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Frederic, MI Trail Conditions
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Sunday June 28, 2009 7:30 a.m.
Coming to you from the holiday inn express in rainy st. st. marie
mich this morning. Cathy, Haley and I got in here late last night
after leaving st ignace and going to visit friends Jim and Chris
who are camped at the state park in Brimley. We had a nice cook out
there and that campground there is very nice. I also went to check
out Brimley Bobs place. He is a regular customer in Sledheads and owns
a storage business in Brimley and a Bar in the Soo called the Bomb
Shelter that I print his t shirts for.....It was late and I stopped
in the bar for just a second to check it out as we still had not found
a room and that was a tough thing to do last night. I was beginning to
think we were going to have to drive back to st ignace. I left frederic
along with my brother on friday afternoon. My brother does body work
and brought me my new hood for my corvette which we put on and I drove
that up to st ignace and he brought the bicycles with his truck..It was
a nice drive up across the bridge and we cruised town and watched the
down memory lane parade friday night. We stayed with my buddy Bob on his
boat in the marina and then hit the car show saturday morning. Lots of people
and cars and a great day. Linda Vaughn and John Schnieder who was Bo Duke on
the dukes of hazard were the guests of honor at the show. I also ran into my
friend the sticker King who also happens to be Bob and ened up helping him
out some decals from his booth. Ran into a few Sledheads regulars too while
being around town. They said they had about 1200 cars there. I left my car
at a friends church and have to get it on the way back home today. Cathy and
Haley drove up yesterday. So I am off to the pool and waiting for the girls
to get up and then we are off for a little u.p. tour....Thanks for checking
in. Pete
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Wednesday Night June 24, 2009 11:50 p.m.
Still hot outside and we had a great pontoon ride on the lake tonight
along with a nice long swim and float out in the middle of the lake.
I forgot to write earlier today that Linda from the Swamp Bar stopped
by a couple days ago and was all excited. She wanted to tell me that
her husband Bob was in Anchorage Alaska and had rode his Harley all
the way there.......Darn that just makes me jealous......GO BOB>>>>>.

Saturday May 30, 2009 3:30 p.m.
Sitting here at the car show in Midland and fending off the on again off again
rain, which is nothing unusual for this show. It always rains here. Last night
Haley and I went to the movie and saw Night at the Musuem 2.....i was pretty good
and was pretty action packed, and we topped that off with a nice late night bicycle
ride around the grounds here. All this rain should be great for the Sledheads Corn
Garden and it shouldnt be to long till little sprouts start popping thru the ground
Thats about it for today. Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Thursday May 28, 2009 10:00 a.m.
After a couple of days seeing that last week on saturday I had 2 guys here with
tractors and we plowed and tilled the back parking lot all up. From there Cathy,
Haley, Melissa and I worked hard to stake it all off and then we planted it all
with sweet corn. The girls wanted to plant corn this summer so this should be
interesting at our first attempt at farming. I might move one of my cameras out
over the back of the building so you can watch the corn grow on the webcam.
We even thru in a few pumpkins and sunflowers. Seeing that this place used to be
a junk yard years ago we also pulled out a couple tons of car parts out of the dirt.
One of the frederic old timers stopped by and told me when he was a kid that the
lot had cattle on it which is probably why when I had the soil tested that they
said it was some of the best dirt in crawford county.......I put the pontoon in on
saturday and we had a nice ride on sunday, memorial day was nice with me starting out
at the service at the cematary and then Melissa and I did a canoe ride. Now
on the orv issue, well I thought it was perfectly legal to ride this past weekend here
this weeks paper says different. I did see 4 wheelers in town here this weekend and
some over at the swamp and some at the gas station, not probably more than 10 but
its a start and nobody was stopped that I know of. I will put a link to this weeks
article on the orv ordinance below this. Also this morning I saw on the front page
of the Gaylord Herald Times that Otsego county has opened up to the orvs too so if you
search for Gaylord Herald Times you can probalby read that article. When you go to
the grayling paper watch the pictures at the start of the page and you will see my
daughter Melissa along with the other 2 girls from the Miss Marathon Pageant from a
couple weeks ago, then the orv article is right below that.........
To read this weeks
ORV story CLICK HERE
Wednesday night May 20 11:00 p.m.
About 6:30 I left Sledheads and went up to the highway and drove north to waters.
The fire was not as bad as first believed but it did burn about 5 acres all in
the middle of the highway. It went thru alot of trees and grass and it was very
lucky for as hard as the wind was blowing that it didnt jump the highway and head
northest. When I drove thru they had just one lane north and south open with still
alot of firetrucks there. So that sums up the excitement from Frederic this past
afternoon. I still have not recieved anymore info on the orv dilema......

Wednesday May 20 4:00 p.m.
FIRE,,,,,and traffic jam in frederic, check out the webcam, About an hour ago I got
a call that there was a fire burning both sides of the highway at mile marker 265 which
is 1 mile north of the frederic exit. The wind is blowing hard from the southwest which
puts everything northeast in its path. Highway traffic is being rerouted thru
town right now....will post again when I know more....

Thursday 11:50 a.m.
Well that didnt take them to long, here is the story that was in last
weeks grayling paper..........

County board gives green light for ORV ordinance to shift gears in May
by Dan Sanderson-Staff Writer

