Sunday March 28, 2004 10:45 a.m. Groomer Sighting.....yes I saw the grayling groomer this morning on the way here to frederic. It was parked alongside the barn at Fays Motel. I wonder if its going to stay there all summer? I suppose seeing that it seems like everything is over that I will slow up on my updates to maybe a couple times a week. Thank You to everybody that read my ramblings thru the winter and to those of you who stopped in to say hi or pick up the things you needed. Remember thru the rest of the year that I do screenprinting and embroidery and signs for people and businesses. T-Shirts,Sport Shirts, Jackets, Hats, Sweatshirts etc.....I need to sell lots of it or its back to the spam line....I am in and out of here most everyday during the rest of the year but dont really keep any regular hours. If you need anything just call and if you miss me leave a message and I will call you back..Thanks again for a great season...Pete ------------------------------------- Saturday Noon Thirty, I have been trying to get this page uploaded since 10:30 and havent been able to make it go, now it seems like things are finally freed up. Dont know what the deal has been with it....... Saturday March 27, 2004 10:30 a.m. Its about 40 out this morning and a cloudy calm morning. We have lost alot of snow in the past few days, the woods are starting to show patchy spots out there. A couple things I have been forgeting to put on here is the new businesses in the great white north. You know its always exciting when something new comes in. In Gaylord the Wal Mart Super Center opened up last week along with its new strip mall. We had to go check that out and along with that we took the kids to the new Scooby Doo movie last night. In grayling the Route 72 Auto Wash opened up out by The Ole Barn. Its a tunnel wash so thats a first for grayling and a new coffee shop opened up downtown grayling too called Just Jenns. So thats about all the excitement for now from here, thanks for checking in. Pete -------------------------------------- Friday March 26, 2004 9:30 a.m. Its a foggy morning with drizzle and lots of fog here in frederic. Schools are delayed 2 hours in grayling today because of the fog. It was up to about 60 yesterday and I finally lost all the ice on the north side of the building here. Lake Maragrethe went from looking good to ride on to scary yesterday. I went down to Houghton Lake yesterday and that looked pretty good and I couldnt believe how many people I saw out there ice fishing. Still alot of snow in the woods as you get just north of higgins lake. I am still trying to help grandma sell her house so anybody that wants a place close to higgins lake or a snowmobile get away give me a call.....As far as a trail report for this area there isnt anything to say about them, off trail only for the die hards. I got a report from Diane at the Fox River Motel in Seney yesterday and that looks like your best spot if you want to try one more time this season, I am posting her report from yesterday so here it comes and thanks for checking in...Pete.. I think the spring thaw has officially started. Temperatures in the upper 40's started yesterday and are predicted thru the week-end. We also had some really heavy, wet, misty fog last night. The groomers did go out last night. The operators called in this morning and said the trails once you get out of town are still in great shape. They did recommend trialering out though. There is a lot of water and mud the first few miles out of town. The snow is getting soft but there is still 2-4' in the woods and a 6-18" base on the trails in the snow belt to melt down yet. We are still grooming at night as long as the weather will allow. Planning gas stops are a definite concern. If you don't mind trailering to a staging area and planning a loop that will return you to your trailer before running out of gas you can still get in some awesome riding. And if you are into 2 track riding, there is still lots great riding there also. Riding from town to town and logging 200 miles a day is done for the season. We still have rooms left for the week-end for you diehards out there. If you want to stay here at the Fox and are interested in some 2 tracking, Don said he will take a group out. (Due to a MSA meeting in St. Ignace, he won't be available on Sat.) Don and Diane Reed Fox River Motel Old Fashion Hospitality All Year 'Round P.O. Box 91 Seney, MI 49883 (906) 499-3332, fax (906) 499-3248 www.foxrivermotel.com -------------------------------------------- Thursday March 25, 2004 7:15 a.m. Its a very foggy 42 degrees out this morning. Snow continues to melt but there is still lots in the woods. Dave Klemish from lansing came up here yesterday with a friend to get in a last ride. He said they did 80 miles around lake margarethe and what they could do in the guard camp and that they had a great ride. Thats what you have to do now if you want to take a ride. Its supposed to stay warm thru the weekend and the same story for the u.p. Back to the stranded plane story, I picked up the pilots yesterday morning about 10 and took them to the plane, the mechanic was there already replacing the exciter. He said the part was shipped in overnight from Atlanta,Ga. You think carbides cost to much, that little part was $1800.00 plus the mechanic coming from the gaylord airport. By 11 they had both engines roaring and they were off into the clouds just barely after they left the runway. I was close to hopping on with them just for the heck of it just to go for a ride in it and figure out how to get back home after we hit Kansas, but I stayed put. Its not like things are to busy here. So thats the end of that story and I am off to frederic here shortly. Thanks for checking in. Pete ---------------------------------------- Wednesday March 24, 2994 7:25 a.m. Its a nice cool morning today and its clear and dry out there. The new snow was pretty much gone by about 2 yesterday. By the way the lake still looks I am guessing about April 20 by the time the ice is gone. I was informed yesterday that I had some bad info on the race at otsego lake. Apparently the plane that landed out there was one of the racers and there were no tickets issued and the reason the plane stayed there was because he wanted to. I trust what I hear to much sometimes from people. This next part I had several emails on and believe this is right but certainly not good news about 3 deaths this weekend in the u.p........ 03/22/04 Snowmobiler killed in Mackinac County crash By SCOTT BRAND/The Evening News MORAN TOWNSHIP -- A fatal accident in Mackinac County claimed the life of a 38-year-old Romulus man on Saturday. Richard Lee Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene following a 12:02 p.m. crash on the Soo Line Railroad Grade Snowmobile Trail near Kenneth Road in Moran Township. According to reports from Michigan State Police at the St. Ignace Post, Johnson was piloting a 2000 Ski-Doo and traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his machine after hitting a dip in the trail. Johnson was ejected from the machine and thrown into some nearby trees where he sustained the