Happy November

[Nabeaquam]

 

[widowmaker]

Where is that ? it looks very nice

 

[Nabeaquam]

Where is that ? it looks very nice

In Michigan, USA in the Hiawatha National Forrest. 14 miles north of us there is 7 inches of snow. You don’t have to go very far south of Lake Superior to get into the influence of the warmer Lake Michigan.

Where is that ? it looks very nice

We live between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in the Hiawatha National Forrest. It’s in Michigan, USA. Fourteen miles north of here there is 7 inches of snow now, but we are in an area that is south of the Lake Superior snow belt, more influenced by Lake Michigan. There is a very steep 100 meter hill right on the Lake Superior shore in the green area that is a continental glacial end moraine or high glacial formed cliffs and the snow off Lake Superior hit this sudden rise and dump. Most is dumped before it gets here, but we still get plenty. The locals call my area the banana belt. I’m in the center of the green on the map below on one of the lakes, completely surrounded by National Forrest with hundreds of miles of gravel roads and logging trails to ride on. My driveway is a mile of dirt so we pay to have it plowed. Two of us cut the fallen timber out of the two tracks each spring. We have quite the personal trail system. It’s all glacial out wash in the Forrest so there are no rocks, just roots and beautiful rugged hills, which are actually wind blown vegetated dunes and blowouts. Sixty miles west and you have a totally different situation, the Canadian Shield, which is rugged polished rock outcrops, the remains of ancient mountains.
Two years ago in May, the roads are clear for riding.

 

[widowmaker]

I must say that looks amazing, I could see myself living there

 

[Nabeaquam]

I must say that looks amazing, I could see myself living there

You have to like living without many people, sort of like Northumberland National Park but with trees. In NNP you have more sheep than people, in the whole of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there are usually twice as many deer as there are people, depending on the severity of the winter and the die off rate. Almost everyone out here is retired as there are no jobs. Very few remain for the winter with a mass exodus to Arizona, Florida and Texas. This is our favorite time of year as we have no neighbors, just the occasional XC skier or snowmobile. In the spring I have to pretend I’m sociable and say a few words to people.

 

[The History Man]

Looks absolutely wonderful. I don’t care for the majority of people.

 

[widowmaker]

I think people are overated, I'd happily avoid all but a handful of people if I had the chance.

 

[DrGooGoo]

Your puppy looks
Is this his first experience with snow?

 

[Nabeaquam]

Your puppy looks
Is this his first experience with snow?

No, he is 6, he knows what’s coming.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I think people are overated, I'd happily avoid all but a handful of people if I had the chance.

I think you would all enjoy looking at YouTube videos of mountain biking here on the Canadian Shield, 100 km west of here. Outwash suddenly turns to polished rock hills here. Look up Harlow Lake mountain biking. These trails connect to the East to those more mixed with rock hills and some outwash. Harlow Lake trails are all shield.