The Crawford County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an ordinance that
would allow local and visiting ORV operators to travel on the shoulders of
county roads with intentions of tweaking regulations and the network of roads
next month.
The Crawford County Board of Commissioners, by a 5-0 vote, approved an
ordinance which will be known as “ORV 5-20-09.” That means the county board
plans to approve a final draft of the ordinance as well as roads that will be
opened and closed for ORV travel at its Wednesday, May 20, regular meeting.
Dave Stephenson, chairman of the Crawford County Board of Commissioners, said
county officials have received over 60 letters from area residents and business
owners supporting the ORV ordinance. He added that a few letters were received
objecting the adoption of the ordinance, asking county officials to take more
time to address potential safety issues.
Last year, a state law was passed allowing ORVs to travel along county roads in
northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula in an attempt to boost the tourism
economy.
County Commissioner Rick Anderson was in favor of adopting the ordinance last
week rather than delaying the process another month. That will give township
officials and the Crawford County Road Commission one month to provide a list of
roads they would like to see closed to ORV travel. Road Commission officials
have said that they don’t want ORVs traveling on the county’s primary roads,
which handle most of the traffic. There are 179 miles of primary roads in
Crawford County. Under the state’s ORV legislation, townships in July will
have the option of creating their own ORV ordinances and choosing what roads
they want open and closed in their jurisdiction.
Anderson said residents can take the debate to their township officials, adding
he did not want to “beat the issue to death” at the county level.
“From a judgement call, we can create the position where the people question
if the county commissioners are doing their jobs or we can wait until July and
we can put the onus on the individual townships,” Anderson said.
County Commissioner Scott Hanson, who spearheaded the effort to get the ORV
ordinance passed, was in favor of having another public hearing on the ordinance
in May where detailed maps would be finalized and available.
Under a map developed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Road
Commission officials, Hanson said that quite a few roads would be open to ORVs
in Beaver Creek Township. Just a few roads would be open to ORV travel in South
Branch Township, where the township board has taken a tough stance against the
ordinance. Some roads in Lovells Township would allow ORV operators to come
into the county from an Oscoda County trail system.
Hanson said the large amount of Camp Grayling military training ground, the
Manistee and AuSable River systems and the Kirtland’s Warbler habitat made it
difficult to find trail connections in Grayling Charter Township and Frederic
Township. Trail connections in those townships would involve travel on some
primary roads.
Ilene Geiss-Wilson, executive director of the Grayling Visitors Bureau, said
she worked on a map utilizing some existing snowmobile trails with Susan Thiel,
management director for the DNR’s Grayling Forest Unit. Thiel has previously
said that some of the snowmobile trails have been achieved through easements
with private property owners who don’t mind snowmobiles in the winter, but do
object to ORVs on their property in other seasons.
About 35 people attended the county board’s public hearing for the ORV
ordinance. Most comments made were regarding tough enforcement of the ordinance,
roads that would be opened and riding ORVs near their homes to connect with
existing state trails and the future county road network.
Officials hope that the ORV ordinance gives local hotels, gas stations and
restaurants a boost in the current economy.
“The season is here and we want to get going as quick as you do and get the
local economy going,” Frederic Township resident Todd Gabriel said.
It was unclear if the ordinance would go into effect on May 20 or when it is
published in the May 28 edition of the Crawford County Avalanche. County
Administrator Paul Compo said he would have an answer to that question by the
board’s Thursday, May 7, committee meetings.
Violation of the ordinance would carry up to a $500 fine plus the cost of
environmental damage done to local roads. Half of the fines go to the road
commission for maintenance and the other half goes to the sheriff’s office for
enforcement.
Frederic Township resident Jack Kurtz said Crawford County ORV operators are
not the problem.
“The local people are not the problem - people that are putting around the
neighborhood - that’s not a problem,” Kurtz said. “It’s the people that
are roaring up and down the roads that are the problem. They leave their brains
at Highway 55.”
Crawford County Sheriff Kirk Wakefield said that the sheriff’s office
recently purchased an ORV through a state grant aimed at enforcing ORV
regulations.
Wakefield, however, said that grant has time limits on when a deputy can focus
on ORV complaints and incidents. He added that there are only two road deputies
on during a shift handling other complaints.
“We’re ready to go, but you have to understand that it’s one person and
he can’t be everywhere at the same time,” Wakefield said.
Dennis Fyock, the owner of River Park Campground, agreed with the county’s
move to open up all roads and close down ones that officials don’t want ORVs
to travel on.
Fyock also said that the county could work with military officials to find
trail connections away from active training ranges.
“There are a lot of places that people can ride out there without infringing
on the rights of the military,” Fyock said.
The ORV legislation allows operators to travel on county road shoulders without
having liability insurance. The regulations come under Michigan no-fault
insurance laws, similar to snowmobile regulations, and the ORV operator is
automatically considered at fault when an accident occurs.
Frederic Township resident Jerry Dill questioned why the legislation was
allowed to move forward by state lawmakers without insurance being required.
“How can they possibly pass this when they don’t have to have insurance
just like anybody else?” Dill said. “They’re passing the buck.”
In an opposition letter to the board, Grayling Charter Township resident Kay
Cosgray said it was a bad idea to open up roads to uninsured and sometimes
unlicensed ORV operators.
“This is opening up the opportunity for accidents and misuse of a
privilege,” Cosgray said.
Hanson said it is a misconception that ORVs can be operated on county roads by
people who have lost their licenses for drunk driving convictions or have a
license that is suspended or revoked. He said ORV operators age 12-15 must have
a DNR ORV operator’s permit, while people age 16 and older must have a valid
driver’s license under state regulations.
As for liability, Hanson said ORV riders at fault would have to face their
consequences in court if a lawsuit is filed by another party.
“It doesn’t matter what we do, lawsuits are part of the American way,”
Hanson said.
Grayling Charter Township resident Tom Baker questioned if he would be able to
drive his golf cart under the ordinance.
Wakefield said there are a host of changes recently made to Michigan Vehicle
Code for golf carts, ATV mules, go carts and mini bikes. Wakefield said he would
make the information available to residents at the sheriff’s office or at its
web site: www.crawfordsheriff.org.
“There are some changes and some of them are shockers,” Wakefield said.
While state police and DNR conservation officers won’t enforce the county
ordinance, Baker hopes officers would give ORV operators a sympathetic ear.
“It’s just like the Gestapo,” Baker said of dealing with some DNR
conservation officers.
Wakefield said his deputies allow people to travel from their homes to
trailheads from distances within reason. The sheriff, however, said there will
be no leniency from people riding on roads miles away from their homes to the
trails.
“As with any law, there has to be common sense enforcement,” Hanson said.
Grayling Township resident John Stegman praised county officials for their
attempts to educate the public about the ordinance and the time put into
developing a road network to link with state trails.
“It’s a great sport, but the damage that could be made by a few in a year
could make this a moot subject,” Stegman said.
A map of the proposed roads that would be opened by the county will be
available at the county’s web site - crawfordco.org - or on a disc from Compo.
Patrick Ertel, a county resident and restoration project manager for Huron
Pines, suggested a committee be put together before the ordinance moves forward.
Ertel feared erosion issues on roads and rivers and conflicts with joggers, dog
walkers and bicyclists.
“Undoing the harm will be much more difficult than thinking it through before
making a decision,” Ertel said in an opposition letter to the board.