fatal injuries. The investigation into this accident continues, but initial reports identify speed as a factor. The weekend was a deadly one for Upper Peninsula snowmobilers with at least two other fatal accidents reported. Michigan State Police from the Stephenson Post are investigating the death of a seven-year-old male following a snowmobile accident on private property just west of Hermansville shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. In this incident, 32-year-old Robert Bal of Norway was driving a 1993 Arctic Cat on a private road with the young boy seated in front of him when they came upon an unseen cable strung across the roadway. Reports indicate the cable slid over the hood of the machine striking the child. Bal, and another adult who was riding with him at the time of the crash, transported the injured child to a nearby residence to call for help. The child was transported by ambulance to Dickinson County Hospital, but was pronounced dead while en route. Troopers had not released the name of the deceased in this matter as of 9:30 a.m. today. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Hermansville Rescue, Beacon Ambulance and the Meyer Township Fire Department all assisted in this incident. In the third fatal accident of the weekend, Arley Don Carlson, 40, of Republic was killed when his 2003 Ski-Doo struck a tree Sunday night in Marquette County. Michigan State Police from the Negaunee Post reported Carlson was driving his machine across the Michagamme Basin towards County Road LG when he struck the tree. The accident is believed to have occurred at approximately 9:18 p.m. This accident remains under investigation with troopers identifying speed as a factor in the crash. Not the news we like to hear but now onto the filming from monday. The plane came into the grayling airport right on time at 11:30. They had a 3 and a half hour flight from Kansas City, Mo. The plane is a Beechcraft King Air. I was standing out in the parking area with my beagle Ellie as they pulled up and I was wondering what her reaction would be to that big thing. She was scared and hid behind me. She loves to try to chase sleds and cars as they go by our house but she wasnt to sure about that. We got unloaded and spent till 6 filiming with Charlie at his house. The guys spent the night at my cottage and the pilots stayed at the holiday inn. First thing yeterday morning the pilots called and said they couldnt leave because of the snow and temps so they held off till about noon. I had gone and picked Haley up from pre school so she could see the plane and watch them take off. We went up in the plane and first thing she said was Wow Dad lots of Controls.... Anyways the plane was loaded and ready to go. We watched them fire up the right engine and were wondering why the left one wasnt going. Pretty soon Ray shut it down and the plane is still here this morning. We unloaded the cameras and bags and the 2 camera men went on to grand rapids to catch a commercial flight home and the pilots are still here waiting for a mechanic and part to get here to get them on their way. I have never looked inside and engine of a plane like that but it has 2 750 horse turbo, pratt & whitney engines. Both pilots have flown commercial aircraft and they said they have never had a problem like that one before. I guess just because they came to grayling it brought them that stroke of luck. So I am off this morning to get them to the plane again and hopefully see them off. Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete -------------------------------------------- Tuesday March 23, 2004 7:30 a.m. SNOW!!! Hard to believe but we had a new inch of nice thick snow overnight and its still snowing. This wasnt in the predictions and who knows if it will last all day but it sure looks nice. Its all white again out there. I had 2 emails this morning regarding 2 sledding deaths from this weekend. One was a man from romulous (dont know if thats how its spelled) who died in the u.p. in moran township and the other one I dont know about yet. That would put the total to 28 for this season compared to 45 at this time last year. It was a busy day all day yesterday with the camera crew and was pretty interesting. I will write more on that later as I have to meet them in 15 minutes.Thanks for checking in. Pete --------------------------- Monday March 22, 2004 7:30 a.m. Its a nice chilly ten degrees out there this morning but no signs of any snow. That one inch of snow we got yesterday really brought the sleds out. There were several times I saw at least a dozen parked over at the swamp. To bad the weather prediction is for 50s for friday. I am not ready to say its over yet but its starting to look that way. By friday it will be down to definetly off trail riding only. People were still coming in talking about the races that went on up at otsego lake. Apparently a guy with an airplane saw the drag strip and thought it would be a good place to land. He did and then got kind of confiscated by the dnr. They made him stay grounded overnight and I guess he got some tickets and fines for doing what he did. He also held up the races for a couple hours. It was no emergency landing so I guess he was in trouble for that. Today should prove to be an interesting day for me. I have a friend that is producing some t.v. shows on traditional bowhunting and he and his crew are coming here today to do a segment on my old bowhunting friend Charlie. Charlie is 85 now but bowhunted all over the world in his younger days. The crew is flying up here from missouri, 2 pilots and 2 camera men, and we have to go pick them up at the grayling airport at about 11:30 this morning. So more on this tommorow. Thanks for checking in. Pete ------------------------------------------------------ Sunday March 21, 2004 9:00 a.m. We had an inch of new snowfall overnight. Its about 20 degrees out and snow is still in the air. At least everything is all white again, for now. It was pretty dead around frederic yesterday. There were a few sleds out and about riding. People kept coming in and telling me that there was some type of drag race going on up on otsego lake. They said there were probably a couple hundred people and a hundred sleds up there racing with trucks and trailers parked out on the ice. I sure would be leary of doing that. Thats about it for now so thanks for checking in...Pete ------------------------------------------- Saturday March 20, 2004 9:30 a.m. frederican time Vegas, Hemet,California, & Frederic. 3 of the great places in the world and its great to be back here, to bad its 42 degrees and most of the trails I looked at this morning on the way here look pretty bad. There is still lots of snow in the woods and lake margarethe is still frozen over and white. I just had a couple in here that said they rode a hundred miles yesterday and are going out to ride 2 tracks around here in frederic. When we got back last night it was blowing hard and sleeting and turning to snow but nothing stuck. I cant believe we had made it thru the whole month of march without any major storm, maybe its still coming. I had an email from Mike in Hemet last night and Cathy and I laughed pretty hard after we read it so I figured what the heck I would share it with you.......Here goes... Pete and Cathy landed in Hemet on Monday night 3/15/04. