Double Tour: Snowmen and Fort Juniper

Wow.  A lot has been going on here for me in da Harbor.  I apologize that I didn't get it all to you in spiffy stories already.

I've been cross country skiing and back country skiing.  Working a lot too.  In the winter!  But that's okay.  It's worth it.

Here's some good stuff for you.  My Harbor friend, Staci, owns Into the Woods Mini Golf & Gardens.  She built 21 snowmen so far on her snow-covered course.  Look how cute they are!

The panoramic view of the frosty friends.

A father and snowson.  Wave!

Taking a break.

A couple of my favorite characters -- the sunglasses and fuzzy hat.

Staci said it's nice to see people on the course, but it also brings big grins to all those who pass by!

Earlier today, since it was 34 degrees out, I went to finish Fort Juniper.  When I got there, my window was blown out.  Below is the view out of the window with no pane.

The view out Fort Juniper's window.

After laying inside it, enjoying some rest, and building some more, I finished it.  Here is the video of the tour of the area.

Now let it snow!

Attack on Fort Juniper

I did all I could to make sure no one found my secret hideout.  It is not visible from the trail, and I always cover my foot tracks when I leave.  

Whenever I go back to work on Fort Juniper, I always tell it Thank You for still being there.  Yesterday my gratitude was premature.

Yesterday's melting roof tops, slushy parking lots and blue skies told me the snow would make impeccable packing.  I took my big red shovel, a window for the north wall, snacks, water and a PBR to the site.  I knew I would be there all day.

I was a little hesitant at the fact that I would have to bust down part of my north wall in order to install the window at the proper height, but I knew I could rebuild that section quickly enough.  When I got there, however, I realized someone already busted that wall for me.  Mr. Sun was the culprit.

The attack from 40 degrees and too much sun on Fort Juniper.

So at least I was mentally prepared for the damage.  That part of the wall was going to come down anyway.  This also taught me a valuable lesson about building snow forts.  As I stared at it in the sun, I knew I had to redo all the walls twice as thick and twice as dense.  Mr. Sun would NOT ambush Fort Juniper again.

I got busy right away and reinforced everything.  I even changed the floor plan.  I honestly surprised myself with how quickly I worked, but I knew that the next day would bring more cold weather, so I had to build as much as I could that day.

But construction was efficient.  Instead of packing on handfuls of fluff, I was pressing on shovelfuls of solid snow.  I used quite a radius of ground snow for material.  This is how I left it.  I know, I didn't even get the window in yet!

After the rebuild.

I know, it doesn't look that much bigger, but hey, it's tougher!

As the winds turned colder, I packed up to go home.  I was soaked anyway.  On the way I took a loop around to Lake Fanny Hooe and caught this sunset.  

Pink skies over Lake Fanny Hooe.

The snow has been melting for the last two days, but today we got just over an inch.  I have only three words for that: LET IT SNOW!!!

Up and Down the Mountain

It's a beautiful day in da Harbor with patchy sun and temps in the 30's.  Although, a beautiful day in da Harbor would also be 20 degrees, white skies, 15 mph NW winds and snow falling an inch an hour!  I'll keep the latter on my wish list.

I just got back from Fort Juniper.  Since the temps rose, I thought the snow would be nice and packy for building.  However, the air is still dry, and my snowbricks were crumbly.  Oh well.  I laid in it for a while and listened to the wind blow in the trees.  It's a pretty calm day, but the breeze sounds nice.  The lake is also beautifully blue and calm today.

Mt. Bohemia is forecasted to open this Saturday.  Then my friends and I can take the chair lift up!  Throughout the week, we have already skied it up pretty good by skinning up and skiing down.  

I have only done this for two days since 1) I am not that great of a skier... I'm a snowboarder!  So the way down often uses as much energy as the way up.  2) Have you ever climbed Mt. Bohemia?  It's hard enough in the summer with boots, let alone skis on your feet and a backpack on your back.  But maybe I am just a wuss :)

It was fun, though.  I definitely learned a lot, and my legs are getting stronger.  Thank goodness for my patient friends!

Me and Tiki half way up the front side.

A Wintery Collage

Happy 2012!  Make it a good one!

Today I saw an ermine running along the snow bank.  Duce saw it too, and he chased it through its tunnel in the snow and right up a cedar tree.  I took a couple pictures, but he was so snowy white that he just looked like a snowball in the branches.  Cute and quick little guy.

I did some more work on Fort Juniper today.  My goal is to build up the north wall first since that is where the coldest winds blow from.  It's coming along, all right.  It was so nice to lay in there on such a windy day and not get pelted by what's blowing!

Other than that, I took a few wintery pictures yesterday that I thought you might enjoy.

Five inches of snow on Fanny Hooe.  Looking toward East Bluff.

Compare this to the picture in "Skating Rink.")

A panoramic view of the snowy trees on Fanny Hooe.

Superior's shoreline looking west from inside the Harbor.

I particularly like the bank of clouds behind this freighter.

Ice on the west end of the Harbor.

Let it snow!!!

Fort Juniper

Sorry it’s been so long.  I just got back from Christmas in Wisconsin.  Three Christmases in one week.  That’s a lot of wine, cookies and cheese!

The furthest south we went was to my parents’ house in Clintonville.  They had no snow.  The more we drove north, however, the snowier it got.  Watersmeet had quite a bit, and the snowmobilers were flocking.  I saw lots of trailers at the Casino Hotel there.

We even got some snow here!  According to my little shovel, there is 7-10 inches in the woods.  Snowshoeable, but I hiked today.  Mostly because I didn’t realize how much snow fell while I was gone.

We’ve had lots of snowmobilers up here too.  Even on my one block walk to get the mail, I couldn’t keep track of them all.  I’m grateful for the economy boost, but I’ll miss the peace and quiet... and the fresh air.

Today snowed all day.  It just dumped.  So I decided to start building my snow fort as my first adventure back in da Harbor.  The snow was glorious to pack.  I mean, it was bricks and mortar all in one!  Very sticky and sturdy.  I built walls for about four hours today, and this is what I got.

Fort Juniper and my little red shovel.

Fort Juniper, I call it because it’s surrounded by juniper bushes on two sides, and I had to bend back some branches for my west wall.  I thought that I would get tired of packing snow within the first half hour, but my fantasies of sitting in my little fort, blocked from the north winds watching Lake Superior’s waves through the window kept me scooping and patting endlessly.  I only stopped because I noticed the snow was drying out and daylight was fading.

Here is my lake view from the fort.

Look to the back behind the drear, and there is the Lake!

I’m excited to have this secret little hideaway in such a serene spot.  It gives me something to do outside now that I can’t ice skate or snowboard.  But the cross country ski trails just got groomed tonight, so that sounds fun for tomorrow!

Bonus!  A snowy path in da woods.