Saturday, February 25, 2017

Killing time
at a water polo
tournament

in the
Notre Dame

Rolf Aquatic Center. Came back from Marquette on Thursday, outrunning a
weekend snowstorm. Did laundry, refueled, and headed here.

Marquette was great. Barb and Ellen came up for a visit.
Always fun to show off a place you like.

Barb and Ellen

Marquette has no lack of winter outdoor activities. Got in some
snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Watched the start of the U.P. 200, a 200-mile
dogsled race starting from downtown Marquette. Any sport where the ideal
conditions include a base of snow and a zero degree Fahrenheit air temperature
is not a sport for wienies. The temperatures during the race this year were
unseasonably warm and there was some real concern for the dogs overheating. Nobody
really cares about the mushers of course. There were actually two races that
started from downtown. Right after the U.P. 200 mushers leave, the smaller
sixty-mile Midnight Run starts. Fun stuff.

Mushers

The stars of the show.

We got some birding in too, although this was not a good
winter finch year. The seed crop up in Canada was good this year so most of the
winter finches stayed up there. We did get some snowy owls but no close up
looks this year. Saw lots of eagles too, eight of them on the trip home.

Snowy owl – white on white.

Some quick grab shots from the car of a bald eagle.

We always like visiting Marquette but this trip was a little
different. Marquette has been on our retirement list for some time. So, this
time we wanted to view it for long term living, not just spending a quick
visit. Since winter is a major part of living in Marquette we really wanted to
view it under winter conditions. And I would say the answer is yes, we would be
quite happy retiring there.

Jean Kay’s in Marquette. Best pasties in the U.P.

Marquette, and the whole Upper Peninsula for that matter, is
technically part of the Midwest. It’s not hard to question the Midwest association
though. And it isn’t just the lack of corn fields. Maybe it has something to
with being above the 45^th parallel. The U.P. has some rugged country
and open spaces, with a healthy dose of public land thrown in. Plus, it’s
surrounded by some major waterbodies. So, you end up with people living there that
thrive on that kind of landscape. That in turn creates an atmosphere that you
don’t find just anywhere. Like people fishing from kayaks when air temperatures
are in the 20s or swimming in Lake Superior when temperatures are in the 40s.