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year and the Kocefas Clan enjoyed the hospitality of our hot spa every night of their visit. Pete being freshly off of a new diet proceeded to eat everything that he obstained from for the last two months. (In fact today he drank his first Mountain Dew in months.)On Tuesday March 16 the Mendoza-Morningstar clan and the clan Kocefas went to Disney's California Adventure. Silly me I thought that the park would be more adult oriented then Disneyland. It was not and Pete proceeded to show me all about all of the latest Disney animated cartoon shows for kids. Showing all of the macho bravado of the avid snowmobiler that he is Pete proceeded to get sick on the one and only roller coaster that we rode. Wednesday March 17 was spent showing Pete and Kathy some of our local hotspots. We showed him the new reservoir, a mountain park and a grungy local hangout known as Chappies. Your fearless leader aka "the Golden Greek" needed to obtain a souvenir of the local Irish Holiday. He came back with a sweatshirt that would make the Frederic faithful swoon with envy. It is almost time to go as the Grayling clan is hitting the spa again for the final time before their return to Sin City (aka Las Vegas). I would like to thank Pete and Cathy for being such wonderful house guests. It must be a sledheads thing but with all of their outdoor training we did not run out of toilet paper even once. Maybe it comes from Pete's experience with bears in the woods and using pine cones and things as substitutes. They arrived in a convertible hardly worthy of a man who owned that fabulous green machine seen on the sledheads promotional video. Pete assured me that this was a poor substitute for that fire breathing 1962 Corvette that he hiding in the back of the shop.Anyway guys it was great to see you again have a safe trip home. Next time bring the girls and plan to stay longer. (the Mendoza-Morningstar Clan) ----------------------------------- Friday March 19, 2004 6:30 a.m. pacific time I just checked in with frederic, no new snow and about 32 out...I think there will still be some diehards out tommorow. We are back in las vegas after a great 300 mile drive across the mojave desert. I love that little convertible I am driving, cruising with the top down my hair flying in the wind.....well what little I do have. I didnt have a room reserved in vegas last night when we got in town and found that everyplace I tried was booked solid and if they did have one they were 175 and up....I didnt like that to much, so I ended up driving 35 miles back to the california/nevada border and got a nice room for 27.95, heck this room is better than the one that was a 100.00 last week. We pulled out of hemet from connie and mikes about 9 yesterday......Thanks alot to them, and it was a great time too....So anyways I have to quit blabbing and head for the airport. Back to frederic in the morning, if you do come up north come in and say hi...Thanks for checking in. Pete & Cathy ----------------- Thursday March 18, 2004 7:00 a.m. pacific time Another beautiful california morning here. It was a great 95 degrees yesterday and we pretty much just hung out by the pool and saw some sights around the valley here. I was surprised at when I got out of the pool that all the water is evaporated off you with in about a minute. Hemet is surrounded by mountains and the city is down low in the middle. We went up to check out the all new Diamond Valley Lake that was just recentley completed as a water supply. They did it by building 3 dams between the mountains and filling it with water. Its about 25 miles around 260 feet deep and fully stocked with fish. It took 5 years to fill it up with water. The website for the lake is www.dvlake.com We should all be glad to live and play in northern michigan, on the way in towards L.A. on tuesday I got to witness first hand what smog over the big city looks like. I sure wouldnt want to breath that in all the time. Just give me some 2 stroke fumes with no smog. We were supposed to be on the plane and out of here this morning but we extended it by a day. Its just to darn nice here. We had a nice little happy hour over at Bernie Morningstars place last night and I think he is going to be a new regular reader on the page here. He is 80 years young and pretty swift on the computer. To Puttsy in Florida, Rhonda says Hi..... I just talked to the shop in frederic and its cloudy and misty looking there and about 32 degrees. Its supposed to get colder and snow but no great amounts since last weekend. Off trail is still the best choice I think. I had an email from Diane in Seney and she says its still fabulous up there, hopefully I can make a trip up there to ride again next week. Thanks for checking in. Pete & Cathy........... Wednesday March 17, 2004 7:45 a.m. pacific time Happy ST. Patricks Day!! I just got off the phone with Pam from Terrys Sport Center checking on the conditions in Grayling. She said it has stayed nice and cold and that the snow is still supposed to be coming. Sleds were riding yesterday. She said if you look at the parking lot on 72 that it is all dirt but in looking down at the trail its still white. My call is that riding conditions havent changed much since last weekend. You will still be able to ride this weekend but just dont expect great trails. There is still lots of snow in the woods. Thats about the best I can do on a trail update for now. We are still here in hemet and went into anaheim yesterday to the new disney park, California Adventure. That was fun and nice but I have to say Cathy & I felt bad being at a place like that without our girls. I am kind of a wimp and cant handle roller coasters to well. I did the one big one and felt woozy the rest of the day. As the night came at the park the cool winds started blowing in off the pacific and we were pretty chilly by the time we got back to the car. We just rolled out of bed and finally got a nice nights sleep.It a really pretty morning here with lots of birds chirping and a great view of the snow capped mountains as we sat outside talking. Mike & Connie are great hosts.....I dont know what happened on yesterday update, why those words stretch out so long in that one spot, I saw it but couldnt get them back where they belong. Thanks for checking in. Pete & Cathy.. --------------------------------- Tuesday March 16, 2004 12:00 a.m. pacific time All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray. I went for a walk on a winters day, I 'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A., California Dreamin on a winters day. I think thats how the words go. Coming at you just east of L.A. in the beautiful valley city of Hemet. Thats about 40 miles west of palm springs and 80 miles east of L.A. We went to the trade show this morning and blew thru that in a few hours and decided we needed to go back to the Red Rock Canyon to see what we missed out on last