Rays Retreat Ramblings

Spring Time Dining

Sunshine! Green grass, flowers in bloom. Finally feeling more like spring. Morels are another sign. They are popping out in the woods. Not just little ones either. Everyone that I have seen have been a good size. We were hoping to get out yesterday in the woods but it rained most of the day. Only reached 53. Today with this beautiful sunshine we will be in the 70s.

Another sign of spring -- roadwork. This time right out in front of us. Its a major PIA. It takes much longer to get into town due to having to wait. They have been using our drive to pile up mounds of gravel, dirt and whatever else they need. Annoying, since we have to drive around it on the grass. ot good for business either. Its not enjoyable sitting in our rockers out front with the dust rolling in from the cars driving by. Once it is done I am sure we'll enjoy the new smooth road. Until then..... I am trying to not let it annoy me.

We took the dogs with us down to our cottage to open it up for the season. Buddy's first look at the lake. He likes it. He was in the water most of the time. 

When we first walked in both Mike and I were reminded once again how much we miss Sparky. There was his floating frisbee and lifejacket out on the porch.

Morels and Blue Gill - what a delicious springtime dinner! 

 

May arriving with the promise of new beginnings

The month of May is here, and we should be deeply in spring weather. Right? .. Obviously, I don't know what I am talking talking about when I think spring should be here. It was a relief to come home from our annual spring vacation and find all the snow/ice was gone from our drive and yard. 

The first four days we were back it did nothing but rain and be cold. Very dismal. We were so anxious to get out in the yard to get busy. At least - the sun has made an appearance today. Blue skies. It puts a smile on everyone's face.

We enjoyed our vacation in Tennessee. The best part was the green green grass. Flowers in bloom, flower trees everywhere, and the mountainsides covered in wildflowers. 

The big news is that we have listed the motel For Sale. It has come to the time when we are ready to move onto the next stage of our lives. Growing older. Accomplishing those 'to do' things we want to enjoy before it becomes impossible. 

If you have always thought you would enjoy a bed and breakfast Rays Retreat would be a great place for you to live that dream. I've always said it would be ideal if someone who bought it would also want to cater because they could do that from the commercial kitchen providing some extra income.

Check the listing out if you are interested.

We have begun cleaning out rooms, closets, everywhere... and there is so much. We sold Mike's sled and have mine up for sale at this time. That's a 2008 Ski Do Freestyle. 

We are still missing our Sparky. As the different layers of snow melted down we would a frisbee or toy he had left... and felt the stab of heartache. Buddy has joined our family. He is a stinker! Totally different from Sparky, and yet like him in other ways. We keep saying Sparky is talking to him and trying to make him into a good dog for us. Buddy is a 6 month old Shitzu.

 

Beautiful Ride - Trail Report Feb 19, 2014

Beautiful!  We hit the trail this morning taking trail 7 south. We rode 66 miles and 85% of it was Excellent! What wasn't excellent was good. A fun fun day in the sun.

The trail softened as the day turned into afternoon.  Groomers were out both in Gaylord and in Grayling. There were some stutter bumps now and then, mostly around a corner. We got 4 inches of new snow yesterday morning which packed down.

There is still plenty of snow to keep the trails good. We met the Au Sable Groomers as we were heading back north. Now that was a tricky situation. There was NO place to go. I am not a great driver of anything when I am in reverse. Somehow I managed to go quite a curvy distance backwards until I found a spot that was safe enough to pull over.  Sure do appreciate the great job they are doing.

We ate lunch in Grayling at the Big Boy, then traveled south a bit more, This is along 75. Beautiful stretch of flat smooth flying along the trail. Then we wound to the west catching the Blue Bear and back home.

Trail 7 from Waters to Frederick, along Old 27 had obstacles along it where the snow plows were cutting back into the banks and littered it with snow rocks, and even boulders. Many places it was just a narrow stretch you could safely drive thru.

 

What a great day! You missed some great riding conditions. Weather is looking to change tomorrow with a bit of everything in the forecast rain/freezing rain/snow and then Friday snow and strong winds. The next five days its cold and has cold showing on their forecasts.

If you're looking for a great place to stay that caters to snowmobilers you need to come stay with us. We start your day out with a hot breakfast (included in room price). You can park your sleds right by your room door and be on the trail within minutes. We are located directly on trail 7. If you have a problem and need to do some wrenching on your sled we do have a garage available. 

 

Birthday Blessings

It was a milestone birthday Friday for me. There was no way I could ignore it, or even try to pretend it hadn't arrived. Mike sent flowers, very good friends Becky and Dave were here to give me flowers, and son Bryan/family sent the mantlepeice flowers. Beautiful. All the lovely cards. I am definitely blessed to be surrounded by so much love.