Saturday April 18, 2009 12:30 p..m. pst
I am at the airport waiting for my flight back to T.C.....it doesnt leave
for 2 hours yet....time to get back to real life and do some work even though
I can keep on most stuff just being online and all my calls are forwarded from
frederic to my cell phone so its almost like not being gone,,,except if Cathy calls
and says to get home....I have been gone most of 2 weeks and she says I have
yard work to do....gee that sounds fun. I do have a house to show tommorow to Scott
who has been looking for a long time, he is a regular in here and I talked to him
yesterday where he wanted me to put a twenty in a machine for him, it went pretty well
at first with quite a few wins and he still had eleven dollars left,,,,,later on I
tried a different machine for him and that dissapeared prety fast....it was fun
trying anyways. After the show was over yesterday I took the bus out to the church
for the friday night service. In the greek tradition they have a candlelight procession
around the church that is supposed to represent the funeral service of jesus...the place
was packed and I would bet that the crowd and line of people all around the church made
a complete circle around it.....from there it was back down to the strip where I made
it to my room for a great nights sleep. I wish I had that mattress at home......One
thing I forgot to talk about the other day was right after I left with my rental
car I was just driving north and came upon the homeless peoples tent city. I have to
say that was a very sad thing to see. I bet there were at least 200 tents and many
lawn chairs with blankets or sleeping bags stacked on them in about a 3 square block
area and these were all along the sidewalks and centered around the salvation army,
the christian help center and the mission is right there too. People just sitting
there with not a thing to their name. Bill & Eddie that I met up at Bonnie Springs
the other day were locals and said that the homeless congretage there for the help
that they can get but the people in the city complain about the smell from all those
people around there as there are not even any port a potties. Its hard to believe that
in the U.S. let alone a city the size of vegas that could happen. Lots of panhandling
going on. When I was down on fremont street I was approached by several people but their
punch line was that they wanted to get just enough money to get a beer. There was a guy
setting on the skywalk by MGM and he must have been in his 30s just sitting on the walk with
a sign that said "Why lie, I need beer".......I know some of those people cant help themselves
but some of them could make an effort instead of waiting on someone else to help them......
I suppose I should go down to my gate and be ready to hop on. I dont get back to T.C till about 11
tonight. Thanks for checking in. Pete and for any other greeks out there Kristos Anesti
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Friday afternoon 17th 5:00 p.m. pst
After getting checked in at the Riviera I headed down to the pool as its a nice
hot day out there and from there jumped the bus back down to the sign show where
I have checked that out the past couple hours and it is just closing....well at
the pool I realized I hadnt even thought about what happened on the orv meeting
so I called one of the commisioners and here is the scoop....First before I say
it, this is not supposed to happedn till about the end of May but they voted to
open all the crawford county roads to orvs but there is a catch....now the road
commision can say what roads they want closed and each township can say what they
want done too....personally I would just as soon see the whole county open but my
main concern is the little town called Frederic. I hear that things should go well
for Frederic as far as that goes but we really wont know till its all said and done.
So all in all I would say things look like they are heading in the right direction.
Gonna go catch the monorail from mandalay bay back to the excalibur where I am going
to jump a bus again and head off for the greek church for the friday night easter
service. Talked to my sister today and it turns out her husband was roomates in school
with the priest from the church here..........till tommorow....

Tuesday Night 7:00 p.m.
Here is a link for more info on Mark Fidrych
To read more on services for Mark Fidrych CLICK HERE

Sunday March 29, 2009 9:10 a.m.
It sure cant get better than this, the Elvis Gospel hour is on and we have
a nice 3 inches of new snow on the ground here at Lake Margrethe.It started
snowing about 2 this morning and is supposed to keep up till noon. I see from
the webcam activity this morning that alot of people have been looking at it.
I will be heading for frederic in a while and just see if anybody shows up today.
I wouldnt expect to much but there might be a die hard or 2 out there.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Saturday March 28, 2009
Its a nice day for the up the face race at schuss mountain today. There is
still a storm coming for tommorow, I even put my plow on.....just hope I have
to use it. I had to move it anyways. It looks like we might be right on the
rain snow line but west of here should be 6 to 8 inches. Hopefully the line
is off by a bit. I was just getting ready to leave yesterday when a suburban
pulled in and the guy got out and was getting something out of the back....all
of a sudden I had a flashback to an email I had earlier in the week from Beaver
Creek Mark who said he would bring me some coneys from Andys Pizza and Coney Island
in Jackson.......I sure am glad I didnt miss him. He had put them in a zip lock
bag because his wife said she couldnt stand the smell in the car.....Nothing wrong
with a car that smells like that....Anyways A big THANK YOU to Beaver Creek Mark
for thinking of me.......Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Friday Noon ten,
Weather is talking about a winter storm for sunday noon and there could be
quite a bit of snow....thats what they are saying....maybe I shouldnt put
them sleds to far back......

Friday March 27, 2009 NOON
Not a darn thing exciting to report or talk about, I have been moving sleds
around the back room and trying to figure out how to park them for the summer.
One thing I can do or talk about is that if anybody has any spring projects
coming up I can set you up with a 10% off coupon thru Lowes for up to a thousand
bucks off your next purchase....its a program thru Lowes and Century 21...So if
you want a coupon email me your name and address and I will get one sent off to
you. I did this last fall and had a pretty good repsponse for it.....The coupon
is good for 45 days and takes about a week to get.....so if I can save you a
few dollars send me a note at property@frederic-mi.com Thanks for checking in.
Pete
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Thursday March 26, 2009 6:45 a.m.
Its a nice cool morning outside here at Lake Margrethe, heading off for
gaylord shortly for my class and a stop at the Coney Island there.....
Requests for the orv letter continued to come in yesterday and I posted a
link to the article in the paper just below this. Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------
Wednesday night 5:45 p.m.
Here is the story on the ORV ordinance that is in todays Grayling
paper
To read the ORV story in this weeks paper CLICK HERE

Wednesday March 25, 2009 10:50 a.m.
I started my morning out up at twin lakes west of blue lake. Each
lake I looked at is still white with ice, Twin Lakes, Pickerel Lake,
Blue Lake, and Bass Lake are all white but there was an open spot
in the middle of Bass Lake. There is an uphill snow climb this weekend
at Schuss mountain and they say there is still lots of snow there. I
just talked to a guy way up north in canada and he says its snowing hard
there and they still have lots of snow......wish I could be there.
Now on to the ORV issue....I was surprised at how many emails I recieved
yesterday wanting the letter to send in. It was almost 40 people and several
of them had a list of people for me to send them to and I just checked before
I started this and I have 6 more emails on it right now. On the front page
of todays paper is an article about it and that there is a meeting coming up
April 2 that I will try to attend. I also have those letters going out to local
Frederic residents. The grayling paper wont be online till sometime tommorow and
I will then post that article. I probably cant do it till late in the afternoon
as I have a real estate continuing education class till 4 tommorow. Thanks
for checking in. Pete
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Tuesday March 24, 2009 9:30 a.m.
Just another cloudy day in frederic at 31 degrees. I talked to Ken
at the Frederic Inn yesterday and he said he rode 20 miles on sunday
around the woods.....I went to gaylord yesterday and still see some
snowy spots in the woods but you are very limited to those spots.
I wrote up a letter yesterday and took it around to the other Frederic
businesses for them to sign. It was a letter to the Crawford County Board
of commissioners in support of their upcoming vote to allow orvs on the
side of all crawford county roads. In short that means you could ride
your orv into frederic in the summer to get food or fuel which means I would
probably have some spring, summer and fall business in here.....So if you ride
or want to ride an orv around this area and would support that you could do
one of 2 things. 1, I already have a letter written that I could email to you
and then you mail it to the commissioners before April 15 or you could write
your own letter and mail it....The adress is