night. What a gorgeous drive thru there. As we came out on the far end of the canyon being the explorer that I am I figured I would just turn west and head toward L.A. We ened up coming into a town of Pahrump which is just about on the nevada and california border. From there we took a mountain pass which has to rival the grand canyon, what breathtaking views and turns thru that. It was about 50 miles of nothing but mountains. As we came to the edge of those mountains we were right at the edge of Death Valley. We ended up coming out in Baker, Ca. and right on the corner was a cool looking greek place calle the Mad Greek. Of course I had to go in there and buy a t shirt for myself. In vegas all the gas was around 2.09 a gallon. I wish I would have got gas there cause in Baker it was $2.65 a gallon. I about had a heart attack on that. Anyways we pressed on towards L.A. and got here to Hemet after a great drive. We are here to visit our friends that used to live in grayling. For those of you who are in grayling you might remember the Morningstar girls, Janice,Rhonda, & Connie. We are here at Connie's house and her husband Mike the Mexican. He wanted me to try and hit his pinata but we didnt get to that. We just came in after a few hours out in their hot tub. The stars were out in force and it was great out there. So everybody else is in bed now and as usual here I am at the computer. I heard on the radio on the way into here that Big Bear just north of San Bernadino has had 2 to 3 feet of snow in the past couple weeks. The last time I was out here years ago I went skiing up there. I tried to talk everybody into going up there tommorow to go riding sleds but it seems like I am the only one that wants to do that. As we came thru Barstow tonight it reminded me of my old buddie Charlie that I talk about sometimes on here. He is an old time bowhunter and used to belong to the desert bowhunters in barstow 50 some years ago. He hunted jack rabbits in the mojave desert with the old greats of bowhunting like, Nubbie Pate, Howard Hill and Hugh Rich. Funny how things like that come to mind as you pass thru a place. So I guess thats enough blabbing for this morning, Its almost 1 now and 4 in frederic and we are going to do something fun today, just dont know what that is yet. I just checked my emails and here is one I am posting...... Pete this is a post that Nancy from Newberry posted today on trailconditions.com from more idiots on the trails running the ambulance off the trails. This is absoultely nuts Please post this on your site as these idiots are going to ruin it for the rest of us!!!!!! NEW: Re: GM SENEY PARADISE NEWBERRY ??? Saturday, 13 March 2004, at 8:54 p.m. Lots of people up here riding this weekend. Every sledder I talked to who went North and South had very good rides. Getting north of Newberry most are trailering out to save on their carbides. The only complaints were towards the end of the day the trails were getting pretty beat up but they all said nothing that wouldn't groom out. This morning we were 0* and did finally hit 30 by the middle of the day. The sun was out and making mush of the streets but the trails never got slushy. Tonight we are cold again and we have received about 2-3 inches of fresh snow. Hopefully if this keeps coming we will have excellent trails tomorrow and maybe even the streets will be covered for riding...we will see! You will have to be very careful up here, lots of crazies this weekend getting in one last ride, and several accidents both Friday and Saturday I know of about 6-7 people who are now done for the year. My hubby was responding to an accident with the rescue sled (you can't miss it, flashing red and white strobe surround the snowmobile and pulling a big rescue tobbogan and not going over 30mph as to not upset his equipment, was run off the trail and then while on the scene had 3 sledders run through the scene at a high rate of speed, causing EMS to have to move out of their way. You must realize we on the EMS are all volunteers, and do this out of the kindness of our hearts, but my hubby is done. Yesterday is said he will no longer repond to any snowmobile wrecks, and you know what, he doesn't have to. Our ambulance responds with 2 on call persons, they have to show up, but they also rely on several volunteers to show up and drive the rescue sled and help load up the patient If you scare off all of the EMS volunteers I guess you will have to walk out to the ambulance, because no one wants to risk their life to come out on the trail and pick you off the tree. Please be careful, know what is around the corner, slow down when you come to an accidentor even stop. use some common sense out there while riding. Pete again here, the lady that wrote this is I believe in newberry , if anybody would like to write her on this her adress is nancys@portup.com Thanks for checking in. Pete & Cathy --------------------------------------- Monday March 15, 2004 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time It was a full and fun day checking out the sights in vegas yesterday. We went thru M & M world, and countless shops up and down the strip. We rented a car and took a ride out and around red rock canyon. There is snow on the mountain tops but it was 80 most of the day. We found an old western town called bonnie springs and it was a neat place to see, we had a nice time just sitting by there cozy campfire. Lots of people go there to ride horses and there is alot of rock climbing going on in red rock canyon. It just amazes me how many people are here and what they have for disposable income to be able to afford some of the things out here. I picked up a purse in a store, nothing looking to fancy and only about 10 inches long, price tag $840. A cab driver told me that last month Pavoroti was in town and every night he was sold out and the cheapest seats were $800. Boy I sure feel like a poor frederic boy. You know how much spam you can buy with $800. The jet lag caught up with us last night and we were pretty whipped by 8. The sun is coming up right now over the desert mountains and I am going out for a nice morning walk and maybe hit the pool. There was a couple new inches of snow in the frederic area on sunday and in looking at the forcast this week just off the weather tab on the update page it looks like snow coming almost everyday.I just talked to my friend in frederic and a couple more inches are out there for this morning. Lets just keep our fingers crossed. Thanks for chekcing in. VIVA LAS VEGAS Pete & Cathy -------------------------- Sunday March 14, 2004 7:24 a.m. Pacific Time Coming at you this morning from Polaris Blvd at the Holiday Inn Express. I tried to find one on arctic at blvd but no luck. Actually Cathy & I are in Las Vegas. We left T.C. yesterday afternoon and got here at 8 last night vegas time which is 3 hours behind time. We are here for a trade show tommorow. Its for advertising specialties that I sell the rest of the year when there is no snow. During the rest of the year I sell screenprinting,embroidery, do signs and then the advertising things such as anything to promote a business, pens, coffee, mugs, frisbes, just