On Saturday I joined the Baldwin family (my brother Dave, his three daughters, their husbands and children, our son Bryan and his family) at Boyne Mountain where they were enjoying a winter weekend. They threw a party for my 60th and Anna's (my great neice) 8th. Just a few years between us.

I have been busy shopping too. Received gift cards from Kohls, Hobby Lobby, and Amazon. 

Wow! I am overwhelmed and it really helped shrug off the gloomy shadow of old age that seemed to be stalking me. Turning 60 was great!

Another busy week and weekend at the motel. Mike had to pull one truck that had gotten stuck on Friday. Then he went over to dig out more of the hard snow in front of the mailbox. The truck he had just pulled out ended up going over and pulling him out!

The first half of this week was not so pleasant. My mother had cataract surgery on Monday. That's a whole other story. I'll share it another time. She's the one that had the surgery but I was the one that was so mentally fatigued by Wed from dealing with her.... its not a good feeling when it overwhelms me. Doesn't happen often - but it happens. As I am sure it does to everyone from time to time. 

That's when the dogs become therapy dogs. Nothing like the antics of a pup to make me laugh and Gizzys loving licks to restore me.

Week End Wrap Up Feb 9

I am exhausted from digging the hyundai elantra out. I had parked it up by the garage - not intending to drive it again until snow was gone. However Mom is having cataract surgery tomorrow morning. She can't get into the truck without alot of help. I cannot heft her 146 pounds up into it by myself. So...

The car had a foot of hard frozen solid snow/ice on it. So that was the first attack. Thank goodness it is a smaller car. I was huffing and puffing just doing that. Then the snow was high as the door panels. I had dig out snow from under the car. I jumped in the car and rocked and rolled. Snow under the tires turned to ice. Back into the motel for kitty litter. That helped some. There was alot more of shoveling, digging out under the car with my hands, more kitty litter, more rocking. Finally Mike must have figured out I wasn't just out playing in the snow (his breathing was not good today, and anytime outdoors in the cold and he is even worse) and came out. He got the Tahoe to give me a push forward again.. and then more shoveling. Another push.. Rock and roll. After an HOUR the car was free. 

We were full this weekend. As we have been this entire winter. A quiet bunch of people. Alot of new guests that we enjoyed meeting. So many interesting stories.

Mom is having the cataract on her left eye removed tomorrow morning. This is a very thick cataract that has her totally blind in that eye. She has one in her right eye also. It is not as thick, and will be removed March 3.

What is fascinating to me is that Mom never said anything about not being able to see. The eye doctor said the left one was at least there 15 years! She had never told anyone she had cataracts. She lost her glasses a few months ago (although her story is that my brother took them to wear himself!) and that's when I made an eye appointment to learn she has very little vision due to the cataracts. She has never said one word about not being able to see, or even that things were blurry. 

Even now when I tell her she is having surgery. She asks each time what for and then states she has never had a problem with cataracts or seeing. So I am curious if she will notice her vision has improved and say something, or just accept it as always being good vision. Somehow the Alzheimers doesn't make her question her vision. 

Although it has to questioning everything I say. Or why she is in a facility. Everyday she asks me why she is there andn then insists that she was doing much better at the farmhouse. When I explain she has alzheimers and her memory made it unsafe for her to be alone she becomes irratated that I would make up such a story. It sure would be nice if the Alzheimers would just forget she ever had a farmhouse. I have never in my 20 years of nursing had an Alzheimers patient that remembers their home that clearly. Every day! Everyday she insists she is going home.

If you want to enjoy some great winter pictures of Michigan in Winter check out John McCormicks photos. I have shared many of his beautiful pictures on facebook. His talent shows the wonder and awesome beauty of our state.

 

Friday Five --- Things to see in Gaylord, MI

1. Have you seen the ice tree downtown Gaylord?  

2. The lighted ice orb in Gaylord for Alpenfrost 

3. Ferris Wheel at AlpenFrost

4. Wertz Warriors  

1. https://m.facebook.com/wertzwarriors

   

   Wertz Warriors

   Founded by Detroit Tigers great Vic Wertz in 1982, the Wertz Warriors have been riding their snowmobiles through Northern Michigan to raise funds for Special Olympics Michigan. Celebrating their 32nd Anniversary in 2013, the Wertz Warriors have traveled over 18,000 miles and raised over $8.8 Millio...

   Non-Profit Organization: 1,218 like this

    

   5.Sturgeon from Otsego Lake

Not too much news

The train tracks across the road has a train every so often. Yesterday the train hit a garbage truck just down from us at the Mancelona Road crossing. Couldn't stop with the ice. What a terrifying image that must have been when he felt the truck sliding and the train right there! They had to use the jaws to get him out. He is hospitalized with head injury and broken leg. 

