Rain to Winter Storm Warning

Now it is snowing with very strong winds.  Yay!  Hopefully we will see more snow throughout the next few days!  More to come soon.

-Derek

Rain!?!?

We are going to get it.  Doh!  I am disappointed to say that we are at 46 degrees and it is going to rain very soon.  There is no way around it this time.  Highs around 55 and rain.  That is SICK for this time of year.  Tomorrow it gets cold and snows again...but not nearly enough to make up for the snow that we have already lost.  This is a snow lover's nightmare.

-Derek

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I am taking the day off writing since it is getting late and I am already relaxing in front of the TV...but I have been riding a bit and have a few pictures from last night's ride. Not many but we have PLENTY of snow to withstand the evil warm up that is going to occur over the next two days. Freezing rain tomorrow and rain on Saturday. Oh well...we have over two feet of snow sitting on the ground right now. That is more than we ever had over the entire winter at once last winter. It was pretty cool hitting some of the powder we have been getting the last two days!

Anyway...I am supposed to be relaxing. ;)

Goodnight and Merry Christmas from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

It is STILL snowing!

So here we are...it is not even January and we have already received OVER half of our annual snowfall total.  How awesome is that? It is great for us snowmobilers!  I have been eyeing new sleds...though I am not sure which brand or model to buy.  So far I am looking at the Yamaha FX Nytro XTX, the Arctic Cat Crossfire 8 Sno Pro, or the Ski-Doo Adrenaline 600HO E-Tec.  I like the Yamaha because it is a four stroke, the Arctic Cat because of the reputation it has, and the Ski-Doo because of the new E-Tec engine.  It is a hard decision to make because each of those sleds is EXPENSIVE.  The Ski-Doo is the cheaper option...and gets excellent gas mileage and uses little oil.  The Arctic Cat has a sweet design and comes a little better equipped for deep snow, and the Yamaha is the most expensive option but has all of the above.  

It is snowing like crazy right now...so I'm going to go snap some pictures.  I will try to write more tonight!

-Derek

New Snow! Winter Storm Warning

Overnight we got about 3-4 inches of new snow.  That should have covered some of the leaves and sticks on the snowmobile trails...but since they probably groomed and people probably started riding already...it will not help much. :P  We need a good foot of snow to fall so that they can pack it down and groom it properly.  The weeks where we get 1-2 inches do not do much for the trails since the snow just blows off or gets groomed off.  

The HSSC is touting a picture of their trail system that shows a single path groomed at night...I wish I knew where it was because from the trails I saw last Wednesday and yesterday...there is not one spot that looks like that.  My guess is it was probably North of Harbor Springs.  It would have been an excellent experience to ride behind the groomer on that night.  The trail looked perfect!

Overall I would say that we are probably nearing the 18 inch mark again.  We lost a lot of snow when it rained last weekend.  It packed and got pretty hard though...so that is a plus.  

Anyway...I am hoping to go out for a ride later today.  I will remember my camera and take a few shots of what is going on in the woods.  Stay tuned for that either today or in the next day or two.

Good morning from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

St. Ignace, Arctic Cat, and a Snowmobile Ride

What do they all have in common?  Not much...other than they are all things I saw or did today.  

This morning we had breakfast at Java Joe's in St. Ignace.  They have some really good food.  I had raspberry crepes.  The wife had biscuits and gravy and some french toast.  Good stuff!  We were there bright and early and ended up staying until about 1 PM!  I did not realize how late it was when we got back on the road toward Petoskey...but it left us with little time to get any sled shopping done.  It was well worth the company and food though!

We stopped by Miller Auto to visit Scott's Cycles n' Sleds.  They had an orange Arctic Cat Crossfire 7 that I wanted to look at.  Unfortunately, when we arrived, the sled had already been purchased.  However, there was another Crossfire!  It is all black and has the Sno Pro package.  The sled does have a few miles on it...4600...but it has a lot of life left in it I am sure.  It is a bit pricey for the number or miles it has in my opinion...but it does have a lot of options.  It would be a much better ride than my sled for sure.  I will ride mine for now and decide what to do by the end of the year.  Hopefully I will know where the finances stand by then!  If anyone wants to buy a 1997 Yamaha 600 VMAX XT I would be willing to let it go.  It is a really nice sled for its age.  It only has 7900 miles on it.  I had it tuned up last winter and all the prep for this riding season is done.  It does need a new track (although the current track would be fine for light riding) and if you feel guilt about having the TORS system disabled...you might want to have that fixed.  It no longer overheats (I had the heat exchanges fixed) and the power is back.  I do not usually ride it hard...but today I had it up to about 85 mph (as a test of the TORS system) and it did just fine.  You grip it...and it rips it. :P

I did put 21 miles on my sled today.  That is not a lot...however it was a good time.  The trails a fairly snirty to start.  (I again forgot my stinking camera!!!)  I was a bit disappointed in the trails.  They were really smooth...but pretty darn dirty.  I did not ride much of them due to that.  I shot down the two track to trail 76 by the house and swung around the loop to another two track that leads back up here.  The two tracks were in really great shape! ;)  The bulk of my riding was done on our property.  That made for pretty good riding since our trails have not been abused.  I did pack them down and they should be good for the snow we are supposed to get tonight and tomorrow.  8-10 inches in some areas!