anything with a business name. Its nice and warm and sunny out here this morning and we are going to go explore the town. We went to New York casino and had dinner and MGM, we are no fans of gambling or casinos but it is fun to go check things out. I checked in at the shop this morning and its about 32 there with just a skiff of new wet snow overnight. So we are off to check out the big city here. Thanks for checking in and we really are on Polaris Blvd. Pete & Cathy Saturday Noon Nice and sunny out and still below 32. Its about 28 out and there have been quite a few sleds in. The gaylord groomer did run all the way here to frederic and everybody says that trail is great, unlike most of the others around here. For some reason or another the power is out over in the lovells and lewiston area. So at least it looks like a great day of riding and if the storms hold true for sunday night and monday that can only make it look better for next weekend......Pete Saturday March 13, 2004 8:30 a.m. It was a beautiful sunrise shining thru the sparkling frosty trees this morning at Lake Margarethe. At 2 degrees its pretty crunchy out there. There was one lone snowmobile track heading out across the powder on the lake and it would have made a great picture. All the ice shanties are gone from out there and it looked pretty serene. I think monday is the day all the shanties have to be off. Anyways I wouldnt advise anybody to head out onto a lake but it sure looked nice. So anyways it snowed all day yesterday with howling winds. Even though it snowed all day we only ended up with a couple more inches. All the trails and crossing I looked at this morning are nice and white and for the way things have been look not that bad. There are bumps but it doesnt look like a snow cross track....everybody that came in here said yesterday that they are amazed how much snow is still here. I still say its knee deep in the fields. The arctic cat show was o.k. last night. I have to say this is the first time in years I wasnt even excited about the show. I do like the looks of the new orange f 7 but I sure would love an orange turbo 660. So thats about it for today. Thanks for checking in and Please Ride Safely. Pete ------------------------------------- Friday March 12, 2004 6:45 a.m. This is what I like to see outside, its about 15 degrees out and light snow in the air. We had about an inch and a half since last night. It did cool down fast yesterday to about 20 and it started snowing hard about 2. Total we have had about 2 new inches and the snow this morning is a fluffy lake effect snow. It doesnt really make a great base but it sure has brightend everything up and will put some lube on the rough trails for your slides. At least it gives us a little chance to ride. It is supposed to stay cold and windy thru tommorow. I had an email yesterday from someone asking me about the turbo 660 cat I was riding. I meant to put that on yesterday but kind of forgot. I would trade the thunder chicken in an instant for that t660. A super smooth quiet and as much power as you could possibly want in a machine. I loved the suspension even with my slim built body on it. It had mirrors on the windshield and that was a big plus to see what was behind me even though I always ride with a hand mirror. I have a 2003 660 4 stroke as one of my rental sleds and although it is quiet and a nice machine to ride there is no comparison to the t660. Besides the fact that they get twice the gas mileage of most sleds. Try going 165 miles on a tank on a 2 stroke.....heck I dont recommend that on a 4 stroke and I am sure glad we didnt have a long walk off lake superior. Death number 26 has happened up in Houghton County. A 50 year old man and his daughter were broke down with their sled and they were hit by another sled. The father was killed. Last year at this time there were 40 deaths so at least the count is down. I also didnt point out yesterday that at Shirleys in Hulbert they feed the deer over 2000 pounds of feed per day...thats alot of work. They do have a feed donation jug in there so if you go in throw them a few bucks. I also was directed to a site where there is this posting about the trail situation in paradise, I am still not sure exactly what this is supposed to mean but I am posting it here... Paradise Town Trail Notice As with many communities, alternative routes to businesses by passing residential areas are being sought. For safety reasons, trails are being rerouted behind towns, allowing access to gas, food, etc. yet avoiding neighborhoods. This is what is happening in Paradise. For sometime now, planning has been done to provide a trail directly along the back (west) side of town. As for the closing of the south end of the town trail, the permits for us to groom along Hwy. M123 on MDOT’s right-of-way are applied for by the DNR to MDOT The decision to apply or not and to except or decline are made by the above departments .Roxann Roth , Director Paradise Grooming Operations Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in and PLEASE RIDE SAFELY!!! Pete ---------------------------------- Thursday March 11, 2004 9:30 a.m. Its sunny and 35 degrees here in frederic. We had about an inch and a half of new snowfall overnight and the weatherman is calling for another inch or 2 during the day today. How thats gonna happen at 35 degrees I dont know so as usual we will wait and see. The forcast is not calling for more snow till sunday and monday and that says "major storm". Off trail riding here is still pretty darn good and there is still snow, slush and ice in parts of the regular trails. If you think you want to ride here this weekend I would say use the regular trails to try to hit the 2 tracks and just stay on the side to keep your slides lubed. Its still possible to have a fun ride out there but you will have to work for it. Dont expect to see any groomers as without a big pile of snow they wont be out. I have been forgetting to say that the new arctic cat show is at the grayling holiday inn tommorow evening. No hospitality room this year, my buddy bob and I decided to sit this one out this year. I do plan on going to the show and just check things out. Now on to the fun part about the rest of our ride yesterday. We left seney about 9 a.m. and headed onto pinestump junction. Trails still great all the way. From there on to rainbow lodge at the 2 hearted river. I always like that stop. If you have never been there before they run entirely on generators and propane gas lights. They have a little cafe and it was about 10:30 so I thought it was a great time to try out their home made apple pie. On towards paradise from there. Somehow I got off the trail and turned around out toward lake superior and came out to the waters edge so we ran the lake shore down to white fish point, which is where are real problems began. We got off at the light house and went down the road toward paradise and found where the trail went back into the woods. We went a ways and dead end, turned around and back out to the road and ditched it for a ways to the next trail down and took that, bumpy and not groomed forever