December 02 – August 03 | Sledheads of Frederic

Wednesday August 27, 2003
Its a nice mild temp here in frederic today. I got back home about 3 yesterday
afternoon and basically slept the rest of the day. That long power drive always
wipes me out. Nothing new to report from around town here that I have heard of.
I did talk to a lady that works at the mackinaw bridge today that I do jackets
for and she said the motorcycles are coming across the bridge in groups and way more
than normal. So thats about it for now and thanks for checking in. Pete
————————–
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. Rockford, MIchigan
We rolled here into Denny’s house at 6:30 this morning and just woke up.
I slept from milwaukee to chicagao and woke up long enough to see
the lights in the city and then went out again till the state line when
I started driving. What a lightining show in the sky up in front of us
and the radio was talking about how severe the weather was. So I got to
finish the last40 miles in the rain but it was a pretty easy power drive home.
I am off from here and gonna head by and see where my cabin used to be as
I havent been back there since May and I have to head to traverse city to
pick up a friend from the airport returning from a fly fishing trip in Iceland.
He was supposed to be in last night at nine and Cathy was going to get him but
he got stranded in Minneapolis. I am off to hit the road again. Thanks for checking in. Pete

Tuesday morning 12:30 a.m. Milwaukee, Wi
We have been driving steady for about 16 hours with only stops for fuel. All
the way across south dakota and minnesota was smooth sailing and just as we
hit lacrosse wi, I was driving and saw john’s van pulled over to the side of
the road, his alternator had fried. Hes the same john that picked me up at the
airport when I got into rapid the other day, so we ran him into town and got
him fixed up and headed onward. I have never been to milwaukee before but its
pretty at night, there is a big baseball stadium downtown and the summerfest grounds
are right along the lake michigan shoreline, we had to go about 10 miles north of
downtown to drop off merchandise at a harley dealership in Thiensville, the
place was packed with vendors but the only thing open was a beer tent and
a tattoo place. So it looks like its going to be a giant party in milwaukee
this weekend. Denny is driving right now and we have about sixty miles before
hitting chicago so I am going to grab some sleep.
————————
Monday August 25, 2003 8:19 a.m.
We have been on the road almost 2 hours already heading east. The drive thru the badlands of south dakota is very scenic and pretty. Wide open plains with lots of cattle, mountains and big round hay bales as far as you can see. We are getting passed by lots of bikes heading east too. We are moving along at a steady pace but are pulling a 40 foot fifth wheel. Hoping to pull into milwaukee late tonight just to drop off merchandise and then heading home to reload. I talked to a few more interesting people that are doing the ride all the way. There was one couple that had rode from Fairbanks, Alaska by themselves. I talked to another group that had rode to sturgis for the rally 2 weeks ago from dallas texas and then rode up to Portland, Oregon so they could do the full ride across and after that they are heading back to dallas. Another group from europe that had their bikes shipped to Phoneix and then rode up to sturgis, they were a mixed group from germany, switzerland, austria and sweden. Another pack of bikes just blew by us, its pretty neat to have a big group just come from behind and blast by you like you are parked. Till next time.. Pete
———————
Sunday afternoon 3:00
WE got a nice little shot of rain a bit ago and the concerts are going on
with Chris Cagle coming up. I found this Harley Davidson web site on the
Ride Home and it shows the 4 different routes people are taking
to end up in milwaukee next week.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/AN/100/TRH/en/ridehome.asp?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US

We are going to start packing up pretty soon and plan on heading out early in the morning, so probably no more updates till I get home. THanks for checking in. Pete

Sunday August 24, 2003 10:a.m. 94 degrees again
WOW, last night was like Monstor Garage, Orange County
Choppers and real life all in one. When the bikes rolled in
it was something to see. It went from slow to busy in a hurry.
The concert went on from 6 till midnight and there were tons of
great looking bikes. I met 4 more people from the anchorage group and
alot of people that started in Portland and some from California and all of
them are doing the ride home all the way to milwaukee. Can you imagine riding
your sled for that long on just one long continuous ride? I asked one guy when
he was planning on being back home and he
said Sept. 22. There is another concert tonight and then the ride moves on east
and so do we. I have never rode a bike before but I have
been out here 12 times and everytime I leave wanting to get a bike.
Thats about it for now, its gonna be another hot one so thanks for checking in.
Pete
—————————————————
Saturday August 23 high noon and 94 degrees,
So far things have been off to a pretty slow start today. Its now 3 hours later, we went to lunch and now its up to 98 degrees.It made it all the way up to 106 yesterday. The streets are blocked off for the concert tonight and from the looks of the stage its supposed to be big. Bikes are rolling in slowly and I sure havent seen signs of the group of 2500 that was rumored to be heading this way. We did meet 3 people at lunch that rode here from anchorage,alaska. They said they were with a group of 50 bikes and that altogether there were 150 bikes riding out of anchorage and they are all going to milwaukee but this afternoon they were just out playing tourist and heading to Crazy Horse & Mount Rushmore. At least its a bit cooler today…..Thats about it for now.
Pete
————————————
Friday August 22, 2003 10:00a.m. m.t.
The day started out nice and cool but now its up to noon and its up to a toasty
93 degrees. The street has been blocked off and there are a few bikes rolling into town.
Last night we went up to Deadwood. Its only about 10 miles from here and is a great little
western town higher up into the black hills. There are about 50 little casinos there within
a few blocks. When we got up there there were quite a few street rods cruising
town, Deadwood is having their cool august nights car show this weekend. They also had a live
re enactment gun fight in the street there of the assasination of wild bill hickcock by jack mccall. That drew a big crowd. After that we hit a few casino’s and I was even half way lucky. Saloon #10 had
a great band in it and I really liked that spot. The last time I was in there about 5
years ago Hulk Hogan walked in and stood right next to me. About another 8 miles from
Deadwood is a little great snowmobile destination called Lead. We brought our sleds
out here one winter and started out riding in what they call the grand canyon
in Lead and rode into wyoming. Riding the black hills was a great ride but still no
comparison to alaska. If you are bored and want to check out a couple local websites……www.saloon10.com
or…www.deadwood.org …………I also saw a main street web cam here in sturgis and it
said www.sturgisrally.net although I dont know for sure if they have that up and running. We just had a phone call from a Harley dealership in montana and they said there are about 2500 bikes heading
this way. They have a pretty good size stage set up in the street here so it will be
interesting to see what happens. Thats about it for now. Pete
—————————
Thursday August 21, 5:43 mountain time
The plane finally got moving about an hour late and we taxied out and all of
sudden they had another problem so they unloaded us and we had to wait another hour. When it finally took off and we landed in Rapid City it was about 2 hours late. I was surprised as I got off the plane
someone hollered my name and it was a guy I know from ohio that happened to be close to the airport and
heard I was coming in so I had a easy ride into Sturgis and got here about 1. Town sure doesnt look like it does during the rally but it will be changing for the weekend. The main street will be shut down for a block party that has been billed as Thunder across Dakota. I just got up from a great 3 hour nap. My friend
Denny has his fifth wheel here in the building on main street so we have all the comforts of home. Its a nice sunny day here and not to hot. There arent to many bikes in town yet but I’m sure they are coming. If you copy
and paste this link you can see the building we are in on main street here……..http://www.cyclethreads.com/sturgis.htm Thanks for checking in. Pete

Thursday August 21, 2003 8:30 a.m. mountain time,
Its been a long night here at the Denver International Airport. I got in about
1 a.m. after a plane switch at midway in chicago and
found a place to snooze till about 4:30 when I met a city bus driver (anthony)
and he told me to hop on with him. We rode out to
the old stapleton airport where they pick up employees to bring them to this
new DIA . I know I dont get out of frederic much bu
t you forget about how big it really is out there. This airport is huge and
very modern, with underground electric trains to shuttle
you between the 3 concourses. If you havent ever seen what it looks like check
it out on the net, it is a really different and cool looking
facility. The security is tight and last night in Grand Rapids I got the real
thorough search and here everyone going thru has to send
their shoes through seperately and pull the lap tops out for inspection. My
next flight leaves in about a half hour for rapid city, south
dakota and then I am getting picked up to head into Sturgis. I am out here to
help a friend who was here at the rally a couple weeks ago.
We are going to open up the store and are expecting a good amount of bikers to
ride thru Sturgis on their way to the big 100th anniversary
Harley Davidson party in Milwaukee on labor day weekend. This month has just
flew by and I just havent been online that much, even
though I am here to work I feel a little less pressure than being in frederic.
Cathy took the kids to Higgins Lake swimming yesterday
and I was there for a couple hours before I headed down to G.R. The lake water
is just perfect. Well they just announced the plane
will be leaving late because they are requesting maintenance, so the wait is
on again…….Thanks for checking in. Pete.
———————————-

Wow, its August 20 already and the month is flying by, there are 2 snowmobile
events coming up this weekend, nelsons in greenville is having there snow cross
race, and asdra is having grass drags in fowlerville, I am trying to do this
update
at the airport in grand rapids, heading for denver tonight and on to sturgis
south dakota
in the morning so I will try to put more on this week. The BP is selling gas
again.
thanks for checking in. Pete

Thursday August 21, 5:43 mountain time
The plane finally got moving about an hour late and we taxied out and all of
sudden they had another problem so they unloaded
us and we had to wait another hour. When it finally took off and we landed
in Rapid City it was about 2 hours late. I was surprised as I got off the plane
someone hollered my name and
it was a guy I know from ohio that happened to be close to the airport and
heard I was coming in so I had a easy ride into Sturgis
and got here about 1. Town sure doesnt look like it does during the rally but
it will be changing for the weekend. The main street
will be shut down for a block party that has been billed as Thunder across
Dakota. I just got up from a great 3 hour nap. My friend
Denny has his fifth wheel here in the building on main street so we have all
the comforts of home. Its a nice sunny day here and not to hot.
There arent to many bikes in town yet but I’m sure they are coming. If you copy
and paste this link you can see the building we
are in on main street here……..http://www.cyclethreads.com/sturgis.htm
Thanks for checking in. Pete

Thursday August 21, 2003 8:30 a.m. mountain time,
Its been a long night here at the Denver International Airport. I got in about
1 a.m. after a plane switch at midway in chicago and found a place to snooze
till about 4:30 when I met a city bus driver (anthony) and he told me to hop on
with him. We rode out to the old stapleton airport where they pick up employees
to bring them to this new DIA . I know I dont get out of frederic much but you
forget about how big it really is out there. This airport is huge and very
modern, with underground electric trains to shuttle you between the 3
concourses. If you havent ever seen what it looks like check it out on the net,
it is a really different and cool looking facility. The security is tight and
last night in Grand Rapids I got the real thorough search and here everyone
going thru has to send their shoes through seperately and pull the lap tops out
for inspection. My next flight leaves in about a half hour for rapid city,
south dakota and then I am getting picked up to head into Sturgis. I am out
here to help a friend who was here at the rally a couple weeks ago. We are
going to open up the store and are expecting a good amount of bikers to ride
thru Sturgis on their way to the big 100th anniversary Harley Davidson party in
Milwaukee on labor day weekend. This month has just flew by and I just havent
been online that much, even though I am here to work I feel a little less
pressure than being in frederic. Cathy took the kids to Higgins Lake swimming
yesterday and I was there for a couple hours before I headed down to G.R. The
lake water is just perfect. Well they just announced the plane will be leaving
late because they are requesting maintenance, so the wait is on
again…….Thanks for checking in. Pete.
———————————-

on later
Wednesday August 6, 2003
Its a nice afternoon in Frederic, construction on the BP Station is
moving along, most of the canopy is done, they have a nice new sunny BP sign
up and the pumps are there, and they were laying asphalt this morning. Nothing
else
to new or exciting, I took the girls and the dog on a short canoe trip last
night
down the river and the motorcycle rally in Sturgis is in full swing and I kind
of
wish I was there. This past weekend was the Car Show at Happy Days
Diner & Campground in Frederic. The weather held out and was pretty nice. My
little
Haley wanted to go to the show with me on sunday and it was her first car show
along with
Dad. She entered the drawing to win a new bike but then later on she told me
she didnt want
a new bike and that if she won it she was gonna give it away. Well guess what,
she won the bike
and went runnning up to get it. She said I knew I was gonna win and I said
arent you going
to give it away,,,,NO WAY…..She is having alot of fun riding it…..Thanks
for checking
in. Pete
————————————–
Thursday night July 31, 2003
Yes I am still here and alive, it just seems like time is flying by,
The frederic BP Station is still tore up and in the process of getting new
tanks and pumps, they have had no gas for I think a few weeks now and it
really messes people up getting off the highway thinking they can get gas, but
it should be nice when they get it done. They have the new framework up for the
new canopy too and new cement was getting poured today. Last weekend was
graylings
big event for the summer, the ausable river festival, the canoe race went off
saturday
night at nine and the racers paddled their way towards oscoda for a finish on
sunday morning
about 11:30 a.m. after fourteen plus hours of hard paddleing. We followed the
race for about
the first hour and a half saturday night and then came home and slept and in
the morning
I got up early and watched the bike race start off from downtown. The bicycles
take off
at 8 and try to end up in oscoda about the same time the canoes start coming
in. There were
170 bikes and 65 canoes in the races. I went back home and got the girls and we
made it
to oscoda before the first canoe came in. Jeff Kolka and Serge Corbin won for
the eighth
year in a row so a big congratulations to them. After we watched the canoes
come in for
a while we went to a beach on lake huron a few miles north of oscoda for a fun
afternoon
of swimming and hanging on the beach. Yesterday I did a Kayak trip down the
north branch
with 8 other guys. We went from Dam four road to morley road , it was a great
day and
a great 5 hours on the river. Tonight we just got back from swimming at the
holiday inn pool
with some friends and earlier we went to the circus. What a different circus it
was, have
you ever been to one that didnt have a tent? It was all outdoors and we did get
sprinkled
with a few showers. So in a nutshell thats our life story for the past couple
weeks and
summer seems to be flying by. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————————-
Saturday July 19,2003
Its a nice sunny and cool morning here in grayling, we made it back
home wednesday night after spending one night at Big Manistique lake in
Curtis and then a night in Newberry. All the trail crossings I looked at
in the area were thick with grass. Two interesting things we did if you make
it to the u.p. in the summer was visit Oswalds Bear Ranch about 8 miles outside
of Newberry. He has about 30 Black Bear in 3 different habitats to see and we
also went to the Gar Lyn Zoo just east of Naubinway. The wrecked snowmobile is
still on display in the trail head parking lot in Newberry. I finally got this
other
letter so I can post it on here on the land closure by Deward so here it
is…….

June 17, 2003

The following statement was to Robin Pearson, Recreation Specialist with the
DNR.
From Susan Theil, Lansing DNR

It will enlighten you all about the closure of 4700 acres called the DeWard
Tract that was
picked up by all the news media.

Robin:
The new release contains correct information. People are obviously making
assumptions
when they heard the story. Here is a history for your information:

DeWard Tract used to be closed to wheeled motorized vehicles. Last Friday,
June 13,
2003, the Directorâ€™s order was revised to close the special management area
to all
motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles. There are no designated or signed
snowmobile trails running through the area. The De Ward Tract is
approximately 4700
acres in size, with a majority of land residing in Crawford Cty. It does not
contain 4700
acres of trails.

The special management was created to protect the headwaters and upper
stretches of the
Upper Manistee River Corridor. The north end of the tract lies in Otsego Cty
and
encompasses the headwaters of the Manistee River.

The western boundary of the tract occurs in Kalkaska Cty, the rest is in
Crawford Cty.
Initially all motorized traffic was banned from tract via Directorâ€™s order
except on
designated roads signed as open. For some reason unknown to me, Rollie
Harmes, when
he was director signed a revised Directorâ€™s order prohibiting only wheeled
motorized
vehicles and thus allowing snowmobiles on the tract.

Years ago, a pipeline was installed in a north-south direction bisecting the
tract and
crossing the Manistee River. The pipeline was blocked in several locations
due to
concerns about ORV and truck traffic causing resource damage near the river.
This
pipeline has become a commonly used corridor for snowmobiles to quickly go
from
Otsego Cty to Crawford Cty.

We have designated trails all around the edge of the tract but I have been
told multiple
times by folks that they donâ€™t like to ride the designated trails, too
crowded, too bumpy,
unsafe for family riding, etc. Thus, the piepline corridor and De Ward
became a common
throughfare. Personally after looking at it, I view the pipeline as crowded
and bumpy as
the trails, but that is only my perception. I have received complaints for
years on
snowmobiles in DeWard.

The past two winters I have visited the tract and was abhorred to discover
the amount of
snowmobiles use up there. Essentially all open patches of snow to be seen
throughout the
tract had snowmobile tracks on it. I even saw an old pulp pile left from a
sale years ago
and found snowmobiles were using this rotting ten foot high pile as a jump.
Not the safest
activity in the world. In two spots they were regularly jumping the river,
hydroplaning,
and going across. It ended up with some bank erosion in those spots. The
one
hydroplaning spot is gaining popularity via word of mouth.

While I was in the emergency room last winter, the guy next to me was being
treated for a
sore behind because he miscalculated a jump at the spot. My husband
overheard his
buddies in the waiting room telling all the other snowmobilers there about
this great
jumping spot. I have heard that talk elsewhere now.

On top of all, landowners have their private land posted. Over the past
three or four years
they have levied tons of complaints about snowmobilers trespassing on their
property and
the numbers of machines are phenomenal. The COâ€™s set up and watched the area
for a 2-3
days one year and wrote hundreds of tickets. I was told by some landowners
they stopped
counting at 600 machines one day. The COâ€™s have confirmed over 400 machines
in an
afternoon. The DNR has spent a lot of time on some cases related to
recreational trespass
for that one area.

The final straw was hunters and trappers started complaining they used to
hunt coyotes
and trap the area and that snowmobiling was totally ruining opportunities for
them. After
viewing the activity up there the past two years, I could understand why.

With all this, I proposed going back to original Directorâ€™s order which will
prohibit
snowmobiles from riding in the DeWard Tract exception roads posted as open.
Note,
there is no road that fully crosses DeWard. All roads posted as open provide
access to the
river, but deadend before they get to the river or provide access to private
property.
Thus, the DeWard Tract will no longer be available as a quick high speed
cut-through any
more. We will be posting new signs this summer and performing aggressive law
enforcement this winter. I suspect if we do as in the past, warning will be
given the first
year in an attempt to educate folks of the change.

Note, this was not a quick decision. I have been monitoring this situation
for the past five
years. Over three years ago, a conservation officer brought me pictures of
the problem
jump area. I had received multiple complaints from landowners and river
users. So, at
that point we worked with LED and try more aggressive enforcement and
encourage
landowners to post their property and we worked at reinforcing blockages.
After two
years and it apparently was not working, damage and use was increasing, I
came to the
conclusion we need to pursue exclusion. This is probably way more than you
needed, but
this is what is behind the issue.

I will be sending a letter to KL Cool wondering why we or the SAC were not
asked to
help before, if this was such a problem.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Monday July 14,2003
Say Yah to Da U.P. Coming at you from Manistique, Melissa and I are on our way
back from the Iola, Wisconsin car show. It was a nice weekend there, last
night we
had a camp site in menonminee along the north shore of lake michigan, what a
beautiful
moon rise over green bay, it was like watching the sun come up, it was bright
red and from
the time it peaked over the horizon till it was up was only about ten minutes,
then this morning
at 6 I watched the sun come up over the lake in a blazing fireball, that was
great too. We are at
the library here and Cathy & Haley are coming here to meet us and hopefully go
do something fun.
So thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete & Melissa.
——————————————————–
Tuesday July 8, 2003
A nice sunny breezy day here in frederic, made it thru the fourth weekend with
some nice pontooning weather and great fireworks. The only new news is that
yesterday they tore down the big canopy over the Frederic BP station and
are starting to dig the tanks out. Hopefully they will get more pumps put in.
Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Tuesday July 1, 2003
Here is a email today that I recieved from the Michigan Snowmobile
Association regarding the land closure, I should still have another letter
coming on it……..
LAND CLOSURE BLINDSIDES SNOWMOBILERS

The DeWard Tract which is about 4700 acres of state owned property between
Antrim, Crawford, Kalkaska
and Otsego counties which had been open for snowmobiling on the existing
roadways and forest roads is now
closed to all motorized uses.The Michigan Snowmobile Association does not see
the reasoning behind the closure.
Reports state the DNR tried to let us use the land for 12 years as an
experiment, but it didn’t work out to well.
Who knew what the experiment was?
“What really upsets us most is the fact that the DNR never contacted us,” says
MSA President Tom Myers.
“Here we have an association of over 20,000 members and 140 clubs many of
which groom and maintain the trails.
We heard nothing about a problem or any issues in the area. MSA and the
Snowmobile Advisory Committee
(SAC) should have been brought into the loop to try and work out a solution.
Land closure is not the answer!”
The Snowmobile Advisory Committee, which has had a very good relationship with
the DNR and advises
them on snowmobile related issues, was also caught off guard. After polling
its seven members, they all
said they knew nothing of the ban regarding snowmobiles through the area.
——————————————————Pete

Monday June 30, 2003
The time keeps flying by and I havent put an update on here lately.
I thought I had an email regarding the land closure in the frederic area but
it was the wrong one, I had quite a few emails on that but in reading what they
did it is basically the pipe line area toward starvation lake that has been
closed
anyways, there were no snowmobile trails closed in our area. I will still try
to get
that email and post it on here. Summer has kicked in and I just havent been on
the computer
that much. I brought the girls home a beagle puppy last tuesday and that is
like having a
new baby in the house. Little Haleys eyes opened up so big when she saw it and
she said Dad is
that a beagle?? A look worth a lot. The next night she said I’m so glad we got
a beagle its
way better than a fish. Her name is Elly and I guess she will be the new
Sledheads mascot. This
past weekend was the St. Ignace car show and for the first time since 1988 I
didnt go to it.
So thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————-
Thursday June 19, 2003 9:30 a.m.
SNOWMOBILE DEATH IN EAST JORDAN!!
Yes thats right, I had a call this morning from my buddy Bob asking me if
I saw the news. Apparently a man and his wife were riding a sled down the side
of the road in the East Jordan area hit a curb and were thrown. He was killed
and
she was injured. No Helmets and they said speed and alcohol were a factor…..
Come on now its June, where are those people with the Darwin Awards…….
I also had a fax from MSA on the land closure, I
am going to try to get it e mailed to me so I can post it in here because I am
to lazy
to type all that……Thats it for now and if you are going to ride please ride
safely….
Wednesday June 18, 2003 11:00 a.m.
So far all I have found out about the land closing is from other readers, I will
paste an article below here from the monday detroit free press and I also had
a message on the answering machine that there was a story in a toledo paper
too and another e mail about land closing coming up in the mesick area….
Here is the story from the paper, when I find out more I will post it….
KALKASKA — Almost 5,000 acres of state land in northern Michigan Antrim,
Crawford, Kalkaska and Otsego counties have been closed to snowmobiles
because of erosion, noise and conflicts between users.
Horses also no longer will be allowed on 10-mile Cadillac Pathway, the state
Natural Resources Commission decided.
The state tried for 12 years to give snowmobiles unrestricted access to
state land in an area known as the DeWard Tract, said David Spalding, a
land-use official for the Department of Natural Resources.
The recent decision prohibits snowmobiles except on roads posted as open
throughout the tract, which covers 4,721 acres and includes the headwaters
of the Manistee River and Cameron Bridge Road in Crawford County.
Signs are posted at entrance points and throughout the tract, said Susan
Thiel, a DNR forest manager in Grayling. She said snowmobilers traveling
along a natural gas pipeline often skimmed across the Manistee River and
contributed to erosion.
Motorized vehicles with wheels have been prohibited in the area for 20
years, but snowmobiles have been allowed since 1991. Spalding said: “The
experiment didn’t work out real well.”
Michigan has more than 6,100 miles of designated snowmobile trails in six
state forests, three national forests, and many acres of privately owned
lands.
Snowmobiling has become increasingly popular in recent years and is seen as
a boon to the tourist business. Snowmobile registrations have climbed for 10
straight seasons, reaching 393,598 at the end of the 2001-02 season.
The Cadillac Pathway northeast of the city was closed to horses for similar
reasons. Use of horses on the trail had contributed to erosion, particularly
on hillsides, and also generated complaints from hikers and runners.
“The trail was not developed with horses in mind,” Spalding said of Cadillac
Pathway. “They can still ride on 3.8 million acres of state forest land.”
——————————-
Monday June 16, 2003 6:00 p.m.
I just finished watching the news and the big story on there was that the DNR
alias (Do Nothing Right) has closed 4700 acres of state land to snowmobiling in
four counties including Crawford,Otsego,Antrim and Kalkaska. It had something
to do
with erosion along river banks. I dont know what the full story is but first
thing in
the morning I will be on the phone trying to find out this full story. So stay
tuned and
as soon as I find out I will post it. Other than that it has finally been warm
outside
and I went to two different events this past weekend, The annual car show in
lewiston and
the michigan bowhunters rendevous in Gladwin. So summer is kicking in and I
hope to hit the lake
some more too. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————–
Tuesday June 10, 2003
Hi, nothing exciting happening, its 2 in the morning and here I sit wide awake,
I just read this e mail which makes one heck of alot of sense so I am pasting it
below this. Feel free to copy it and pass it on……….Its long but well worth
reading………….
Subject: THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY

I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses, and big campfires.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some
governmental stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack
addicts for squirting out babies.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can
kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you
from driving to the ball game.