Crawford County Board of Commissioners
200 West Michigan Avenue
Grayling, Michigan 49738

To see Topeka our nieghborhood pet turkey click here
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Thursday March 19, 2009 11:10 a.m.
Its cold and there has been blowing snow in the wind on and off this
morning in both Grayling and Frederic, not enough snow to get excited
about but it looks good...Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Wednesday March 18, 2009 9:30 a.m.
Wow, we really lost the snow since yesterday. The trail thru hanson hills
this morning is shot, along m -93 is all water, school crossings are really
close to shot and even the amount in the woods is way down. Lake Margrethe is
still ice covered but I wouldnt even think of seeing how thick the ice is.
I had an email from a guy wanting to try to ride this coming weekend.
Even now you to ride you would have to find a nice snowy spot and unload and
ride that area. On the other hand I was up at guthrie lakes yesterday and I
measured 30 inches of snow in the yard I was at so there are still spots
with deep snow but its going fast.....It sure seems like this winter went by
fast and thank you to all of you that stopped in to say hi, alot of characters
come into here and to name a few., Ohio Mike, Bad Leg Barry, Illinois Mike, Toledo
Bob & Amy, Irish Hills Dairy Farmer, The Detroit Diesel Boys, Ohio Brian, Ohio Bob.
Lots of people from Ohio and Inidana. Again Thank you to all and we only have to wait
about 8 months for the trails to open up again.....I will keep daily updates going thru
the end of the month and then slow down to about once a week and of course I will
probably come up with some summer videos. I made one last week as I passed thru Jackson
because I cant go thru Jackson without having a couple coneys......Thanks for checking
in. Pete

Friday the 13th, March 09 9:40 a.m.
Its 6 below zero and sunny this morning in frederic and I have already
seen 3 sleds riding thru town. All trails and crossing I looked at this
morning are still ALL white but with their share of ice under the white.
Hanson Hill, along M-93, both sets of crossings up by the high school
all look inviting and judging from the amount of calls I had yesterday
I expect pretty decent sled traffic this weekend for probably the
last hurrah. Its suppose to get up to 36 tommorow and that should help
soften things up a bit. I had a group of 3 guys stop in yesterday on their
way back from the u.p. and they had been riding st ignace to the soo and to
mackinac island and they said the snow looked better in this area than any
where in the u.p............I talked to my buddy Bob this morning who is
laying in the sun down in Cudjoe Key about 25 miles north of Key West.....
I still like it here but wouldnt mind spending time with him too......so
if you are going to ride this weekend PLEASE RIDE SAFELY and watch for
icy corners. Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Thursday Noon Thirty,
Just had a couple guys ride in from indian river. They said the ride
was pretty decent down to here but thought the best part was from wolverine
to gaylord, they were heading off for jordan valley and then back up
chandler hills to indian river.......

Thursday March 12, 2009 8:35 a.m.
It 2 below zero and we have a fresh 2 inches of lake effect snow on the
ground here in frederic this morning. While all the trail crossings looked
nice and white this morning on the way here there is still ice and rutty
bad spots on the trails. The group of guys that left out of here yesterday
morning to ride were back about 6 last night and they said all in all it
was a fun day and they said the best was the jordan valley trail which had
been freshly groomed and was perfect. They too reported both good and bad spots
on the trails but they were happy them made a whole day out of it. Yesterday
was very cold and windy here so at least now its nice and calm out there. The
weather is supposed to go to 36 on saturday so that could soften the trails up
a bit and make them not as rutty to ride. People that have come here to ride from
downstate are still surprised by how much snow actually is on the ground here.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
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Wednesday 11:00 a.m.
Here is a new one, the wind is blowing so hard the webcam is moving a bit.
Just watch it and see how much its shaking....hope my roof stays on..
The Irish Dairy Farmer just rode in from lovells and he says there are
both good spots and rutty hard spots with ice and he also says remember
that this is the middle of march...

Wednesday March 11, 2009 10:30 a.m.
Its snowing and blowing outside with winds that are supposed to hit 60 mph
today. I really dont think its snowing that much, its just that its blowing
and swirling so much. It was warm and melting yesterday and since last night
it has gotten cold and frozen everthing up. If the warmth and little rain we
had yesterday smoothed out the trails that would be nice but I have not talked
to anyone who has rode yet today. There is a group of guys outback unloading
right now so I should hear a trail report sometime today. If it hardened up
with the ruts in the trail its gonna be tough riding. This cold is supposed
to stick around today and then the next few days back to the upper 30s....so its
hard to tell what the weekend is going to be yet. I will update again when I
hear how the trails actually are.
I am posting a link below here for Teresa's obituary and guest book....

To Read Teresa Pontious's Obiturary or sign guest book click here

Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------
Tuesday March 10, 2009 10:40 p.m.

To watch Awsome March 9 ride video click here
Its 32 out and raining. It stayed about 32 all night long so alot of the snow
that we had yesteray has setteled. Brian and I had an awsome ride yesterday
morning as we were first on alot of the trails we hit. We went to grayling and
up the blue bear to the north end of starvation lake and down around that loop
to the far west 72 parking lot and then back to frederic, a nice 77 mile ride
in A plus conditions. When we got back here a bit after 1 the snow was already
starting to settle but we had the best of it behind us. Its supposed to turn cold
and windy tommorow so this still might hold out and change for the better for this
weekend.