Anyway, that is it for now.  Not much has been going on...this coming week should be fairly full of riding...as long as we are not stuck doing other stuff.  I will keep hoping! :P

Look for more tomorrow. :)

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

I've been sick...

I apologize for no posts for a few days.  I have been sick since the 7th.  I am having a heck of a time shacking this!  I went to the doc today and got some antibiotics and some pain killers (for my throat).  Hopefully that will atleast help me sleep.  Unfortunately, I think I am too tired to sleep.  I have been laying here for the past two hours trying to crash.  Still awake.  Doh!

Anyway, I just wanted to throw an update out here so you knew I was still alive.  If I feel any better tomorrow I will hit the trail and get some pictures taken.  Maybe I can meet up with some people for an afternoon ride!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan...

-Derek

First legal ride...

I did take a ride the other day...but forgot to put my new registration stickers on. Doh! Luckily I only went to buy gas and drove back home. Today I put the new stickers on the sled and went down to Alanson. I bought a couple spare spark plugs and a couple quarts of oil at Spanky's. It is really convenient having that place only a 10 minute ride from the house. A quick stop before hitting the trails and I am ready to go for the day.

Anyway, to the real point of the post. The trail report! Unfortunately I did not have enough time to ride much. Trail 71 to Alanson was great...aside from just before Moore Rd. Somebody tried to drive up the trail. It made for some bumps for sure. Other than that...it was a really nice short ride.

I am looking for a used 121" track for my sled. Preferably either a swapped track from a new sled...but I would be interested in any good condition used tracks.

I took cold medicine...so I need to go lay down. :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

An absolutely beautiful day...

I do not know that we have had such a pretty day in the last month.  We have snow hanging from trees, not one single cloud in the sky, and the sun is starting to make it above the hills.  To top it off....the snow plow just went by!!!  Sweet.

The snowmobiles are out!  I have not written about it yet...but I had to do some work on my sled.  Last year after I got it back from the shop it never quite ran right.  It had excellent get up and go...but I could not get over maybe 50 mph.  I posted in a couple forums (www.johndee.com and www.snowmobileforum.com) and quickly got answers after describing all of the systems my sled was having.  It turns out that the Throttle Override System (TORS) was acting up.  I disconnected that and life is good!  However, I am a bit nervous to ride without TORS since if my throttle were to stick...I would be responsible for stopping the sled instead of TORS.  Seems like there is some danger involved.  So I iwll get with my mechanic again and ask him what he thinks.  BUT for now...I can ride around the property and hit some two tracks that no one rides on.  Whoo!  My parents were supposed to be here this weekend to ride with me (I hate riding alone) but because of the nasty weather over the past couple days they stayed home.  Doh!  So the 20 miles I got may be it for the weekend.

Anyway...I just wanted to drop in and note that the sleds were out.  I have to enjoy this day!  You might get another post out of me tonight. :P

Good morning  from Northern Michigan!

Happy First Day Of Snowmobile Season!

With the opening of the 2008-2009 snowmobiling season came a bunch of snow! Since last night we have received about 10 inches of new snow. Beautiful! It is amazing outside. The snow is making everything that was dark and drab a week or so ago incredibly pretty again! I hope to have my live camera up soon...I am having a tough time deciding on what to use. I would really like a night vision camera to use so I can have a camera out 24/7. Unfortunately it will be tough to have it running while I am surfing...our DSL is pretty pathetic now days. I really look forward to them brining higher speeds out this way.

Anyway...I just wanted to wish everyone a big welcome to the season and hope to see you on the trails soon! Think no melting! :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan...

-Derek

Snowing in Northern Michigan...

It sounds like we may not get the bulk of what is headed into Michigan...but it IS snowing and is supposed to continue into tomorrow! Oh...I am back by the way. It has been a very busy two weeks trying to get everything done at work...and get everything ready to head out of town for a couple days.

So far we have received about 2 additional inches of snow today. I do not have any exact numbers since I have been out of town since last week...but I will hopefully get some totals for tomorrow. I DO know that around the hill it would be great snowmobiling on trails. Anywhere that does not have excess twigs or growth would be great riding. I will probably work on getting ours out on Wednesday this week. It looks like we will be having some pretty good lucky snow and temperature-wise too. For the rest of the evening and going into tomorrow we are supposed to see anywhere from 3 inches to 9 inches of new snow. Currently we are under a NWS issued Winter Storm Warning (I need to start indicating NWS because some local weather stations tend to accounce things on their own now days...maybe it was just a fluke but I need to be specific I guess.) that is going to continue into tomorrow around 4 PM. It looks like snow may pick back up again on Wednesday. Temperatures look to stay in the low 30s with lows generally into the low to mid 20s as we move through the week. This sure does look like some meteorologists are edging on being correct! The pattern is moving toward a general winter pattern. Whoo!