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is
an opinion.

I don’t think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except
numbers.

The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like
the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television,
and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College
Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America
and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

I have the right “NOT” to be tolerant of others because they are different,
weird, or tick me off. When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in
cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling,
it is the law of statistics.

I know what sex is, and there are not varying degrees of it. If I received
sex from one of my subordinates in my office, it wouldn’t be a private
matter or my personal business. I would be “FIRED” immediately!

I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a pack of cigarettes, a
newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English. As a matter of fact,
if you want to be an American citizen you should speak English. My father
and grandfather shouldn’t have to die in vain so you can leave the countries
you were born in to come over and dis-respect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you
threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can’t understand the word
“freeze” or “stop” in English, see the above.

I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation recount
votes when needed. I know what the definition of lying is.

I don’t think just because you were not born in this country, you are
qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or
tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, convenience store, trinket shop,
or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in
wars to defend their freedoms so that decades later they could come over
here and tell us our constitution is a living document and open to their
interpretations.
I don’t hate the rich. I don’t pity the poor. I know wrestling is fake, but
so are movies and television, and that doesn’t stop you from watching them.

I believe a self-righteous liberal with a cause is more dangerous than a
Hell’s Angel with an attitude.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue
to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system
that’s better and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that
invented the Internet to help you.

It doesn’t take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a
parent to stand up to the kid and smack his little ass when necessary and
say “NO.”

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don’t
pretend they are a political statement. And stay home until that new lip
ring heals, I don’t want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me
fries.

I am sick of “Political Correctness” and of all the suck ups that go along
with it.

I do not think any of us owe reparation to any one. I know a lot of black
people, and not a single one of them was ever a slave, and I do not know any
one who has ever owned a slave. We need to get over it already!!!

Why must it be, “African Americans,” “Mexican Americans,” “Asian Americans,”
etc. I don’t go around saying I am European American just because my great
great great great great great Grandfather came here from Europe.

I am proud to be from America and no where else!!!

And if you don’t like my point of view, tough!!!

That is your right because this is America!!!

All I have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I
celebrate Christmas, but because it isn’t celebrated by everyone, we can no
longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season’s Greetings. It’s not
Christmas vacation, it’s Winter Break. Isn’t it amazing how this winter
break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday?? We’ve gone so far the
other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being
offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that.

This says it all!

After hearing that the state of Florida changed its opinion and let a Muslim
woman have her picture on her driver’s license with her face covered this is
an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper.
He did quite a job; didn’t he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of this nation worrying
about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by
the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely
settled when the “politically correct” crowd began complaining about the
possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost
entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few
things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some
born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural
community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national
identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own
language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over
centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women
who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our
society, learn the language!

“In God We Trust” is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right
wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and
women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly
documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our
schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the
world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don’t like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are
happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t
care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land,
and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every! citizen the right to
express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But
once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our
pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take
advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

If you agree — pass this along; if you don’t agree — delete it!

Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————–

Thursday Night June 5, 2003
The time has flown by again, I was pretty darn sick for almost a week, I dont
know what it was but it sure knocked me out. I did get to the car show in
Midland
last weekend and that was o.k. but I wasnt feeling to good there either. Now I
am
almost back to my James Brown self where I FEEL GOOD so things are looking
better. No
events to attend this weekend besides grayling high school graduation. Cathy
has had me
picking up leaves in the yard so there really isnt any new or exciting news from
the northwoods. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————-
Monday May 26, 2003 9:30 a.m.
Wishing everyone a happy memorial day…..We are heading out to the memorial
day service at the cematary here in a little bit. Its a nice tribute to remember
the men and woman that served our country. Then hopefully off to a little fun
today.
Its cool out right now but I am hoping for a pontoon ride and taking Haley
fishing later.
I finally got the pontoon in last night and took a quick ride around the lake.
It
felt good getting it in but not as good as hopping on your sled for the first
ride
of the season. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————-
Thursday May 22, 2003
It was 28 degrees out this morning but its warming up nicely. Hopefully I
will get my pontoon in the lake in the next day or two. I acutally had it
ready to go sunday but the water pump quit and I had to get that fixed.
We are having a yard sale here at the house for today tommorow and sat, so
that will keep Cathy busy trying to get rid of some clutter. I had a call
yesterday about a new snowmobile drag racing circuit starting up. ASDRA
has races scheduled for gaylord, jackson , frankenmuth,fowlerville and
onsted. It seems that everybody was fed up with the changes and the attitudes
of the guys that run MSDRA. I too was a longtime supporter of MSDRA but they
definetly went down the tubes and racing with them just wasnt any fun anymore
and
way to boring with no action going on. All the big names in snowmobile drag
racing
are heading into ASDRA (American Snowmobile Drag Racing Association) so
hopefully
they can get back to some great snomobile drag racing action. Their website
adress is www.asdraracing.com Thanks for checking in and have a Great
Memorial
Day weekend. Pete
——————————-
Friday May 16, 2003
Another week has flown by and I have to say that this has probably been
the best season of mushroom picking that we have ever had. They are still
out there but we could use some more rain. The meeting with the commisioners
on wednesday will hopefully bring some results in the future. They made a motion
to check up on things. I brought 2 more new letters to that meeting one from
a lady from a incident that happened just last week and another from a lady
that was a bartender at margarethiville on jan 31, that was the night if you
remember that they caught the kids stealing belts from snowmobiles in the
parking
lot. She had to call in to 911 twice to get them to take her seriously and she
said it was darn near a riot in there and that she was treated rudely and was
very upset by it. There were 4 other people at the meeting too that voiced
their complaints. While mostly everybody at 911 operates politely and
professionally
and are a great bunch of people they do have a couple big problems. Next
right below this I am going to post a news article that was sent to me by
a reader from April 29………..
Snowmobile rider dies in farm field

ROCKY RIDGE, Ohio – An autopsy is to be performed today on an Ottawa County man
who died while riding a snowmobile
on a wheat field in Benton Township, authorities said.James Kitzler, 42, of
Rocky Ridge, was found dead in the field sunday
afternoon, shortly after Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies were called to the
scene. Sheriff Craig Emahiser said a woman
who lives near the field along Toussaint North Road called the department at
12:27 p.m. after noticing the overturned
snowmobile.
The sheriff said authorities believe Mr. Kitzler was riding the snowmobile atop
wheat stubble when he struck a
swale and was thrown from the vehicle, which landed about 70 feet from the
depression. Mr. Kitzler’s body was
found about 150 feet from the ditch.

Ottawa County Coroner Gilbert Bucholz said there were no signs of foul play.
Thats about it for now so if you ride now please do it safely……..Pete
————————————————————————–

Monday May 12, 8:00 p.m
Its been a cold day here today and a little windy too, I got back home to
grayling
saturday night. I finally got all the trail reports back on here that go all
the way
back to December 1, 2001 so you can see what happened any day during the last 2
riding
seasons. For those of you that remember the uproars of the readers that called
in to
911 on Feb 1 about the man that was killed on howes lake road, this wednesday
at 10;00
a.m. there is a meeting coming up at the county building with the commisioners
regarding
the way things are handled at crawford county 911. I had a letter to the editor
in last
weeks paper and the response I have heard from other people with complaints
should be
heard at the meeting. As in any organization one person can make it look bad.
911 is
a great asset to crawford county but they need to dump the help with the better
than you
and dont bug me attitude. It will be interesting to hear the comments at the
meeting.
Also after I woke up saturday morning after doing the early morning update I
had to check my
e mail again just to see if I dreamed or really did get that letter on the
cabin fire.
Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————–
Saturday Morning 4:00 a.m. May 10
Here I am at my brothers in Kalamazoo during a hellacious thunder and lighting
storm. I guess I am going to forget going to the car show in coldwater as
it sure doesnt look like its going to be a nice day. I was planning on leaving
about now and woke up about an hour ago to the sound of about 10 to 15 gun
shots off in the distance. My brother came down to see if I heard them.
Who knows what that was and it was before the storm started. Once
again I am amazed at the people that read my reports on this page. I
just finished reading an email from one of the firefighters that was in
on my cabin fire and I am going to post his letter below this……

Sorry about the fire damage to your cabin. I grew up in that area
and spent the better part of my life spending all my free time back in that
area. I remember in 1983 when your cabin burnt the first time. My dad was
one of the fireman that put out the fire. Then, when the 800 acre fire
started, I was there to help put out the blaze. I don’t know if you are
aware, but the fire started when one of the people by someone
burning papers in their back yard and an ash sparked the fire. It is
unfortunate that something like this happened. I believe, however that it is
considered neglegance on the part of the admitting party and he is
responsible to not only private property owners such as yourself, but also
to the state or federal forest for the damages incured. If your plans are to
re-build, let me know, I know almost everyone in that area, and people would
be more than happy to lend you a hand.
We did the best we could on the fire that day but the wind was
pretty strong. It all happened because someone didn’t listen to the fire
danger and decided to burn their trash.
I read your web page on a daily basis and always look forward to
what you have to say. I was surprised to see that you spend alot of time so
close to where I spend my time. Thanks for the info on your page, always
makes my day go by a little faster.

Thats about it for now, seeing that it looks like I get the day off I am going
back to bed and might head out for home and frederic in a few hours. Maybe
we can get some more mushrooms today, last night Melissa was out behind
my brothers with him and said they ran into some people in the woods picking
mushrooms here in kzoo and they had pillow cases full. I wish I could find that
many. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————-
Thursday May 8, 2003
The week has been flying by, its now mushroom season and people are out looking
for the morels. Cathy and I have done pretty well, in fact our best year ever,
we have about 400 so far for this week. I am already alomost tired of eating
them.
Heading to the car show in Coldwater Michigan this weekend, even though its
supposed
to rain sunday. I cant believe its been a year since the big adventure and
sure
wish
I was out there on the boat still. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————
Monday May 5, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Finally made it back to grayling last night after another long drive back
from wisconsin. The convention was great and Pope & Young is a first class
run organization. There were 980 people in the banquet and it was a huge
event.Now the bad part was that when I got back into my room saturday night
there was a message from Cathy to call home and it didnt sound good. So of
course I was called to find out that my favorite retreat in the whole world,
our cabin down by wellston was burned to the ground in a fire that burned 800
acres in the manistee national forest. So on my way home from wisconsin I went
to the cabin to see what was left which was just a pile of ashes. My heart
just
sank as I pulled in the drive. When you turn into the cabin you have to drive
down thru the pines about a quarter mile and everything looked good and I was
hoping it was a bad joke but when I got up to about 300 feet from it there was
a fire line cut thru the trees with a dozer and I could see that
the cabin wasnt there. The chimney was still standing but there was nothing
else left but burnt metal pieces that were chairs, stove, sinks and wood
stove.
The woods are black for as far north, east and south as I could see, a
terrible
thing to see. I have spent alot of time back there since I was about 12. The
other thing is that I guess 5 cabins burnt in that fire and it happened 2
weeks
ago but nobody notified us that it was gone and one of the other guys that
goes
there pulled in to spend the weekend and thats what
he saw. You would think that they would notify people when that happens. We
built that place in 1987 to replace the old cabin that somebody had torched in
about 1983. The old cabin burnt to the ground but the forest never even
started
on fire and nobody knew that it had happened. The one thing that cant be
replaced in the cabin was our ledgers that we kept in there about
all the times we stayed there. About 15 years worth now. Also my favorite
hunter orange hunting pants are gone, I got those for graduation from high
school but they were alot small on me anyways, I would wear them with
suspenders and no hope of snapping the front together. It sure must have
burned
hot back there because there was a little area that didnt have any burn marks
on it that we had a old fashioned sauna made out of fiberglass sitting and
that
thing melted to the ground. And we also had a shed built over our well pit
that
was about 6 feet deep and even the pump and tank down in there burnt up.
Thanks
for checking in. Pete
————————————–
Saturday May 3, 2003
Well here I am back in wisconsin for the second weekend in a row. I am in
Madison at
the Pope & Young Biennium Convention. What they have going here is all the
world
bowhunting record mounts in the past two years and what a display they have
put
on here. There was a huge banquet last night and another one coming up
tonight.
The club was founded by a bowhunter named Glen St. Charles and the first
meeting
when they put it together was in grayling with Fred Bear and about 28 other
people.
Now its 40 years later and they are going strong and run a first class
organization.
So thats about it from this end for now, I talked to Cathy a while ago and its
a nice
day in grayling and a nice day here too, Everytime I write one of these
things
puts
us a day closer to snowmobile season. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————-
Sunday night April 27, 2003
Its a nice warm night here in the windy city, I am here in chicago at my
sisters
after just returning from a car show up in jefferson wisconsin. It was a nice
weekend
out and I am heading back toward grayling in the morning…….Thanks for
checking in. pete
=======================
Tuesday April 22, 2003 High Noon in downtown Frederic
Well it happened again, we awoke to a light dusting of snow on the roofs,
cars,
and roadsides this morning. I even saw a little skim
of ice on the river in town this morning. Now it has turned to rain.
Other than that nothing new or exciting here. I just finished cleaning
the carpets in the front room here, its amazing how much salt comes in
on boots during the winter but I think it looks a little better. Thanks for
checking in. Pete
——————————–
Wednesday April 16, 2003 2:00 p.m.
Michigan weather as usual, yesterday it was 80 out and today its 40,
we had a sleet storm earlier today and that made it pretty slick. On last
nights news they announced that they had found the body of a snomobiler
on long lake over by traverse city that had been missing since January.
I think I have most of this page fixed after I messed it up a couple weeks
ago, I still have to restore the conditions but I am getting closer.
Thats all the news from frederic. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————————————————
Tuesday April 15, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 63 degrees out already and it was nice and warm yesterday. The winds
really
howled yesterday in frederic and here in grayling. It really pushed the ice
around on the lake and about 8 last night I drove down along m-72 to see how
the ice piled up from the winds. I would say by tonight or tommorow the ice
will be gone completely. This weeks grayling paper had a story in it about
the recovery of the second brother that drowned in houghton lake in january. I
was
looking for another article this morning and came across this editorial from
january
that I will print here along with a response to that editorial. Its from the
traverse
city paper.
Snowmobile deaths mount but problems still ignored
Warning: This is one of those editorials that, no matter how it’s written, is
a
fairly useless exercise.
Like decrying world hunger.
Or demanding justice for the downtrodden.
Some problems – lots of problems – don’t seem to get resolved or even
addressed until a crisis point is reached and action can no longer be avoided.
Nothing changes until society decides too many people have died, too
many
rights have been trampled or a threat to our livelihood is looming. A
newspaper
opinion can raise consciousness, but it usually takes real tragedy or the
harsh
glare of reality to drive the point home for some people.
Two weeks ago another snowmobile tragedy played out as two snowmobilers
plunged into Long Lake. An ice fisherman who rode his machine onto the same
lake the next day also died, echoing and underlining the tragedy.
Every year, words are wasted in this space bemoaning the lack of
restraint shown by some snowmobilers and governance of the sport and the
machines. Every year a tragedy like this occurs and nothing happens, except:
– The snowmobile industry continues to build ever-faster sleds;
– Law enforcement officials lament the lack of adequate patrols and
manpower to enforce snowmobile laws and the lack of training for riders;
– Rescue workers put their own lives at risk to save wayward
snowmobilers;
– Northern bars, restaurants and other businesses cater to the dollars
that snowmobilers bring in an otherwise unprofitable time of the year;
– Some well-meaning politician sees his or her bill addressing some part
of the problem die in a subcommittee under pressure from snowmobile clubs or
the sled industry.
No one wants to take snowmobiles away from riders. And no one likes laws
that simply protect us from ourselves or curb our freedom.
It’s exhilarating to fly through an open field on a winter’s night, full
moon overhead and the roar of your snow machine cracking the icy silence.
But with freedom comes responsibility. And too many riders are too quick
to forget the responsible part while out exercising their freedom. Speed is
seductive and the realization that you can’t make that turn or cross that bit
of open water often comes a second too late.
That’s why we say enough’s enough. The snowmobile industry isn’t
governing itself, snowmobile clubs aren’t doing enough to promote safe and
responsible riding and the state will look the other way as long as riders
pour
money into the industry and small businesses and lobby against restrictions.
The loss of life and threat to livelihood apparently hasn’t hit the
crisis point yet for these groups, so pressure to change has to come from
somewhere else.
The problem with snowmobiles is reminiscent of the personal watercraft
wave of 10 years ago, or the ongoing battle over the motorcycle helmet law.
The difference is, personal watercraft riders and motorcyclists share
the
road or a lake with someone else. Boaters sick of hot-dogging watercraft and
motorists tired of skyrocketing insurance costs for injured cyclists brought
pressure on lawmakers and law enforcement officials to crack down on
scofflaws.
And it’s easier to patrol a lake or highway than miles of open state or
federal land or one-track trails through thick forests.
Snowmobilers ride apart from the rest and that’s part of the attraction
and most of the problem.
We’ve called in this space long enough for change. Is anyone listening?
Now the response……
Tirade is absurd
This is concerning your Jan. 23 editorial, “Snowmobile deaths mount but
problems still ignored.”
It never ceases to amaze me how liberals believe the solution to
every “problem” requires more regulation and less freedom. Snowmobiling is not
rocket science. It is a sport safely enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of
people
of all ages every year. The Michigan Snowmobile Association and the snowmobile
manufacturers and dealers are extremely pro-active regarding safety. No amount
of legislation will protect people from exercising poor judgment. Your tirade
on snowmobiling is absurd.
Michael Brown
Traverse City
Thats about it for now, thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————-
Thursday 10:15 a.m.
The snow that is out there yet is rock hard, I went out and drove on some
untouched
snow and my truck barely left a print in the snow. I would say Lake Margrethe
is still
85 percent covered with ice. I could see alot of signs at the crossings of
sled
traffic
and the same around the building here in frederic but the woods really dont
have that much
snow left in them. All the yards in grayling are covered with snow and the
snow
bank around
the building here from the plow is about 2 feet high. Thats alot considering
it
was
defientely springtime 2 weeks ago before I left. Thanks for checking in. Pete

Thursday April 10, 2003 7:33 a.m.
We made it back home about 11:30 last night, another long days ride but it
feels
good to be here. We started seeing snow at the michigan ohio line and in parts
there were alot along side the roads. We stopped in west branch to eat at arbys
and the girl said that last thursday night they closed at 7 and on friday they
closed at 5 because of the snow but here we are a week later and from what I
could
see in the dark coming into grayling it was looking like its over here. I see
there
is still alot of ice out on the lake this morning and its 30 out right now. I
will
put another update on after I get to the shop this morning just to say how it
looks
on the way to frederic, I called the swamp yesterday morning and linda said
they had
sleds in during the evenings and that it was mostly local people, she said
that
bob
had gone out riding on saturday and sunday. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————–
Wednesday Morning April 9,
Here is another letter I got off the club page about Johns ride…
Just got back from the best ride of the season.Went 280 miles
today,started at our place at starvation lake,around the south end of
houghton lake, stopped in prudinville for gas and lunch. On to st
helens, ah deja vue. It was here my kids learned to ride, some 20
years ago on leaf spring exciters.Went to visit preachers point and
many of the other spots that bring back such great memories.On to
luszurne [sp?],then lovells and back to fredric.From there its only
27mi home.Left at 8am and returned at 5pm,all white and flat trails.
Saw 32 deer and 12other sleds.Made me think it was 1980 again !

Pete, you blew it ! best w/e of the year!

John

Tuesday Night April 8, 2003 11:30 p..m.
Here we are in Corbin Ky. We stopped here about 8:30 and just finished
watching the cher special on nbc. A long days drive thru rain,fog, and
traffic jams, the only good part of that is that at one point where traffic
was stopped on the highway we were right behind on awsome sounding ferrari, the
deep mean sound of that in front of me was worth listening too, it actually
felt like it shook the ground and the guy was into the gears as we kept
stopping
and going. Anyways I checked my e mails and got this letter from craig who
rode 201 miles today from lewiston to cheboygan and back plus he sent me a pile
of pictures, wow I cant believe the snow looks that awsome. WE should make it
back home tommorow night so I plan to be in the shop on thursday, thats
probably
right after all the snow leaves, i have posted the letter i got from craig
right below this……
Hello down there…I wanted to send you some pics from todays ride
from our place in Lewiston up through Atlanta-Millersburg and turning
around in Cheboygan.
>
> It was the best 1 day ride I have had in my 33 years in this world!
We started at 8 am and we had 165 miles by 2 and finished with 201 by 4
and my hand was sore from holding the throttle open.
>
> We passed only 1 other running sled
and 1 dead skidoo. By 2 it was about 38 degrees with bright sun that
was baking the dirt through the snow in thin areas.
>
> I am already home in Monroe mich after a 3 and a half hour drive home
with no traffic.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————-
Monday April 7, 2003 10:00 p..m.
I talked to a friend in grayling this morning and he said the snow that came
was a wierd snow.
First a slushy snow then a hard freeze with a few inches of snow on top of
that. He said he
rode some on sunday and that you didnt brake thru the ice so the riding was
decent. Another
guy rode about a hundred miles on saturday and also heard of another that was
gonna ride from
grayling to indian river. So who knows how long that will stay, it was up to
40
yesterday during
the day and I dont know what happened today.
We are in Tifton Georgia right now and have stopped for the night. We spent
the
night in
ocala and visited some friends there this morning and then went on to Silver
Springs.
It was a hot one there today and we saw alot of wildlife that they have there,
gators,
deer,snakes,glass bottom boat rides, and lots of turtles. It was all pretty
nice and we
learned that giraffes really smell bad. They have a scent that is hard to
describe except
that its pretty rank. They also dont mind having an audience while the try
to
reproduce,
we had to try to whisk the girls by there to hold the questions down. Quite a
site.
We sure werent ready to start heading north and it was hard to hit I-75 and
turn north
but we had to do it. I kind of wanted to head back to ormond beach. I also
laid
on the
horn as we passed our friends street in ocala so I hope they heard it.
Hopefully on the
way thru Atlanta tomorrow I can stop at the worlds largest drive in to eat.
The Varsity
has been an atalanta landmark for years and is kind of like a huge McDonalds,
we stopped
there to eat on the way down. I had my favorite chili dog with slaw on it. So
its off to
bed for the night and rollin down the highway again in the morning. Also Happy
Birthday to my
niece Chrysa in snowy chicago, she is all the way up to 15, seems like just
yesterday she was born.
And Chuck & Puts Melissa never said another word about her toe all day so I
think she recovered
from that. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————–
Sunday April 6,2003 10:30 p.m.
I had one email on the snow at home from Jesse that said the snow came by the
tons
and that some sleds were out riding but that also the snow was leaving fast.
Im
sure
I will here from more people that were lucky enough to get out there too. We
are in
ocala now and the archery shoot is over in gainesville. The shoot to Honor
Frank Scott
raised over $8,000 dollars for Kamp for Kids. I was glad to be a part of that.
Hopefully planning on hitting silver springs in the morning and just putsin
around
tommorow. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————–
SAturday April 5, 2003 10:30 a.m.
Just got back to the room and boy do I feel like a loser coming in to find out
there
is snow at home and sleds are riding according to what Cathy heard today. The
worse
part is the store is closed up. If anybody has been riding e mail me and I
will
post your reports. I dont know how long that will last but I hope the people
that are riding are doing it safely…… I cant really imagine that there are
that many
out there doing it but if I was there I am sure I would join them. We are
still
in gainesville
and Haley is doing fine today….. I was at the archery shoot all day and it
was a long
warm day. The shoot was one in memory of Frank Scott who worked for Fred Bear
for about 62 years.
They had a benefit auction tonight and all the money raised from it is being
donated
to Ted Nugents camp for kids. There was a nice crowd there tonight and things
went pretty well.
I am heading back there again tommorow and then we are out of this town. So
thanks for checking
in and Please Ride Safely if you do……Pete
————————
Friday Night April 4, 2003 10:30 p.m.
We left ormond beach yesterday on of course the nicest day of the
week since we got there, we headed across the state to gainesville
where we checked into the motel and I went off to visit whats left
of the Fred Bear Museum, it has been sold to Bass Pro Shops and is in
the process of being packed up. I am acutally here to attend an archery
shoot in gainesville. I have a booth at the shoot and was up there all day.
Cathy dropped me off there today and took off with the girls to check out some
stores. They went to the Target store and my little Haley who is to wild and
out of control sometimes fell out of the cart and on her head in the store.
The
store immediately called in the paramedics and they came in to check her out
and they said she was o.k. except for a big knot on her head. They had left me
at the shoot about noon and she fell about 1:30 and I didnt find out about it
till I got back to the room about 7. She is back to her normal little wild
self
but we stayed here in the room tonight so she could rest. So for now I am
gonna
hit the sack and be ready to head up to the shoot in the morning. Thanks for
checking in. Pete
————————
Wednesday April 2, 2003 11:30 a.m.

