood on her canoe and today was it's first trip out.

My weekend vacation to the U.P. was great.

I set my alarm but forgot to turn it on so Bridgit and I didn't get up until 7 am instead of the planned 5am. We were on the road at about 7:40 am. Once in the U.P we missed the exit for M-2 and went about a half hour out of our way. We stopped for a lunch/bathroom/gas break in Naubinway and I got a couple of Pasties. We got to Marquette about 3pm and met Dan, Betsy, Rich and Sue at the Public Library which is across from their hotel. The ladies went to a bridal shop in town and us guys went to an outdoor store so I could add to my XC wax collection and then went back to the hotels' hot tub. When the ladies got back we got bundled up to go see the UP 200 dogsled race. Man it was something to see those dogs go. We watched them come down the hill towards the lake and then make a 90-degree turn at the bottom. After the race we had dinner at Upfront, which is an amazing restaurant /club.

We all went out to breakfast at a little restaurant in town and then headed to Houghton to see Dan and Bridgit's Uncle Fran and Aunt Joanne to go skiing. We ended up all XC skiing at the Michigan Tech Ski Trails. None of us had ever been on trails like it. In the L.P. we are used to only small amounts of snow, but in Houghton they have gotten 207 inches (17.25 feet) and it has been a light year. The trails are wide, hilly and groomed. They are nice, but my wide backcountry skis are not designed for the type of trails there. After skiing we went to Fran and Joanne's and had some food then headed into town to look at the ice sculptures from Winterfest. There Dan and I were mesmerized by the awesome sport of BroomBall, which is like Hockey but without skates and brooms and a ball instead of sticks and a puck. It is a sport which celebrates clumsiness.

Bridgit and I got up and went to church at St. Peters Cathedral in Marquette and then went to pick up stuff for breakfast. We went back to Ben's apartment and made eggs, bacon, and biscuits. After breakfast we packed up and then drove around town. We all helped Ben on his movie for class which involved a car turning on its left signal and then turning right. After the movie was shot we started the long trip home. It snowed all the way from Marquette to Dexter. The L.P. had a winter storm warning and the roads got worse as we got closed to home. Flint ended up getting almost a foot of snow. There were tons of accidents, most of which involved snowmobile trailers. People just don't know how to drive in bad weather. We averaged about 50mph all the way home and it took us 10 hours instead of the 7 hours it took to get there.

Bridgit and I are taking a long weekend and going up to visit Ben VV in Marquette. Hopefully there will be enough snow for both kinds of skiing and maybe even some snowshoeing. We are meeting Dan, Betst, and the VV's up there.