This next part I am writing is very tough. Its with a heavy and broken heart that I
have to write that my dear friend and riding partner Rogers wife died this morning
in an industrial accident at work. I know many other riders that come in here know
Roger & Teresa as there are alot people from their area of Morenci,Mi that come up here
and are readers too. I know they were planning on coming up here this weekend and you
just never know how quick life can change. Teresa was always smiling just like when she
was in here 2 weeks ago. They had been up here for a weekend and had a great time.
My thoughts and prayers and heart go out to Roger and his son Steven and their family.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday Morning March 9, 2009 9:00 a.m
Sledheads is going to be closed this morning, just like all the schools around
northern michigan. The snow chants have worked great and we have 7 new inches
here in Frederic, I had about 6 at home in grayling and I talked to my friend
at blue lake this morning and she said they have 12 to 14 new inches there. Ohio
Brian is on his way here and he and I are heading out to be the first ones on the
trails. No sled crossings yet this morning on any of the trails that I have looked
at. I did a quick video clip outfront here to show you how it is. My truck is
in the back room and my plow is at home. The snow is a nice heavy snow and it looks
like we are going to keep snow and some more all week.....so plan on maybe a last
hurrah this coming weekend....but only time will tell......

To watch Monday am video click here
Also a couple days ago they recovered the guys sled that went in on the way back
from mackinac island a couple weeks ago. He was the guy that made it out and died
so close to help. His sled was in 105 feet of water. Be sure to read my updates from
last night too.....
I will try to make a new video today of our ride. Thanks for checking in. Pete
-------

Sunday Night 9:50 p.m.
Cathy and I just walked back in the door from going to see Grand Torino
down in Roscommon and what a wintery blustery night out. So far we are
between 4 and 6 inches depending on where you measure of nice white
heavy snow and its still coming. On the way to Roscommon on I 75 southbound
there was a truck and a enclosed 4 place sled trailer way down in the ditch
and they were both on their sides. The cops and wrecker were there and I saw
at least 1 person with an arctic cat jacket on down in by the truck, luckily it
didnt look like anyone was hurt. Tommorow will be a great day to ride as long as
this keeps up.

Sunday Night 6:00 p.m.
MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH..... Thunder snow is upon us along with a winter
storm warning of 4 to 8 inches tonight.....snowing pretty steady here at
Lake margrethe right now and I just called the gaylord weather service and
have to say I love their forcast, lets see how many new inches are really
on the ground by morning.......

Sunday March 8, 2009 10:15 a.m. (new time)
Its sunny and 29 degrees out there this morning. As luck would have it
we have not had one drop of rain all weekend. The trail crossing up by
the high school all looked worn but still decent this morning. There
were a fair amount of sleds out and about yesterday and I expect the same,
the great thing is that it hasnt really been past the upper 30s so the
snow is slowly receding. Everyone that came in is happy to be riding and that
things are pretty decent for the situation we are in. I do have one rental sled
out this weekend and the guys were just in and are riding again today, they
said they rode trail 76 south of 72 and said it was fantastic, and that everybody
was riding north and nobody going south of 72. Just had another 2 guys in that
came up from detroit this morning and they are thrilled to death that there is
snow here, I sent them out towards trail 76. They said it was 72 in the motor
city yesterday...I sure am glad we dont have that to deal with.Now if only the storm
will come to us later this week. Thanks for checking in. Pete
-------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday March 7, 2009 9:45 am.
Kind of dark and 29 degrees here this morning. I have
seen 3 sleds thru town so far. I would rate trails fair but
have seen much worse. I had a family stop in yesterday morning
and then last night as I was leaving they were back and had been
riding all day. Except for puddles and icy spots they said things
were pretty good and the guy that was just in said everything has
firmed up overnight. The trail along m 93 was dark because its getting
thing but not because of dirt. The crossing just north of the high school
looked better yet but getting thin too......No trailers at the Days Inn
this morning and only 2 at the Ramada.....The rain is supposed to start
late this afternoon but for right now if you are lucky enough to be here
you could ride. I see Doug Shepard from down the road from here must
have headed home. Cathy and I ran into him up at Lakes of the North when
we rode the other day and he had wanted me to tell his wife Colleen thru
my site here that he wouldnt behome till spring........guess he went
early. I just gave the beagle a big old ham bone so she is quite content
with that over in her corner. I would hope there is still at least one
more blast of winter coming at us yet this month. Thanks for checking in.
Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------------

To watch Friday am video 1 click here

To watch Friday am video 2 click here

Friday 9:50 am..
Just rode here into frederic, I would say the trails from a 9.5 last night
to a 4.5 this morning, lots of ice and water puddles but still alot of
nice stretches. If you were here right now you could get a nice ride in. The
puddles were full of snow fleas, they look like floating black dirt...still lots
of snow in the woods. The closer I got to frederic the darker the sky got and
it looks like rain. Its spitting a bit now. I took 2 different video clips
on the way here and will post them above here but it will take me another 45
minutes or so. Also came across a deer that had been hit by a sled last night,
blood in the trail and a deer with a piece of ski doo hood laying on it......
I took the lakeshore again this morning but I guarantee you thats the last time
I do that this year. Way wet and slushy, the only comfort in that is that I knew
I was only in knee deep water......going to get videos on now......

Friday March 6, 2009 6:55 a.m.
Its 42 degrees here at Lake Margrethe this morning and I just checked the web
cam in frederic and it says 46 there. Its foggy out and water is dripping
everywhere. Last night they said the snow cross races in cadillac were going
to go on and this morning they say they are cancelled.....So things suddenly
dont look as good as last night. I am still going to ride my sled back to frederic
this morning and if I can make my video camera work I will post a couple clips.
It looks like its about time for me to switch modes of income so as a reminder
anyone that has a need for screenprinting or embroidery on t shirts, sweatshirts
or hats and any type of signs, thats what I do the rest of the year along with
Century 21 too.......Although I am not throwing in my carbides yet I am sure
readership will drop off sharply as the snow recedes, so a BIG THANK YOU to all
of you that stopped in to say hi or patronize Sledheads this past winter. I will
still be updating as usual thru the summer as I have before. I will also update
again this morning after I get to Frederic, probably around 10...Thanks for checking
in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday Night 8:30 p.m.
I left frederic tonight about 6:30 and rode my sled home, hard to believe how
nice the trail still is. If I gave a rating on whitness and ridability it would
have to be a 9.5 on the 1 to ten. It was 34 degrees when I left and I think it
got up to about 40 today. The last I heard from Ohio Brian was about 5 and he said
he had 170 miles in since 9 this morning and had been as far south as higgins lake.
The weather forcast has changed again with there supposed to be a light rain tonight
and then no rain again till about 5 saturday afternoon......So depending on what happens
tonight it sounds like riding will be possible till saturday afternoon. Of course you know
anything can change but there is still alot of snow to melt off.......
I hope to ride back to frederic again in the morning. I sure did see alot of deer on the way
home and rode the lakeshore back to my house and was surprised at how many deer were in
lakefront homes yards, just laying there or eating grass around small trees. Even saw
5 or 6 out on the ice and the one was running along side me at 40 mph.......so till tommorow....