HI,
Well here we are at the library in ormond beach. We got here saturday night
about midnight and this is my first time online, I have been getting the
jitters by not getting online. There is no phone or line at the place we have
been staying at. Nice set up though right on the ocean. The first night was
the
warmest and Melissa and I went down on the beach and were chasing crabs in the
sand and finding jelly fish washed up by the waves. We have also been up to
Flagler Beach where they had a great boardwalk, been roller skating, which I
havent done in a long long time, I didnt even fall. Went thru Daytona Beach
sunday morning where traffic was stop and go due to BCR which we could tell we
missed a big party the night before just by the garbage strewn everywhere on
the streets. There were lots of cool low riders and people there to celebrate
BCR. I had to find out what BCR meant and it means Black College Reunion. It
sure looked like they had a good time. Today is gonna be nice and warm so we
are heading for the beach and then on to gainesville tommorow for a few days.
Haley and I had a great bike ride this morning along the ocean and stopped at
a
donut shop for a little picnic. I will be online in gainesville and will also
have to straighten this page out. This computer wouldnt let me update the way
I
usually do. Thanks for checking in. Pete, Cathy, Melissa, and Haley.

——————–

Friday March 28, 2003 10:15 p.m.
This morning the talk around town was that the guys were heading to the u.p. to
ride because supposedly 2 feet had fallen
overnight, I know the weather man was calling for a heavy dumping on the west
end of the u.p. but I dont know if it acutally
happened. Right after I left the guys I headed out south on I 75 and now I am
writing from my motel in Georgetown Kentucky.
Looks like we are heading for Florida. So its lights out so we can hit the
road agin in the mornin,,,,, I think if you are from
kentucky thats how you spell agin….Pete & family………
——————-
Tuesday March 25, 2003 8:30 a.m.
Well slap my typing fingers, yesterday was the first time all winter that
I forgot to jump on this thing and throw on an update, the snow leaves us
and it just doesnt seem like I think about updating. Anyways the new
arctic cat show went well on sunday. I was told at times you couldnt
hardly even move in the room where the sleds were displayed. I never
made it there till 6:45 but I at least got to see the new clothing designs.
Thanks to the people that stopped by my room to say hi, my buddy Bob
was there and he said he talked to quite a few of you. There are still
a few piles of snow around town but they are melting fast. I will try to
put an update on here about once a week or so thruout the summer. If
anything snowmobile wise comes up I will let you know. The fatalatie
statistics came in the other day and the sheet said 38 deaths but they
still didnt have one other one on there listed that I know of so it looks
like 39 deaths for the season. Thanks for checking in and thanks
for reading this season. Pete
—————————–

Friday March 21, 2003
There isnt to much to say this morning besides dont forget the new Arctic
Cat show this sunday from 2 to 7 at the grayling holiday inn. Also I see
somebody posted on the club page about the Polaris show at the casino in
Mount Pleasant on Tuesday April 1st. I had an e mail last night from Seney
and they have parked the groomers up there now for the season too. I see from
looking at last years report that I was up there riding on march 26 and I know
there
snow made it into april, but not this year…… I wont have another update on
here now
till this monday. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————–
Thursday March 20, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its rainy and foggy out there this morning. Well its hard to believe
but I got a call yesterday from 2 die hards that were out in the woods
riding yesterday Dave Klemish & Craig Baker aka Stinky Pete had just
spent all morning riding and put in 60 miles and they said it was
great. They said everything was nice and hard when they started early and
they rode to about 1, as the morning went on they said it got better. That
has to be the last ride of the year. Dont forget the new arctic cat show
this coming sunday at the grayling holiday inn. I have the honeymoon suite
reserved for my hospitality suite so stop in and say hi. Just look for the
Sledheads sign. The bad part is that I probably wont get there till 6. I have
another event going on in Traverse City this weekend and wont be able to get
there till late. Cathy will be at the room. Also if you are looking to buy
a new arctic cat this year make sure you call my buddy Bob at Terrys Sport
Center @ 989-348-7513. He will be at the show too. So hope to see you there.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————————–
Wednesday March 19, 2003
I receieved an e mail last night with a story regarding the many
snowmobile crashes in the u.p. this past weekend, I am going to paste
that below this and then even though I dont like getting involved in
polictical things its hard to avoid with the war looming over us
starting tonight. I am pasting another story I was sent from the london
daily mirror, something that really makes you think……..
Pete
I was reading your report on Tuesday and was able to locate this information on
the internet. My wife and I along with a buddie and his wife were in Trout Lake
Friday, Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend riding. The riding was pretty
good, but the weather was warm. We road several forestry roads on Saturday to
stay away from the crowds, it was nice. It seemed like there were a thousand
sleds up there trying to get that last ride in. Many driving like idiots of
coarse.
Also observed several people at the bars consuming alot of alcohol and
jumping on
thier sleds. I guess people will never learn. Just thought I would pass on
this
information on to you.
03/17/03 Snowmobile crash kills one in Mackinac County

By SCOTT BRAND/The Evening News

EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA — A Sunday snowmobile accident near the Chippewa
and Mackinac county line pushed the State of Michigan’s death toll to at
least 36 for the 2002-03 winter season.
Arthur Mills Jr., 33, of Monroe and Rexton was killed in a 2:30 a.m. Sunday
crash in Mackinac County’s Moran Township.
According to Michigan State Police from the St. Ignace Post, Mills was
southbound
on the Carp River Truck Trail when he failed to navigate a curve just south of
the Chippewa County Line and struck a nearby tree. The accident remains under
investigation, but reports indicate speed and alcohol are believed to be factors
in the fatal crash.
The Trout Lake Ambulance and the Trout Lake Fire Department assisted at the
scene.
The Dodson Funeral Home of St. Ignace is handling arrangements.
Unseasonably warm weather apparently did not put a damper on snowmobiling
activities in the Eastern Upper Peninsula with local law enforcement and
rescue personnel responding to crashes in all three counties.
According to Chippewa County Sheriff Department reports, Gregory A. Prenzler,
36, of Saginaw was traveling over the frozen bay when he struck a lump of ice
and was thrown from his machine. Prenzler sustained unspecified injuries to
his neck and arm from the mishap requiring medical assistance from the
Whitefish
Township Ambulance crew.
Michigan State Police from the Newberry Post handled four separate complaints
involving personal injury accidents Saturday afternoon resulting in
hospitalization.
– At 11 a.m. Saturday, a 1999 Ski-Doo operated by Robert Head, 32, of Clinton
Township
failed to navigate a curve on Trail #8 and crashed into a tree. Head was
transported
to Helen Newberry Joy Hospital in Newberry by the Luce County EMS for
treatment of
unspecified injuries.
– Around 1 p.m. Saturday Ivan Beeks Jr., 43, of Bluffton, Ind. was driving a1995
Ski-Doo on Trail #8 in Luce County’s McMillan Township when he failed to make
the
curve. Beeks struck a nearby tree and was transported to Helen Newberry Joy
Hospital
by Luce County EMS.
– Around 2 p.m., two sleds collided on Trail #9 in Luce County’s Pentland
Township
just north of M-28. James Spearing, 32, of Oxford was transported to Helen
Newberry
Joy Hospital by Luce County EMS for treatment of unspecified injuries. The
other driver
escaped the wreck unscathed.
– Finally, Amy Volpe, 27, of Port Huron sustained a leg injury around 3:30 p.m.
Saturday when she was a passenger on a machine traveling on Trail #8 in Alger
County.
Volpe sustained a leg injury when she was ejected off the back of the machine
as the
driver struck a bump. Volpe was transported to Helen Newberry Joy Hospital in
Newberry
by Burt Township EMS…………
Now this is Pete again talking and after reading this and seeing how many thing
are
involved in curves I have to say curves kill!! Last night I went out with a
friend to
the site where the man was killed here by frederic this past weekend. I have
heard several
things about how that happened and I wanted to see the spot for myself. To put
a name with
this accident the man that died was Ray. The tree that he hit was not out in a
field by
itself it was on a tight turn on the blue bear connector and if anything the
tree actually
leaned out into the trail a bit. A sharp corner and standing there looking at
it you know
it could have been anybody that hit it. I know things look different in the
dark but in being
there and seeing the trail it shows just how easy it is to have a fatal
accident. I dont even
believe you had to be going that fast in that corner to fall off and do it. The
other thing
about that section of trail is that we drove with the truck all the way to
howes lake road.
There are alot of sharp corners on that trail and at almost every corner you
could still see
in the snow where sleds missed corners and barely missed trees. So remember
that in the curves.
Its a shame anybody has to die out there…….Pete now for the article from
london….

London Daily Mirror

No matter what your views on President Bush’s statement of upcoming war,
this, from an English journalist, is very interesting. Just a word of
background for those of you who aren’t familiar with the UK’s Daily Mirror.
This is a notoriously left-wing daily that is normally not supportive of the
Colonials across the Atlantic.

Tony Parsons … Daily Mirror … September 11, 2002

One year ago, the world witnessed a unique kind of broadcasting — the mass
murder of thousands, live on television. As a lesson in the pitiless
cruelty of the human race, September 11 was up there with Pol Pot’s Mountain
of Skulls in Cambodia, or the skeletal bodies stacked like garbage in the
Nazi concentration camps. An unspeakable act so cruel, so calculated and so
utterly merciless that surely the world could agree on one thing – nobody
deserves this fate.

Surely there could be consensus: The victims were truly innocent, the
perpetrators truly evil. But to the world’s eternal shame, 9/11 is
increasingly seen as America’s comeuppance.

Incredibly, anti-Americanism has increased over the last year. There has
always been a simmering resentment to the USA in this country; too loud, too
rich, too full of themselves, and so much happier than Europeans — but it
has become an epidemic. And it seems incredible to me. More than that, it
turns my stomach.

America is this country’s greatest friend and our staunchest ally. We are
bonded to the US by culture, language and blood. A little over half a
century ago, around half a million Americans died for our freedoms, as well
as their own. Have we forgotten so soon? And exactly a year ago, thousands
of ordinary men, women and children — not just Americans, but from dozens
of countries — were butchered by a small group of religious fanatics. Are
we so quick to betray them?

What touched the heart about those who died in the Twin Towers and on the
planes, was that we recognized them. Young fathers and mothers, somebody’s
son and somebody’s daughter, husbands, wives, and children, some unborn.

And these people brought it on themselves? Their nation is to blame for
their meticulously planned slaughter? These days you don’t have to be some
dust-encrusted nut job in Kabul or Karachi or Finsbury Park to see America
as the Great Satan.

The anti-American alliance is made up of self-loathing liberals who blame
the Americans for every ill in the Third World, and conservatives suffering
from power-envy, bitter that the world’s only superpower can do what it
likes without having to ask permission.

The truth is that America has behaved with enormous restraint since
September 11.

Remember… remember… remember… the gut-wrenching tapes of weeping men
phoning their wives to say, “I love you,” before they were burned alive.

Remember those people leaping to their deaths from the top of burning
skyscrapers.

Remember the hundreds of firemen buried alive.

Remember the smiling face of that beautiful little girl who was on one of
the planes with her mum.

Remember… remember… And realize that America has never retaliated for
9/11 in anything like the way it could have. So a few al-Qaeda tourists got
locked up without a trial in Camp X-ray? Pass the Kleenex. So some Afghan
wedding receptions were shot up after they merrily fired their
semi-automatics in a sky full of American planes?

A shame, but maybe next time they should stick to confetti. AMERICA could
have turned a large chunk of the world into a parking lot. That it didn’t
is a sign of strength. American voices are already being raised against
attacking Iraq — that’s what a democracy is for.

How many in the Islamic world will have a minute’s silence for the
slaughtered innocents of 9/11? How many Islamic leaders will have the guts
to say that the mass murder of 9/11 was an abomination? When the news of
9/11 broke on the West Bank, those freedom-loving Palestinians were dancing
in the street.

America watched all of that — and didn’t push the button. We should thank
the stars that America is the most powerful nation in the world. I still
find it incredible that 9/11 did not provoke all-out war. Not a “war on
terrorism.” A real war.

The fundamentalist dudes are talking about “opening the gates of hell” if
America attacks Iraq. Well, America could have opened the gates of hell
like you wouldn’t believe. The US is the most militarily powerful nation
that ever strode the face of the earth. The campaign in Afghanistan may
have been less than perfect and the planned war on Iraq may be misconceived.
But don’t blame America for not bringing peace and light to these wretched
countries. How many democracies are there in the Middle East, or in the
Muslim world? You can count them on the fingers of one hand — assuming you
haven’t had any chopped off for minor shoplifting.

I love America, yet America is hated. I guess that makes me Bush’s poodle.
But I would rather be a dog in New York City than a Prince in Riyadh. Above
all, America is hated because it is what every country wants to be — rich,
free, strong, open, optimistic. Not ground down by the past, or religion,
or some caste system.

America is the best friend this country ever had and we should start
remembering that. Or do you really think the USA is the root of all evil?
Tell it to the loved ones of the men and women who leaped to their death
from the burning towers. Tell it to the nursing mothers whose husbands died
on one of the hijacked planes, or were ripped apart in a collapsing
skyscraper. And tell it to the hundreds of young widows whose husbands
worked for the New York Fire Department.

To our shame, George Bush gets a worse press than Saddam Hussein. Once we
were told that Saddam gassed the Kurds, tortured his own people and set up
rape-camps in Kuwait. Now we are told he likes Quality Street. Save me the
orange center, Oh Mighty One!

Remember… remember… September 11. One of the greatest atrocities in
human history was committed against America. No, do more than remember.
Never forget. Pass it on.
Tuesday March 18, 2003 10:00 a.m.
Its cloudy and 40 degrees here in frederic this morning. I really dont
like to see the season ending this way but there are two more deaths that
I know of from this past weekend. A man was killed in the u.p. by trout
lake, and another one died downstate in the detroit area after riding on
a lake and hitting a dock. A reader e mailed me the story from the downstate
accident and it said that they thought fog might have been a factor in
that accident. Then I talked to one of my riding buddies from Rockford
last night and he told me that his nephew was in a sled accident sunday
night by Irons where 2 people were on one sled, both were drinking and they hit
a tree, Jason layed on the trail for 3 hours before they got him out of there,
he broke both legs up high and was bleeding badly, and they had to airlift
him out. So at this rate I am glad the season is over, by my count now I think
the death toll is at 39 but I dont have the new state police update yet.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————
Monday 7:35 a.m. March 17, 2003
I started out this morning with 2 letters from the daughter and brother
in law of the man that was killed here friday night. I feel bad that
they had to read that. You know that my only intention is to keep
somebody else from doing the same thing. If you hear that somebody
dies on the trail thats about where it ends and its just another death.
Speaking for myself if I died out there on the trail and if I could help
keep one other person from doing it too, I wouldnt mind what anybody might
say about me. I know this doesnt help the family members out that are grieving
over their loss. 37 deaths on the trails and lakes this season is to many.
Pete

Happy St. Pattys day to all the Irish Folks!
Its 44 degrees and foggy out side this morning. For as thick as the ice
was on the lake we went down to the lake shore last night and I couldnt
believe how the ice is starting to break up already. Cathy,Haley & I went
out for a ride around the nieghborhood and back into some two track close
to the house, nobody had been on these all season and the snow was probably
still a foot deep most of the way but the problem was that it was just
above slush. The sleds worked hard going thru that snow and we went for
a nice little 7 mile ride. Haley wanted to look for blue jays and deer. We
only managed to see a few birds and no deer. The end is really here.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————-
Sunday Morning March 16, 2003 10:30 a.m.
Its 50 degrees and sunny here this morning as I watch the trailers
go by heading south. It seems like everybody is sad that this is the end
all ready. We really didnt get started till Jan 15 so it was a quick
2 months of riding. What a mud bog I have outside here in the parking lot.
About 4 yesterday afternoon I was out front and saw a state police car
come around the corner sliding sideways and heading north way fast, about
2 minutes later he blasted back thru town here heading south and I would
have guessed he was doing a hundred, I said to my friend that was here that
I thought why would he drive thru here that fast. A while later 2 sheriff
cars pulled up out front, what had happened was a police chase starting
somewhere by kalkaska, the deputies told me that there had been shots
fired and that somewhere up by mancelona they started a foot chase and
then the guy somehow circled around and got back and took the patrol car.
I had a guy come in here that said he was stopped at a roadblock on
mancelona road and that the police had their guns out on some guys in
a truck but then let them go on. I only caught a little of the ending on
the news last night but it apparently ended in a crash in east jordan. When I
hear the end of it I will post it on here.
Seeing that this really seems to be the end of the season I would like
to take this time to thank all of you readers and customers that came into
the store this short season. Even though it was short once the snow came
it was great to see the sales go up as people kept coming in. I always
enjoy meeting people who read this page and am continually amazed at how
many people do. This was our 6th season open here already and that sure has
flew by, so a big THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY… Pete,Cathy,Melissa & Haley.
…………………………………
Saturday Noon,
Its up to 58 degrees and sunny and the snow is flowing down the
storm drains. I just found out that unfortunately crawford county
has one of the last fatalaties of the year. It happned last night at
1:07 a.m. on the Blue Bear trail only about a half mile north
of m-72 by Terrys Sport Center. It was a male in his 40’s. He was
riding with a group that made it all the way to Howes Lake Road
and when he didnt catch them they went back looking and found him.
It was on a long sweeping turn and there was only one tree in a big
open space, his sled never touched the tree but he did. Now I am
only saying this to make people think, I was told that there was
alot of blood and brain matter out there but that the coyotes probably
have it cleaned up by now. So next time you are out for a last ride just
remember this guy that really was out for his last ride so Please
ride safely. Pete