This is from the Gaylord Herald Times.

We're back into the very cold temps. Which keeps the trail is great shape. We had a few riders thru the week, and will be full again tomorrow night. 

The pup is keeping things active around here. Which is good for all of us. Buddy is really working on getting Gizzy to move more and exercise. He sits and yaps at her until she gets fed up... she jumps at him, and if he's really lucky she may chase him for a minute. That means Game On! And he's zigging and zagging around her, behind her and over her. She then jumps up onto Mike or my lap and gives us sad eyes. I can hear her saying .... Why?

 

 

Smooth Sailing...

The sun setting along Otsego Lake as we were heading back home from our ride this afternoon.

It had to happen (and it wasn't even Mike's fault!!!). There have been many times where I almost nailed the back end of his sled when he would stop suddenly. I always avoided it. This time I ran up on him when he was stopped at stop sign. We were crossing over where the railroad tracks are. I had come up and stopped a safe distance behind him. I stood up to look to check for traffic. My thumb was resting on the throttle but when I stood guess my finger touched it and wham! 

Boy did Mike's head spin around quick. 

The rest of the ride anytime I stopped I put my thumb under the throttle. Not going to let that happen again. .. sigh; another sign to me that I am aging and clearly unable to multitask as easily as I once did.

Here's the trail report I just wrote

We got our late this afternoon. It was our second day (in a row!) of blue skies and sunshine. Beautiful. Temperatures were more moderate.

We headed north on trail 7 and over Old 27 to ride the north/south trails. The ride going had more than its share of bumps. Several curves had big gully ruts. Smaller bumps along the rest of the trail.

When we headed back for home the groomer had been thru. Sweet. Had me humming the the melody of "Sailing, Sailing...." What a difference the groomer can make.

Before going straight to the motel we jumped onto trail 4 to enjoy the smooth riding. It was beautiful too.

We saw just four sleds on our ride. That's why riding during the week is the best time to get out.

Week End Wrap Up

One month of 2014 is already history. February is the sweetest month of the year!

One of our guests spent his snowmobiling weekend in the ICU at Otsego Memorial Hospital. Not the fun he was planning on I am sure. They arrived Thur evening, rode Friday morning for a short time before he was hit by another sled. He returned to the motel but reported dizzy and not feeling right. Internal bleeding will do that to you.

There was some unwanted action around midnight - 1 am this morning. A snowmobiler's throttle stuck and he ramed into the laundry room steel doors. Ran thru them! Knocking out wood around the doors also. 

Mike woke up cold, and went out to check the boiler to see snow and cold air coming in. A door completely off.

Witness' pointed out the sled, although since there were peices in the laundry room from the sled we would have been able to track it down. I went out with yellow tape and a sign informing the owner that the sled was not to go anywhere until the owner reported to the owner.

The owner was very sorry and embarassed. He did right by us. Went to town and bought new door and then installed it before going out riding today. 

If he would have just went 12 inches to the left he would have come through a window and right into the boiler/heating system. . . that would not have been good. It could have been a real problem, possibly fire/explosion.

Little Buddy is settling in at Rays Retreat. Feeling a bit more confident. Gizzy is still giving him the cold shoulder or a snarling glare. He is not scared of her. When she does that he just barks off a couple of doggie words and tells her he isn't going to be this little for long.

Snow and trails are all good. Another week of good riding ahead.

Winter. It is good.

The park bench is completely lost in the snow. Snow, snow, snow. 

As you all know its been a busy winter for us at Rays Retreat. In a whole winter season we may have one of our guests actually injured while riding. Yet, this winter we have had several! A broken arm, broken shoulder, broken ribs. 

Friday a guest was out riding, rounding a corner when a sled came flying around. There was no where to go and he was hit by the snowmobiler. When they returned here to get the trailer to pick up the sled he was talking in the lobby and said he was feeling dizzy. After much convincing he agreed to go to the ER. He is in ICU -  internal bleeding. I'm not sure why this year there have been so many more accidents. But just want to remind everyone to ride with care. Accidents will happen though.... hopefully there won't be any more injuries this season.

People are funny. There has not been a lack of snow this winter at all. We have steadily gotten new snow every few days, sometimes every day. The yard stick I had started measuring with out back cannot be seen at all. There are small mountains of snow. The base on the trail has to be immense. And still.... we get calls asking 'How's the snow?", 'have you gotten any new snow this week?' .. I think its the attitude of the majority of society these days. Its never enough. Whatever it is. Its never enough. People want more and more and more. We are a society of excess. 

The bird feeders on the apple tree are very close to touching the snow.

The snow is great. Trails are great. Winter has been consistently winter every day since the first day of winter. We are happy. It is good.