Thursday March 5, 2009 10:15 a.m.
If your gonna ride here you better do it today and tommorow. Its 32 out right
now and luckily cloudy. It might hit 40 today and tommorow both. It was below
freezing overnight which is good. The weather forcast has changed for the weekend
but not the way all of us were hoping for. Now they are calling for rain on
saturday and sunday. The trails started to get a bit soft yesterday afternoon but
not to bad. Ohio Brian just called in and was on the trail up behind the high school
and he says its great with a fresh groom on it. Only the diehards will be out on saturday
depending where the rain line is. On the bright side there is a "storm to watch" coming
this wednesday so that might give us a little hope. Still lots of snow in the woods
and 2 tracks.
Cathy and I had a nice ride yesterday where we went up to starvation lake and over
to lakes of the north and had lunch at the settings restaurant. We met Joe the owner
there and I told him about having bad reports on trail 4 this winter. He said they
have been grooming it but the 2 mile stretch along mancelona has been to hard and
slippery to get the groomer up so they have been skipping that. We rode from Lakes
of the North on the 4 trail and it was all very nice except for that stretch along
where Joe said and that was really no big deal. Back to frederic from trail 4 for
a very nice 65 mile ride. All crossings and trails I looked at this morning are still
white. Now to see how long they stay that way. Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday March 4, 2009 9:20 a.m.
I am starting to sound like a broken record, Sunny and cold here in frederic
this morning but its already up to 2 degrees out there. Trails continue to
be nice and hard, flat and white. It looks like the forcast is changing for
this weekend and the rain has left but it is supposed to warm. If we are lucky
we will get a decent weekend in. Watch the weather, you know you can call the
gaylord weather serivce and they update it several times daily, the number is
989-732-6242. Its a handy number to have and the recording is only a minute or
so long, press 1 when they answer. Cathy and I are heading out on a ride here
shortly. This will be her first ride of the year. She has been busy taking some
classes out a Kirtland College so she is anxious about her first and probably only
sled ride of the year. Thats about it for now. Thanks for checking in. Pete
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday March 3, 2009 10:20 a.m.
Still cold out this morning and sunny at 7 degrees. Even though its been sunny
the past few days we havent lost a drop of snow. Trails are still nice and white
at everyplace I looked this morning and everybody riding is reporting good
trails....but the warm up for the weekend is still predicted,,,,still hoping its
wrong. I had a guy in here yesterday and we were talking and I told him to just
remind me when he comes in of his name as I always remember the names but dont
always remember the face and I said if you are Ohio Bob I will always remember
that and he says, I am Ohio Bob.....pretty good guess on my part.....
Here is a video of the Ice Drag Races in Gaylord from the 21st weekend.....

To watch World Series Ice Drag Racing click here
I heard of
a crash up somewhere by lakes of the north yesterday. Riders were in here that
came up on it right after it happened, they said he broke off a bunch of small
trees on a curve before he hit the one that really stopped him. He was laying on
the trail but no ambulance there yet. I havent heard anything more about that.
So Please Ride Safely and thanks for checking in. Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday March 2, 2009 Noon Thirty,
Once again I was here about 9:30 this morning but between people coming in and
me just talking with people here I am on a late update. It nice and sunny and
cold still at only about 10 degrees right now. Earlier this morning about 7 it
was still 18 below here. Its supposed to stay cold till sometime thursday when
the weather said rain for thurs and friday then back to 30s for the weekend.
The last 2 times it has rained it actually helped the trails but who knows what
this week will bring. Hopefully by thursday the forcast will change. Just had
Pete from Camp Canuck in Canada was just in and bought a pretty pink hat. He
claims its for his girlfriend Nicola and today just happens to be her 25th
birthday. It might be a while till she sees the hat as Nicola is teaching english
over in South Korea, so a big shout of Happy Birthday across the pacific to Nicola.
Thanks for checking in and keep up the snow chants, I still want us to get 3 or
4 more weeks of riding in and just for a little motivation here is my video from
last year to watch.....

Friday 9:15 a.m.
Everything still looked good on the way here this morning, the trail along m 93
, the 2 high school crossings too. I talked to Kieth and he says the grayling
groomer is out right now and they are reporting plenty of snow to push. Had a
call from some riders in Indian River that are heading for St. Helen this morning
and they are going to call me later on to give me their view of the trails. Shot
a quick video in the parking lot here to show you Frederic,,,,,

To watch Friday morning video click here

I will update again later if anything good comes up...

To watch Sledheads weekend Video click here
On the death in st ignace from this weekend, the guy must have got dioriented and
got off the tree line and ended up in the coast guard channel where he mangaged
to get himself out, the really sad thing is that he died within about 200 feet
of help and shore. Alcohol was a factor in this......Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday February 23,2009 Noon Thirty
I got here this morning at 9:30 and it was a crunchy 8 degrees out, now its
all the way up to 20 and nice and sunny. I cant believe how the morning can
fly by when I actually started to do this right after I got here. Not to many
sleds out this morning but the ones that have been in are reporting fresh
groomed trails everywhere. The news just finished and is talking of a new
storm coming in wednesday or thursday so that would be nice. Also they said
a body was found on the ice bridge between mackinac island and st ignace. They
are reporting more on it tonight but they say the guy somehow got seperated
from his sled......Sled traffic was steady but way slower on sunday in frederic,
there was a head on crash on the blue bear trail saturday where there was an
idiot flying around a corner on the wrong side of the trail and he hit a
father/daughter coming the other way. All 3 of them went to the hospital but
luckily the one hurt the worst was the guy that caused it. No life threatening
injuries but I was told the one sled was really mangled. I had emails from
several people that came across the accident. The people that ride like this
guy was riding are the ones that spoil the family fun for the rest of us. I
took off for a ride from here yesterday with 3 guys that come in here from
downstate, I see them in here but you know I never did get their names, we
rode up to starvation lake and stopped there for lunch. As soon as I walked
in the door someone asked me where the beagle was.....from there we took the
new trail to Mancelona which put us out on the north end of Mancelona right
at McDonalds......we just headed back to frederic from there and that was a
nice little ride.