Saturday March 15, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its sunny and 32 degrees here in frederic this morning. The snow
is checking out more and more but there are still some diehards out there.
There was just a group of guys in here on their way to the u.p. It got
up into the 40s yesterday and should hit close to 50 today. So it looks
like this is really it, rain is supposed to come tommorow. I am not ready
to hang up the daily updates yet so you can still check in for whatever might
be happening here. Yesterday t.v. station 7 & 4 was here from traverse city
but
not to do an clip on snowmobiling but to do a story on Fred Bear & Bear
Archery so they came to interview me on my archery collection, that is supposed
to air on the 6 oclock outdoor segment around april 2 or 3. So thats about
all the exciting news from frederic. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————–
Friday March 14, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 22 degrees out this morning and I supose its going to get to warm again
today. We lost some snow yesterday and the trails started to melt away. From
the way the forcasts look I would say that things are going to get mushy quick.\
If you plan on trying to ride this weekend I would say try the trails west of
the manistee river and if they arent good enough still go for the 2 tracks.
I got the sheet in on the snowmobile fatalites and thru March 9 there have
been 36 deaths this year. 34 men & 2 ladies most of them being a collision
with a fixed object (trees). Also two days ago they found one of the two
brothers
at houghton lake and the two snowmobiles from the accident that happened on Jan
12.
They said the dive teams were going back in again to look for the other brother.
A friend called me a couple times yesterday that was staying and riding in
paradise
in the u.p. He said there is still a ton of snow in the woods and then he called
me as they got into newberry and said it was pretty decent all the way there
except
for the last little stretch into newberry. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————–
Thursday March 13, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 18 degrees out and no snow overnight. It made it up to 38 yesterday &
it
looks like the weather man
just doesnt want anybody to have any fun this coming weekend, he is predicting
58 for saturday, I know its asking alot but he was predicting warm temps last
weekend and was totally wrong, I wonder if it could happen 2 weeks in a row.
There were alot of sleds out and about yesterday and I think everybody is
thinking
the same thing trying to get their last rides in before the snow is gone. We
even
have people in our cottage here for the last ride. I would guess what snow
there is
out there will leave quickly if it makes it that warm on saturday so we will
just
have to keep an eye on the temp and then I am afraid its time to hang our
carbides
up for the year. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————
Wednesday March 12, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 22 out this morning and we did get about a half inch of snow
overnight. The riding was great yesterday, we left frederic at 11:30
and headed up the trail toward mancelona road and took the trail toward
lakes of the north. We took the trail all the way to alba and
along 131 to the turn to deadmans hill.
I have lived here a long time and heard deadmans hill but never have gone
before. By all means GO!! What a breath taking view, I dont think there
is another view like that in northern michigan. Its only about 2 miles west off
the trail on 131 and is easy to get to. It overlooks the jordan valley and we
could see sleds riding along the trail in the bottom of the valley. The sign
there says it is 435 feet down and legend has it that in the logging days a
logger named Big Sam was working a set of big wheels loaded with logs down the
hill
and lost control and was killed and it has been known as Deadmans Hill since
then.
We continued up 131 on the trail to the new gas station at the corner of 131
&
32
and got gas. The girl at the station said she had seen the jordan valley
groomer
twice already. The whole trail along 131 had been flat and smooth as you would
want. From the station we went about 2 miles east along some farm fields to
downtown
elmira and went to the Elmira Inn for lunch. Ma is the lady that has owned that
place
forever and her special is the potato burger. Its a burger somehow wrapped in
potato and deep
fried . Its pretty good. I know everybody always thinks of going to Larrys when
they
are at that corner but its always nice to try something different and its not
hard
to get too. We took the trail back from elmira to alba and to starvation lake.
We
hadnt passed only a few sleds all day but when we got to starvation lake there
were
probably 30 sleds at the hide away. From there it was back to frederic on the
trail.
The trails were great all the way and were as good as anytime during the winter.
Once we got east of the manistee river on cameron bridge road the road was
pretty
spotty. This was the only spot that we skipped the trail and came back into
frederic.
There was still plenty of snow up on the sides for lube but the road was alot
of
dirt. We got back to frederic at 4:15 after a great 91 mile ride, so if we luck
out like last weekend and it stays cold I would say the riding
will still be good but if it gets warm than its a different story. The grayling
groomer
ran on monday night too. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————
Tuesday March 11, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 15 out this morning and no new snow again. The weather according
to tv last night looks good till friday and then they are saying 40’s maybe
even 50. I hope that changes so and then I believe the riding will be done
for this year around here. Right now things are still pretty good considering.
I went to gaylord again yesterday to go pick up my trailer from the snow cross
race and saw the gaylord groomer heading for frederic. When I got up to the
track there were still sleds out running on it and the big ski doo truck was
still there, so we watched that for a bit. Cathy and I are going riding today
and I think my route will be up to mancelona road thru lakes of the north up to
the potato fields and toward larrys , jordan valley and to chandler hills.
Something
has been messed up with my statistics counter on this page for quite a while
and they
just got it going again so I didnt have any stats on this year but now the march
counts are in and so far on this page since the first there have been 36,000
page
views. Thats about 3000 a day and that amazes me. Lets keep our fingers crossed
that it will stay cold for this coming weekend. I thought I had a new thunder
chicken
lined up to by from a friend but another friend snaked in on me and bought it
out from
under me so no new chicken for me. I will have to send my big brother in to
settle this dispute. I hope he likes it and thats o.k. though because now
I have over 7000 miles on mine and it should be good for another 7000. Thanks
for checking
in. Pete
———————————————————
Monday March 10, 2003 10:00 a.m.
Its another cold 5 below zero morning. We had just a slight dusting of
snow overnight. I dont know what to believe on what this week will bring
weather wise, one weather report says it will be cold and snowing this week
and the other one says warm weather coming so lets hope for the best. Frederic
was very dead yesterday for a sunday with decent snow, the people that did come
in said trails were pretty decent. Thats about it for now so thanks for
checking in.
Pete
————————————
Sunday 10:00 a.m. March 9, 2003
Its a chilly 4 degrees here in frederic this morning. We did manage
to get about 4 inches of new snow and it sure makes things look pretty
good. The gaylord groomer was here in frederic again about 6 last night.
There were plenty of sleds out and about when I closed and somebody is
here that tells me they saw the groomer about 2 this morning on the old 27 trail
again. It sunny out and there isnt anymore snow forcast but hey this was
a nice boost. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————
Saturday afternoon 3:00 p.m.
Its snowing pretty good out and it looks like maybe the weatherman
didnt lie for a change, so far there is almost 2 inches of new snow
out there and its still coming at us……mo mo nah chee chee nah.
The gaylord cat groomer was thru here a couple hours ago too.
Saturday March 8, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its 26 degrees this morning in downtown frederic. There was no new
snow overnight but I am hanging on for this afternoon because the
weatherman was still saying significant snowfall by this afternoon.
He said 2 to 4 inches or 3 to 6 inches, now I dont know how long that
has been looked at as significant because to me significant would be
more like 12 to 16 inches. Anyways I went to gaylord last night again
and saw the groomer coming this way and the trail looked good all the
way to gaylord and this morning on the way here the trail crossing
up by the hight school was surprisingly white even though I know there
hasnt been a groomer on it in almost 2 weeks. The first sleds of the morning
are pulling up outside so thanks for checking in and if we get the big
snow I will let you know. Pete
———————————–
Friday morning 10:00 a.m.
Since my update earlier this morning there has been some nice sized
flakes falling and now the weatherman says 3 to 6 inches by tommorow
but who ever believes him, it sure sounds promising though. I just had
2 riders in here that rode last night and this morning and they said
the trails were great north out of frederic and up to west on mancelona
road which is the same thing I have been saying….let hope for that snow..
Friday March 7, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 18 out this morning and there was no new snow overnight. There
were some sleds out and about and thru frederic yesterday and last
night I went to gaylord about 5 and was surprised at how nice the trail
looked all the way to gaylord, not counting the part from the swamp to
the north end grocery, the gaylord john deere groomer was heading for
frederic and it what it was leaving made it look even better. I also
called C.J.s mini mart that is out in the hills by the m-72 parking lot
that is 12 miles west of grayling. Thats where the dnr keeps the 2 groomers
that do the far side of the blue bear, she said they were both out and that
they were only grooming north of 72, so I would say this weekend is going
to be like last weekend, your best riding is north out of frederic to mancelona
road and up into lakes of the north and off m-72 and west of the manistee
river. The BP is selling gas in frederic but only premium. Stop in and say
hi if you come thru. I have talked to several people heading for the u.p.
this weekend. Also the WSA snowcross race is in gaylord at the fairgrounds
this weekend. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————–
Thursday March 6, 2003 7:15 a.m.
Its 10 degrees here in grayling this morning and no new snow overnight.
I watched the weather last night and from what I gathered out of that is
that there is going to be snow and warm weather this weekend or snow and
cold weather, he didnt make much sense but thats nothing new. I was lucky
enough to go to gaylord yesteday and ride the new 2004 Arctic Cat line up.
I started out on a Sabrecat 600 long track, I took it down the trail by
mama leones on the powerline, it was pretty responsive on the throttle and
I thought it took the bumps really well, one new thing they have on them is
a removable trunk section at the back of the sled that you take right off and
in with you and a removable seat where underneath you keep your spare belt. They
both come off really easy. The Sabrecat also had remote electric start. Then I
rode
the new 4 stroke 660 Turbo, I still have a hard time getting used to the sound
of the
4 stroke, It certainly didnt have the punch off the sabrecat but was smooth and
you
could hear the zing of the turbo which was really cool sounding. They also had
the Grand Touring 4 stroke but I didnt ride that one. This is the first time
Arctic
Cat has had any proto types ready for dealers to ride before the new sled shows.
There are 409 (yes thats four hundred and nine) different models,options and
color
combinations that you can get for 2004. The new Arctic Cat Show in grayling is
sunday March 23 here in grayling at the Holiday Inn. I have the big honeymoon
suite
reserved again as a hospitality room so stop in and say hi. I also saw gaylord
big cat groomer heading down the trail from gaylord and it turned and headed
toward lakes of the north. The trail looked pretty good to gaylord. Thanks for
checking in. Pete
———————————–
a hard time
Wednesday March 5, 2003 10:30 a.m.
Its a sunny 10 degrees here in frederic this morning and we had about
3 inches of snow since yesterday. It sure brightens things up. The
weather report is calling for more snow by the weekend, but it will take
pretty much a miracle to bring our trails back to decent shape. I have
two guys that just rode into here and they say trails are still fabulous
out west of the manistee river, they saw 3 groomers yesterday and they hit
elmira,alba, jordan valley and toward the far west m-72 parking lot are
still good shape and they said they rode 158 miles yesterday.
What a great ride we had in the u.p. yesterday, we left the motel at 10:30
and headed for grand marais, trails were smooth and nice all the way there
and we stopped at the Lake Superior Brewing company for a good hot choclate
and a grill cheesed, we looped pretty much every trail between seny,grand
marias and the bear trap that there was and they were all perfect. We
got to the bear trap about 4 and warmed up and headed back to seney which
is 40 miles from the bear trap. We got back into seney at 5:30 after
163 quality miles of riding. One thing about riding up there is that there
arent many places to stop and you are out for a while so make sure you know
where you are headed. The mountains of ice piled up along lake superior were
quite a sight. There were only a couple short spots where we had to back track.
Also for any of you that have been in here that have seen my archery collection
today marks the 101st birthday of the late Fred Bear and in grayling they
are celebrating Fred Bear Day. Thats about it for now so thanks for
checking in. Pete
————————
Tuesday March 4, 2003 10:15 a.m.
Here we are at the Fox River MOtel in Seney, I only wish Frederic could look
like
this just once, there is a nice fresh 4 or 5 inches of good snow out there and
Cathy
and I are heading out toward Munising and Grand Marais. Don says the trails
are in
excellent shape so we are looking forward to a great ride. It snowed hard on
the
way up here last night with alot of white out conditions. We went into Andys
Seney
Bar after we got here and I ran into some friends from grand rapids. We had to
stay
at a different motel as they had no vacancies for last night but I stil popped
in here
to say hi to Don and Diane so if you are coming up to ride call them here and
see if
they have any vacancies becuase boy do they have the good snow here. The
number for
here is 906-499-3332. WE are heading out to ride so thanks for checking in.
Pete
& CAthy…
———————————
Monday March 3, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Wee Doggies is it cold out there as old Jed Clampett would say.
Its about 22 below here at the lake this morning and I would bet the
out lying areas hit more like 30 to 35 below. Schools are closed here
this morning due to the cold but of course we didnt get any new snow.
I think I better go next door and check out the wateer my cottage this morning.
There were few sleds around in frederic yesterday but alot of people
stopped on their way back from the u.p. and canada. I think Cathy & I
are gonna load up this afternoon and head to the u.p. ourselves. I called
to get a room at seney at fox river and they were already booked up for
tonight so I am not sure where we are heading, so if there is no update
in the morning its because we are enjoying the u.p. snow. Thanks for checking
in. Pete
——————————————-
Sunday March 2, 2003 4 degrees 11:00 a.m.
Its cold and windy here this morning and its 3 degrees out. There
was just a dusting of new snow overnight. The gas leak at the BP
was the lead story on the news last night. They are back to selling
gas now but only premium. I would feel comfortable getting gas there
now because of all the people and testing that they had down there
yesterday. A man from the DEQ came in to talk to me about the reports
of people who had water in their gas from the past couple weeks. I am
going to forward the letters I got on that to him but if there is
anybody else out there with the water in gas complaints from there
please e mail him direct at rother@michigan.gov his name is Randy.
Thats about it for now and lets hope for more snow this coming week.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————–
Saturday Noon, and 40 degrees
The road was blocked by firetrucks and police cars all around the BP
and now they have opened 27 back up. I talked to a person that has
been down there all morning and they said it doesnt appear that the
gasoline hit the storm drain. Currently the BP is shut down from selling
gas and the Frederic Inn is open for business. The DNR & the DEQ
are down there too. I counted 3 fire vehicles, 2 ambulances, DNR
and sheriff department down there. Thats about it for now. Pete

Saturday March 1, 2003 9:30 a.m.
There is a big story brewing here in frederic this morning, there
seems to be a big gas leak at the BP station this morning. The fire
trucks are down there along with the police and I had a call from
a customer this morning that said there was gasoline flowing on the ground
down in front of the frederic inn, I have a friend on the phone who has
the scanner on and they just said it looks like a pretty serious situation.
I will keep you posted on this as the day goes on. Its 18 out right now
and of course no new snow, they are calling for cold starting tommorow along
with snow all this coming week. It got up to 40 yesterday so that wasnt
any good. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————-
Friday February 28,2003 7:00 a.m.
Its a cool 10 degrees this morning and not a drop of new snow again.
Conditions havent changed at all but the one thing that did surprise me
was the group of guys that came in yesterday that rode to frederic from ranch
rudolph, if you dont know where that is its over by traverse city, they said
there was definetly more snow west. The weather man has changed his mind again
and is now calling for 30’s on saturday so its anybodys guess on how things
will
hold thru the weekend. I heard there was mud in waters by the keg bar but thats
only a small strip. So if you ride this weekend just watch out for the dirt
and
keep
your slides in the snow and I think you should still have a good time.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————-
Thursday February 27, 2003 7:15 a.m.
Its about 10 degrees here at Lake Margarethe this morning. No new
snow. There were a few sleds that rode into frederic yesterday and they
all said the same thing. The trails are good toward gaylord,lakes of the north,
mancelona. If you are going to start at a trail head start at the one out
in the hills 12 miles west of grayling. They say that its a little bit of
a rough start out of there but then it gets good. Both groomers that run out
of the gas station are still running out there and they were both spotted out
on the trails by starvation lake yesterday. The big catapillar groomer from
gaylord was also spotted yesterday in the loop off mancelona road and it had
slid down a hill and was stuck against a tree. I didnt think that big monster
could ever get stuck. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————–

Wednesday February 26, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its about 10 out and no new snow overnight. I have to say that I was
absolutely amazed yesterday at the conditions when Cathy and I left
frederic for our ride. I had no intentions of trying to ride any trails
but as we left I thought I would ride up to the north end grocery and see
what it looked like. What I saw was fresh groomer tracks so I figured
what the heck lets see how it goes. We headed on north and just past
twin peaks road we passed gaylords big john deere groomer heading north.
We rode the trail all the way to otsego lake and then took the lake right
to dickerson road. I would rate the trail the whole distance we rode
at 8 to 9.5, no kidding it really was great and no brown snow only a hair
thin by the keg bar like it always is. Once we got there I thought I would
check out the trail east on the powerlines out of gaylord to see how that was
and it was freshly groomed too, so we kept on going and I figured this might
be a good time to try the new trail to vienna corners. So a few miles east
of gaylord we passed gaylords other big catapillar groomer heading west, still
great conditions. We stayed on the north loop and came to the sign for the new
trail that says vienna 5 miles and lewiston 11 miles and headed off that way. A
really nice trail with tight turns and thru big rolling oaks, pretty scenic.
After
4 miles you get to a sign that points left 1 mile to vienna and right 6 miles
to
lewiston. The mile into vienna was along the road but was o.k. We stopped at
J&B’s
bar and grill (formerly the spot bar) and had a good lunch and then went across
the street and got gas at the marathon. It was 38 miles from frederic to
J&B’s
and if you ride there to eat tell Bill the chef in there that I sent you. From
Vienna
we went back to the split in the trail and went to lewiston another well coverd
and smooth trail and this whole time I was still amazed at how good the snow
was.
We came into the west side of lewiston and headed for the trail to lovells.
From
this point on the snow was very very marginal. The trail was flat but because
the
only snow on it was the inch that we have had this week. You could see dirt
come up
on the corners. I have no doubt you could do this same ride this coming weekend
but when you get to lewiston turn around and go back the way you came. Because
I
am not smart enough to do that we kept on going for lovells. About half way to
lovells
we met a group of 4 sledders that were back tracking where they came from.
They
stopped
us and asked us if we had seen a money clip on the trail. We didnt see one and
we wished
them luck and headed on into lovells, from there we took the lovells to
grayling
trail which was still pretty darn thin to jones lake road and thats where we
broke
off and took side trails back to frederic. So we were gone from 11:30 to 3:30
and
did a great 87 mile loop. I think I better check my carbides this morning
after
that
lewiston to lovells part. I just watched the weather on t.v. and they arent
calling for any snow by the weekend but it is supposed to stay cold so that
should
keep what snow is out there. So it boils down to that the grayling groomers are
not running because the trails by grayling are still shot, but it sure seems
to be good from frederic north. If you ride in the grayling area that has to be
off trail. So all in all after thinking we were leaving for an off trail ride
we ened
up with a beautiful sunny cold ride on really nice trails, who would have
thought it
could have been like that! What a Bonus! Thanks for checking in. Pete &
Cathy
—————————————————–

Tuesday February 25, 2003 7:45 a.m.
Another dusting of snow overnight puts us at about 3/4 inch of new
snow since yesterday and it is zero degrees out right now.
We need way more than that. I think Cathy & I are
going to try to go out for a ride today, I am just trying to figure out
how to ride out of frederic by staying off the trail. So till later on,
thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————–
Monday February 24, 2003 7:30 a.m.
Its 5 degrees out and the ground is white again but only with about a
half inch of new snow. All I heard about yesterday was how much snow
that everybody got downstate. Maybe I should start up something new like
Sledheads of Jackson. That seems to be where all the snow keeps hitting
this year. At least its staying cold out. There were a few sleds
out yesterday but for the most part frederic was pretty empty. There
were quite a few people that stopped in on their way home from the u.p.
or canada. I think this year more so than in the past years alot
of people seem to have been trying out canada. Thats about it for
now and keep up the snow chant cause we sure need it. Thanks for checking
in. Pete
———————————
Sunday February 24, 2003 10:00 a.m.
It sunny and 4 degrees here in frederic this morning. There was a light snow
in the air last night but nothing that stuck. I talked to some guys over in
the swamp last night and they said they had rode yesterday up by starvation
lake
and that they had seen a groomer and the trail was suprisingly good. Hardly no
other sleds out there. In fact one of the guys I talked to it was his wife last
week that fell into the groomer here by frederic. He said she made it 3 bars
back
into the drag and was all twisted around but she miraculously ended up with
only
a broken leg and a concussion. She got dragged about 50 yards before they got
the
groomer stopped. One lucky lady…. Nothing else to report on right now so
thanks
for checking in and we better start the snow chants up hard……Pete
———————
Saturday February 23, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its 20 degrees here this morning and nothing happened overnight except that
it cooled down a bit. I was in grayling last night and was surprised at how
many trucks and trailers I saw coming thru town and the same thing this
morning,
I dont know where they are all gonna ride but they are here anyways. There were
even sleds at the motels in grayling. So anyways I will say it again, trails
are
in poor shape and if you want to ride you need to do it off the trails in this
area. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Friday night 6:30 p.m. Feb 21.
Its down to about 35 degrees right now, it was all the way up to 52 today
and boy did we lose the snow. My parking lot is almost all mud. Conditions on
the trails have gone down to I would say poorer since this morning, if there is
any riding here this weekend it has to be off trail in the woods. Wish I had
better news. Thanks Pete
Friday 9:15 a.m.
The crossings I looked at this morning are pretty much solid black and
look pretty ugly, on the corners are bad, but looking deeper into the woods
I still see choclate which should be borderline to ride on. I went up by the
north end grocery and the trail looking
north to gaylord had just been groomed believe it or not and really didnt look
that bad for as far as I could see. So bottom line is that I predict there will
be riders but conditions just arent that great. It is supposed to get cold
again starting tommorow. Keep your carbides crossed for more snow……..

Friday February 21, 2003 6:30 a.m.
I hate to be saying this but it has been warm all night, its 32 out
right now and last night at 11 it was still almost 40. We lost alot
of snow fast yesterday and I have to say that I was still surprised
at how many sleds I saw out yesterday. I would say trail conditions are
heading towards pretty darn bad by this afternoon. Its supposed to be
mid 30s again today. At one point it was up to 48 yesterday. I will look
at all the crossings on my way to frederic and do another update around
9:00 a.m. If you are planning on coming up and riding I would say your
best bet is off the trails in the woods, there is still snow in the woods.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————–
Thursday afternoon 1:20
I just got on here to fix the date because somebody pointed out to me I
had wed instead of thursday down. It doesnt look good out here, its
windy, sunny and 45 degrees……I might have to do spam fest again this
weekend but have to charge for it to raise some money…….

Thursday February 20, 2003 9:30 a.m.
Its a sunny morning here in frederic at 30 degrees. Its supposed to hit
38 today and 36 tommorow and that isnt good for the trails. It was way
to warm yesterday too, and as I looked at the 4 different trail crossings
that I pass on the way here to frederic from grayling they dont look to good.
From really dark and dirty to not to dirty in spots. The crossings are always
the worse so back into the woods is probably better but unless we cool down and
get some more snow I wouldnt expect great conditions unless you are off trail.
Now on to my trip to the u.p., when we left frederic tuesday the trail was
bumpy and junk all the way to vanderbilt and from that point on we took side
roads all the way to the bridge, the 2 best parts of the ride to the bridge
were otsego lake and burt lake. That first hour we were in seney tuesday night
they
got a good 3 inches of snow and then it stopped. In the morning I spent a half
hour
shoveling out my truck so I could get to it to fix it and all it was was a
broken
transmission line and I had it fixed and going in 10 minutes. The box was
totally
full of snow plus 3 inches higher than the box from the almost 4 weeks that it
sat
there. Sure would be nice to see snow like that here in frederic. Having the
truck
fixed and ready to roll I was going to take a ride with ben and debbie and loop
back to seney and they were heading back for the bridge. I only made it 5
miles
out
of seney and the chicken got hot from a leaky line, darn thing, so I nursed it
back
to seney packing snow around the jugs every mile and sent ben and debbie on
their way.
I got my sled loaded up and Don from the fox river motel asked me if I wanted
to go
over and see their groomer barn. Pretty impressive set up. The barn was
stocked
full
of trail signs and one of their two tucker groomers. They have 2 groomers they
call
Franky & Elizabeth. I sat up in Franky and we put a yellow Sledheads
sticker
in
each
window so if you are up there riding and pass the groomer on the trail give
them a big
thumbs up. While I was there a call came in from a guy that got his truck
buried 2 miles
back in on a trail trying to retrieve his broken down sled. They were going to
send
a groomer out from grand marais to get him out because there was no way a
wrecker would
make it back into him. I left Seney and made it back to frederic just before
5.
At home about
9:30 the phone rang last night and it was Ben and he said they just made it
back home riding
all the way with just over 500 miles for their trip. One other thing about
while we were
riding up was that every time we stopped for gas if I used 15 dollars worth
thats how much
Ben used too with his 4 stroke except that he was filling up two sleds. Thats
about it
for now so thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————————-
Tuesday Night Feb 18 9:25 p.m.
Coming at you from beautiful Seney Michigan after a awsome power ride from
Frederic.
I am proud to say my thunder chicken never missed a lick all the way here, a
good
hard 223 mile ride to the Fox River Motel. My friends Ben & Debbie rode
their
arctic
cat 4 strokes and managed to hang with me on the chicken. We left frederic at
12:20 and
made it here at 9:00 p.m. I am here to retrieve my truck from last month,
hopefully I can
fix it and drive it back or else we have to ride back. It took us 3 and a half
hours to make
make it to the bridge and as we pulled up to the rest area the trailer was
already there and we
rode right up on it and made it across the bridge and were riding again by
4:20. So it took us
4 and a half hours to make it to Seney from the bridge. I was leading and saw
probably no
less than 300 deer and had one sail right over the top of my hood missing me
by inches.
Its snowing hard out right now and was for the last few miles before we got
here. There
will be no update in the morning as either we will be out riding again or
heading back
home. So I will do another update after I get back home, Dont forget when you
want to come
to Seney for the great snow call Don & Diane here at the Fox River Motel @
906-
499-3332 for
a great place to stay. The first 15 miles out of st ignace was a little rough
but then after that
the trails were awsome. Thats it for now I am whipped and ready for bed.
Thanks for checking in.
Pete, Ben, & Debbie… and Don is a groomer driver here and says hi.
—————————————————————
Tuesday February 18, 2003 7:15 a.m. 22 degrees
It got way to warm yesterday, it was up to 40 degrees on the north side
of the building and things were getting mushy and I dont like this weeks
forcast either, a couple days of high 30’s and cooling coming saturday but
maybe some mist in there. For as great as it has been we sure dont need
that. There were quite a few sleds around and the grayling groomer was
out and in frederic by about 10:00 a.m. I have had a few messages from people
regarding water in their gas and a hint from one guy which is right here:
A little dry-gas goes a long way, and I always make sure to knock the snow out
of the nozzle before I pump.
Maybe as a nice public-service announcement, you should mention on the site
that people shouldn’t leave
their gas caps off while they wait for their turn at the pump? I see a lot of
people doing that while its snowing
to beat the band. BAD IDEA!!! Every flake of snow is a drop of water.
I finally got my other z 440 going again yesterday and ran it around, after
leaving a fuel wick and dry
gas in it overnight. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————————–

