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Archive for the ‘Outdoor Endeavors’ Category

This weekend was supposed to be the peak of the colors for the fall season, so Stacy and I made a point to go out to a few different places to enjoy our favorite time of year.  On Saturday we went to Covered Road, on the way to Freda, MI.  On Sunday, we went to Hungarian Falls to take a look at the colors.  Anyway, here is what the Keweenaw has to offer for fall colors this year.

It has been a few weeks since I have last posted anything, and for good reason.  Over the last 3 weeks, between work (preparation for Orientation), wedding planning, the wedding itself, and the honeymoon, I haven’t had much time to myself to sit down and write.  Now, I can reflect on everything that happened over the last three weeks.

The wedding was fantastic.  I am fortunate to have a bunch of really good friends who drove hundreds of miles to get here, some of which I did not see for the better part of six years.  From Kansas, Wyoming, Downstate, Wisconsin, and Illinois, friends and family joined Stacy and I on our wedding day, and we were grateful to have such a wonderful to join us on this special day.

The weather was perfect, the church was air conditioned, and so was the reception hall. During the ceremony, both Stace and I were very nervous, but we managed to make it through the half hour ceremony without any problems.

We rented the Red Jacket Trolley for the wedding to booze cruise on between the ceremony and the reception.  We drove out to Mclain State Park, and shot a bunch of photos, and half the wedding party jumped into the water off the breaker.  I can’t see what Adam Johnson was able to capture with the shots of us out here, but I’m sure they were pretty amazing.

The reception was great as well.  There were a lot of people on the dance floor right on up to the last dance, which was very nice to see.  People seemed to have a lot of fun, and so did Stace and I.

Where the real fun started for Stace and I was during the honeymoon.  The following morning, we opened gifts real quick, and we were on our way to Marquette to fly into San Fransisco.  Our itinerary included 3 full days in San Fransisco, and 4 full days in Yosemite National Park.  We didn’t get into San Fransisco until late Sunday night, so we just went to bed that night, and Monday was the day we actually started our Honeymoon.

Monday morning we decided that we should probably do the cliche thing and head over to the Golden Gate Bridge.  So the first thing we did after breakfast was get in our Ruby Red convertible Ford Mustang and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We felt like the Full House family, so we had to make sure that we went and found the Full House house as well.  We did a little bit of shopping to prepare for the woods, stopped at the Apple Headquarters (yes, I’m a fanboi), and got dressed up all fancy and went out to eat at Kincaids Bayhouse.

On Tuesday we found ourselves driving into Yosemite National Park.  About 3 hours away from San Fransisco, it felt as if we were never going to get there.  Very dry, desert like region, and all of a sudden, you drive over a big hill and we approached some of the greenest landscape I have ever been in to.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We checked into our cabin at the Evergreen Lodge, took a quick “tourist tour” of Yosemite Valley, went to dinner, and went to bed early to prepare for a busy day on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a day where we planned to Horseback ride, check out Hetch Hetchy, and go a day hike.  Hetch Hetchy to me, was the highlight of the trip.  Absolutely gorgeous, little to no people and some of the most unique rock faces I have encountered in my time on this earth.  After hiking around Hetch Hetchy, we went back to Camp Mather to do a bit of Horseback riding, as it was Stacy’s wish to go trail riding through the National Park and surrounding areas.  For me, I wasn’t all that exciting to go horseback riding, but after we were on our way, it actually was a lot of fun.  On Friday, we ended up going horseback riding again at the south entrance of the park for 5 hours, but I’ll touch base on that later.

Thursday was by far the most ambitious day.  We planned a day jam packed with activities that started at 7 in the morning and went until 10 at night.  We started with a big breakfast before going on a 10 mile bike ride to Granite Gorge trail head, where we ended up hiking 4 miles and going on a swim.  We came across a few creatures, a whip-tail and a snake, and some huge pine cones.  Fortunately we were done hiking before it hit the warm part of the day, and we were out of the Gorge by 1:30 in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, we each got a massage.  This was my first massage, and it was definitely something I was doing out of my comfort zone, but it was totally worth it. I am totally game for doing this sort of thing again.  After the massage, we went down to the Mariposa Grove to see our first batch of Redwoods on the trip.  We hustled down the trail knowing that we needed to to grab a quick bite to eat, before we went on our way out to a vista to watch the Sunset.  After we ate to hang out for the evening with a bottle of wine and some cheeses to watch the sunset.  There were some wildfires off to the North, so the haze of the Valley was great for the different colors we had on our sunset.

