Rays Retreat Ramblings

Wii Game

Not too much happening in my world. The three of us (Ann, Gizzy and myself) did finally get out this after noon and take a nice walk. We walked along the trail............its looking good. I know Ann was a bit grumpy today, and from the grumbling its because she didn't get out on the trail at all this week.

Although I don't mind them having to stick around here. It makes my day much more interesting with the two of them around. .. although since Ann's birthday they have been spending more time out in the dining room playing with her new game. The Wii. Don't know why they like it. I find it very frustrating.... I can see them throw 'the ball' , I can hear the ball hit... but I can't see THE BALL... I run, jump and starting throwing a fit and then they put me back in the office to watch the front desk.
GRRRRRRRRRRRr

Took this pic the other day. Yeah, right.............isn't she cute?................Sparky T. Ray

Raft the Jordan River for some Winter Fun

Neighbor/friend Sue enjoyed a winter river rafting trip down the Jordan River on Feb 13. 

Another fun thing to do in winter in Northern Michigan.

Sue's comments:

Hi Ann,

 

  I know you won't be on the email thing much this weekend.  But here's some pictures from today's river trip.  It was fantastic. And not cold at all.  In fact I didn't even keep my gloves on most of the trip.  There's paddling involved so you keep warm, plus looking at all the beautiful scenery and the solitude is awesome.  We stopped for a bit along the riverbank and had some hot cocoa and cookies.  I want to do it again.  You can share these with your family and even on you blog if you want.

 

Censored.............Chicken Wings

Presentation is the key item................

How to serve chicken wings to a man...

Don't Wish Winter Away

Top Ten Reasons NOT to Wish Winter Away

10. No crowds at the beach.

9. Ice cream won’t melt on the way home from the store.

8. You don’t have to mow the grass or weed the garden (in most places anyway).

7. Winter comfort food - soups, chili, hot chocolate, homemade breads. . .

6. Fires in your fireplace. There is something magical about watching a fire (don’t forget the marshmallows).

5. Cold weather is a good excuse to do nothing, without the guilt. Stay inside and catch up on good books, movies, or crafts. Especially good when temperatures really dip, and snow starts to fall.

4. Winter sports - winter is the only time you can go skiing, snowboarding, sled riding, ice skating, and more.

3. No humidity in the air (good for hair and for exercising).

2. No biting bugs.

1. Snow. There’s just something magical (until March) about the pretty white stuff that blankets the ground and trees. It’s almost like someone dusts our landscape with powdered sugar. Enjoy it – make snowmen, have a snowball fight, go sled riding, take pictures of it.

      I took this from the Farmers Almanac. And I agree. NUMBER ONE REASON:Beautiful Snow. It makes the world so pristine, innocent, and blissful. The pics below are from The Bob's U P Adventure 2009.

Disappearing Pictures

Winter returned this weekend, giving us a fresh blanket of white. Its lifted everyone's spirits, and brought out riders everywhere. The trails were busy Saturday.

I was going to put a picture from this morning, of the sleds covered with snow............but they've disappeared. (Bob, you watched me download them from your camera... but they are nowhere on this computer... how did that happen?)

Great Ride on the Trail

It was a cold day on the trail, made even colder by the strong wind gusts. After not riding last week, we were both eager to get out and ride. The trails were excellent. Nearly perfect... that was a bit of a surprise after last weeks melt down. We didn't get all the snow the weather men has us hyped up for, but its been enough along with grooming to make the trails in near perfect condition.

We saw alot of deer coming out of Lovells.................and I even tried to get pictures of them, but they would stand perfectly still, right in front of me for minutes..................the entire time it takes me to take my hands out of the gloves, unzip the bag and take the camera out, turn the camera on... and just as I position the camera, offfffffffffffffthey go. and all I have are frozen fingers trying to put it all bag and get the gloves back on.

We got in 70 miles. Some major snowdrifts in the open areas. Its looking like this is going to be a busy weekend on the trails. Hope everyone is able to enjoy as great a ride as we did.