Monday February 17, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its another sunny 3 below morning here, my brother came up from kalamazoo
yesterday and we rode home last night and back again this morning, to bad
the trail was junk on the way here, I would have thought the groomer would have
hit it by now, the trail from frederic to gaylord has been groomed already
according
to people who just rode in. Still no new snow and now we could use it.
Saturday night it seems that a lady pulled over on the trail to let the groomer
by and some how she fell off her sled into the drag, somehow they got the
groomer stopped
and she was one lucky lady, they did take her to the hospital but she didnt
get
hurt
bad. I passed the groomer that night as it was near frederic and I saw a lady
sitting
up in it on the side with about 10 sleds following the groomer which I thought
something
seemed different that those sleds didnt pass the groomer, they had room to do
it. Apparently
it was her group following as the groomer brought her out to 612. How she
didnt
get totally run
over is one miracle, her snowmobile angel must have been watching over her. I
also
would like to know if anybody has had a problem with their sleds after getting
gas
at the BP here in frederic. I had a sled get gas there last night and it
immediately
started running bad. Nothing to much
else to report for now so thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————-
Sunday Feb 16, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Just rode in on the thunder chicken, another beautiful sunny crisp
5 below out there, the trail was great on the way here and as I
pulled up the big gaylord catapillar groomer was heading north from
the swamp back to gaylord, early sunday mornings are great rides because
the trails are cleaned up from the night before. No new snow again overnight,
this has been the longest stretch in a while with no new snow, about 4 days
now. Spam Fest went really well yesterday, if anything I learned you can serve
over a hundered people on 18 cans of Spam, We started with a 120 buns and
ended up with only 9 left and many people just sampled the Spam so the stuff
really does stretch a long ways. It was alot of fun cooking all that and
we were even blessed with a visit from the former owner of the Nascar Spam
Car, Matt Melling. He loved it and said when they did the Nascar races they had
a big Spam fest every weekend. I also heard from another reader out there in
Maryland yesterday. There was a sled reported
stolen from western trails motel out by the blue barn in grayling, I think it
was a firecat, the guy was down by my house yesterday looking for
his
sled. Thats about it for now, so thanks for checking in. Pete
———————–
Saturday Morning Feb 15,2003 8:00 a.m.
Back here again and its clear and cold at 0 degrees out. There wasnt
a drop of snow overnight and hasnt been for about 2 days now….Things
are in great shape for now till everybody gets out there today, Ride
safely…….
Friday Night February 14, 2003 11:00 p.m.
Well here I am still here in Frederic, I have been getting things ready
for Spam Fest tommorow, I sure dont know what gets into me with these
brainstorms,
its not like its going to be a slow day tommorow and here I am getting ready
to
spend my afternoon cooking Spam. I have it all layed out in the back, 28
gleaming
shining cans of spam, buns, and all. Even shish kabob sticks for spam kabobs
thanks
to a reader. Its 0 out right now and there are a few sleds around. I will try
to get another
update on in
the morning but it might be a little later. I did see both the grayling and
gaylord groomers
today and rode up to mount frederic myself. For those of you downstate by
Battle Creek that
get channel 41 on t.v. I took the guys out from that station today as they
were
doing
a segment that will air next thursday night at 6, so if you are in that area
or
get that
station make sure you watch it. Its a story on things you can do on one tank
of
gas and they
are doing it on riding in the grayling area. I hope the camera doesnt make me
look fat.
Also I have had quite a few responses from out of state readers, from one of
my
kindergarten
classmates in North Carolina…..HI SAK, to New
York,Colorado,Missouri,Tennesee,Canada,Florida,
Pennsylvania,Kentucky,& Florida. Thanks to all of you that wrote and if you
are
out there from
another state let me here from you. Thats about it for tonight, I am gonna
head
home and hit
the SAK, I have alot of spam to cook tommorow. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————
Friday February 14, 2003 8:30 a.m.
Happy Valentines Day to everyone and it was another great morning for
a ride to frederic, it is 0 degrees out right now so it was brisk coming
here and the deer were out in full force this morning, I saw 11 and they were
tearing up the snow under the oaks looking for acorns. The grayling to frederic
trail could use a good grooming as it was a little rough this morning, not
anywhere near as nice as yesterday mornings ride, I am sure they will be out
there getting it back in shape today. Dont forget to treat your sweetie to a
treat
from Petey tommorow between 11 & 3 here in frederic, I am cooking spam for
everybody
that wants to come in for some. Now on to my thunder chicken, you know you pay
2 bucks
a gallon for gas and you would hope you get gas and not water, I filled up at
the BP
here in frederic the other night before I started my ride on monday night and
thats
when my problem started. All I have done to my sled since I got it back here
was
have it inside and warmed up, I rode it last night and it ran perfect. That
little
bit of water sure didnt make me very happy when I was ready to ride tuesday.
O.k.
enough crying about that I am ready to go again. This weekend in Kalkaska is
the
World Series of Ice Drag Racing, there will be lots of action there and racers
come
fromm all over the country to compete on the 600 foot ice track, its just
north
of
kalkaska on 131, watch for the signs. Also if you want a new sled this is the
time
to see my buddy Bob over at Terrys Sport Center, he still has 16 new Arctic
Cats
left and he wants to sell them so call him at 989-348-7513 and tell him his
buddy sent
you. Thanks for checking in and PLEASE RIDE SAFELY!!!!!!
—————————–
Thursday February 13, 2003 9:45 a.m.
I rode here to frederic from home this morning and its a beautiful morning
out, Its about 8 degrees right now and the trail here was just as nice
as you would ever want it. I rode down the lake to the blue bear parking lot
and took the blue bear to the frederic trail. There were a few ripples along
the way but no
big deal. I saw 3 deer and the flakes were falling, there is a light snow in
the air and we had another couple inches of snow fall overnight. There have
been quite a few sleds in here already this morning, it makes it hard to finish
getting this thing typed up. One thing I have been wondering about for a while
is
how many readers there out there from other states other than indiana,
ohio,michigan
and illinois, if you are outside of those states just click on the link a
little
higher up on this page and send me an email letting me know where you are, I
know of
a few other readers that are in florida,kentucky,& pennsylvania. Thanks for
checking in
Pete
——————–
Wednesday Feb, 12 2003, High Noon,
Its sunny and 8 degrees out, I just rode back to home from the conservation
club,
everybody packed up and headed home this morning. We had a good ride back from
frederic to the cabin last night and all total we did 88 miles yesterday. Not
alot of miles but a great quality day of riding. In the u.p. I saw a sign a
couple
weeks ago by manistique that said its not the destination, its the ride…..
and that
was really true for yesterdays ride. We had a great boiled dinner there last
night,
We had a big outdoor cooker that held I would guess 7 gallons of water and
Randy got
it boiling and put redskins, corn on the cob, shrimp, kielbasa and cooked it
all up
together and it was really good. It snowed about 4 inches overnight and the
grayling
schools were closed but I sure dont know why. The snow just keeps coming, and
I
hope
it doesnt let up……. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————
Tuesday 5:00 p.m. 16 degrees
Here I am in frederic of all places, we finally left the cabin at noon and
rode the trail to lovells and then to gaylord, the trail was perfectly smooth,
when we got to the split of the north and south loop, have of us went one way
and
the other half the other way, the south loop takes about 5 minutes longer. One
thing
I noticed on the north loop is a new trail that I didnt know about, it said 5
miles to vienna
and 11 miles to lewiston so I will have to try that sometime. There are 12 of
us riding
10 arctic cats, one skidoo and one polaris. I am ashamed to say that the
thunder chicken is
still sitting at the cabin, it ran fine last night when I rode out there but
it
sounded
sick this morning, I dont know if I have water in the fuel or what so I ended
up riding one
of my z 440’s, still its plent of fun. After fuel and lunch at ruby tuesdays
we
headed down
this way and it was snowing and blowing so hard you could hardly see. Also we
stopped at the
sled shed to pick up a few things and Jerry said the service building at the
gaylord arctic
cat dealer was on fire and burning. The riding has been great and all the
other
guys are over
at the swamp and I am going over to join them, we have found a few fields with
15 to 18 inches
of untouched powder in them. Darn Nice, Now I am back to riding………Pete

Tuesday February 11, 2003 11:00 a.m.
Well here we sit at the conservation club cabin, there is about 9 of us here
and most of the guys are just sitting here solving
the worlds problems. It is up to 9 degrees out right now and we are waiting
for it to hit ten before we head out. I was up about
5 this morning and it was 36 below zero out, definetly a cold night.
I rode here from home last night about 9 and it was already 5 below then. So
far there just isnt much to say so thanks for checking in.
I will put on the story about our ride later tonight after we get back. We
are
planning on a big dinner here of boiled shrimp, kielbasa,
corn on the cob and redskin potatoes aka a low country boil. Come on out for
dinner about 9 if you want………..
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Monday February 10, 2003 8:00 a.m.
I am beginning to like this, MORE SNOW!! We had another couple inches
last night here in grayling and the t.v. said more to the north like
frederic and gaylord. Gaylord schools are delayed this morning and lewiston
is closed. Cathy and the girls ended up spending the night in lewiston so I am
sure they will enjoy their ride home today. The weather is still calling for
more
snow the next couple of days. I am heading for the conservation club ride
tonight.
A big thanks to Richy the Polaris Poster child for bringing my sled back to me
from
trout lake. If you scroll down this page to last year on Feb 11 you can see
what
we did out there last year. I have my laptop to update out there again for
this
year.
This weekend I had a group come into the store from somewhere down in Indiana,
the one
lady said she had just found out about this page last week and wanted to come
into frederic
and see the place, as she was leaving she popped her head back in the door and
asked
if this was all there was to the whole town of frederic. I got a good laugh
out
of that one,
I always tell everybody 2 party stores, 2 bars, and me. This coming weekend on
saturday
my big event is going to be TREAT YOUR SWEETIE TO A TREAT FROM PETEY……
Free
fried
Spam slices on my restaurant style grill. I will have spam and buns and cook
them up
personally for you. So if you are looking for a high quality free spam lunch
come on in
and see me between 11 & 3. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————
Sunday February 9, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its a nice bright sunny sunday morning and its 10 degrees out. It seemed
to snow nice big flakes all day yesterday and I would say we have about
6 new inches of powdery snow. The trails got beat up yesterday but the
groomers were out last night and got things back in order. Cathy and the
girls are doing a overnight riding trip starting this morning, and I have
the camp grayling conservation club ride coming up starting monday, I will
try to update from the cabin with my laptop. My friend Dangling Chad should
be making his yearly appearance to show us guys what a careful rider he is.
My sled is supposed to be back here in grayling today, Rich the polaris poster
boy was supposed to pick it up in trout lake last night. Robert from Yogis
Cabins in Trout Lake was good enough to let me leave it in his pole barn so
if anybody is going to trout lake and needs a cabin call Robert at 906-569-
3243.
His cabins are right in downtown trout lake. Yesterday there was an ambulance
out on a call for a hurt sledder and they were going down Kolka Creek Road,
there
were 5 sleds abreast coming down the road full bore and they werent moving like
they were playing chicken with the ambulance and it
ended up in kolka creek, if you know how deep that is there it was pretty bad.
I dont
know what is going to happen with these irresponsible riders but this is
getting
rediculious. I have not seen the ambulance yet but I did talk to one of the
rescue
guys last night. I will keep you posted as this story develops. Thanks for
checking in.
Pete
——————————–
Saturday February 8, 2003 8:30 a.m.
There is a good snow coming down here in frederic this morning and its
18 degrees out. I rode home last night and I am still surprised at how much
ice there is out there in the corners. The trails are nice and flat but
again I am surprised with all the snow that we have had that they dont look
like they have more of a base on them but then again who cares as long as
you can ride. Yesterday morning first thing I had some guys come in that
said there was a hurt rider just down the trail. I called 911 and the lady
was quite nice and she sent out the ambulance and frederic snowmobile rescue.
The guy had a broken leg and was up behind the north end grocery. He was
with a group from houghton lake and was riding a 2 up arctic cat and missed
a turn and hit a tree. I had people come in thruout the day asking me what
happened back there because there were parts in the snow. Better a broken
leg than being dead. So if this snow keeps up today things will be looking
darn good. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————–
Friday February 7, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Its a crunchy sunny 15 below zero here in frederic this morning, its
Cathys birthday today and she just loved coming out in this cold to bring
me to work, seeing that my truck is still in the u.p. We had another couple
inches during the day yesterday and everybody that came in said the trails
were great.
This weekend there will be a charity ride in Grayling. The Sixteenth Annual For
Woman Only Snowmobile ride which benefits Easter Seals. I have been involved
with this fundraiser for the past six years and is a wonderful charity. The
For Woman Only Ride has raised over a million dollars for Easter Seals in the
past 15 years. The funds raised from the event are used in support of programs
and services for children and adults with disabilities. In the past Polaris
has been the main sponsor for this event but this year our sponsor is the
Michigan Snowmobile Association. Last year we didn’t have any snow to ride
but we had 132 woman from Michigan and other states attend and we raised
$152,200.00 in support of Easter Seals. This really is a great organization
and there are so many wonderful people involved. This is definitely a
positive
aspect of snowmobiling.
Remember to PLEASE RIDE SAFELY THIS WEEKEND…….Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————
Thursday February 6, 2003 9:00 a.m.
There is a good snowfall coming down right now and I would say we have had
a couple more inches since last night. Its 10 out right now and all the trail
crossings I looked at on the way here look great. I believe that all the trails
should be in excellent condition, until they start getting the heavy traffic.
There
were quite a few sleds out and about yesterday. I recieved quite a few letters
after
yesterdays posting about the death in grand marais. Letters were on all types
of reactions from
a mother that will not take her kids out on the trails anymore, to being
outraged that there are people out there that have no respect or thoughts about
what they might to do the other guy out there on the trail, to a long time
female
rider who has seen the sport go from a fun liesurely weekend time to worrying
weather
or not there is some idiot coming around the next corner on your side of the
trail. I
also had a call from a reader in orlando who reads because he wishes he was
here but he
made a good comment that there are many riders out there that dont have their
thumb connected
to their brain. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Wednesday February 5, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 10 degrees out and what a weather wild past 24 hours it has been, it was
still snowing and blowing hard last night at nine but has calmed down some.
Grayling Schools finally closed yesterday at 1 and there are alot of closings
again this morning. I would guess in frederic we had a total of 6 to 8 inches
of snow, but we went to gaylord last night and there is about a foot of snow
there. On the way to gaylord we took the highway and came up on a bad accident
where a crawford county sheriff car had been rear ended by another vehicle.
I have to say that in the six years sledheads has been around that we have the
most snow piled up in the parking lot that there has ever been so keep up those
snow chants. There were a few sleds out riding yesterday but not to many
people
wanted
to be out there in those winds.
I have the new statistic report sitting here in front of me and the death
count
is now
at 18 on the sheet but I know of 2 more that arent on it and one of them is
the
first
female, the really sad part of that one is that she was only 19 or 20 and was
hit broadside
by another sled rider that was drunk at houghton lake. Right below this I am
going to
paste a story from a groomer driver named Kay from Grand Marais that I got
off the Grand Marais trail conditons. I would urge everybody to copy and paste
that
part of my report and pass it on to as many snowmobilers as you can…….here
is
Kays report…………..
KAY’S TRAIL TIP

DON’T DRINK or DRUG & RIDE! and SLOW DOWN!
Witnessing one fateful incident has now effected myself, several of my dearest
friends and about 50 or so passers-by! I am going to get down right blunt
and
you will not like what I have to say but it needs saying! Too many of you are
displaying more and more reckless, careless, and destructive behavior than
ever.
You are committing suicide on our trails, endangering others and it has to
stop!
I am so upset that if I could, I would impound every snowmobile, close down
the
manufacturers of them and destroy every trail across the country right now!
While grooming Friday night Norm and I, along with several of our friends on
the
EMS service had the horrifying experience of seeing another rider be added to
the
growing list of snowmobile fatalities. A man in his mid-forties with two
young
children, came over a hill on a straight away 5 miles west of Grand Marais as
the sun was setting in the sky and ultimately, on his life. This man did
everything
wrong; he had been drinking, had not strapped his helmet, had left his group
behind,
and was traveling far to fast when he simply lost control of his snowmobile.
Apparently no one saw the accident but the sled had rolled, pitching the man
off and tumbling with him 200 feet before coming to rest crosswise in the
trail.
He sustained severe injuries and died shortly after arriving at the
hospital.
A totally avoidable, waste of life.
That’s not all – When his buddies found him and went for help, one stayed
behind.
He was left alone, cradling his dying friend in his arms for what must have
seemed
like an eternity before we came upon the scene. We called 911 and helplessly
waited
with him, watching the precious life of his friend and someone’s son,
brother,
husband, and father slip away. While the snowmobile ambulance rushed the
victim
to the ambulance waiting at the trail head and then off to the hospital
another
hour away, we waited with his friends for the police to arrive and make their
report.
Three and half hours after we arrived on the scene, the mans friends were
able
to
continue on; a long, 45 mile ride to their motel with their thoughts and
mental
images of the accident to keep them company. All the while not knowing their
friend’s fate. I can’t imagine how they are coping with what started as a
good
time only to turn into a trip none will ever forget – for all the wrong
reasons!
The State Troopers told us we could just push the sled off the trail and leave
it
there for more riders to see! Instead, they loaded the remains of the
snowmobile
onto the groomer and we hauled it and the dead man’s unbuckled, undamaged
helmet
to town and inconspicuously parked it away from view! We wanted to drop it in
front of one of the bars!
This incident is causing me a great deal of anguish. Could I have said or done
anything more to save this mans life? How many more children will be orphaned
in the name of fun? Can I do anything to save more from this fate? And what
if other riders had been coming up that hill when this happened? What if
those
other riders included that family with 4 children we had just passed 15
minutes
earlier!? How many more lives could have ended needlessly? What if our
groomer
had not come along to put out markers warning unsuspecting riders of the
carnage
ahead? What if our groomer had been coming up that hill when he lost
control?
What mental traumas has the sight of this accident caused the passers-by? As
morbid as this all sounds, I say it in hopes that more of you think before you
take that first drink and carelessly get on a machine capable of 100+ miles an
hour, only to become the next one we have to haul out of the woods, leaving
your
friends, families and us to cope with those images for the rest of our lives.
Don’t commit suicide on the trail! Don’t drink or drug and ride, never ride
alone, stay alert, and ride safely! If you have a cell phone, take it with you
in the event of problems, it could save the life of one your friends or
yourself!
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————
Tuesday February 4, 2003 11:00 a.m.
WOW is it snowing and blowing out and its 22 degrees out, I just got here to
frederic after spending
the morning getting snow and ice off my roof. It rained last night and the snow
is all crusty halfway down. The trails are white again but I would guess they
are a bit icier underneath than they were. We had about 2 inches of snow
overnight
and every school from baldwin to brimley seemed to be closed except for the
grayling
schools. My flag here at the shop was pulling on the pole so hard that I took
it down,
if it wouldnt have been at half mast it probably would have been down.
Yesterday morning first thing I had a phone call from Brian the first guy
on the scene at the fatal accident on saturday night on howes lake road.
He called to tell me how rude and non concerned the 911 operator was with
them reporting the accident. Then I had an e mail from another person who had
called and had been treated rudely and then another nieghbor with the same
story.
I knew instantly who the operator that took the call was. I myself called and
complained
to his supervisor 3 years ago about him. This guys name is Jim Baker and he
has
no business
being in the position he is in. People reach out to 911 for help and he acts
like you
are inconviencing him by calling in. I called the sherrif and talked to him
and
he said he
has no control over 911 that it is seperate from the sheriff department. Both
people
that I talked to are writing letters that I am going to turn into the right
people. The
one lady I talked to ended up handing the phone to her husband because she
could believe
the way she was being treated by this 911 operator. If anybody else out there
has a story
about the 911 system in crawford county I would like to know about it. Thanks
for checking
in. Pete
————————-
Monday February 3, 2003 7:30 a.m.
Its 24 degrees this morning here at lake margrethe and there was
only a little snowfall overnight. The weatherman is calling for
major system snow 10 to 16 inches and it just showed that the u.p.
was really going to get it. I plan on going up to ride and retrieve
my truck tommorow, I sure hope I get snowed in up there. Trails
are really beat around here and we really need that fresh snow
to get things spruced up. I just had a letter from a reader regarding
other riders passing and using the wrong side of the trail. He said
he was riding with his wife and that if she would have had one more
coat of paint on her sled they would have taken her out. No matter
how many times it is said I cant see why these guys think there is nobody
else out there on the trail, they put everybody at risk of getting hurt.
The accident on howes lake road was alcohol related and the guy was
of course going to fast. He was a 35 year old man from saginaw. Not
that it would have helped much but one of the EMT’s told me he didnt have
his helmet fastned and he had really crushed his skull on the tree.
Unfortunately frederic made the news last night because it said the fire
department was kept busy going out on 3 calls in 12 hours all snowmobile
related. The I 500 race also was this past weeekend in Sault St. Marie and
one of the riders in that race was killed also.
Thanks for checking in and remember to PLEASE RIDE SAFELY!!!!!! Pete
——————————
Sunday 1:30 p.m.
I have just learned that there was a fatal snowmobile
accident just outside of frederic last night about 9:00 p.m..
It happened on howes lake road and it was a male heading south, and
at that point in the road there is a dip and it takes a left. He
missed the left and went into the red pines. Thats all the info
I have for now. I do know it was a person from out of town.

Sunday Feberuary 2, 2003 10:00 a.m.
Its a real calm and cloudy morning at 30 degrees here in frederic
this morning. The snow is heavy and hard to walk, drive or ride in.
There were no wheres near the amount of sleds here yesterday as the past
couple weekends. The trails all looked brown to me this morning at any
of the crossings that I passed as I drove up here and I sure dont like
the forcasts of snow rain mix the next couple days. We will have to wait and
see what happens. First thing yesterday morning I had some guys in that came
to buy new belts. They were staying at Days Inn in grayling and somebody stole
their belts during the night. At least they left the sleds but the good part
to
this
story is that also friday night at margretheville somebody went in the bar and
told people that there were people in the parking lot lifting the hoods on
sleds
and guys went running out and chased a kid down with a bunch of belts on his
arm
and tackled him. They took him in till the cops got there and then they took
him to
jail where he still was last night about 7. Good place for him.
For you long time readers that remember John Oldani, who came so close to death
3 years ago on January 30 after he slammed into a parked truck just north of
the
shop here. Yesterday after a 3 year lull he got back on a machine and got 40
miles
in and he said it sure felt good to be back on. Amazing that he has come back
as
far as he has and as well as he has. Congratulations John.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————
Saturday February 1, 2003 8:15 a.m.
Happy 3rd Birthday to my beautiful little girl Haley!!
What a great morning for a ride, its about 22 degrees here in frederic.
I rode the grayling to frederic trail here this morning and its in nice
shape, for right now. Still alot of ice lurking in the corners. We had
about 4 inches of new snow fall yesterday and that helps us out a little.
Everybody that came in said the roads were really slippery and they saw
plenty of cars off in the ditch on the highway on the way here. I went
to the trail dedication for the new trail thru downtown grayling yesterday.
Finally after over 10 years of trying to get it approved and done it is there,
so that makes it a whole lot easier to make it thru grayling.
Now about my story from yesterday about the 2 missing in houghton lake. I
wouldnt
have printed that if I didnt think my source was reliable which I believe it
was but its
a sad story either way. On the news last night they had a segment on the story
of
the rumors going around that the two are still alive. The news says there is
no
truth
to the rumors. I by no means intend this page to be the national enquirer and
sure
wouldnt have put that on here unless I acutually beileved the story , so for
right
now I think the best thing to do is keep my mouth shut and not say anything
till there
is some type of end to the story…… Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————-
Friday January 31, 2003 7:15 a.m.
Its 22 out already this morning, the forcast is calling for the next
couple days into the 30s. If it gets that warm things are going to be
a mess on the trails in a hurry. There were beginning to be alot more
sleds out yesterday, in fact enough out there for one of my rental sleds
to be hit by another sled coming around a curve on the wrong side of the trail.
Nobody was hurt but why these fools think they can ride on the wrong side of
the
turns is beyond me. You sure wouldnt drive on the highway like that. The guy
responsible was trying to pass his buddy on the curve, so my advise is
be cautious around those curves because you dont know whats coming at you.
I got the up to date fatalatie report and it is now at 14 with everybody that
has been killed being a male. Now the next thing coming to light is that there
are strong and very good sources going around that the 2 brothers that have
been
missing in houghton lake and not been found yet are still alive, that it was
a set up because they were in trouble for something else and figured they could
dissapear. This is just coming to light so it will be interesting to see what
happens. They had donation cans out everywhere for these guys families and now
it seems
to be a hoax. Also today in downtown grayling at 1:00 p.m. is a trail
dedication to the
new portion of trail that takes you thru town. Thats about it for now so
thanks for
checking in and Please Ride Safely. Pete
————————————
Thursday January 30, 2003 7:26 a.m.
Its about 10 out this morning and there is no new snow, the best thing
in the forcast is the “possible system snow storm” for sunday night.
I rode home again last night and the trail is still nice. I had a couple
letters this morning one from a family complaining about how bad the trails
were last weekend and the next letter from somebody saying how great the trails
were last weekend. My theory on this is that there are so many sleds on the
trails
that it doesnt take long for them to go to pieces again on the weekend. I have
seen
it many times where I watch the groomer go by the store and then within 2
hours
you
would never even know he was thru there, thats just the way it goes. With no
snow
in the forcast for the weekend and all the snow well worn I think there will
be
alot
of riders here but the conditions will head downhill in a hurry. I just looked
up
at the t.v. and now the weather man is saying 2 to 4 inches for tommorow. I
sure wish
they could make up there mind, I guess I have to go back to the old I will
believe it
when I see it motto. There is still alot of off trail snow so there is plenty
there to
have fun. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————
Wednesday Afternoon January 29, 2003 1:15 p.m.
Its nice and sunny here and 18 degrees out. I just had a group of riders
in here from chicago. They started in newberry yesterday and rode here from
there staying in Indian River last night. That is the first people that I have
talked to this season that have rode between here and mackinaw. They were
heading
back that way today.
Now on to my ride from yesterday. I got going by myself about 10:30 yesterday
telling the guys I would be to Trout Lake about 7 where they were going to
leave
my truck for me. I headed out of 16 mile lake past the Buckhorn and on to
Shingleton for
gas. From there on toward Grand Marais I got right to the juntiocn where you
turn to
go to the bear trap and I saw a groomer coming down the trail so I stopped to
take a picture
of it, the snow was coming down hard and I thought it would be a good shot.
Well as he
got closer it turns out the groomer driver was Don from the fox river motel in
seney. It
was 12:30 and Don said he had been out grooming since 5:30 and should be home
by 5:30 tonight.
We talked a bit and took a couple more pictures with the heavy snow coming
down.
He told me to take the new trail to Grand Marais which I did and it was super
all the way.
From where we talked to the second turn for Grand Marais was at least 30 miles
and it was
perfect all the way with 2 to 3 feet of snow along side the trails. There were
alot of sleds
out and the gas line in Grand Marais was about 20 minutes long, not to bad. I
couldnt believe
how many people I talked to a saw from Iowa. There were sleds from illinoi,
wisconsin, ohio,
and indiana but by far the sleds with the little yellow iowa stickers were
everywhere. After
getting gas I headed for two hearted river and was going to eat there but the
cafe was
closed, so onward to paradise. The snow
as you got towards paradise was 3 to 5 feet along the trails and the scenery
was just
great. In some parts it felt like I was riding in a tunnel. The snow piles in
paradise
are at least 15 to 18 feet high. I had a great yukon burger at the yukon inn
and by this
time it was 5:30 but I was on schedule for making it to trout lake by 7. After
gassing
up I headed south out of paradise for strongs and hit the worst trails of the
day. Up
to this point everything was great. I only took that for about 5 miles and
decided heck
with that and took the shoulder the rest of the way to trout lake and made it
there at 7:10
with my sled still never missing a beat all day. I did get stuck once in some
waist deep
snow where I pulled off , but it wasnt very long and some guys came along and
pulled me
out. I pulled up at Tobys in trout lake and went in and met a group of riders
from ohio
that were regular readers. About 7:30 I decided to call my friend Denny to see
where he
was at with my truck, thats when the fun part started, he said he was in Seney
and the
transmission had quit on my high quality 1988 gmc. They were getting ahold of
Don from
fox river motel and to make a long story short my truck is still there. On the
bright side
it gives me a good excuse to go back up north next week. Seney is still an
hour
from
trout lake so I asked the bartender if he knew anybody that lived close by
that
I could
leave my thunder chicken with. He introduced me to Robert that owns Yogis
Cabins in
trout lake and luckily him being another arctic cat rider he took me to his
place and
I left my sled in his pole barn. The guys picked me up from Tobys and I got
home about
11:30. So after a awesome 190 mile ride to trout lake and 375 miles for two
days I was back
home. After seeing that
whole territory I would say that the trail system thruout munising and grand
marais and seney is
better than the paradise area trails. The trails are wider, safer, and longer.
The paradise
trails are narrower and tighter but they have all the snow. The u.p. riding is
definetly
something you should do if you never have but remember before you head up
there
make sure
you stop here in frederic for any carbides, belts, oil, or supplies that you
might need.
I have been trying to get this thing typed all day and now it is finally
5:00pm
and I am
ready to post this. The weather that just was on t.v. I didnt like for this
coming weekend
calling for 30 to 37 on saturday and sunday but for a major system snow storm
for monday
which would be our first real snowfall this season if it really happens.
Thanks
for checking
in. Pete