Well we were in Mancelona I got the call from Roger that I knew was coming but
not looking forward to. He called to tell me that our riding partner and friend
Andy the Terroist had passed away yesterday morning. He has been very sick for
a long time and we knew the end was near as he has had hospice the past month
or so. Andy was in the marines and we called him the terroist because of the
swat type vest that he rode while riding. Only thing is in all the pockets and
holes in that vest instead of weapons and bombs he carried cheese, crackers,
meat sticks and any other type of food he could stuff in there. He looked a bit
funny with all that but he kept us supplied with snacks. Andy was also one of
the biggest contributers to the web cam fund and I know he liked watching that too.
So a goodbye to a friend is always a tough thing to do.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday Februrary 22,2009 9:10 a.m.
WOW,,,We had just about a foot of new snow come down on us yesterday, all
that snow chanting must be doing some good....First phone call this morning
came from down in sunny florida as my friend GM was sitting at the pool watching
my web cam on his laptop. He wanted to tell me to get my booty to work as there
were 5 sleds setting under the camera waiting for me to get here. I got here
just in time to fire up the radio for the Elvis Gospel Hour and help these guys
out. I know GMs wife is probably tight to the radio in florida indulging in Elvis
too......These guys are just leaving after getting a bolt fixed in a ski. So
things are off to a start this morning and I already saw sleds out and about
before I got to frederic. The new snow made an incredible day for everyone
yesterday, most of the day snowing so hard that it was tough to see. I took
alot of video. When I finally got out of here last night I had to go plow more
snow. Last night I plowed out front here and then went down to the Frederic Inn
for a nice big burrito and when I came back here an hour later to get the beagle
there was at least another 2 inches of new stuff.....I sure would love to see that
more often. Going out to plow again right now. THanks for checking in. Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday Noon,
Its snowing good out there and its supposed to keep coming over the whole
state. I have a guy here that is from Terre Haute Indiana that bought a
new sled and now has 2 sleds here with no trailer. He is looking for someone
that can take his extra sled back to Indiana, He said anywhere between Fort
Wayne and Indy would be good for him, If you have a empty spot on a trailer
going south call me and I will get you set up with him. It will get you some
extra gas money to haul it back for him...Thanks, Pete

to watch sunday video click here
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday February 15, 2009 10:15 a.m.
Its sunny and 20 out. I walked in the door just in time to catch the last song
on the Elvis Gospel Hour plus I had people waiting to buy carbides. Yesterday
there were very few riders out but every one that came in said the same thing,
that the trails were way better than they expected and they were all happy that
the trails werent as busy as usual. So that turned out to be a nice bonus for
the riders that were here. There were 2 fund raising rides going on yet, the one
being the pink ribbon riders out of Gaylord raising and riding for breast
cancer awareness, their site is
pink ribbon riders click here and the other ride was the fun run that started
out in frederic at the swamp and then ended up at the Ole Barn last night. That
was to raise money for the Grayling Animal Shelter and put on by Mary Becker. I
went to the Ole Barn last night to catch the end of the ride and met some of
the riders there including Bob and Bridget Swift from TEAM GNS (got no shame).....they
said they are friend with one of my readers that I havent heard from in a long time,
little mikey schiedel aka squintz from down in the Grand Rapids neighborhood......and
speaking of readers and visitors I havent heard from Ohio Brian has not showed or called
yet this season. Dont know what the deal is with him. So to get back on track here, the
trails are in surprisng shape for the little snow we recieved this week, I had several
reports of groomer sightings and many happy riders that say the trails were best to the
west of frederic. Now I keep hearing rumors about an upcoming storm in the next few days
which should really put us back on the groomed trail. Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday 11:00 a.m.
When you think youve seen it all in snowmobiles something new comes along,
actually this is from 1926. I sure would not want to fall off this thing
into the track. Go to this page and look to the bottom of the page to watch
the video. Entertaining and a great look at the past, watch how deep the
snow is, I only wish we could get snow that deep today. Its a silent movie
but keep watching and you will see the captions.

TO WATCH Fordson Snow Motor click here

Saturday February 14, 2009 9:45 am..
Its 22 degrees out with a fine snow in the air. We had about a half inch
of new snow since yesterday. There was a group of 4 sleds that rode into
here yesterday and the one guy said he was glad that he came, he was rating
the trails at 5 or 6 and that the worse parts were the road crossing or
any gravel shoulders you had to go by. I did see other sleds out and about
yesterday including a bunch at Larrys in Elmira at both 4 oclock and 10 oclock
when I went by there last night. I took my daughter Haley up to Avalanche
Bay at Boyne Mountain for a fun night in the water park. The other fun part
of that trip was that I met 3 regular readers in the park that recognized me
and came up to say hi. There was Brad Lavoy from Temperance, Phil Mcgrill from
St.Charles and Jim and his son Josh from Flint....It was nice to meet those
guys and they all pretty much said they did that instead of riding this weekend.
So thats where the riders are......I had a call from Brad downstate this morning
and he said they had 4 inches last night. I have been hearing rumors about some
big storm heading this way from out west so lets hope that happens. Thanks for
checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noon Friday
2 drownings on Crystal Lake this morning in Frankfort where sled fell
thru ice....STAY OFF ALL LAKES.......
I have seen one sled ride thru frederic this morning so far.....

Friday the 13th February 2009
This is the kind of day that is great for carbide and slide sales....we
had about a half inch of new snow overnight. Overall I would say conditions
are poor. 2 guys were in this morning that came in to by some sledheads
thongs but I am out. They said they are going to ride over by lovells
today. Its supposed to stay below 30 over the weekend so thats good but
we need a nice blast of snow. I talked to Don up in Seney at the Fox River
Motel yesterday and he said trails are still decent and if it got down to 16
last night like it was supposed to they were going to run the groomers. It
will be a while till the groomers run around frederic. So the wait is on for
more snow. I am sure there will be some die hards out there, for those of you
staying home, check out the web cam saturday afternoon and you will see what
exactly is happening here. Thanks for checking in. Pete
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday February 12, 2009 11:50
There is a light snow in the air and its about 35 out. We were supposed
to get 3 or 4 inches but only just a a skiff fell. I have been working on
a 5 minute video that I shot on tuesday and this morning to show you trail
crossings and what its like out there. Its still loading up and I will have
it posted here in the next half hour.....Check back in a while and thanks
for checking in. Pete

TO WATCH Thursday 2/12 trail crossings & conditions CLICK HERE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday February 11, 2009 10:30 a.m.
Just me the beagle and the all elvis radio station here in Sledheads this
morning.......39 degrees out and looking worse each morning. This morning
I was still in bed and I heard Haley say that she could see grass outside
which was a great thing to hear first thing. I have been getting calls from
people wondering about riding. About the only thing you could ride now is
2 tracks and off trail things and expect it to be wet and mushy, there is
still snow on the trails but there is also dirt so I would vote against that.
So I am doing things here that I have been putting off for a while and doing
the snow chant....Thanks for checking in. Pete
------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February 10, 2009 11:00 a.m.
It rained most of the night in grayling and was 41 degrees when I left home
this morning, things are very icy and lots of dirt showing in the parking lot.
What did surprise me was that I went to gaylord this morning and the trail along
27 looked flat as could be like it was groomed last night, thats not to say that
its pretty soft but it did look pretty good with only a few dark spots. It seems
like with the warm temps today it can only get worse. I will stop at that, I finally
have the hot links thing figured out and have 3 videos done that you can watch while
you wish you could ride, when you click the links it takes you right to my youtube
page which then has a spot down below where you can email that video to a friend if
you would like to so thats a nice feature. Check them out and do some snow chanting
too..........