and then all of a sudden after at least an hour on it we were back to lake superior at a point way west of white fish point. I thought we could ride west to try to find the spot we got on at the first time but as I looked down at the gas gauge I was down to 2 bars on it and so was Ben on his. We stopped and decided that being on the lake superior shoreline and out of gas wasnt a good situation so about as far off to the east as I could see was whitefish point again. We decided to head back for the point and try and take that road back to paradise which would have been 13 miles of dry sliding from the point but at least if we ran out of gas we would be on a road where there were cars. Once we got back to the point instead of hitting the road we decided to stick to the lake shore down to paradise. We made it all the way there and each had a gallon to spare. Good thing we were both riding 4 strokes as we hadnt gotten gas since the night before in grand marais and we had gone 165 miles on that tank. By then it was 3 oclock and we were both starving so we went into the Yukon Inn for a yukon burger. Thats when we learned that what used to be "paradise" to snowmobiler is turning from a snowmobilers dream to a nightmare. Paradise has lost their trail thru town. Now if you want to go south thru town you have to ride 4 miles west and then back in 4 miles east to get you just 1 mile south. Kind of the way it was in grayling when there was no thru trail town. And the police are sitting there passing out 80 dollar tickets if you do ride thru town. The trails we were on up by whitefish point are gone too but they didnt take the signs down. All these trails are gone because of property owners complaining about sleds on there property and irresponsible snowmobilers riding where they shouldnt be. We met the president of the newly formed snowmobile club the Paradise Area Night Riders. Her name is Chic and she works in the Yukon Inn. She seemed to be just the right person for that job. Serious and passionate about getting the snowmobile problem remedied in Paradise. Businesses are suffering there because of the closures and there is a restaurant on the far south end that was a regular favorite of people to go to but its not very convienient to have to ride all that way to get there. It makes it tough on everybody there. I have been riding in paradise since the early 80s and that was always the ultimate place to go but now because of the few bad ones it has to be spoiled for everyone. If you want more info on this you can call Chic at 906-492-3505 or go into the Yukon and tell her I sent you in. Paradise area still is grooming many regular trails and they were still all great, we just had the bad luck of getting on the ones that were not on their list anymore. I sure wish they would have taken those signs down. So anyways we left paradise and headed on down to hulbert. Still a great ride and went to Shirleys there. I have always heard about this place but never been there. As we were coming down the trail there was a sign that said deer crossing. I have never seen so many deer in my whole life. Litterally hundreds of them standing, grazing, laying, and running everywhere. They feed them there at Shirleys and you can sit at a table in there and they are right outside the window just inches from you. A really neat thing to see. From hulbert on to trout lake and run the railroad grade all the way back to st ignace by castle rock where we were parked. It was another big orange beautiful u.p. sunset just as we were getting back to the truck. 374 miles of beautiful u.p. riding. Overall I would rate the trails we rode at an 8. We had a couple spots that were bad but hey its march and its been to darn warm. You just cant plan a trip like this one. It just has to happen when people say it right to go. Thank goodness I get to hear from people that stop in here on there way back from up there. You just have to drop what you are doing and go do it.....Thanks for checking in and Please Ride Safely......Pete Wednesday March 10, 2004 8:30 a.m. Coming at you this morning from the most hospitable spot in the u.p., the Fox River Motel in Seney. Don & Diane take care of everybody super well here. Right after I did yesterdays update 2 guys came in and were raving about how great the trails were in the u.p. and I couldnt stand it anymore. I called my friend Ben and said lets head north. On my suspension check of the thunder chicken I noticed I had a broken shock so Ben said I could ride his extra sled. So we were on our way and by 2 we were in st. ignace and unloaded by castle rock heading out on the trail. By 4 we were in newberry and I called Don at the motel. He met us out on the trail between newberry and Seney and took us thru some incredible trails to get us a short cut to Grand Marais. Don rides a mountain max with 2 inch paddles and riding behind him is like being behind a giant pop corn popper. Stay back 500 feet or get peppered with big snow chunks. When he gets ahead farther than that it looks just like a big cloud of snow going down the trail. We split off with Don and headed on to grand marais ourselves and got gas and dinner at the Lake Superior Brewing Company.As we rode into Seney there were at least 15 deer in the park along lake superior and the sunset was a beautiful orange over the west end of the lake. It was 8 by the time we headed back to Seney and when we stopped on the trail it was so pitch black out but there were a million stars in the sky. A nice cool crisp night. We were about 3 miles out of Seney when I locked up the brakes because I thought a deer was jumping in front of me. By the time I realized it wasnt a deer I missed it and it brushed against my leg. It was a coyote. At least I missed it. When we got here to the motel we had a great run of 169 miles. The sled I am riding is a new turbo 660 arctic cat. What a great riding sled. SMooth and plenty of power. We are heading out right now for hopefully another great day of riding. Right now our plan is to head for pinestump, 2 hearted river, rainbow lodge, paradise, hulbert, trout lake and back to st ignace to the truck. I will give the update again tommorow. Diane is getting to do her trail report for seney next so if anybody is interested in reading that you can go to www.fishweb.com/recreation/snowmobile/reports/snow-seney You might have to copy and paste that link.....If you want to stay at the fox river motel you can call them at 906-499-3332. O.k. we are out of here and out to the trail again......Thanks for checking in. Pete ------------------------------------------------------- Its sunny and 32 degrees here in frederic. Nothing exciting to report except that the prediction for thursday is 2 to 5 inches. There have been a few sleds around that are die hards. Many times on the way up here during the winter I see people at the intersections with their maps out trying to figure out where they are. I saw a new one today. A guy with his michigan map out sitting on the corner on his bicycle stacked high with gear. He must have known he was close to grayling but was looking which way to go. We have to get one more blast