Wednesday January 29, 2003 9:45 a.m.
Here I am back in good old frederic, I rode Cathys sled here this morning from
home and the grayling to frederic trail was o.k., not super smooth but not
rough.
Its about 10 out right now. Cathy said for the 2 days that I was gone we had
about
another 6 inches of new snow fall. I got back late from the u.p. last night
and
I will
get that update on later today, just wanted to get something on here this
morning.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————
Late Monday Night early Tuesday Morning 1:00 a.m. January 28, 2003
We just got back to the cabin after a great day of riding. It took forever to
get going this morning, we had 9 guys here and we started
by Ernie Frodl trying to straighten his a arms from after he hit a stump
yesterday.
While we were waiting for him we went out for a short trip and Jims polaris
blew a chain. I started pulling him back and I thought he
was pulling pretty hard and then my new belt with only 27 miles on it melted
down and blew. It turned out the track was locked up
on the polaris so thats why it was pulling so hard, I threw on a new belt and
then we pulled him with two sleds. After that ordeal we
were going to head out again and Dennys sled had a cracked clutch so he
borrowed one of the other guys sleds, well that didnt run
to well so he turned and went back home. By now its up to about 2 in the
afternoon and we are finally rolling. We headed south and
west out of munising and the trails were pretty nice. About half way down
some
of the guys wanted to turn off on the short route
because one of them had to go home tonight. That
left Craig (a meat salesman from jackson) and I to take the long loop. I was
hoping to hit a 300 mile day today. When you ride with
a big group it seems like you are always waiting on someone. Anyways Craig and
I were off and our first stop was in Cooks a little town
just west of manistique. We made a couple wrong turns in that nieghborhood and
it seemed like we were there forever. It was snowing
hard and was hard to see and we finally made it into manisique for gas.
Tonight was only the second time this season that they have
sleds into town and they said its the best snow so far this year. Most of the
trails that we were going down by there we were pushing
the grass over that was sticking thru the snow because nobody had been down
them. I dont mind saying we were both getting a little
nervous as it was pitch black and snowing hard and we were both getting low
on
gas. Riding here is not like the lower pennisula, you
can be 30 or 40 mile to the next town here so we were both happy to find the
gas station in manistique. I called the guys at the cabin
to let them know that we were still out there and trying to head back home
and
learned that Mikes sled had melted down and they were
out retrieving that. Heading north out of manistique the trails were great
for
the next 30 miles, we went thru Stuben and then stopped
at the boot lake bar for dinner and a warm up. It was 10:30 by then. After
boot
lake we headed up to shingleton and then back toward
the buckhorn which put us back here about a half hour ago. A great 185 mile
ride. I hope that whoever is going to ride is ready by about
10 in the morning to ride. Some more of the guys are heading back to rockford
tommorow afternoon so I think I am going to have them
drop my truck in trout lake and try to do the big loop out of here to grand
marais, paradise, raco, strongs and trout lake, then load up and
go home…. sounds like a good plan to me……..The bad luck on snowfall
must
have followed me up here because for as hard as it was
snowing on the drive up last night there was no new snow on my truck this
morning.. I am also happy to say that my sled never missed a beat all day, it
just hummed along like it was supposed to even when it was turning 8 grand
pulling out the polaris. My next update will probably be after I make
it back home…. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————————–
Sunday Night 11:35 p.m. January 26, 2003
Here I am at 16 mile lake just west of munising. Not to far from the
buckhorn.
I left frederic at 6 and you sure could tell that
everybody had left town. While I was outside loading up it was dead quiet if
frederic. Everybody that came into the shop
today said that the trails were great. All the new snow and the fact that
the groomers were out overnight got everything back in shape. On the drive up
here tonight you sure could see that the
snow was thin at vanderbilt and indian river on up to the bridge. After
turning onto 123 and heading for trout lake the snow
started piling up and it started snowing pretty hard all the way into trout
lake. The trees were heavy with snow and it was
snowing so hard I had to take it slow. As I came into trout lake it stopped
snowing and about 5 miles north of there the snow
on the sides of the road was a couple feet high. Turning on 28 and heading
for
newberry it started snowing hard again and
everytime a car or truck came at you from the other direction it was a total
whiteout for about 15 seconds so I started slowing
way down every time one was coming at me. I left frederic with the full
intention of unloading in trout lake and riding my sled
here but the closer I got to trout lake and the conditions I decided that
wouldnt be a very good idea and sure didnt want to end
up like John Oldani from 3 years ago. I have only seen a little of the pain he
has gone thru since then and I sure dont want to have
to compare notes with him. Anyways after getting gas in newberry I stopped
at
Fox River Motel in Seney and talked to Don & Diane
there. They said it
was the same way in Seney last weekend as it was in frederic, an absolute zoo.
They estimated 4000 sleds in town and they only have
a 13 unit motel. Diane also said they had people from 6 different states that
were there riding because of no snow elsewhere. After I left
Seney it was still snowing hard and I was taking it easy and 2 cars came up
behind me close so I pulled over and let them go buy and I
thought to myself , boy are they flying, well as I could have guessed one was
in the ditch a couple miles outside of munising. They sure
keep 28 plowed really wide, I bet its a hundred feet wide, you feel like you
are driving down a runway.
There were parts where the snow depth looked like 4 feet deep along the sides.
I stayed at this cabin here with my friends from Rockford
about 5 years ago and they are all at Foggys in Christmas for the superbowl
so
I am here by myself. I cant wait for morning to go out
and check out the trails. I will update tommorow night after we get back from
riding. I imagine it will be late and I hope to have a great
story…. The thunder chicken is fueled & oiled up with a new belt and I
am
itching to go. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————
Sunday January 26, 2003 9:15 a.m.
Its 5 degrees here in beautiufl snowy downtown fredericanville. We have
had about 6 to 8 inches of snow since late yesterday afternoon. I just had
a guy in here from out by manistee lake and he said they have probably 12 to
14
inches of new snow there. I know both grayling groomers were heading out last
night. I had somebody come in yesterday that said the trail from mount frederic
road to here was great…if you like a snow cross track, he said there were 2
footers
on it all the way to town but he had fun. Traffic has been heavy and I have
had
reports of 3 different fatal accidents. There is still a light snow in the air.
I got here at 9 this morning and there were people waiting on me already so it
looks
like I should get up earlier on sundays. I hope to leave tonight to go to
munising to
ride with some friends. I have to load up the thunder chicken. I hope it runs
as good
as normal……I am taking my laptop so I will try my best to get an update on
tommorow
on the condition of the munising area trails. The photo shoot went good
yesterday, I just
hope we had a decent enough shot for a poster. Not quite as many people came
thru that as
I would have thought but it was alot of fun, (and alot of work). Thank goodness
Cathy kept things in order out here at the front counter. Thanks for checking
in. Pete
————————————————-
Saturday January 25, 2003 8:00 a.m.
Here I am in frederic watching nice sized flakes falling down and its about
11 degrees out. All the trail crossings on the way up here from grayling looked
pretty good. I have to say I drove up to waters yesterday and the trail from
here
toward gaylord looked pretty worn and rough, but what more could you expect,
its
probably one of the most heavily travelled trails around. I was out to the far
side of the blue bear loop yesterday south of starvation lake and what a
difference
in the snow between frederic and there and its only 12 miles. The trees were
heavy
with snow and the trail was real nice. There were no wheres near the crowds
here
yesterday like last week and I did still see a couple vacancy signs up in
grayling on
the way home last night. We have had almost 2 inches here since 11 last night
so if
these big flakes keep up that will help out today. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————–
Friday January 24, 2003 6:00 a.m.
Its 15 degrees out this morning with light snow in the air. Since yesterday
we have had a couple inches of really fluffy blow off the trail easy snow.
I have the feeling that by saturday frederic and all the areas near by
are going to be packed again. First thing yesterday I had a big group of
riders in that were from the chicago area and they said they usually ride
wisconsin but came here & I also had a call yesterday from Green Bay. So
right now trails are in great shape but it doesnt take long for them
to get well worn with heavy sled traffic. The corners arent quite as icy
as last week but there is still some bad ones out there so be cautious.
I also have a 2003 Blade 800 H.O. coming in for the poster girl photo
shoot tommorow between 11 & 3. So if you have an extra twenty grand for a
sled
with you come and get
it. I think this years Blade looks better than last years. Its black &
yellow
and reminds me of a bumble bee or one of the new F 7s. (arctic cats just
shouldnt have yellow on them) I think Captain Kevin
will like it. Please Ride Cautiously & Safely this weekend and thanks for
checking
in. Pete
———————————
Thursday January 23, 2003 7:30 a.m.
Its about 0 out this morning and there was no new snow overnight. We
were supposed to get 8 inches. The trails are in excellent shape according
to all the riders that came in yesterday. It stayed 5 degrees and below that
all day yesterday and is supposed to today but then warming up to the 20s
for the weekend with snow predicted every day (if you trust the weatherman).
I had both lots plowed yesterday, the one on the side and the one in the back
so there is plenty of parking for this weekend if you want to park at the shop.
Parking was a problem everywhere last weekend because there were so many sleds
and
I have the feeling that its gonna be the same thing again. I found out just how
lucky we are here in the lower penninsula to have the best snow around
yesterday
because there is still no riding snow in Wisconsin or Minnesota.
Also for you guys out there interested, this coming saturday from 11 to 3 I am
going
to have my Sledheads Poster Girl, Sheri here for pictures so if you want
come on in to have your picture taken with her. I talked to her last night and
she is looking forward to it. The line is going to come in our side door on
the north side of the building. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————
Wednesday January 22, 2003 11:30 a.m.
The morning has flew by and its a nice sunny day and 6 degrees out here.
There are sleds out and about and all the trails look great. I did 95 miles
yesterday on my ride and Cathy went 115 on her ride with the girls. They
went up the jordan valley trail and met the groomer twice and she said all
the trails were great. We had about another inch of new snow overnight.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————-
Tuesday Night 10:45 p.m.
Since this morning I have learned that the young man that was killed in
lakes of the north was named Brett. I have to say that on my ride today
around every corner and curve and everytime I squeezed the throttle Brett
was on my mind. It was a beautiful day for a ride, the trees were heavy with
snow, the blue bear trail was in great shape all the way to starvation lake
and up to the country skillet for lunch, the kind of day I am sure Brett would
have liked to be on a ride on, he was with me every bit of the way. I have
recieve many letters regarding this accident from nurses that were there and
a teacher from his school and from people that this story has touched, I am
going
to print a few of them below here including a story I found online in todays
Bay City Times …………
xxxxxxxxxxx
thanks for informing everybody about what happened to the 13 yr. old
boy (Brett) who died in Lakes Of the North saturday. Our cabin is close to
the accident, and they came to us to call 911. We immediatly went to the
scene, my wife is a nurse, and we also had a friend staying with us who is a
nurse, they helped perform CPR for 20-25 minutes, but there was nothing
anybody could do. It was the saddest thing I have ever experienced in my
life. My heart goes out to Brett’s family and the family he was with.
As Snowmobilers we sometimes don’t realize how dangerous our sport can be. I
think by posting some of the bad news, as you do, it helps inform people of
how dangerous snowmobiling can be if your not carefull
xxxxxxxxxxx

having two boy who loves to ride I was very upset to hear about the boy who
lost his life a on a ride. Please let us know if anyone is going to take
up a collection for the family
xxxxxxxxxxxx
the young man (Brett)killed in the snowmobile accident was a student here at
western middle school in bay city where i am a teacher. it is a very somber
day here today, we had monday off due to semester break. Brett was not in
my one of my classes, so i didn’t know him personally, but i understand he
was an extremely good person. Many students are greatly upset and will have
a hard time dealing with his death.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

i can’t imaging how it must feel to find out your son was killed in an
accident. i also have a 12 year old son and he just got his snowmobile
cetrificate and we went on our first ride on sunday in grayling. how ironic.
i am going to rethink his riding a sled, believe me.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Brett Alvesteffer was a boy who loved adventure, and he lived for it up to the
moment he died.
Brett, 12, of Monitor Township died Saturday when he fell off a snowmobile he
was driving and
struck a tree in Antrim County, near Mancelona.
“He had a passion for adventure,” said his mother, Gail Alvesteffer.
“Brett was a wonderful, talented, talented boy,” his mother said. “He was just
a wonderful son.”
Brett, a seventh-grade student at Western Middle School, was among the top in
his class, with a 4.3 grade point
average, said his father, Thomas Alvesteffer. The accident occurred while
Brett
was snowmobiling in Antrim County
with a friend’s family, his parents said. Antrim County is northeast of
Traverse City.
Antrim County Sheriff Terry Johnson said Brett Alvesteffer apparently lost
control of his snowmobile and left
the roadway, fell and hit a tree.
Johnson said Brett Alvesteffer was pronounced dead on arrival at Kalkaska
Memorial Health Center.
Brett was the victim of “a freak accident,” Thomas Alvesteffer said.
He had just pulled out of a driveway going 10 miles an hour when something
went
wrong on the machine,
and he hit a snow bank and fell off, hitting a tree, his father said.
But it happened while Brett was exploring one of many passions in his life.
“He was a little boy who wanted to experience everything in life,” said Gail
Alvesteffer.
Brett was a constantly active child, reading, playing piano, cooking and
hunting. He also was very
active with Boy Scout Troop 150, in which he held a Star ranking, according
to
his father.
“He’s had me out hunting every possible moment,” Thomas Alvesteffer said.
Brett had set his sights on learning to fly a plane and wanted to be either an
engineer or an architect.
“He had his goals set in life already,” Thomas Alvesteffer said.
Grief counselors are available for students at Western Middle School today,
school officials said.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in
Auburn.
Visitation is today from 2-8 p.m. at the Auburn Chapel of the Cunningham-
Taylor
Funeral Home,
where a wake is scheduled for 7 p.m. today.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I was the first “customer” Saturday morning. You may remember me, you may
not. Really, it has little to do with what I am going to say.
It is possible to stroll into any snowmobile dealer and buy a sled that can
literally kill you. In my opinion, few people have the experience or, in a
broader sense, the wisdom, to ride many of the commercially available
snowmobiles on the market. In fact, most of them are way out of the range of
the average rider. These things are not cars, they don’t have ABS, they don’t
necessarily turn when steered, nor do they necessarily stop when braked. So
many variables are involved that I would venture to say that no matter what
the kids might say, they are probably saddled up with a machine that can far
out perform their ability. I KNOW for a FACT that mine will. It scares me
silly on a regular basis and until you have the life experience to deal with
such a thing you should NOT ride it. I grew up riding Ski Doo “one lungers”,
AMF’s and such, they were pretty much out of my league but it kept me alive
long enough to graduate to the big boys. Johnson’s , then Rupp Nitro’s, then
Merc Sno Twister’s, Silver Bullet and a Chaparral thrown in for good measure.
I let my daughter ride my AC and within 5 minutes it was crashed, she was 17
and knew how to drive or so I thought. She could have been killed easily,
just as easy as this boy was. I always make it very clear that NO ONE rides
either of my sleds until they are informed that they could get killed doing
so. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. Not the performance of the
sleds, but the performance of the sledders. Now, I might get crucified by
some for saying what I have just said but I am only telling the truth. A
snowmobile safety course can not in any way prepare a kid for a vehicle that
is packing as much power as a car and weighs about a sixth as much.
Absolutely no comparison……………..
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday 10:30 a.m.
I was a bit off on the snowfall earlier this morning, we actually have
about 3 new inches here in frederic this morning. There doesnt seem to be
anybody around so it should be great riding this morning. Also for you
guys out there interested, this coming saturday from 11 to 3 I am going
to have my Sledheads Poster Girl, Sheri here for pictures so if you want
come on in to have your picture taken with her. Believe me when I tell you
that Pamela Anderson & Heather Locklear dont even measure up to Sheri. She
will
have a polariod camera set up for pictures or you can bring your own camera
too.
The line is going to come in our side door on the north side of the building.
So come on in and meet Sheri. Thanks for checking in. Pete

Tuesday January 21, 2003 4:00 a.m.
I have been awake alot during the night thinking about an e mail I recieved
last night titled Our Worst Nightmare. It was from a regular reader who
had the boy with him that was killed in Lakes of the North. He had come up
to their cabin with his wife, son and daughter and both his son and daughter
brought friends. He went for a ride around the blue bear loop on friday night
with the girls and the boys turn was saturday morning. The accident happened
within 500 feet from the cabin and not 15 seconds into the ride and in that
span
his son lost his best friend and the call to the boys parents had to be made.
I
cant
imagine how hard it is to call parents and tell them that the child that they
happily sent up north for a fun weekend was now dead. Both boys have
rode before and had just completed their snowmobile saftey courses on
thursday.
The
road was icy and there was a slight turn but somehow he launched off the snow
bank
into a tree and was dead instantly. My thoughts and prayers go out to both of
these
families.
So far during the night we have had about another inch of snow. The weather is
still
calling for more snow the next few days. There were quite
a few sleds around for a monday yesterday and Cathy and I are planning on
riding.
As I am typing this and still thinking about the story above here I feel like
maybe
I shouldnt ride but you know I really want to and I am sure this story will be
with
me as I am out there all day and way beyond that. Its a tradgedy that things
like
this have to happen and the different ways it impacts peoples lives. We all
love
to ride and thats why everybody is on this site reading about what goes on in
the
great north, both good and bad so, with this heavily on my mind I will be out
there on
the trail today.
Pete
————————————————————
Monday 9:30 a.m.
Got here to frederic at 9 and I would say we have 4 nice fresh inches on
the ground here, its a nice tight snow that will build a good base too
so that will help alot. I also talked to Jeff this morning and he said
he is feeling pretty good Now off to clean up the mess around this place
from the weekend……….

Monday January 20, 2003 7:00 a.m.
It figures that we would finally get 2 fresh inches of snow once everybody
started heading home from the weekend. Its about 5 degrees out this morning
and there is still snow in the air. The weather is calling for snow each day
this week thru thursday. There were still alot of sleds in frederic yesterday
but no wheres near the record amount from saturday. I am going to try to
post a couple pictures on this page by tommorow. There was a pile up on I-75
yesterday
due to white out conditions just north of the mackinaw bridge that closed the
bridge
for a while. Also on a sad note a 13 year old boy was killed in the lakes of
the north
area when he fell off his sled and hit a tree. The news said he was D.O.A.
Another very scary story that hits really close to home involved one of the two
guys that
rented our cottage right next to our house. Jeff and Tim were riding
north of
starvation lake and were at the intersection of cinder hill road and scholl
road
It was snowing hard and white out conditions. They stopped at the stop sign
and
Jeff
was leading and he pulled out to cross the road and right aways he sees a
white
truck
sliding sideways at him. He said he hit the throttle and tried to turn to the
right and
jumped off his sled at the instant the truck hit his new F 7 and sent it
hurtling down
the road for almost 500 feet. Tim was right behind him still at the stop
sign
and said he will have nightmares about seeing that sled flying down the road
with
parts flying everywhere. How he got off that sled and didnt get taken with it
is a miracle.
The truck had no headlights on either. When we got home here last night I was
wondering
why there was only one sled parked at the cottage. Thank goodness this story
turned
out o.k. Jeff says he doesnt know if he is sore from riding or from hitting
the
pavement
and that he really babied that yellow and black F 7. Thanks for checking in.
Pete
——————————————–
Sunday January 19, 2003 9:00 a.m.
I am starting out today by wishing my daughter Melissa HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY !
Boy 10 years went by fast there, its even my birthday today and unfortuneately
my age is the same as my wasist(46) that went by fast too. Anyways its about
10
degrees here in frederic this morning. What a day yesterday, unbelievable the
amount of sleds here, everywhere you looked there were sleds, I have seen alot
here
before but I have to say I think yesterday was the most ever. The line at the
gas
station went all the way down past the frederic inn. The swamp had their
outside
food court going and that was packed too. For the outdoor food area you buy a
bag
of swamp 2 wooden nickels and use them to by food and drinks in the out area.
I
think Bob had a great idea there and it helped with the huge crowd inside the
bar.
They had barrells going with wood burning so people could keep warm. We had our
bon fire going outside the shop here for the second weekend and lots of people
stop
there too to keep warm and some people even brought their own hot dogs to cook
on
our fire. At all the trails and crossings I passed this morning they are
definetly
looking worn and used so we sure could stand a new blast of snow, there was
snow in
the air yesterday but no accumulation to speak of. Its nice meeting all the
people
that came in here that are regular readers and it still surprises me at how
many do
read my ramblings. My buddy Bob out at Terrys got my thunder chicken fixed in
2
days
for me, I had to get a new jackshaft but its ready to go again. Boy that sled
runs
great. Thats about it for now so thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————-
Saturday January 18, 2003 8:00 a.m.
Its 14 degrees here in downtown frederic and the trucks and trailers are
already
pulling into town, even already had the first customers in. I stayed open till
11 last
night and probably could have stayed open longer, the sleds were everywhere
and
I
predict more for today, unfortunately there was no new snow overnight. We
havent
had any new snow in a few days now and we could really use some. So things stay
the same very icy corners and trails are getting very worn. Thanks for
checking
in.
Pete

Friday Night Jan 17 9:00 p.m.
Here I still sit in frederic, I hit it right on the head today by predicting
zoo status. Sleds have been pulling in here since 8:30 this morning when I got
here.
Its nice to know that people really do know where my door is. Unbelieveable
how
many
sleds here for a friday. I have heard reports from great trails to junk
trails.
We are
lucky to have the best snow in the lower pennisula. I have been telling
everybody the area
or sqare to stay in is between m-72 in grayling to m-32 in gaylord and between
i-75
and us 131. That seems to be the best snow. I think I even managed to take in
more
than just one dollar too. Its 15 out right now and we really didnt get any
snow
today.
Both grayling and gaylord groomers were here in frederic today. Thanks for
checking in.
Pete

Friday January 17, 2003 6:15 a.m.
Its a nice chilly 4 degrees this morning and only a skiff of snow overnight
again. When I left frederic about 7 last night it was snowing hard but i still
dont know if it we had any inches. There were still alot of sleds out
yesterday
and
I can only imagine as we get closer to tonight it will be building to ZOO
status.
The good thing is the cold is keeping our snow on the trails but what is on
the
trails
has been rode on alot already and it is going to get alot more on it, like I
said before
corners are REALLY ICY so watch yourself, slow down before you get into them
because
you end up on the wrong side, I have felt it first hand quite a few times
myself this
week. The store will be open till at least 7 both tonight and saturday and
probably
later. I wish I had a hundred cottages & snowmobiles to rent for this
weekend
because
thats about how many calls I have had for both. I am pasting a letter below
this that
you can copy and paste and e mail regarding proper use of trail permit money.
Its
easy to do……
Hi,
This posting was on the club page by one our club members (skidoo tracy)
regarding
trail permit money not being used for what its supposed to be used for. Use
the
link
at the top to find your representatives name and then copy and paste the
letter
and
send it to him. I did it and its very easy to do. you probably have to copy
and paste
the link to find your rep.

http://www.house.state.mi.us/LocateRep.asp#Locate_Rep

Send an email and complain. I used a draft from another website. So
here it is. Feel free to use it.

