Tag Archives: Winter Activities

Adventures, Michigan, Troy's Blog

Hitting the Trails in the U.P.

Dates where picked and time off from work was granted. Now where to go? Northern Minnesota was the place of focus for another snowmobiling trip. Ever since visiting Voyageurs National Park a couple of summers ago, I wanted to return in the winter to see this winter wonderland. Searching for snowmobiles to rent and other things to do brought even more interest to this adventure. Ice fishing would be fun and there are ice roads typically plowed through Voyageurs for vehicles to drive on providing access to areas otherwise only available by boat. More research  yielded few options for snowmobiles to rent and once putting together the costs to rent a sled and getting ice fishing equipment along with lodging made this less appealing this year. There was another option. An invitation by some friends to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could be taken up. They had offered up a place to stay and continued to boast about the great snowmobile trails available.

Riding near the shore of Lake Superior

Checking into this option, this seemed like the route to go for this reprieve from work. Locating snowmobiles for rent was easier than in Northern Minnesota and all of the trails were open and groomed. At least for the moment. Watching the forecast was somewhat disappointing as warmer weather and no snow were predicted. Would the trails remain open after some nice melting was occurring? How about the condition with ice forming after melting and refreezing. I continued to watch the updated forecast daily with anticipation hoping for some fresh snow to show up. A coating did end up falling but not enough to make much difference. Fortunately there was such a great base of snow from earlier in the winter that the conditions where still really good. Off to the U.P.!

The U. P. of Michigan

I’ve never had so many good trails to ride on. It didn’t really matter where the sleds went, the trails were in really good condition. While there hasn’t been much snowfall in recent weeks, the quantity of snow from earlier in the winter combined with constant grooming of these trails made for some great riding. And to be able to travel through the beautiful landscapes of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan made for a couple of really enjoyable days. The first day started off a little on the cold side with temperatures starting out below zero Fahrenheit with wind amplifying that cold but it warmed fairly fast into the 20’s for the afternoon under a sun filled sky.  The next day started out warmer and reached above freezing by midday making it almost a perfect day of snowmobiling. The only thing that I could think of to make it better was a fresh round of snow. Back to reality after this nice break.

Heading across a bridge on these beautiful trails

Ice and Snow, Troy's Blog, Winter

Playing in the Cold

It’s –27 degrees Fahrenheit, schools have been closed, the post office called off mail delivery, and many people have decided to stay home from work so what is there left to do but stay cozy inside and watch a movie or read a book? For me it just means going out and doing things that you can really only do in temperatures this cold. Since everyone was off from school we decided to warm up some water and see how long it takes to freeze in this type of cold.  Throwing it up in the air, it takes maybe a second before that water almost explodes into ice crystals and blow away. There are many videos available to watch as people do this but watching with your own eyes really shows how fascinating and amazing it is that water transforms at this fast of a speed.  The water has to be warm enough for this to work or it will just fall back to the ground and create ice balls instead.

A winter rose

With the sun being out and it being so cold I decided to experiment with rose flowers and see what it’s like to sort of flash freeze them with some water droplets and see what happens. I placed them in the snow to given this extremely white background to really set off the color which seems to be preserved in the cold. I let them freeze over a period of 20 minutes or so before taking pictures. During the winter I try to keep a camera in the cold so it’s ready all of the time. When it gets this cold I remove the batteries so they will keep a charge and put them in when ready to shoot. You can use a phone camera for a few minutes but it will likely shut down in cold like this and take a while to warm back up to function again.

Frozen bubble designs

I’ve seen some incredible patterns in bubbles frozen and decided to give that a try. It was not hugely successful but I did get a shot or two of patterns developing as the bubble froze. I was surprised how quickly these patterns developed and then disappeared. There was a minute or so to get a photograph before the bubble began to completely freeze and disintegrate. Something I may try at warmer temperatures and see if it last longer.

Another interesting thing to look at is frost forming on windows and doors. The patterns of these ice crystals are so diverse and abstract. I tend to get lost in a picture like this just following the different branches and seeing each design and how they all work together. Does one change how another develops and it takes the moisture away? Is there a difference created by very small temperature differences? Something I should try in the future is to breathe lightly on a window and see if there are differences in how hard I breath. Does it create different patterns or just fog up the entire window pane and freeze? Something for another cold winter day.

Frosted glass

Family Ramblings, Troy's Blog

Some Ice Time

It’s about 10 degrees out which means the ice is frozen solid and safe to be on so Kristy and I head to a local pond to practice and play on ice skates. At first you feel the air biting at any portion of skin left exposed in an attempt to freeze it. In a few minutes the warm blood pulsing through our veins fights back. Continually moving back and forth across the ice and we become filled with warmth… almost hot even! The cold temperature no longer matters as a layer or two of winter clothing is shed to keep from sweating.

Skating on the Pond

The sun begins to set on our backs with hardly a gesture to say goodbye as we continue to cut up the ice from the steel blades attached to our boots gliding every which way. We’re having fun out here occasionally kicking snowballs or pieces of ice back and forth in between the twists and turns working to hone our skating skills on this February day which is now turning into night. With the sun fully below the horizon, area lights turn on blasting light across the ice showing us every groove placed on this frozen lake throughout this day.

It's getting dark but that doesn't stop her from practicing

It’s time to leave as dinner will be waiting prompting a plea for just a few more minutes on this frozen surface. We’ve been having so much fun how do you deny a little extra time? Finally it is time to go. Once in the warm car heading home the cold can now be felt on our exposed skin again feeling the heat blowing through each vent. There is a slight burning sensation coming from our cheeks as they begin to warm reminding us of our recent adventures on this cold winter day. Maybe there will soon be another opportunity to skate again.

Continuing to practice in the cold