I spent Thanksgiving in Kentucky with the wife's family. It was a very quick trip but it was fun. We ate and hung out...and for once did not run all over creation while we were there. The weather was excellent while we were down there. It got into the high 50s and low 60s during the day and into the 30s at night. Perfect for sleeping! :P I am glad to be home though. On the way home we picked up a Christmas tree and a wreath from a local farm market. It was a weird first stop since we had not even been home...but atleast it was taken care of. The cat was causing a bit of trouble when we got home. It had been in the basement! Incriminating brown fur on white paws is always the giveaway. We put the tree up and got all the decor arranged perfectly. Now we are just sitting here listening to XM 36 and watching it snow. It will be very nice to sleep in my own bed this evening...

That is it for now...the blog entries should start becoming a bit more frequent...and regular...as the snowmobile trails open up. Legally they open TOMORROW December 1st. I do not know that they will be anywhere near ready though. Maybe in some areas south of here like Kalkaska and Mancelona they could open...but I would guess that it will be pretty thin riding. One sled with obnoxious paddles or studs will ruin it very quickly. Check out www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com for updates of our local trails. I will also provide my unbiased trail reports as I ride them. I have absolutely nothing to gain by anyone else using the trails...except for occasionally waving or having to pull off for some moron that is driving too fast.

I encourge everyone to think about what they are doing before riding this season. Know the limitations of your ability...and just drive safe. Respect the trails so everyone else can enjoy them too. Try not to tear them up as you round corners. That just makes it more miserable for someone else to ride on. Remember you are not the only one riding.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

More snow...

I woke up to very little going on weather-wise...but as the day progressed we saw more and more snow start to spit out of the sky.  I left work and it really started falling.  I had to shovel the porch twice tonight! :P  I would guess we have received in the range of two inches today.  Not a heck of a lot...but as far as first snows go...we are doing quite well.  We were under a winter advisory for freezing drizzle earlier, but I think that pushed down toward the south.  Right now a few flakes are falling...but nothing major in the way of accumulation.  NWS says the snow should stop by around 10 PM tonight.  16 more minutes.  Toward the weekend it looks like a little bit of a warm up is going to occur as winds come from the west and southwest.  If the air was going to stay cold...that is a perfect setup for the lake effect snow machine to kick on in our neck of the woods.  It does not look like we will be that lucky.  (I was hoping to get a ride in this weekend!)

I am wondering whether or not I ever finished my camping story from before.  I guess I will have to look back through the last couple months to see if I did.  I honestly do not remember finishing that story up.  Doh!  Too much going on in my world lately.

I am going to post my entire CPL experience sooner or later too.  That should be a single post...as long as time permits.  There really was not much to it...just a lot of little things that could be a nuisance for some people.

Anyway...that is enough for tonight.  I will try to squeeze in another post before the weekend...hopefully with some pictures of the snow.  It gets dark so early now that I keep missing my opportunities to take pictures! :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Sticking around...

The snow that is!  We have had snow on the ground since early this morning.  It lasted all day without melting.  Right now we are under a Lake Effect Snow Advisory.  Unfortunately, that does not mean lots of snow for us.  I read up on the advisory and it says that areas south of M-68 will see the heavier snow of the advisory.  Other counties south of here may see up to a foot of snow!  That also stands for areas in the U.P.  John Dee should be getting mighty happy right about now. ;) 

It is a weird time of year I guess.  I want the snow to come so I can snowmobile...but I would like a bit more fall weather so we can enjoy the outdoors without having to get all bundled up.  Luckily we are heading to KY to see the wife's family during Thanksgiving week while my family inhabits the house.  That will give us one last taste of nice warm weather.  Hopefully anyway!  The day I get back to the house there can be as much snow as Mother Nature would like to provide.  I am hoping for a bunch of it!

My final chores around the house have been finished up.  I cleaned up the rest of the leaves and split the bulk of the rest of the wood yesterday.  I put all the implements off to the side and I am ready for winter.  Today we put plastic over the wood to keep it from getting wet and snowy.  I was a bit late doing that since the snow has been falling since last night. :P  BUT it is done now.  

I will put some more pictures up on Picasa in the next week or so.  As I mentioned before the upload time has increase dramatically since CenturyTel fixed our internet.  

The forecast for the remainder of the week calls for snow and below normal temps.  The Farmer's Alamanac (not the Old Farmer's) may be correct if this keeps up.  They are calling for far below average temps and average snowfall.  Whoo!  If we can actually get average snowfall...without a bunch of thaws...it will be like the old days!  Come on six foot snow banks! ;)

If anyone reading this knows someone with a 121" track for a 1997 Yamaha VMAX...I am searching for a newer used track for my sled.  I have a tear on the outside of my track...and it makes me a bit nervous going for a long ride.  I do not doubt that it would probably be fine for the better part of the winter...but it scares me a bit thinking that I might end up out in the middle of nowhere without a track.  (Especially since I usually ride alone.)

Anyway...I will try to write again in the first couple days of the week with some snowfall totals from the yard.  Right now I am guess we probably stand at about 1 1/2" to 2".  At 6" I will ride. :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

A whole week already?