Hello, My name is _ and I snowmobile all over
Michigan. I am one of thousands of people who purchase Michigan
Snowmobile Trail Permits every year. It has come to my attention
that the funds raised by the selling of this mandatory trail permit
may not be being properly used to support this sport. I’ve learned
that snowmobile clubs all over Michigan do not receive groomer
support for grooming if there is little or no snow. This leaves them
short funded during the winter when they are depending on groomer
support from the DNR. Now these snowmobile clubs are forced to use
money that is appropriated to them for trail safety signs and brush
clearing, to help make groomer payments. Because of this many clubs
are having to really scramble just to keep their groomer. I’m sure
you, better than anyone, understand the importance of maintaining an
infrastructure so it is ready to react when needed.

Furthermore, with snowmobiling making up such a large part of many
northern Michigan communities economic pies, it is obvious that this
is a problem that needs your attention to prevent erosion of already
fragile economies. I understand that you may not be directly
responsible for representing any/all of the counties effected in
northern Michigan , but you are my voice in the house and I’m
depending on you to convince your constituents that do represent
these other counties in northern Michigan that this problem needs
their attention.

I’ve helped elect you to represent myself and my community, and I am
asking for your help. Please investigate this problem and take the
appropriate steps to correct it.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Your Name Here

Thanks for checking in and PLEASE RIDE SAFELY!!! Pete
——————————————-
Thursday January 16, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Its 10 out this morning and there was no new snow overnight. I rode up to
frederic last night about 8 and took the blue bear trail to the frederic trail
and it is still in great shape except for the icy corners. The ground has
frozen
so hard and I mean that it is REALLY ICY on corners so be careful if you are
coming up. If you are coming up friday when you get close to grayling tune your
radio to 101.1 or 100.3 to hear my new radio ad. Some friends from town here
were
going up to Paradise to ride today, sure wish I could have gone with them, I
am
anxious
to here about how the conditons are up there. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————
Wednesday afternoon 4:30 p.m.
Its been snowing all day and I would say we have another 6 inches on the
ground.
There are still alot of sleds out riding. One thing I forgot to put in this
mornings
update was about the girl that spent the night in the woods on monday night.
Somehow she lost her group up around deward road and cameron bridge after
midnight.
She didnt have clue where she was and got her sled stuck, her friends started
looking
for her and couldnt find her, by the time the police were called it was around
4:00 a.m.
and she was still never found till 8:00 a.m. by another lady from grayling
driving
to work. So everybody keep track of your riders and dont leave them stranded
out there
for a long winter walk.

Wednesday January 15, 2003 4:30 a.m.
Its a nice chilly 5 degrees outside this morning and so far overnight we
have had about another half inch of snow. The riding yesterday was just
great. We left the shop about 10:30 along with another couple
and headed out on the frederic trail
and then hit some two tracks towards waters. There is at least a 10 inches of
snow off the trails and we had a great time just blasting thru those. I was
the leader and got to have it flying in my face. After getting to waters
I wanted to head up towards Elmira and we made it a few miles out of waters
and my thunder chicken decided to have the jackshaft bearing die out on it. I
swear
I have to quit thinnking about how great that thing runs because everytime I do
something happens. We towed it back into waters and I hitched a ride back to
the
shop to get my truck and another sled. Cathy,Joel, & Nan waited for me at
the
Keg
in waters and that was a 45 minute delay but not to bad and we were off again.
As we turned into Lakes of the North the first thing that came to my mind was
the song from Aladdin (A Whole New World) because it was snowing so hard I
couldnt
hardly see and it just seemed like a whole new world. We followed the trail
thru
there and started heading toward the jordan valley trail. So far up to this
point
any of the trails we were on I would have rated at an 8. They werent bumpy,
had
plenty of
snow on them but were still a little icy in the corners. I really wanted to hit
the potato fields but we were almost to 131 and at the edge of a potatoe field
and it
was just snowing to hard for me to want to try taking us out there so we
turned
around
and headed back toward starvation lake. Along that trail I saw a two track and
took it
and it was at least 3 or 4 miles long of untouched knee deep powder. I lead
for
a while and
then Joel took over, that was really great. We stopped at the hide away for a
pit stop and
got gas at the startvation lake store aka Dickeys Trading Post. Thats the
first
time I have
been there in quite a while but Chuck has done a nice job of fixing that place
up and its
really neat to see so if you make it up that way stop and see it. We took the
trail from
starvation lake back toward frederic and that was in great shape too and at
Manistee River
Road Nan & Joel took the other trail back toward home. It was 5:30 already.
Cathy & I headed
back down cameron bridge road and came across a mangled F 5 sitting on a
corner. It looked
like they must have hauled it out of the woods and were coming back to get it
with a truck.
Whatever that person hit they hit hard. It pushed the left front susupension
back probaly
8 inches and broke thru both parts of the a arm on the left side and the
windshield and hood
was all broken up. He hadnt gone to far because the gas gauge was still on
full. We made it
back to the shop about 6. I was surprised at how many sleds were out
everywhere
we were at,
it seemed more like a friday than a tuesday. I think that seeing everything
was
off to such
a late start that people are trying to make up for lost time. And for as many
that were out
there the trails are in unbelieveable condition especially keeping in mind
that
just a week
ago on wednesday afternoon it was 52 degrees. As we were in the hide away the
weather station
was on and it showed snow for the next 7 days here so things are looking
pretty
darn good.
After we got back Cathy gave me a ride back up to waters to get my truck and
the thunder chicken
and after that I stayed at the shop to get see what I missed out on during the
day. I have
to say that as much as I would like to its getting impossible for me to answer
all the phone calls
and e mails that I am getting. I had 24 messgages on the answering machine and
about 12 of
them were people wondering how the snow conditions are and the same thing on
the e mails except
more than that, it would take me quite a while to answer all those so I have
to
just keep it on
this page. I try to do it all my self and this thing is getting pretty darn
big
and
I want to ride more…….. So thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————————-

Tuesday January 14, 2003 7:25 a.m.
Its about 10 degrees out this morning and only a skiff of new snow here
at the lake. It snowed nicely all day yesterday and I would say we had
about 2 new inches. For a total we have maybe 8 to 10 in grayling and
maybe 12 to 15 inches in frederic. The trails are still very icy in corners
and I will be able to tell you even better today because Cathy & I are
riding
all day today. I have had many e mails on the accidents from yesterday and I
do
read every one of them but sorry if I dont answer you, I would be on this thing
forever which it already seems like I am at times. I printed out 36 messages
last night regarding my mom which I am going to take to her so thanks alot for
those too. When we were up at the hospital while they were prepping her for
surgery
they had to ask her 3 times, her name, birthday and why she was there. Her
answer
for why she was there was “I’m here to get deflated” . So at least she has a
sense
of humor there too, that must be where I get it from so lets hope for more snow
and safer riding. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Monday 10:00 a.m.
The calls and e mails have started on the accidents from this week end.
Everything I have reported is what I watched on the news. Here is
another HOUGHTON LAKE WARNING from a reader at houghton lake

the sleds that went in from Thursday thru Saturday night were not at the
Muskegon river. I am telling you this because the open water now is in a
very odd place. Right off of Long point there is a stretch of water 1/2
mile long and about 100 yards wide. What is bad about this is that no one
has ever seen open water there. PLEASE correct your site and place a
warning on your updates regarding this. We have a cottage on the lake and I
saw the open water yesterday. Talked to one of the local fire fighters that
was called out on the rescue and he said it is bad. My fear is that with
Tip up Town the next two weekends the amount of people in danger is very
high. So please Warn anyone you see about this problem.
I also had a call from a man that was riding with his 3 kids ages 12 thru 17 in
fife lake. They were some of the first people on the scene where the man hit
a tree there. He said that he could see where the guy had locked up the brakes
and
probably flew off the tree and hit it with his body. He said that you just
knew that
the guy was gone right away, that when they got his helmet off that it was
full
of blood
and thats really all I am going to say but he was very graphic in his
descriptions. I will leave that
part out but I can tell you that he says all he keeps seeing is this dead mans
face in his mind and
also that his 3 kids witnessed this. His hopes is that this accident will be a
reminder to both his kids
and other people to ride safely. If you are a long time reader you know I have
got some things
started by being to graphic in my descriptions of accidents but the only
reason
I do it is to hopefully
keep other people from doing the same thing.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
Monday January 13, 2003 7:15 a.m.
The winter storm warning didnt do us a bit of good here in grayling overnight,
all we have is a skiff out there and its 10 degrees out. At times there can
be a night and day difference between grayling and frederic so when I get to
the store this morning if there is a bunch more there I will put another
update
on.
Unfortunatly the first 5 or 6 stories on the news last night were all
snowmobile
related. The story of the 2 men on long lake in traverse city got worse, they
have recovered 1 of the 2 men that drowned on their sleds but another 58 year
old man fell thru on his sled on the other end of the lake and drowned. That
mad 3 within 36 hours on that lake. A 41 year old man from grand rapids
was killed on his birthday in fife lake. A 47 year old man was killed riding
on the tittabawasee river when he hit a dock. A 17 year old was killed when
he hit a telephone pole in Shelby. 5 sledders went into the water on houghton
lake at the muskegon river but all got out o.k. If you have ever rode on
houghton
lake you should know about that river it never freezes there and there were 2
or 3 other
reports of serious injuries on snowmobiles. That was all on the 11 oclock
news.
Now this
morning they say that just before 11 last night 2 brothers went thru on
houghton
lake and drowned there, they said they searched till 1 a.m. and were resuming
the search
at 6 a.m. this morning. There were 3 sleds riding together and one made it all
the
way across and called 911 on his cell phone. They didnt say where that was at
but
I would almost bet it was at the muskegon river too. Its a sad day for many
snowmobilers
families and all snowmobilers in general. It sure makes our sport look bad. I
havent
ever wanted to say it but I just had this feeling this was coming because we
went
so long with out any snow……. Remember to RIDE SAFELY & Thanks for
checking
in. Pete
———————————————
Sunday night 10:00 p.m.
Well here we are at home just sitting watching t.v. and a WINTER STORM WARNING
just flashed across the bottom of the t.v. for our area and most of the way
north
in michigan so keep on chanting………mo mo nah chee chee nah…..

Sunday January 12, 2003 9:45 a.m.
Its a beautiful morning here in frederic wtih 16 degrees out there. The snow
is
still coming down and did all day yesterday. We rode home last night and back
this
morning. The ride was terrible, the snow was so deep off the trail that it kept
covering up my headlight and I had to keep cleaning it off. Both of the Ausable
Valley Snowmobile Assoc. groomers were out last night. The trails are still icy
in the corners and there are alot out there. Cathy and I had a great dinner at
the swamp last night. Bob has a new chef there that used to work at Marsh Ridge
and I gave him a 15 on the 1 to 10 scale on his blackend prime rib. I know
there
were a few people there that said to us that it didnt look like spam that we
were eating but it was a deal that I had done with Bob for some work I did for
him.
We werent splurging just because we finally have snow. After we left the swamp
we
were heading into grayling and Cathys sled died when we stopped to talk to the
groomer
driver (aka Kieth from Fayes Motel). We tried for 10 minutes to get it started
and
then figured out it was out of gas. So back to frederic to get my siphon tube,
heck
even my sled was almost out of gas. I know we filled up all the rental sleds
but I guess
I forgot about the 2 most important ones. So anyways we were off towards home
and passed
the other grayling groomer along m-93 by the blue barn about 12:30. At 8:30
this morning
there were 6 trucks and trailers at the parking lot on m-72 and about the same
amount
of trucks at the parking lot here in frederic. As soon as we pulled up to the
store here
about 15 sleds came riding in for goodies, so hopefully winter is here to
stay.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————
Saturday January 11, 9:15 a.m.
WOW!! I rode up here from home this morning and what a great way to short
14 mile ride it was. I took the lake to the start of the blue bear parking lot
by Terrys and then rode the grayling to frederic trail. The woods are pretty
with
snow hanging off the branches, I saw 3 deer and there wasnt much noise at all
from
ski slap thru the snow to the dirt. It is icy on the corners under the snow so
be
careful there. I passed 2 other sleds on the trail, they were heading toward
grayling,
I have to say I am darn surprised that it was as nice as it was coming up
here.
There
is still snow coming down and I cant see my thermometer outside because its
covered
with snow but I would guess it to be about 20 out there. If my rentals werent
all
already canceled for this weekend I would even let them go out. I think I will
have
to ride back home again tonight. Also thank you to all the people that sent
notes
regarding my mom. I still havent had a chance to read them all but I am going
to print
them all out and give them to her. She is supposed to get out today and go
home.
Thanks for checking in. Pete

Saturday January 11, 2003 4:45 a.m.
So far during the night we have only had maybe a half inch of new snow
and its about 10 degrees out right now. I was in town last night about 8
and saw only a few trucks with sleds coming thru town. As I pulled back in at
home 2 sleds came pulling up to my house and it was Richard & Linda Moshier
from the other side of the lake, they had rode down the lake to here and
speaking of lakes dont ride on one unless you are familiar, on the news
last night they were searching for 2 men that drowned in Long Lake
up by Traverse City. They know their sleds went in and they showed
a helmet floating in the water but they cant locate the bodies so be careful.
I will updated again this morning after I get to the store and see what all
the trail crossings look like in the daylight. I am thinking about even riding
a sled to frederic from home even though my boots are at the store. Thanks for
checking in. Pete
——————————-
Friday Evening Jan 10 5:46 p.m.
I just got back home after a long drive from kalamazoo, there were
quite a few white out spots on the road all the way to cadillac but not
alot of snow in any one place. I only passed 3 vehicles pulling sleds in
the 200 miles home. The snow was the best when I passed military road and
up to 4 mile road and then back to wet roads into town. There is about 5 inches
all around grayling but I would call it marginal conditions. The holiday inn
had 50 rooms booked by noon today is what they said but I only saw 2 trailers
there at 5. This is by far not great conditions but it is great compared to
what
we have had. There were a couple sleds over at the swamp also but none that
rode
into the store. Thats about it for now , thanks for checking in. Pete

Friday January 10, 2003 7:45 a.m.
WINTER IS BACK!!!! I just talked to Cathy on the phone and she went
outside and measured 2 inches of fresh snow on our front porch. Its
20 degrees out right now and the snow is still coming down in big flakes.
She said that even the people on the news are excited. I dont know how much
more is supposed to come but at least its a start. The snow has moisture in
it so its not just a fluffy blow away snow. Lets keep it coming….everything
is
white here in Kalalamazoo too but it only looks like about an inch outside
here
even though they were calling for 4 to 7 inches overnight. Everything so far
seems to have gone well for my mom, they had her in recovery till about 8 last
night and she was pretty out of it for the night so I am heading up there in a
bit. The doctor says it will be at least 48 hours till the pathology report
comes
in on what they removed to see what happens next. The procedure they did
was called a modifed radical masectomy. I felt the lump in her before hand and
it
was about the size of a big marble so ladies check yourself out, even though
everybody
hears about this you dont really pay much attention to it till a time like
this.
I hope the snow keeps coming down so we can get back to riding sleds and
winter.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————–
Thursday January 9, 2003 8:15 a.m.
Coming at you from cloudy Kalamazoo this morning. I am here at my brothers
house. No snow here either but I just talked to Cathy and she said we had
a skiff of snow overnight but that it is 36 degrees out right now. When I
came home from frederic yesterday afternoon at 4 p.m. it was 52 degrees
on the temp sign up by the blue barn, unbelievable for january 8. The
weatherman
is still calling for northern michigan to be covered substanially starting
tonight
and thru the weekend. As I have said before I will believe that when I see it.
Even though I am gone right now if anything happens Cathy will let me know
right
away and I will get it posted on here. The store is open in case anybody makes
it
up. I am here in Kzoo because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and she
is
scheduled for surgery this afternoon. My brothers and sister are here and we
are
going to see her thru this. I know I feel pretty scared about this so I can
imagine
how my mom must feel, so any prayers for my mom would be appreciated.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————-
Wednesday January 8, 2003 7:00 a.m.
Hey buddy can you spare a quarter for a set of carbides? I think this is
a good time to point out my cyber panhandler located about an inch above
this update, just click on it to throw some money in my cup thru amazon.com
because this weather sure isnt cooperating here. A big thank you to those
that have donated so far. Its about 30 degrees out
this morning and of course not a drop of new snow again, but if the weatherman
(who hasnt helped at all this year) is right most of northern michigan should
covered with alot of snow by friday. At least there is a prediction for some
snow. Shoot right now 3 inches would seem great. A friend in Pennsylvania e
mailed me a picture he took off his back porch and he says they are 40 inches
above normal for this time of year, I would love to see snow like that here.
This coming weekend at Skyline Ski & Country Club just south of grayling
they
are having a Fun Run for Charity to benefit WERTZ WARRIORS for special
olympics.
It is going to happen snow or no snow and they have lunch and a bon fire going.
If there is no snow it would be a great place to spend the afternoon and if
there
is snow it would be a great place to ride to for lunch. You can call Skyline at
989-275-5445 or copy and paste this link for more info
http://avsa4snow.server101.com/webpage/rosco_fun_run.htm
Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————-

Tuesday January 7, 2003 7:30 a.m.
22 degrees out and no new snow overnight. It stayed pretty cold yesterday
so most of the big half inch dumping that we got stayed. The weather says
40’s for tommorow but then its supposed to turn cold thursday and the
snow is supposed to start with the weatherman claiming a fair amount of
snow by the weekend. (PLEASE) I will believe it when I see it. I forgot
to say that on sunday I went for a ride on the lake and visited some friends
out fishing. There was a little dust on the ice, just enough to lube the slides
and I made a nice 3 and half mile loop out there but first I had to ride thru
leaves to get down to the lake. It was fun for my first ride of the year.
Ice fishing is the big thing this year because there sure isnt anything else
going on and the ice is thick too, 8 to 10 inches. There were alot of cars
and trucks out there but I sure wouldnt do that. I did try my hand at fishing
for a bit but no luck. Also even though there hasnt been any snow to speak of
3 people died on their sleds thru the end of december. Two of them in the u.p.
and one in grand traverse county. All 3 were males and all 3 died from a
collision
with a fixed object. The first death was on Dec 7, then Dec 27, & Dec 30.
It makes me wonder what will happen when we do get snow, it
will be a zoo out there so everybody keep these 3 guys in mind and ride safely.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————–
Monday January 6,2003 8:00 a.m.
It sure is nice to wake up and see it all white outside. There is about
a little less than a half inch of nice new snow that fell overnight. Well
that isnt to much to get excited about it is a start. The temp is 22 right now
and there are light flakes in the air. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————-
Sunday January 5, 2003 10:30 a.m.
There was a prediction for 2 inches of snow here overnight but of course
not a flake fell. Its about 25 out right now and cloudy. Still just
waiting it out………….
Below is an e mail that I just got in from Diane at the Fox River Motel in
Seney, That seems to be the only place with a hope of riding. I think Cathy
& I are going to go and try it on tuesday……….
KEEP IN MIND THIS TRAIL REPORT IS SENEY AND NOT FREDERIC
The trails out of town are a in pretty poor shape. The very little snow that
we had has been used, abused and reused over the week-end. Most
people are still riding out. Probably because it isn’t much better
going into any town. County road 450 still has decent snow to ride and
can be used to get out of town, but like the trailheads, can be icy in
spots from the cold weather and no fresh snow. Once you get north of
town about 7 miles the conditions get pretty good. A few miles more and
the trails are in good shape. There is still plenty of good riding in
the snow belt on the trails and the 2 tracks. We had people here this
past week-end from as far away as Iowa and Wisconsin. Everyone went
home satisfied and said the riding was better than they had expected.
We continue to groom north and pray the winter storm scheduled to hit
late this week will not pass us by. You can reach Diane or Don@ Fox River Motel
@ 906-499-3332.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————–
Saturday January 4, 2003 10:00 a.m.
Its about 22 degrees here in the ex snowmobile capital of michigan. There was
a slight dusting overnight but no real snow. The weather last night did call
for an arctic blast coming toward the end of next week so time will tell….
Downtown grayling at 9 this morning looked like a early sunday morning, nobody
around at all, pretty desolate. I did call Michigan Snowmobile Association
yesterday and talked to Bill about that inurance issue in the u.p. and he was
aware of it. He told me for the most part trails are maintained by local clubs
and
trail liability insurance for clubs runs from $1700. to $2200. per year but
the
way
that Paradise is set up its thru the chamber of commerece and that a policy
for
the
chamber is $12,000. He said that there were 2 companies offering that type of
insurance
and now there is one. If cities that are set up with the chamber running the
trails
would switch to a seperate entity like a club doing the trails they would get
around
that high cost. It seems like it shouldnt be as big a deal as the news made it
sound.
Here is another taste of widsom & thoughts from a 3 year old. This morning
when
Haley got up I went into her room and the first thing she said to me was “Do
E.T. have boobies.” She is on this kick right now about learning all about
animals and what they eat and do and we had watched that movie a while ago.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————
Friday January 3, 2003 7:30 a.m.
Its hard to believe but there is a fine white dusting of snow outside this
morning.
I am sure I will start hearing from everybody downstate today about how much
they
have, PLEASE send it up north. Its about 25 out right now. On the news last
night was
a piece featuring downtown Paradise and the possible loss of the trails there
due to
the high and sudden rise of trail liability insurance. They said that there
are
as many
as 15 other cities besides Paradise in the same situation. Paradise has a
$12,000 dollar
insurance bill due and they are having a rough time coming up with the money
and are looking
for the state to help out. If you ask me that should be able to come out of
trail permit
money. I am going to call the Michigan Snowmobile Association this morning and
see what
they know about the situation. There still isnt any snow to speak of in our
forcast.
Yesterday I had a record day at the store, my total sales for the day were
$1.00,
Spam line here I come. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————
Thursday January 2, 2003 7:45 a.m.
Trails are clear and very dry this morning, great morning for a walk or
hike on them. Its 18 degrees out and the weather report just said chance for
a inch or 2 on late saturday and sunday.. weeeeeeee, this is great……
Still Waiting……Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————
Wednesday January 1, 2003 10:00 a.m.
HAPPY UNSNOWY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!!
Well here I sit in downtown frederic wondering what the heck I am doing here.
It was sunny on the way up here and its 20 degrees out right now. Things look
the same and yesterday as I was driving into town it was nice and sunny out and
it looked like a late october day out. I decided to try bowhunting again
yesterday
and as I sat up in my tree I could hear somebody having fun out on the lake.
It
was the same sled for about 3 hours just running up and down so at least
somebody
was getting in some riding. We went to a new years party down on the lake and
if
anybody was lucky enough to see the awesome fireworks display over lake
margrethe between
11 and midnight last night we were right there. We had a nice fire down on the
ice while
watching the fireworks. Still no sign of snow hitting us so thanks for
checking
in.
Pete
——————————————–
Tuesday December 31, 2002 1:00 p.m.
I recieved an e mail from Chris Beal regarding the zenwaiter web site, that
as you check his trail conditions there is a picture there that isnt for young
kids so please moniter that. I didnt know it was there either…..Thanks Pete
Tuesday December 31, 2002 8:00 a.m.
Another dreary morning out, it rained all day yesterday and into the evening
pretty steady and its about 28 degrees out right now. I see that our friend
from canada zenwaiter did a posting on the club page about the snow up there in
ST.Zenon, I wish I could load up and go see him. You can check out his page at
zenwaiter.com he has excellent pictures and a super nice site, just to see
where some snow is and if anybody does go please let me know…… I put up 2
signs
yesterday both that say GOT SNOW?? WE WISH hopefully just to keep people
cheered
up, the other one I want to do but didnt is HELL NO WE’VE GOT NO SNOW!!
so the wait continues, Be Safe and Happy New Year to you. Sure would nice
to bring in the New Year out riding. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————
Monday December 30, 2002 9:45 a.m.
Its a really cloudy,misty,rainy, almost icy morning at about 32 degrees
out. The weather said we might get an inch of snow tonight,,,So the wait
continues. There were alot of people that stopped by the store here yesterday
on their way back from the u.p. mostly from Paradise, Grand Marais, Strongs,
area. Reports were mixed from good riding to terrible to just glad to be out
getting any riding in. Next comes just something to pass your time, this is
in response to a groomer being seen here in frederic last week…

I know that you’re not a groomer driver, but I think that you will answer
correctly.
You drive groomer and are called to action shortly after the area has
received a huge
dumping of say 4 inches of dry Lake Effect Snow.
Upon receiving the phone call you stand in bewilderment for a few seconds
before
reluctantly agreeing to go forth to fulfill your sworn duty to make the
trails
safe,
flat, and dirt free if possible.
You’re thinking to yourself is there really enough snow out there to groom?
You venture out to accomplish your assignment and you look behind you only
to discover
that you are churning up truck loads of dirt and leaves and the occassional
fossil due to
the fact that you’re attempting to groom and/or pan powdery moisture free LES
and darned
little of it at that.
Hang on here comes the tricky part, and I want you to think this through
before you
answer.
You:
A. Call the money hungry individual who sent you out on this folly and tell
the blind
person that you’re doing more harm than good and that you’re pulling and
headed back to
the barn or.
B. You continue to ruin what little bit of trail is there for the sake of
grooming for
dollars?
Take your time I know the correct answer will come to you.

and next a letter I recieved with differnt uses for Spam during what is termed
as
the current Spam Slam. I believe it was written by
a local motel owner with to much time on his hands because he doesnt have to
clean rooms
right now……………
Bubba talking to Forrest Gump about Spam:
You’ve got:
Pineapple Spam, Spam on a stick, BBQ Spam, Spam Steaks(molds required), Spam
and eggs,
Spam Surprise, Spam Delight, Spam Caserole, Cajun Spam, Spam Meatballs,
Italian Spam,
Pickled Spam, Spam Meatloaf, Spam Meatloaf with cheese and potatoes, Spam and
Pasta,
Spam Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese with Spam, Spam Goulash, Spam Soup, Cold Spam
Sandwiches,
Hot Spam Sandwiches, Spam Hot Dish( a favorite in Minnesota ),
Spam Duck al arange(mold required), and the list goes on.