Friday, we went on our long horseback riding adventure.  We went for about 5 hours out to the Redwoods.  It was very dusty, but it was a lot of fun.  We started at Fish Camp, CA and rode into the National Park, tied up our horses, ate lunch, gawked at the Redwoods, and made our back to the Ranch.  That night, we  went back to San Fransisco to board our plane the next day after a quick visit to the zoo.  All in all, the Honeymoon was a perfect vacation and we had a lot of fun.  We both left Yosemite thinking of all the things we missed and all the things we would like to do in another visit.

One of the reasons I love the Keweenaw and will probably never leave is because of the awesome berry season we have in the area.  Strawberries come first, usually starting at the end of June and going through the beginning of July.  Shortly after strawberries are out of cycle, wild blueberries, thimbleberries and raspberries start to ripen. Stacy and I took a trip out to Big Traverse Bay on Saturday to see how the blueberries were doing, and the berries were not quite ready, but we said they would be ready in a few days.

Yesterday we decided it was time…a few of us went out to Hungarian Falls with the goal of picking thimbleberries for jam making, however, they were not quite ready in a lot of shady spots, and the patches that were ready were mostly picked by other people.  We gave up on the thimbleberries, and went out to one of the most beautiful beaches in Michigan, Big Traverse Bay, and picked enough blueberries to last us quite some time.   Below are some pictures courtesy of my good friend Michael Blanchard.

On the road to Big Traverse Bay...

I guess this is me being normal...

Me pickin' the berries

Stacy on the beach

My buddy Tom

Happy couple picking natures delicious wonders...

Last night I was able to make it to my first social paddle of the season.   I had a lot of fun, there were a dozen of us, which is a pretty good turnout.  Anyway, here is a link to some pictures from last nights extravaganza….

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071738&id=6604903&l=4c584bb15f

Tonight I should finish my post on my experience of seeing Phish after 6 years of waiting.   Stay tuned…

Tom's tentative route...

My good friend Tom Maynard, has decided to go on a 3-4 month hike this summer around Lake Michigan.   He left today, and is looking at doing about 10-15 miles a day, ending back up at his front porch, from which where he started.    He doesn’t know if he is going to make it, and I’m sure many are in doubt, but I have good faith he will make a good portion of the loop, if not all of it.   I will try to keep you posted as I will be reporting on his position and morale everytime I hear from him.   I think he deserves some coverage and credibility for some effort.   Stay tuned for more information as I try to keep close track of his current whereabouts.   Here is a excerpt from his expedition:

I’m taking a walk around lake Michigan next summer. I will start in Houghton, go around counterclockwise, and end in Houghton just in time for school. It will be a great time to gain the kind of experience that one can only learn from the road. Should be a lot of fun

It would be about 13 miles a day, on foot for the most part. I will carry only a backpack. I realize that i will be by myself most of the trip, but would like some of you guys to come along for some, if not all, of the experience.

“Happiness is only real when shared” – Into the Wild

If you don’t understand why i would want to do this, simply read Thorough’s Walking or Krakauer’s Into the Wild

UPDATE:  Saturday, May 9, 2009:   Tom has reached Lake Michigan

Stacy, I, Tom, and Kristin decided to head out to Houghton Douglass Falls to celebrate the first day of summer.   Stacy and I did this last year and it was way too snowy, but this year we hit it just right.    The hike in and out was fantastic.   I fell in the river, which was cold, but due to the nice weather(yes, it hit 55 yesterday) I didn’t really care.   Anyway, are some pics….

Click here

Hi Folks,

50 degrees.   Yes, it has hit 50 degrees in the Upper Peninsula.  That means that snow is melting in Michigan.  Shocking, isn’t it? My time constraints with school and work have been a deterrent for going out on my outdoor endeavors.   But when you have a 50 degree day with sunshine in April in Upper Michigan, you take it.

Stace and I decided we would go to Hungarian Falls to see the spring runoff.  This is pretty much an annual trip for me at this time of the year.   I used to live a mile and a half away, and spent a good portion of my childhood here.  Needless to say, this place is pretty special to me, so I feel that I need to go back there often…especially during spring runoff.

Just a few crappy pics:

For my Usability class, we have had a semester long project in which we were supposed to make a set of instructions and develop a usable product. Our group decided to focus on Kayak Rolling in a multimedia instruction format.  We are still on a first draft, but we’ve come a long way.   Check out the full website at: http://oap.mtu.edu/kpc/pages/resources/rollingPrimer.html

I think it turned out pretty well.   I posted the videos for you to look through…

Kayak Roll Above Water from Greg Maino on Vimeo.

Kayak Roll Underwater from Greg Maino on Vimeo.

Kayak Roll Attempt from Greg Maino on Vimeo.