I cannot believe it has already been over a week.  Time flies!  There really has not been anything new and exciting happening.  I did get my CPL...we have had a few light snows to keep us snow lovers happy (even though it has all melted now)...and everything has finally started to slow down a bit.  A little more wood splitting is optional, but certainly not necessary.  I think more than anything a couple days away from here would be the best thing that could happen.  I am tired, cranky, and ready for bed all the time. :P  A nice weekend of laying around doing nothing would be perfect. 

The purpose of my blog is not to talk about laying around though...so I will really quickly discuss the forecast over the next few days.  By really quickly I mean one word.  Rain.  It looks to rain into the weekend and possibly turn into a bit of snow.  Hopefully we could see a bit of lake effect snow this weekend too.  Temps are going to be just about average possibly a bit above over the next couple days as well.  Not very far off though.  I really need to get busy and post my predictions for the winter...it is quite late.  I do not remember when I posted it last year, but it was probably about this time.

That will do it for now...I have a bunch of pictures to upload but ever since CenturyTel "fixed" my DSL my upload speed got hacked in half.  Stay tuned for them though. :)  http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding.

-Derek

I had a lot of thinking to do...

I woke up this morning, certain that I would vote Bob Barr and select each individual who was not a republican or democrat. However, as the day went by, my thoughts got a bit more rational. I know for a fact that Bob Barr stands no chance to be elected president. I support what he stands for and what it means to be a Libertarian. I have not, until recently, done any research on that part but I do believe it would be for the good of the USA to vote someone from that party into office. But, since I know that Barr stands no chance, I altered my voting decision and made a choice that I thought would be in the best interest of my country. I voted for John McCain.

Derek

My wood splitter broke!

Structurally it is fine...however the hydrolic fluid return hose popped off and it dumped all my fluid on the ground.  Doh!  So now I have to get some new and get rolling again.  Hopefully I will have that fixed by Wednesday so I can finally be finished with all of the wood.

We finished cleaning up the leaves today!  It is very exciting to see the grass again.  The lawn mower SHOULD be done for the rest of the season.

Anyway, short post since I am getting ready for bed.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

The Colbert Report

I hope everyone gets a chance to check out The Colbert Report re-run today.  (From October 28th)  It is only a comedy show...but geez he does make a few good points about Barack Obama.  He questions whether Obama is a socialist...and toys around with the word communist. :)  I dig it!  And of course the joke.... "What does a communist put on his spaghetti?  Communist mani-pesto."  Good stuff.

I just found a link to the show itself.  If you missed it check it out.  Good episode.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/41357/the-colbert-report-tue-oct-28-2008

-Derek

Ruger P345 .45 ACP Review

I bought my P345 .45 a couple weeks ago now and just finally shot it for the first time today.  It is a beautiful gun.  You can see it at http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding.  It is an easy firing gun with amazingly low kick.  Honestly, I compare the kick to my P95DC 9mm.  Anyway, to the review.

When opening the box you will see two eight round magazines, a lock, a magazine loader, two keys (for the DC), the gun, instructions, and the test fire case in a sealed envelope.  The same as any other Ruger I have purchased.  The P345 has a stainless slide and a polymer frame and grip.

When first picking up the gun I was amazed at how light it was.  For some reason, despite the very similar size, I expected it to weight more than the P95.  Handling side by side I cannot tell a difference.  The grip on the .45 is smaller and much more comfortable than the 9mm.  There is a chamber load indicator on the top of the slide.  If there is a bullet in the chamber this indicator pops up.  (I will upload some more pictures of these features as I get them taken.)  The .45 has an ambidextrous magazine release.  When I tried to put the magazine in the first couple times I could only get it in by pressing the release.  The guy at the store I purchased it from said that should not be the case...but I honestly could not get it to go in without pressing the release until I did it a few times and finally slammed it in.  Now it pops in just fine.  The de-cocker is a little less convenient than on the P95.  On the P345 you have to manually pull the DC back up after you have pressed it down.  This also acts as a safety.  You use the keys I mentioned earlier to lock the DC in place.  On the P95 it just pops back up...and there is no safety.  The .45 has 3-dot sights.  The barrel is four inches long.  The P345 sports a picatinny rail on the frame for attachments.

Now to the good stuff.  Firing the P345 was a pleasure.  I was incredibly impressed with the ease of firing.  It fires slightly different than the P95 in that the trigger pull is a little bit further on the double action.  I just have gotten used to the trigger on the P95 and it confused me just a little bit. :P  Once I got used to it everything was as it should be in the world.  A very strong shot with very little kick is what I got out of it.  Single handed it might be a bit more difficult...I shot with both.  I shot through eight rounds and loved each one of them.  My brother shot through the other eight rounds and had no trouble with it.  It was fairly easy to stay accurate at a distance of about 25 feet...even with a crappy target and never having shot the gun before.

Cleaning the gun was a breeze just like the P95.  I tore it down, cleaned it up, put it back together and put it away in about 10 minutes.  (A detailed cleaning.)  Everything went as it was supposed to.  Good stuff.