of winter in here..... One thing that I forgot to report on sunday was that the gaylord groomer did come thru here. Thanks for checking in and do some snow chanting....MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH....Pete ----------------------------------------- Monday March 8, 2004 7:44 a.m. Its about 26 degrees out and we had just a skiff of snow overnight. That beautiful 3 inches we had yesterday turned pretty slushy by afternoon because it made it in to the upper 40's again. There were some sleds out and about but not alot. Everybody that stopped in on their way home from the u.p. was raving about how great it was up there.. I talked to Diane in Seney on saturday and she said things were just about excellent as they had recently had 12 inches. We could only be so lucky down here in the l.p. If you didnt read yesterdays update be sure to read it and the letter from the mans wife who was killed on Feb 21 out by the west trail head on m-72. Thanks for checking in. Pete -------------------- Sunday March 7, 2004 10:00 a.m. 3 inches of beautiful white packy snow fell overnight and its just what we needed to bring riding back. Its 35 out and wow was I surprised this morning to see this. Cathy & I went out last night and got home at 2 and there was no signs of any kind of snow coming down. Who knows if this will stay for long but if you were here right now to ride its the perfect time to do it. I would say I probably had 15 to 20 sleds ride into here yesterday but other than that town was pretty empty here. We went to gaylord last night to see the new Starsky & Hutch movie and at dinner we ran into the Tiede Bunch from Woody's. They were all in gaylord for the snow cross race. They said there weren't many spectators at the races and that racing was going on again today. Apparently because of lack of snow where other races were scheduled they are bringing them to gaylord for the next couple of weekends. I have known all those Tiede kids since they were little and now it seems funny to see them grown up and doing snow cross racing. As I find out more about the race schedule I will post it. Thanks for checking in. Pete It is now 10:20 and I just read this email and am adding this.... I am the widow of the man who died on Saturday, February 21, 2004 at 2:30 PM. Today was the first day I was able to read the postings from your website. Over the last 12 days, I have been told they were there, but it was terribly painful to “read” about the last moments of my loving husband’s life.I would like to start by thanking you, Kevin for your posting. I wish with all my heart that the accident hadn’t happened and that you wouldn’t have had to witness it.Next, I want to tell you all about my husband, so that the speculations will stop. The lectures about alcohol and speed do not apply to this situation. They have their place, but not in his story. My husband was an amazing man. He was a great husband and an even better dad to our 2 young children. He has been snowmobiling as long as I have known him. I have to admit, I wasn’t crazy about him riding in the beginning. I was scared for his safety, he was gone lots of weekends, and he spent a small fortune on his machines. However, he loved to ride and he was good at it! Over the years, those who rode with him would comment on what a “great rider” he was. I always was told that he was the one taking care of the pack. Whether it was making sure his diabetic friend’s sugar levels were okay, navigating the trails, or making sure those around him were safe, he was always watching out for others. So, I learned to shut my mouth and let him do what he loved to do. While I have searched and prayed for a reason why this would happen to him, I have no explanation other than it was probably the care and concern he was showing for his fellow riders (his father and close friend) that had gotten separated from him that made him turn his head back. He took riding very seriously. He never drank and rode, and while he may have enjoyed speed, he never put himself or others in danger to achieve it. If he wanted to ride fast, he went to the U.P. and hit an open field. He loved us all very much and would never have traded his life for a little speed. He rode a REV and rode standing up always. He said it gave him better visibility and even as a non-snowmobiler, I have to admit…he was beautiful to watch ride. He was always in control and he truly seemed ‘one with his sled’. I am telling you this because, this accident could have happened to anyone of you. No matter how safe, talented or smart you are, ACCIDENTS HAPPEN. If you choose to continue to ride, be smart, be safe, and never forget to tell your family how much they mean to you before you go. My last conversation with my husband was at 9:02 am on that morning. He called to tell me and the kids he loved us, to see what was in store for our day and to let us know he was heading out to ride. I will mourn his loss everyday for the rest of my life. He was a good man and any of you would have been honored to ride with him. ----------------------------------------------- Saturday March 6, 2005 9:30 a.m. Its 28 degrees here in frederic and there was an ever so slight dusting of snow overnight. I set a record in here yesterday. 1 person came in during the whole 8 hours I was here. I can see it now, it wont be long till the spam truck is backing up to the door. Things have firmed up since yesterday but there are very few sleds around the motels in grayling this morning. I dont know much about it but I guess a snow cross race that was scheduled in muskegon got moved to gaylord and is going on today & tommorow. Dont have a clue what circuit it is. So I will stay put here and see what the day brings. I guess the u.p. got a fair amount of snow and it sounds like things are still going up there. Thanks for checking in....Pete ---------------------------------------- Friday March 5, 2004 9:00 a.m. I was up at about 3 this morning and was thrilled to see it was snowing out and that we had about 2 inches. At 7 when I was finally up for good the snow had turned to big fat hard rain and now its finally letting up. Its a wet slushy mess out there. Schools over most of northern michigan are closed this morning and from the way the weather looked on the news this morning the u.p. is getting good snow. Snow is back in our forcast for tonight and tommorow but we need some real cold to firm up the slush bowl we have going. I had 2 different groups of people stop here on their way to the u.p. yesterday and I am sure there will be more today. One girl that was in here with one of those groups opened up my cigar box with the free key chains in it and screamed and jumped so loud that she definetly wins the loud screamer award and to top that off she said she even wet her pants....