As I said before the wait continues and I am going to sit down for my
favorite spamaroni & cheese. Thanks for checking in and keep chanting.
MO MO NAH CHEE NAH……..MO MO NAH CHEE NAH…….. Pete
————————————-

Sunday December 29, 2002 10:15 a.m.
The snow continues to melt its way back into the ground, which I really
dont like to say. Its about 30 degrees out right now. There were still
some sleds out riding and I counted 15 over at the swamp yesterday at one
time, but you sure wouldnt catch me with any of my sleds out there. The forcast
still isnt showing much hope for this week. Boy I sound like Doctor Gloom, but
on the bright side snow has to be closer to coming by now. A big thanks goes
out
to the Mienkes from Morenci who brought me in this great Spam Calander.
The front cover says Spam the Miracle Meat, she said when she saw it she knew
I
had
to have it. So thats really about it for today, nothing new and nothing has
changed
but it has been great weather for the people ice fishing but thats not what I
want
to do. It looks like this afternoon I will try my luck again with my bow in
the
woods.
There are only a few days left of bow season. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————
Saturday December 28, 2002 9:11 a.m.
Its 32 degrees and hazey here in frederic this morning, the roads were
dry all the way here from home and I took a motel survey on the way here
and counted 9 trailers with sleds on them at the local motels. Last night as
I went home almost every gas station in town had people with sleds and trailers
getting gas and I stopped and talked to some and they were all heading for the
u.p., I should load up my big trailer with belts,carbides and plugs and head
up
there myself. I kind of had to laugh this morning because the front page of
the
USA Today has a article about the book called Who Moved My Cheese and if any of
you have ever read it thats excactly what has happened to me and every other
business
around here, our cheese (snow) has been moved to the u.p. so somehow you have
to find
new cheese. Its is a great little book and even though it is simple it is
a great lesson on life. Still hoping for snow……Thanks for checking in.
Pete
——————————-
Friday December 27, 2002 8:00 a.m.
It still STINKS!!!!!! Nothing new, when I came home yesterday it
was 43 degrees, its 18 out right now. I had alot of phone calls yesterday
about conditions and where the snow is, the only snow I know of is around
paradise and north of seney in the u.p. One guy called me from indianapolis
and said they had 9 inches down there and I even heard from a guy in Kentucky
that said they had an inch. I hate to say it but I am starting to lose faith
in the snow chant. Just as a reminder to everybody that in the summer time
I do screenprinting & embroidery (it looks like I have to in
the winter too) on jackets, shirts and hats for businesses
and corporations along with signs and lettering for vehicles so if anybody
needs
anything like that please call me. I can send you out a catalog with all the
types of clothing that I can put your logo on. Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————-
Thursday December 26, 2002 6:15 a.m.
Its about 25 degrees out and of course still not a sign of any more
snow. The emails keep coming to me about how much snow everybody else
has had, it looks like downstate needs to get more trails in because this
makes 2 years in a row that there has been alot of snow down there. One thing
you can be sure of is I will be on here the second we start getting any kind
of new snow. Now this is starting to hurt, I had all my rental sleds scheduled
to go out starting today thru the weekend and they will all be sitting there
not
even bringing in enough for a good sardine & spam sandwich. There are no
sled
stories to tell but here is a cute story, this morning at 4:30 Haley is
hollering
from her bedroom, so I go in there and she said she wants to come sleep with
us.
I carry her into our room and Cathy asks her why she is up so early, her
answer
was “so I can sleep in the big bed with you and dad.” It sounded like good
reasoning to me. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————
Christmas night 8:30 p.m.
We just got back from my brother in laws, and I have had 3 e mails today
regarding snow everywhere but grayling and frederic, battle creek and kalamazoo
with 12 inches, walled lake 3 inches, ohio 5 inches , thumb area 5 inches and
still its 30 degrees here right now and not a drop in a couple days. Come
on Santa please help us out…….
Pete

Wednesday Christmas Morning 8:20 a.m.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody, The girls have been awake since 5:30 and
of course they were all excited because Santa had come during the night.
We have been having a good time opening gifts, now we just need to clean up
a big mess, anyways its about 27 degrees out and its dead still and quiet
out there. No snow or anything overnight and they still arent calling for
anything weatherwise to develop in the near future. I still cant believe that
groomer out there running yesteday. So Merry Christmas again and maybe Santa
will still bring us all an unexpected snow storm.Thanks for checking in.
Pete,Cathy,Melissa & Haley
——————————————–
Tuesday December 24, 2002 2:00 P.M.
Believe it or not the groomer was here in Frederic about an hour ago.
A friend called me earlier and told me he saw the groomer heading this
way by Otsego Lake. It finally showed up here and was parked at the swamp
so I called over there and asked to talk to the groomer driver, I asked him
what the heck he was grooming because there sure isnt enough snow. He said they
were packing the trail and that was how they get their funding. If you ask me
I think they were doing more harm than good.

Tuesday December 24, 2002 7:30 a.m.
Its 18 degrees out and I just woke up to the sound of the road graders
scraping our road outside, the roads were white but I didnt think they
needed scraping. There was snow on and off yesterday and about 4 I decided
it was time for a little tree stand sitting with my bow. I sat there till 6:15
last night and it was snowing so hard the whole time I was up there, it was
really pretty watching the snowflakes swirl around and the way they were piling
up on my arrow you could see all the little shapes, I had about an inch of snow
all over my jacket and pants by the time I got down, I was definetly
camoflauged
in white but only saw a few deer off in the distance. Of course it quit
snowing
about
the time I came home and we havent gotten anymore new snow overnight. There
were
a few sleds out riding in frederic and I saw some over at the swamp too. All
total there is about maybe 3 inches in the past few days and my prediction for
riding the day after christmas is that there probably be sleds out riding but
I still say the conditions are poor. I am not letting my sleds go out yet.
On another bright note, Kieth from Fayes Motel brought me in a nice christmas
gift yesterday, not only did he find it in his heart the generosity to bring
me in a gift wrapped can of Spam but he thru in a can of Sardines to boot.
I wonder if those sardines will work in my porterhouse Spam mold. You know he
has
to be a generous guy because the Motel business probably has been as good
as the snowmobile business. So if you need a motel to stay at call Kieth
at 989-348-7031 and then maybe he can have more funds to send me a Spam &
Sardine
sandwich. Merry Christmas to all and thanks for checking in.
Pete,Cathy,Melissa & Haley.
———————————————–
Monday December 23, 2002 9:30 a.m.
I know everybody is getting twitchy throttle thumbs just wondering what
is going on up here in the great unwhite north. There is snow in the air
right now and its 22 degrees and still windy but there has been no accumulation
to speak of, we had maybe about a quarter inch. I am still hoping that Santa
brings us all a nice big Chritmas present. As of right now it doesnt look like
I am going to let rentals go out yet this week and that dissapoints the people
that have reservations and also my banker,,so keep up the snow chants……..
Thanks for checking in……………
Pete
—————————–
Sunday December 22, 2002 10:15 a.m.
Its a dark cloudy windy morning here in Frederic, its about 24 degrees
out and the wind has been howling here for about 24 hours. No new snow
to speak of and I just checked the ten day forcast, while it looks like
its staying below freezing they really arent calling for much snow. Scattered
showers thruout the week. I had some guys call yesterday that were up in
Paradise
and they had been riding but said it was not good and they wanted to know if
they
could come to frederic to ride, I told them if they were getting any riding at
all
to stay in Paradise because even if it was bad it was better than here.
Still hoping……….Pete
——————————-
Saturday December 21, 2002 9:45 a.m.
Its 22 degrees with a little snow in the air here in frederic this
morning. Two local kids just rode a sled here from there house but there
is only about an inch or inch and a half of snow out there. The ice on
the lake still held out thru the warm spell and I saw some fisherman way
out there in the middle. There isnt much else to report on the snow and
trails. Last night Cathy and I went to a Christmas Party at the Blue Barn
better known as Margaretheville. The place has just sold and there is a new
owner in there who is a former local resident. Greg Laudenslager and his wife
Cathy and their son Tyler are the new owners. They have already made some
positive changes there and they are offering food all the time till closing.
That place had really slid downhill the past few years so I wish them the
best in bringing the place back to life.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————
Friday December 20, 2002 7:00 a.m.
Wow, we must have had 10 inches of great snow overnight!!!
I only wish that was true but it probably at least got your
heart rate up a little, yesterday I had a call from Ohio Mike
and he was crying because there was no snow so I just had to do that.
It is about 26 degrees out this morning and we did get just a little
skiff of snow overnight. The weatherman is calling for a few inches by
sunday, the outlook is still shakie for just after christmas. It was
all the way up to a true 50 degrees yesterday just like a nice spring
day. So keep your carbides crossed and keep up the snow chants. Thanks
for checking in. Pete
————————————-
Thursday December 19,2002 7:11 a.m.
It finally happened, during this whole warm spell it has stayed cold
enough to keep the ground frozen and keep the snow on the ground, but since
yesterday with a day full of rain and the fact that it has stayed well over
40 overnight there is no snow left on the ground. Its supposed to be warm
all day again today. From what I hear talking to the guys that have been
fishing
on the lake there is or was still 8 inches of ice on the lake and they say its
the best ice there has been in a few years. It was so slippery yesterday
morning
it was unreal, what an ice storm that was. Keep up the snow chants……
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————–
Wednesday December 18, 2002 7:15 a.m.
Its a giant ice skating rink outside this morning, schools all over northern
michigan are closed, it rained and froze during the night. Its about 30
degrees out right now, I just finished watching the forcast and they are
calling for 40’s today and tommorow but maybe chance of snow starting
friday night with a couple inches on saturday, I will believe that when I
see it. One week till Christmas and if its like the past few years we will
get it just in time for everybodys trip north on Dec. 26. Thanks for checking
in.
Pete
———————————–
Tuesday December 17, 2002 6:50 a.m.
Its about 20 degrees out and nothing new or no snow has come since yesterday,
still just patiently waiting. At least its staying cold at night and keeping
the ground hard so when it does snow it will build up faster.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————-
Monday morning December 16, 2002 7:45 a.m.
Its about 15 degrees out this morning and we had a skiff of snowfall
overnight, not anything to get excited about. I have heard from one person
that was at the snow cross race and he said that it wasnt a very good set up
for spectators, but at least they did have the race. Keep up the snow chants.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————–
Sunday morning December 15, 2002 10:00 a.m.
Its a cloudy misty morning here in frederic and its about 35 degrees out.
The snow cross race is supposed to be going on up in gaylord today at treetrops
but I havent heard any advertising for it, but I called up there and they said
it
is still going on. As I looked down the trail crossing south of frederic this
morning I am surprised to still see some white on it but with still more warm
days to come that probably wont last . Last night we took the girls down to
saginaw
to see Disney on Ice, the show was on The Jungle Book, Tarzan and the Lion
King.
It was a nice
little
get away and it really lit up Haleys eyes. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————————
Saturday December 14, 2002 9:15 a.m.
Its a cloudy 32 degrees here in frederic this morning. The forcast for
next week is still calling for warm weather so it looks like we just have
to wait it out. A new building has been going up in frederic and it
belongs to the Frederic Fire Department, it is kitty corner from the fire
station and it is going to house their snowmobile rescue and ambulance
equipment.
If you stand in front of sledheads and look out to the left you can see its
big red roof. Thanks for checking in. Pete
—————————-
Friday Dec, 13, 2002 11:15 a.m.
Its still misty, foggy, and 36 degrees out. A couple of things of interest
in the area, The AVSA (ausable valley snowmobile association) has posted
markers
on the 70 miles of trails that they maintain around grayling and frederic.
There
are markers with numbers on them posted at least every mile thruout the system
so
if you need emergency help when you dial 911 and give them the marker number
they know where you are so help can arrive faster. Each marker has been plotted
by GPS cooridinates and I think its a great assest to our trail system. Also
the trail has been completed and is ready to ride (as soon as we get snow) from
downtown grayling heading south to connect you to the trail that runs south
from
the holiday inn. In the past you would have to ride all the way out toward the
lake
to get back to the holiday inn. This small 1 mile connecter has been a long
time coming
and a big hand should go out to all the people that made it happen. The trail
follows
along the railroad south to the corner of the Grayling Country club where it
turns
and goes along the country club fence line behind Big Boy, Glens, and chemical
bank
where it takes you back out to the business loop and in front of Pattis Town
House,
Days Inn and then Holiday Inn where you get on the main trail south.
Thanks for checking in. Pete

Friday Dec 13, 2002 1:30 a.m.
I fell asleep to early and am already restless and awake so I have been
scanning the internet and found this interesting topic on SPAM, so here
is a little reading and a link to the rest of the comments……
Blue can of steel What promise do you hold? Salt flesh so ripe
Can of metal, slick Soft center, so cool, moistening I yearn for your salt
Twist, pull the sharp lid Jerks and cuts me deeply but Spam, aah, my poultice
Silent, former pig One communal awareness Myriad pink bricks
Clad in metal, proud No mere salt-curing for you You are not bacon
And who dares mock Spam? You? you? you are not worthy Of one rich pink fleck
Like some spongy rock A granite, my piece of Spam In sunlight on my plate
Little slab of meat In a wash of clear jelly Now I heat the pan
Oh tin of pink meat I ponder what you may be: Snout or ear or feet?
In the cool morning I fry up a slab of Spam A dog barks next door
Pink tender morsel Glistening with salty gel What the hell is it?
Ears, snouts and innards A homogenous mass Pass another slice
Old man seeks doctor “I eat Spam daily”, he says. Angioplasty
Highly unnatural The tortured shape of this “food” A small pink coffin
Pink beefy temptress I can no longer remain Vegetarian
and here is a link if you want to read the rest of the comments

http://www.bowsite.com/stickbow/tf/thread.cfm?
threadid=80638&messages=34&forum=2
3

You sure can tell when somebody is bored. The weather still isnt cooperating
and
it is about 33 degrees out right now. I am still hoping to get up early
again later on this morning and go bowhunting. I might as well do that cause
sledding is out of the question. Yesterday afternoon a guy stopped in on his
way home from Grand Marais and said they had great riding up there the past
few days but he said they were starting to lose their snow too. I saw he put
a post on the club site about his ride, sure makes you wish I could have been
there too. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————-
Thursday December 12, 2002 9:45 a.m.
Coming at you this morning from sunny Rockford,Michigan. I came down here
yesterday to my short friend Denny Bergers house for our annual Christmas
shopping trip with the guys. We went to the Woodland Mall and Toys R Us
on 28th street last night and finished up with dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and
Karaoke, pool, & shuffleboard at the Rouge River Tavern in Rockford. There
were
8 of us altogether and its always a fun tradition. I just rolled out of bed at
9 and woke up with a
a nice friendly golden lab nuzzling me and a little rat dog that looks
like ToTo sleeping at my feet. I know it got up into the 40’s at home
yesterday and is supposed to do it again today so I am pretty darn sure
that conditions have not improved. I am heading home shortly so thanks for
checking in. Pete
——————————————————–
Wednesday December 11, 2002 7:00 a.m.
It 15 degrees this morning and that I am happy about but it made it
up to 41 yesterday and is supposed to do it again today and tommorow.
The snow didnt melt as fast as I thought it would I guess probably because
the ground is frozen so hard already. I did hear the weatherman say last
night that the cold is heading back our way again in the next 7 to 10 days.
So keep those sleds shined up and the snow chant up. Thanks for checking in.
MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH…….Pete
————————————–
Tuesday December 10,2002 10:15 a.m.
Its 30 degrees and sunny in downtown frederic. I am afraid we are on our
downhill slide for the snow. We have lost quite a bit already. I was out to
my treestand this morning and the snow in the woods has gone down quite a bit.
Its supposed to be warm the rest of the week, I am not quite ready to start
buying
spam yet but it might be coming. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————-
Monday December 9, 2002 7:30 a.m.
Its 11 degrees out and there was only a skiff of snow overnight. The bad
part is the weatherman said that this coming week on tuesday thru friday
we are looking at mid 30’s to almost 40’s so we will have to see what happens.
There is almost 5 inches of ice out on the lake already according to the
fisherman
that I have talked to but it wont take much to make us lose the snow we have.
We just
have to wait and see, I just looked back at last years update and see that we
had just
recieved a little snow overnight so we are still ahead of last year. Thanks
for
checking
in. Pete
————————–
Sunday December 8, 2002 11:00 a.m.
Its a nice chilly 18 degrees here in downtown frederic. About a inch
and a half new snow fell overnight and as we drove into frederic I counted
20 machines all leaving the gas station at the same time and heading north.
I still say conditions are marginal but about the same as last year. Everybody
says the snow is better toward starvation lake. I looked at the trail crossings
as we drove up here this morning and they were white on the sides with dark
strip
down the middle. Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————
Saturday December 7, 2002 7:11 a.m.
Its 30 degrees out here at the lake but I dont like the fact that the
weather for frederic says 34 degrees right now and it just feels to warm
outside
but on the good side it is really windy. The weatherman said its supposed to be
cold with a little snow. A big CONGRATULATIONS go out to Rich & Jodi Sajdak
of
grayling. They were picked out of more than 1000 couples by Polaris to be in
the video and photo shoot for the 2004 machines. They get a all expense paid
trip to Idaho from Grayling and get to stay up in the big snow country and try
out all the machines. I always said Rich looked like a poster boy and along
with his poster girl wife they will look good in those photos. That groomer
from last night still bugs me , I sure cant imagine what he was doing in
frederic.
Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————–
Friday Dec 6 2002 5:00 p.m.
GROOMER SIGHTING, well I can hardly believe I just saw a groomer but there
it was sitting over at the swamp. The only thing is I am not sure whos it was
, I think it was a DNR one because it was a john deere tractor and I havent
seen
that one before, i sure dont know what they are grooming. There hasnt been any
snow
today and it has been really slow in the store all day, there are sleds out
riding but
it looks like my prediction for a busy weekend might have been wrong. Also Bob
from the Swamp asked me to announce that they are now serving breakfast 7 days
a week thru the winter. Monday thru Sat from 8 to noon and on Sunday from 9:30
to 1.
Thanks for checking in. Pete

Friday Dec 6, 2002 8:00 a.m.
Its 20 degrees out here this morning. There was a light snowfall all
day yesterday and last night I went to town about 10 last night and it
felt like it was to warm out for the snow. There wasnt any new snow overnight.
I am still predicting that there will be a lot of sleds here riding this
weekend.
I am not ready to let rental sleds go out. I did have somebody tell me that it
looked
like the groomer had run out on the far end of the blue bear trail. If anything
comes up important I will let you know. Thanks for checking in. Pete
———————————————-

Thursday Dec 5, 2002
Here is another one of these mornings where I am not sleeping, and just
checking out the internet, I found something interesting and thru it on
this page, you will see the link above this update, I thought I would try
it and see how it works, I cant believe I almost feel bad putting it there but
hey it never hurts to try, so before I ramble on to long, its about 4:00 a.m
and there has only been a skiff of snow so far tonight, I think we actually
lost
a little snow yesterday during the day but of course that didnt stop the sleds
from riding. Its 20 out right now and I see a little snow in the air too.
To my knowledge no groomers have run in our area, there just isnt enough out
there yet. If anything else comes up today I will put another update on. If
you look back to last years updates you will see that there wasnt even a hint
of
snow, so what we have today is great.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
——————————————–
Wednesday Dec 4, 2002 7:11 a.m.
Just a skiff of new snow since yesterday, for a while towards dark
last night the snow was coming down pretty good but it didnt last long.
I would say we are up to about 7 inches total now. Its alot warmer this
morning at 18 degrees. I have had alot of phone calls and e mails from
people wondering if there is enough snow to ride. My answer to that is
that there have been alot of people out riding but it really isnt
good enough yet. What snow was on the trails is down to nothing and
north of otsego lake the trail is mostly dirt. If you were off the trails
and in the woods or fields I think you would be o.k. It would at least
be fun. Even with the marginal conditions I’ll bet it will be a busy weekend
because everybody is chomping at the bit to ride. On the bright side I am
going to stock up on carbides and slides so maybe I can make a little money.
The weather is calling for just a few snow flurries the next few days.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
————————————————
Tuesday Dec 3, 2002 7:00 a.m
Not a drop of new snow over night but just like last year the temp is
staying nice and cold. I could feel the cold outside even though I was
in bed. Its about 1 below out right now here at home so that means the areas
further
away from the lake are usually way colder than here. If you remember last
year we didnt seem to get alot of snow but there was alot of cold which let
us keep what little we did get. Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Monday Dec 2, 2002 7:00 a.m.
Its a nice chilly 4 degrees this morning. I just went out and measured
the snow on the picnic table and there is 5 and 3/4 inches on it.
There were quite a few sleds buzzing around frederic yesterday and as
I looked outside I thought that it didnt look any worse than last winter
when conditions were pretty rough all winter. Melissa and I took turns
riding a sled around the lot and that was fun. After we closed yesterday
we drove up to gaylord and the trail looked pretty good up to mancelona
road but then north of that it started looking pretty dirty with alot
of leaves in it. We went and saw the Harry Potter movie and it was about
10:30 when we were heading back and between gaylord and frederic we only
saw 1 sled on the trail. The weather forcast last night isnt calling
for very much snow for the rest of the week, so the best that can happen
is that it stays nice and cold. Early in the day Ted from Bear Lake Twp.
fire department was in and said that he helped pull a new Arctic Cat out
of Cub Lake yesterday morning. It went down in about 4 feet of water and
he e mailed me pictures of it. I will have them up on the board.
STAY OFF THE LAKES AND WATER…… There was a 20 car pile up on I 75 yesterday
up by Indian River and the highway was closed for 3 hours.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Sunday Morning Dec 1,2002 8:25 a.m. 22 degrees
The Trails are oficially open today!!, and there is even a little snow.
Overnight we only had a little more and in looking at my picnic table
I would say that there is a total of about 3 inches on it. I would guess
there are gonna be more sleds out today than yesterday but we still need
alot more snow to get our base going. That friday thaw of 45 degrees
hurt us a little bit because the ground had already began to get pretty
hard. Cathy & I went out to see the new James Bond movie last night, that
was pretty good and there are 6 or 8 new ski doo revs in it and my favorite
part was when the one was plastered up against the wall. The snowmobile scenes
were pretty short. After the show we went up to the Holiday Inn and there were
5 sleds parked out front. I talked to the guys that were riding and they said
the groomer must have run because they came in m-72 and it was pretty good.
(I think that was supposed to be a joke on their part). I also talked to some
other people that said there were sleds in Frederic at the B.P. and the Swamp
last night. I am heading up to the store here shortly and will be open most of
the day.
Thanks for checking in. Pete

December 02 – August 03

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