Overall, I will probably start shooting the .45 more than the 9mm.  The ammo is comparably priced.  I got 50 .45 rounds for $15 and 50 9mm rounds for I think $12.  It have not shopped around much at the different stores...maybe I can get to that tonight or tomorrow.  

If you have any specific questions about the P345 please do not hesitate to ask.  

-Derek

Oops!

I just realized I did not write a Happy Halloween post!!!  I cannot believe that.  There it was though...I hope it was not too late.  (My pumpkins are still outside and all my decorations are still up...so I think it is fine...)

-Derek

My candidate endorsement...

Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party.

http://www.lp.org/

http://www.bobbarr2008.com/

I have had it up to here with the commercials, the lies, the constant bickering, whining, and everything else that has to go along with a presidential election.

I was a supporter of McCain.  I like John McCain.  I do not like Barack Obama...for many reasons.  (I toy with his name and Biden's and make him Obama joe Biden...hopefully that atleast LOOKS familiar. :P)  McCain has blown it.  I am just sick and tired of both of them...so it is time for a REAL change.  For the last six months...all we have heard about is CHANGE.  Where is the real change?  The rich are continually going to be richer...and the poor are continually going to get treated like babies.  Meanwhile people like myself, who work hard and have trouble making ends meet, get the shaft again.  Now, it is not difficult to figure out that even with a Libertarian president things will not change all that much.  We certainly will not have a Libertarian House and Senate.  So most of what a Libertarian president stands for would just be covered up by the evil of the Democratic and Republican parties.  BUT, if we voted in a Libertarian president, think of the message it would send.  People are tired of the main stream and are finally doing something about it.  Would that not be impressive?!  Finally, the foundation on which this country was built, would again be strong and REAL CHANGE could be on the horizon.

I urge everyone to vote...and I urge everyone to vote Libertarian.  Vote Bob Barr on November 4th.  

Derek

John Dee's sleds...

I have been a follower of John Dee and his adventures for nearly two years now.  I rarely get to his site in the summer...but as fall approaches I know I can turn to his site to be as equally excited about snow as mine.  He has been torturing his readers for some time about the new sleds he is going to be riding this winter.  It turns out one of my predictions was correct...a Yamaha Nytro.  He rode one last winter as a demo.  The other...an Arctic Cat M8.  I am not familiar with too much of that "Cat" lifestyle.  I rode a cat a few years ago...it was a nice sled.  However, the suspension on it murdered my back side.  So finally I know what he is going to be riding this winter...and I can sit here and be jealous for the next 6 months until the snow melts. :P

I will still be riding the ol' Yamaha VMAX.  I was hoping to possibly look for something new this year...but I am trying to save us some cash until I know what I really want.  Even a newer used sled would be fine by me...but the VMAX will do fine this year.  I may need a new track...the old one has a small tear in it.  As long as I ride slow and local...should not be an issue.  The maintenance I had done on it last winter seemed to help a bit on my last rides of the season.  I look forward to verifying that it actually did the trick.  I still have to do some of my own little maintenance to it...greasing up the suspension and such.  A new set of plugs will be in order too.  I found that after I fog my sled...the plugs are toast.  I hope that is how it is supposed to be.

Anyway...it looks like the temperatures are going to warm up just a little bit through our Friday and into the weekend.  Sunday and Sunday night might see a bit of rain...but overall a nice looking weekend is in store for us.  That is good because I have a bunch of leaves to pick up still. ;)  The wind that is blowing right now should knock the rest of them down!  

Tomorrow is the end of October...and Halloween.  I should go out...but will probably be sitting here drinking  a beer or something. 

Goodnight from Northern Michigan...

-Derek

A busy day...

7:00 AM - Wake up and take wife to docs for some imaging.

10:15 AM - Breakfast

11:00 AM - Home Depot to pick up wood furnace repair materials.

11:30 AM - Lowe's to find items not available at Home Depot.

12:00 PM - Emmet Brick and Block to pick up fire bricks.

12:15 PM - Home, fixing wood furnace.

1:00 PM - Outside splitting wood.

2:00 PM - Tired of it all...sat on my butt for the rest of the afternoon.

So it was a busy start to the day. ;)  The stuff I did took much less time than anticipated.  The wood furnace was a very quick fix.  I used the Shop Vac to suck out all the old ash and inserted the new fire bricks.  Upon further inspection the chimney at the edge of the furnace was almost plugged with old ash.  I scraped as much out as I could and got the Shop Vac to suck the rest out.  It was a dirty and dusty experience.  Luckily I figured in advance that I would be breathing in horrible air so I had a mask on.  (One of the smarter moves I have made in the last few weeks.)  After the inside was all cleaned out I pulled the cap at another junction off and cleaned that out.  Not much buildup right there.  Last night I noticed that there was an uncovered pipe coming out of the air box on the furnace that was pouring all sorts of hot air into the basement.  How lame!  I just wonder how long it has been like that.  So the furnace is done now and I will probably run the CSL through it tonight.

The wood splitting did not last long...but I have row four completed.  There is still LOTS of splitting to do...most will have to be split with the hydraulic log splitter.  It is impossible to split it with the maul. :P

The weather today turned out to be very nice!  The clouds have gone away and the winds have calmed.  It is still VERY cold outside.  We are not even pushing into the high 30s.  

