Creeping Forward

It’s that time of the year…the point in which time seems to creep by. The first few years I lived here, it moved incredibly slow! These days, it still moves slower than most other times of the year, but not as slowly as it did 20 years ago. Why does it move so slowly? Waiting. I’m waiting for the big snows to arrive. I’m waiting for main firearm season to end so that we can have the freedom to go where we want to walk or explore and last, but certainly no least, I am waiting for snowmobile season to start!

As far as the snowfall goes, we have gotten snows since I last wrote. Lake effect fell on Thursday and again today. Not much piled up on Thursday, about an inch and the verdict is still out on the current event, but so far we have picked up and an inch and a half and are not suppose to get much more than that. Other areas picked up more. I know Calumet picked up around 3″ on Thursday and other areas, both to the west and east of us picked up at least 3″.

I don’t mind the lower totals we get this time of the year, because it is still questionable if it will hang around. However, by the time we get to the second week of December and beyond, then I get envious of the big snow areas of the Keweenaw and wished that we could be in them. I still am happy that we moved, but sure miss the big snows of the high country.

The first week of snowfall forecasts went pretty well. Some challenges with appointments arose, especially with the videos, but even Friday I was not able to do any forecasts. Most of the appointments that caused the issues were either made well before I decided when to start the forecasts, or were spur of the moment and I could not choose the time. In any rate, I am now doing my best to keep my mornings wide open. When the snow gets deeper, all day wide open!

The start up of the forecasts and videos were enough to keep me pretty busy, so I do not have a lot to share with you this go-around. I do want to thank those of you who have donated to the legal fun for Troy and Cathy Westcott set up on Gofundme by a friend of theirs. There is still time to donate and if you do not know what is going on, you can check out my previous entry for Nov 14.

There is one more fund raiser worthy of note. It is for the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club. They have a Gofundme page to raise funds to finish their groomer barn. You may recall I was on the board of directors of the club for at least 15 years and the last 3 of them as it’s president. This fundraising campaign was started many years ago, as the current building they are in is literally falling down. The club has an enormous amount of responsibility. It is unlike no other in the state of MI and perhaps the country. The club is responsible for 233 miles of trail. The average miles of trail groomed each 4 month season is over 25,000! That is more than 10 percent of all the trail miles groomed in the entire state! Despite this incredible work load, they receive no funds from the local tourism council or chamber of commerce. The money they get from the state is no different than the other clubs in the state of MI. Running this club is a full time job, there is plenty of work to be done all year long. To handle that, the club has an office manager that is paid by the club and receives no reimbursement for that. It has to pay its groomer operators because there is no way to groom 25,000 miles in 4 months with volunteers. Trust me. I joined the club to try and change how some things were done and once in, I was educated that this is just too big an operation to be done by volunteers. 

They do get support from some of the local businesses, but not all. It is really sad that some businesses that reap the financial rewards of the snowmobile program do not support it, but that is just the way it is. So the club REALLY DEPENDS on SUPPORT FROM SNOWMOBILERS! I know that there are 10’s of 1000’s of snowmobilers that come here a season. You may think that your trail pass covers the costs needed, but it falls far short, especially for the large trail systems. The system in MI just does not take into consideration of the duties of the different clubs doing the work.

So please head over to the Gofundme page for the club and help them finish their new groomer barn. As you can see on that page, they have a building with a roof on it, but need the walls, insulation, floor, heating, plumbing electrical and doors. It is a commercial building, so it cannot be occupied until it is finished! Even if you donated in the past, it is a new season and time to help out again. If you haven’t yet, now is the perfect chance! Do it, support some very hard workers and a great program!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
JD