Disappointing Winter Storm

  The winter storm has been disappointing. We got about 5 inches yesterday morning of very wet heavy snow. Then a break thru the afternoon.

When we went to bed, we were under a winter storm warning. up to a foot of snow expected. Well, what a disappointment this morning. We got about an inch of new snow overnight. It has turned cold, 8 degrees and a bit breezy. Snow still expected thru the day.

According to several riders, the trails are in decent shape. They rode Grayling Trails and Jordan Valley trails, as well as Gaylord trails and reported all had been groomed, EXCEPT Gaylord... which the DNR is not allowing to groom yet. Mike is getting ready to make a call.

We'll be going out for a ride as soon as breakfast is finished.

Back to Blogging Routine....

I've enjoyed a brief hiatus from the blog. Birthday festivities kept me busy. Family and friends made this one of the nicest birthdays I've had. Thank you to everyone that made my day special! ... I am still enjoying the joy its brought me. Sure helps accept getting another year older.

Dan and Laura - got your beautiful roses today! Thank you so much. I just read a little blurp in a magazine that said when flowers are given ... the 'happy' effect lingers for days afterward... much longer than candy or other gifts. I received the roses you sent, along with a dozen red ones from the gals at work, and a resident gave me a lovely azeala.

We're very excited................the winter weather forecast is very promising for the next few days.

I will try to get back on track and regular blogging. I have some beautiful pictures to share with everyone from the Bob's UP trip, and also Sue shared pictures she took on her river rafting trip down the Jordan River.

I did not take one picture this weekend. Shame on me. I was just so enjoying it all. And my granddaughters keep me very busy. Hopefully, someone will share their pics with me, so I can share with you.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly -- todays ride

  No problems keeping warm today. We (Mike, I and Terry) headed out this morning shortly after 9 am. Already 40 degrees. Cloudy ...

This shot is of the powerlines coming out of Lakes of the North. This was later in the day, after we had stopped for lunch but still plenty of snow. Here.

Lots of snow through the woods trails.

 

 

Mike got his mirrors on his sled, and picked up his new helmet this past weekend. The helmet is very pretty, and on a cold day keeps his face warmer.

We ran into a variety of trail conditions. We managed to get in 70 miles. Headed south on 7, along Old 27. Not bad, a little ripply.
Then to 679, 79 and 76 ... heading around Starvation Lake, and then onto Lakes of the North where we stopped for lunch.

Any roads, two tracks were either bare, muddy, icy or watery. Lots of ice on the trail where its been in the sun.
Some water, not as much as any of us expected.
Couple muddy sections, but we were able to navigate around the worst of it.

Went through a stretch of pine trees with fog.... spooooky.

By noon the sun was out, and skies were cleared. I have to say it... it was a pretty spring like day!

We shed clothes and stuffed them in our seats. Mike was down to a t shirt, under his coat. I had taken my sweat shirt off... and was riding with my coat open. I had a long sleeve shirt under the sweatshirt.

Visors up, light weight gloves.

Would have been nice to have a picnic lunch.

Now, we're waiting and watching the skies. Right now I see a big beautiful full moon and stars. We're watching for the cold winds to come blowing in and bringing snow with it. Its in the forecast.

Great Week Ending

This past week was an excellent week for riding. We enjoyed our ride starting out the week on Monday, and sure wish we could have gotten out one more time. Just too busy.

We had the Brady Bunch staying with us all week and they enjoyed great rides everyday. Each morning they headed out in a different direction to return and enjoy their potluck suppers together. Sparky and Gizzy were especially sad to see them leave.

Bob & Bob returned from their Upper Peninsula Adventure Saturday early afternoon. It was good seeing them return 'home'.

We're deep in prayer, meditation and chants to induce the cold weather 'gods' to overpower the warm south winds and keep it cold here in the north, as well as giving us a dumping of snow.... we'll just have to wait and see what mother nature gives us this week.