Anyway...the wife has class again in a little bit...so I am going to take off.

Have a good remainder of the afternoon!

-Derek

White on the ground...

It snowed overnight!  I woke up to about an inch of snow on the truck.  It continued to rain and snow throughout the day...higher elevations saw more snow.  At work we saw a few flakes falling.  At home we saw more snow.  Unfortunately it warmed up a bit later in the afternoon and some of the white disappeared.  That is okay for now.  I still have a bunch of work to do outside.

We maintained temperatures through the day though.  I never saw it get colder than 34 and no higher than 40.  It looks like the warmest we had at the house was around 37 degrees.  It makes me want to get the sleds ready!  I took tomorrow off work so I can finish splitting wood and get the garage cleaned up.  I also have to do some maintenance on the wood furnace.  The box needs to be sealed again, a brick in the bottom needs to be replaced, and a couple of the duct covers blew off over the last few years and I need to crawl around and replace them.  We are pumping more heat into the basement than we are into the house...two of the covers right off the furnace have blown off.  I will probably run the creosote sweeping log through it too.  Over the next few weekends we will get the chimney cleaned out...but the CSL is a good start I imagine.

Well, I am losing focus very quickly...time to go. :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

First snow of the year...

This will be very quick. We had our first snow today! Most of the day it rained...but later in the afternoon, around 4PM, it started snowing! Big flakes! They only fell for a few minutes. Hopefully we will see a little bit more overnight...but no promises. By the time I came home it was raining again.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

A rainy day in the neighborhood...

It is not much of a suprise this time of year, but the weather is fairly crappy.  It rained for a good portion of the day yesterday and has continued today.  There has not been a constant rain, but on and off.  The "fall" type rain. :P  I was just outside filling our bird feeders and I heard some thunder off in the distance.  Weird for this time of year!  I wonder if there is any correlation to how late in the year thunderstorms come and how bad the winter is?  Now I have some research to do.  ;)

It looks like the bulk of our chances for snow have dwindled away.  We were supposed to get a bit tonight and tomorrow.  Now we MIGHT get some through the first couple days of the week but it will all be entwined with rain.  Doh!

The thunder is getting closer and closer so I think I will keep this short so I can keep an eye on it.  46 degree thunderstorms are pretty cool.  I am hoping that we do not see any hail...the cars are out of the garage. :P

Enough for now.  I might continue the camping story tonight. :)

Goodmorning from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Camping Trip Part 2

So we found a place to camp for the night.  We got the tarp put up to keep a residual rain from falling on us and got the fire started.  Collecting the fire wood was difficult in such a wet area...especially after it rained so hard earlier in the afternoon.  On top of that all the wood was old dead cedar.  Not the kind that burns well...but the spongy kind of almost rotten kind. :P  We gathered some brush and branches to put on the ground to keep our gear dry while we slept.  I threw my mat down and got all my gear ready for the night.  Now, as I mentioned in my last post, it was supposed to be a "light" trip so I did not bring much to sleep with other than my mat and the fleece sleeping bag I bought the night before.  So my initial setup of my space was fairly quick and easy.  We stood by the fire for a bit longer and I decided it was time for me to hit the sack.  I got all settled in and was out like a light.

I woke up in what seemed to be just a few minutes after I had fallen asleep.  The other guys were sleeping and the fire was about out.  I was a bit startled because I was not entirely sure what was happening...but I could not control my shaking.  After a moment I realized I was shivering...and that I was EXTREMELY cold.  It was only 12:15 AM.  I quickly got up and started moving around.  I stoked up the fire...but with all the wet wood it was tough to get it going again.  I successfully got the fire to smolder and decided that if I was going to get warm I needed to walk.  So I started walking into the woods.  I looked back and could still see the fire so I called (yes I had my phone) my wife to tell her what was going on.  1:00 AM.  I kept walking around and decided since I was already headed through the woods I would find the trail and head out of the woods.  About 30 seconds later I was on the trail...and one minute later I was in someone back yard.  We were camping three minutes away from someones house.  *laugh*  I could not believe that.  We looked EVERYWHERE for lights before we made the camp...and we were that close to town. 

I got onto the road and walked around trying to find my way out of the area.  I had never been there before, that I can recall, so I really had no idea.  I listened for the highway and kept walking in that direction.  There must have been some echoing because I got lost.  I walked and walked while talking to my wife trying to figure out where I was.  I had her get onto Google Maps to find a map of the area.  Unfortunately the roads are not listed on Google Maps and before I knew it...I had walked the same block THREE TIMES!  I took a new turn and finally made it onto the highway.  Camo pants, camo hat, black boots, and a black jacket.  I prayed that the cops would not stop and take me to jail. :P  After about a 15-20 minute walk along the road I finally made it to my truck and headed home.  As I rolled out of town, around 1:45 AM, I sent my buddies a text message to let them know I was out for the night.  I noticed shortly after I sent the message that the temperature outside was around 38 degrees and the sky was completely clear and full of stars.  It was cold.  I got home, curled up in a nice warm bed, and was out until 7:00 AM when the alarm went off.  I had to go back and get all my gear.