(thats a first). My friend Jim and his son Zach came up here yesterday and we went out on a nice 20 mile ride to shoot some more video for the dvd. This will be the 4th time we have changed things in it. As we watch it we keep thinking of things to add to it. I got buried in the snow trying to head up a hill and that was no fun trying to dig my sled out of that. We also went up to Happi Days Diner to get some footage of that place because the video is about frederic in general and that is a unique place that people dont think about to often plus they have good food. So back to the editing table again. If you plan on riding here this weekend there will be plenty of puddles out there to lube your slides. I still stick with almost 18 inches out there in the untouched snow but it sure is a heck of alot wetter this morning that it was yesterdays ride.Also for any of you archery fans out there today in grayling is Fred Bear Day. It would be his 102nd birthday and this day is seen as a tribute to his many accomplishments here. Thanks for checking in. Pete --------------------------------------------------- Thursday March 4, 2004 10:45 a.m. I just came in and its another dark cloudy day and 34 degrees out. On the way here the radio said that its supposed to hit 50 tommorow with rain. Who knows what will really happen. Like I said yesterday there is still plenty of snow off trail and you can use the trails to get to other 2 tracks but you might have to get to the sides of them to lube your slides. The snowstorm kind of disapeared that they were predicting for this weekend. Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete -------------------------------------------- Wednesday March 3, 2004 10:45 a.m. I just walked back in for a nice little 15 mile ride. Its 40 out and cloudy but no signs of rain. I rode the trail north up to bradford lake, its rough and dirty in spots but no worse than a late saturday afternoon. I rode the trail from north end grocery up to batterson road and that was much rougher than the old 27 one. They are both hard and icy and very dirty. Now off those trails what a different story. I still have to put it at just about still awsome. Almost 18 inches still in spots and I had the thunder chicken just screaming to make it thru and was worried about getting stuck. I turned off at batterson and went down to Happi Days Diner for breakfast and then brought the shoulder of 27 back to the shop. The weather man has now shifted the forcast for the weekend to snow mix and rain for the l.p. and still heavy snow for the eastern u.p. but of course he thru in that it could change. If you want to ride this weekend I would expect bumpy trails but anywhere you can hit 2 tracks is still excellent. I know for sure that grayling is not running their groomers and I would guess its the same for gaylord. So that what it looks like for now. THanks for checking in. Pete ----------------------------------------------- Tuesday March 2, 2004 9:30 a.m. Another 40 degree morning here. It rained alot yesterday and was still 42 at 8 last night. I always say in the summer how dead a town frederic is and the only thing that comes thru frederic then is horses and harleys. Well I have seen 6 harleys riding thru town already. The bright side to this is that the weather is now calling for snow on friday and heavy snows on saturday. I dont know if it will come true or not but at least it sounds good. You know how that weather guy can be. I have had several letters from parents regarding the safety class and I thought I would put one of them on here.......... Dear Pete, I want to say Thank You for having the class on Saturday. We were the ones first to be there with the kids and told them no question is a dumb question. Well I have to tell you just how surprised we were to find out they learned more then the rules of the trails and so on. To make them learn about the machine and helping other's and showing them just what can happen to them really left a big impression on my kids " when they saw the sled in the accident and the young gentleman that was injured for life. Wont leave there minds for a very long time. As much as we tried to tell them seeing it makes a big difference. On Sunday we took the kids out on the sled's and trying to pull it all together they found out it is just not that easy as they thought as a passenger. I just want to say Thank you again. There are to many people out there that just don't care if kids or even adults learn the right way. May God bless you and all the men that help teach the kids and keep up the good work...... Thanks for checking in. Pete --------------------------------------- Monday March 1, 2004 10:30 a.m. Its cloudy and 40 degrees out this morning. It was up to 48 yesterday and it was to nice for winter. I had both of my big garage doors open in the back room here. I had reports from 2 different people on a group of 6 guys around the gaylord area out riding in boxer shorts. One thing I forgot to say about the safety class was that the frederic fire department brought over their snowmobile rescue trailer and showed everybody thru that and also told them about a call they just came back from where a guy had just bought a new sled the day before spent 4 hours on it and ended up with a serious possible broken back injury. They also brought in a local teenager who is disabled now from a crash a few years ago over on the lewiston grade trail. His arm is permantly in a sling and he was lucky to live thur his ordeal. I would like to thank all those that atteneded including Mark Gleason the instructer who volunteered his time to come here from T.C. to teach the class and also a big thanks to the crawford county sheriff department. This is the 3rd class conducted by them this season with about 150 students recieveing their certificates. I was late getting in here this morning as I had to go return the tables and chairs from the class, but I dont think I missed anything. Thats about all the news from up here, we need a good hard blast of winter right now. MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH!!! Sunday February 29, 2004 10:30 a.m. Happy Leap year to everyone, its a nice 43 degrees and sunny out there this morning. It still awful nice out there on alot of the trails. I couldnt believe how white everything was that I looked at on the way up here. I saw dirt on some of the turns along 93 but other than that a great patch of white down all the crossings. Just had people in here that said the trail was groomed from grayling to manistee river road and very nice. Roads are way dry and so are parking lots except mine which looks more like the site of a mud bog. The campfire is still going outside from yesterday. Alot of the kids from the safety class roasted up some marshmallows out there and they all passed the course. I even had a couple phone calls yesterday morning on the class but it had alreday been going a couple hours so they will have to wait for a different day. I also just got a call from my buddy jack in grayling and he wanted to sign up his 2 friends from ohio that he rode to the u.p. a couple weeks ago saying that they definetly need a refresher course. I have extra of the safety books here that they passed out during the class. If you want one just ask when you come in. I have never seen those books before and they are printed by the dnr. They should make those available everywhere. Thats about it for today so thanks for checking in and Please Ride Safely. Pete