TO WATCH GROOMING THE GRAYLING TRAILS PART 1 CLICK HERE

TO WATCH GROOMING THE GRAYLING TRAILS PART 2 CLICK HERE

TO WATCH Wertz Warriors at the Swamp Bar 2009
Thanks for checking in. Pete
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday February 9, 2009 11:00 a.m.
I already had this typed up once and the computer shut down on me, I hope
I dont have the same thing wrong on this as my laptop. Talked to JC the weather
man this morning and the only good news he had for me was that he got married,
he says 50s tommorow, rain on wed and snow on wed night with next chance for
snow on tues the 17th.....sure hope hes wrong. I have been meaning to write about
this for a while but with all the talk lately of flight 1549 in the hudson river
it brings back memories of a story about me and my buddy bob....after a full
day of cruising up the atlantic ocean from baltimore with a stop in front of
the statue of liberty we dropped anchor just south of the George Washington
Bridge for the night. Thats right about where that plane landed. It was really
quiet there that night considering we were right next to NYC.......to read my
whole story on that trip seeing that there is no snow to play in, go to the tabs
above and click the one that says adventures of pete the greek and read the one
called the Big Adventure.........it sure was a fun trip......Now
a email I recieved from someone who had a good ride here this weekend.

Hello Pete, Just wanted to thank you for the s'mores. My little guy has been
wanting to get do there to have some. I was watching the video with the one
lady out there last week or so. My son seen that part(of course). So the
last two weeks when we've been up he's says dad can we go get them s'mores
this time. So warm weather and a rough running 91 Indy 400(bad plugs).
We made it. When we had gotten there the stuff was put away. When we went
inside to the young lady working about it. She did not hastate to get it
right out for us. My son and my buddies son just thought that was the
coolest thing. So thank you very much for doing the little things that
will make a kids memory. Then I had to go back in and get my reflective
Sledheads.com helmet stickers(5). Thanks again, Chris from Romeo

I am glad they had a good time and now we need to keep up the snow chants.
I have 3 videos just about ready to go, The groomer ride from last week is a
2 part one and the Wertz Warriors one is ready to. Probably post them later today.
Thanks for checking in. Pete
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday February 8, 2009 10:00 a.m.
MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH........Its time to start up the snow chants and
break out the spam. We never did get any drizzle yesterday but 48 degrees
certainly did us any favors. Trails looks very soft yesterday afternoon but
it was 27 this morning which should have stiffened everything up but unless
it was groomed it will be rutty and hard to hold the skis straight. I have
seen a few sleds out so far this morning. The parking lot is down to ice
and dirt in spots and on the bright side a guy I was with outside spotted
a 5 dollar bill frozen down in the ice.....thursday is the next prediction
for any snow and who knows where will conditions will be by then if the warmth
continues......thats it for now so I guess I will just set back and enjoy the
rest of the Elvis Gospel Hour.....Thanks for checking in. Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------

TO WATCH GROOMING THE TRAILS PART 2 CLICK HERE
Saturday February 7, 2009 Noon
Been a dark day all day at 38 degrees but thank goodness no drizzle like
was predicted, at least so far. Went thru the Ramada this morning and there
were about 20 trailers there and traffic thru town here this morning has been
steady. Roads are wet and snow is dripping off the roofs, not really what I
want to write about. Trails and crossings still looked in good shape this morning
on the way here too. One of the first groups in here this morning were from
Kentucky and they said they have been watching my site for the past few months.
Yesterday California Marty was in and he has been a regular reader for years.
Just passed 300 on the sledheads reflective helmet stickers, hopefully a nice
saftey addition. Still working on 2 different videos, the groomer run from
last week and the wertz warriors from wednesday of this week. Something got
to my laptop at home as it will not let me open internet explorer and it keeps
saying it had an error and has to shut down, so I need to get that figured out.
My friends Jason and Jeff are here from kzoo and we had a nice big fire going
outside last night and its still burning today, they headed up to cheboygan
and were going to go to bois blanc island.....So thats about it today. Thanks
for checking in. Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday February 6, 2009 9:10 a.m. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpWd4vmkIzk
Just rode here into frederic about 8:45, its 2 below out and I rode my sled
here from home, the trails were very nice from the 72 parking lot all the way
to here. We sure could use a shot of new snow as everything is looking well
worn. I just checked the gaylord weather service which you too can do anytime
by calling 989 732 6242 then push 1......he says light drizzle tonight and tommorow
with flurries saturday night and temps of upper 30s on saturday....the good
part is he says light drizzle.......we would have to get alot of rain to knock out
all our snow.....so I have already had emails this morning on what do i think.....
my guess is yes you can ride but expect the drizzle.......on saturday, sounded
like sunday will be o.k. My ride yesterday didnt work out like I wanted, by the
time I got out of here it was 1:30 and made a stop or two in grayling and then
stopped at home, by the time I was going to head off to Houghton Lake it was
almost 3, so I decided heck with it and drove my truck down. On the way down
I thought I would go thru prudenville and stopped at the surplus store to see if
Archie was there, I hadnt been there in a couple years and sure enough Archie was
there. What a cool old guy, still working everyday and he is almost 98 years old.
So it was well worth missing my sled ride just to visit with Archie.....Left
Archies and went down to Rons Coney Island,,,,,and guess what? It was 4:13 and
they closed at 4.....just my luck, so I headed off and stopped at spicers and
checked out their sleds and left there and made a new discovery for houghton lake.
On the corner up by the state police post there used to be 2 restaurants next to
each other, I know one of them was called whiteheads......anyways the Best Choice
Market Place is there and they have a deli and produce, the place does not look
inviting on the outside but I was very surprised when I walked in. They have lots
of first class cuts of meats, tons of deli stuff and great sandwhiches for only 5 bucks.
If you are down that way I would highly recommend checking it out.....I had a great
sandwhich and f