As I got ready to go it was still completely clear out and the temperature was down to 34 degrees.  Would I have made it a complete night in a fleece sleeping bag?  I doubt it.  I could have if we had taken turns keeping the fire going...but I did not want to wake anyone up.  So much for a light gear camping trip.  I will not be that stupid this time of year ever again. ;)  

The next day and night went much better...but I will save that for Part 3.

Good morning from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Camping Trip Part 1

I am finally going to write about our camping trip!  This will serve as an introduction into the weekend.  Hopefully you will get some laughs and possibly some ideas from the trip.  The laughs will primarily be provided at my expense.  Anyway...

I knew for two weeks that this camping trip was coming up.  The whole point of the trip was to pack light and go unseen.  Yet I did nothing to prepare for it.  The night before the trip I made my way into Walmart and picked up some of the essentials.  By essentials I simply mean freeze dried food and a light fleece sleeping bag.  Camo was also purchased...but not that important.  It was more for entertainment. :P  

The next day I left work an hour early and headed home to grab my gear.  After saying my goodbyes to the wife and kitty I headed into town to meet my friends.  As soon as I hit the city limits the rain started pouring.  I met up with my two buddies that were going with me...and decided we would wait a bit before heading out.  Around 15 minutes passed and we threw on our gear.  From my experience with the last trip...I took VERY little this time.  Food, some extra clothes, and some gear to sleep on/in.  It was an easy walk to the edge of the woods where we headed down a small trail.  Shortly after entering the woods we took a rest and I got dressed from head to toe in my camo.  Honestly, I blended in VERY well...especially as we got deeper and the woods got darker.  We followed a few of the trails and ended up in a few back yards.  It was mildly frightening...wearing all camo with a big red pack on my back. ;)  We quickly made our way back into the woods after that.  

By that time it was starting to get dark out.  We wound through a few more trails and got to where we figured was fairly remote.  We stumbled our way into a swamp and finally found a place to make camp.  

I will end with that for tonight.  I will try to get Part 2 posted tomorrow or Thursday.  

Tonight is supposed to be COLD!  NWS says we are heading down toward 16 degrees.  It is too bad there is not any precipitation heading our way...we would be seeing snow for sure.  The days are supposed to keep reaching up into the high 40s to mid 50s.  No snow in the near term forecast though.  Most of our leaves have fall now.  There are a few trees still clinging onto the end of summer as they are still green.  I believe they are only the black cherry trees though.  There should be some pictures to upload fairly soon.  I really missed out on the best picture taking this year.  Two weekends ago the wind came through and knocked most of the color out.  

I think that is about it for now...as I mentioned I will try to post tomorrow.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

My absence...

I have been missing for the past few days. Not from my normal responsibilities, but from anything fun and entertaining, including writing. I have been absolutely worn out since last week. I think a few good nights sleep will help. The temperatures have been quite warm and it has made for miserable sleeping conditions.

The warm weather has come and gone. The 'Indian Summer' that we have all been relatively enjoying is looking like it has finally given up. We will struggle to get out of the low 50s this week. The typical "chance of rain" phrase is getting more popular as we start to see the occasional rain showers pass though. I would guess that before long we will have a snow shower or two. (Or so I hope!)

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day. The colors in the trees were amazing and the weather was incredible. We made it into the 70s with the occasional peak of sun through mostly broken clouds. Then last night it all came to an end. As a cold front moved in, the rain started to fall, and the wind picked up something fierce. Unfortunately I do not have any info on the wind speeds last night, but the leaves came down. LOTS of leaves. Every last inch of green grass in the lawn is covered in leaves. There are still many to fall, but the color is almost gone. The bulk of the remaining leaves are turning a yellow-ish brown color. Not very pleasing asthetically. Today was much the same with some gusty wind and lots of clouds. It cleared up a bit in the afternoon and stayed cool. Perfect!

I promise I will write about our camping trip...possibly tomorrow. I have to have a decent amount of time to make sure I get it all written. I said before that I was going to try to do it in a few short posts. I believe I will just turn it into one gigantic post so that there are no interruptions. :)

Time to get ready for bed...I am beat.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Camping story...

I am going to skip writing tonight because I am absolutely beat...but in the next few days I will be writing a conglomoration of posts that will tell you about my entire weekend camping.  It had it's ups and downs...but overall it went well.  

So stay tuned over the next week for the entire story.  It should be formatted much like the last trip that I posted about...hopefully you will find it entertaining.

The weather over the next few days looks to warm up a bit.  Some clouds and some sun...temps dipping into the 40s at night and up into the 60s during the day.  Perfect for cutting the rest of the wood!

Anyway...Tommy Boy is on Comedy Central and I am getting ready to take a nap. ;)

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Winter-like precipitation?

Uh-oh!  For all of you summer lovers...say your prayers.  There is no hope.  I was looking at the weeks forecast just as the weather came on TV.  I heard Greg say "wintry mix".  You have no idea how excited I am to hear that!  He also said that the 'shear winds' , from the North and West, could cause some funnel clouds.  Water spouts anyone?  It is October tomorrow...and we have yet to see a frost.  This fall is reminding me almost EXACTLY of falls that we had when I was little.  The typical cool/warm trends...the constant on/off rain...and running into October before we see the leaves fall down.

So I have been looking for some gear to do a bit of fall camping.  It is always wet up here this time of year...so the best idea in my opinion is a hammock type shelter.  This spawned from the idea of camping this weekend with a couple friends who use hammocks and tarps.  This got me thinking...maybe there is a market for such a shelter.  BUT, it turns out that it is an old idea.  I googled it and found Eagle's Nest Outfitters (http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com).  They have a line of hammocks and hammock shelters.  I have been trying to order the 'OneLink ProNest' for the past few days now.  It is a hammock shelter with a bug net, rain fly, and 'slap straps' which makes your setup a breeze.  I contacted the company to see if they were expected in stock soon but I have not heard anything back.  I have also looked at all of their resellers that have web pages to see if they offer the OneLink ProNest...but nothing so far.  I would be very interested to make a deal with ENO to test and use their product and write a review on it since it seems like it is not an extremely well known piece of gear.  

Now to winter camping...I am still trying to finish up my shelter in the woods.  Having to cut wood has drastically dug into my time spent in the woods having fun.  Maybe tomorrow I will work on that since it might rain.  If I could get the plastic walls put up inside it would be dry to finish up! ;)  The only reason I am using plastic inside is so that it might last a bit longer.  I would like to get a few trips out of it instead of it filling with snow and getting shut in.  I do have some video of the process I have gone through to put it together...but I need to create a YouTube account first.

Anyway, time to get dinner.  

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Time to cut wood...

The final days of September are finally starting to attack.  I have two rows of wood cut and two more to go.  Blah!  I should be able to knock one out today as long as the weather holds off.  Occasionally it looks like it may rain.  I hope not!  I have a Poulan Pro 42cc 18" chainsaw.  It was nothing great when I bought it... it was cheap but it cuts like a charm.  The only worry I have for the remainder of the year is the tractor.  It is from the late 60s I believe...only having been rebuilt once.  Yikes!  

I paid my snowmobile registration today!!!  We all know what that means.  We are getting closer to the first snow!  

On another note...I do put ads on my blog.  They are fairly out of the way and do not make the reading difficult.  However, I was in my adsense today and there was  big link telling me to add youtube content to my site.  Talk about invasive!  Those ads run whether you want them to or not...and often times you will be plagued with constant noise from them.  How do you like that?  I do not.  I will not be adding youtube content to my blog unless they are willing to pay me a significant amount just to have them here.

Time to cut wood! (as indicated in the title)

-Derek

A camping trip! Happy first day of fall!

I hate to even talk about...because I really do not want to jinx it.  However, there is a camping trip planned!  It will be a simple hobo trip from what I understand.  The lightest possible amount of gear...a hammock...and a sweet place to chill.  I think I am pretty much ready for it honestly.  I have a small pack, good fall day/night gear, and since there will not be tents, a tarp.  *laugh*  I am going to buy a camo tarp to help hide me though.  The event should take place in the next few weekends.  It is too bad it is not planned for next weekend...the weather looks to hold off perfect.  

This week looks to be fairly nice weather-wise.  Highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.  Perfect fall weather!  Chance of rain on Wednesday, but other than that, we are looking good!  There should be plenty of time this week to go scouting for some excellent color scenes to shoot.  I really look forward to fall because it is when I can get the most creative without actually digging for scenery.  I am all for going and looking for it but I would much rather have it come to me now that gas is so expensive.  

Time to take the dog home. 

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Wood cutting and more...

Today has consisted of simply cutting wood and eating Wendy's. :P  Nothing really great, but both important.  I bent two chains while cutting wood...that was extremely discouraging, but I fixed one, and life was good again.  

We are playing disc golf at 4:30 today at the soccer fields in Petoskey.  There is a decent course over there.  

Other than all of that...we have been watching the dog and enjoying the experience.  It REALLY reminds me of why we do not have a dog though.  The constant attention and needs of a dog are far more than what I feel like I could give on a full time basis.  The cat is enough for me.  The dog can last one day by itself.  The cat can last a week or so.  

I have some new pictures uploaded to my picasa.  They are just a few snap shots of the wood cutting process that we go through.  

http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding

Time to clean up for golf!

-Derek

Happy Int'l Talk Like A Pirate Day

My pirate name is:

Mad Jack Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a
little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering
gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate.
Arr!

Get your own pirate name from
piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Did I mention...

That I absolutely hate the government and their bailouts?  I believe I hinted to that earlier.  So what all did they accomplish...saving one company.  The again dropped the market significantly.  They caused more fear than has been seen since the great depression.  Oil is going up, the dollar is going down.  

Gas is heading back up toward it's all time highs.  Food prices continue to go up.  I complained earlier about CNN and their reporting about people who make 100k+.  I think that someone REALLY needs to put everything in perspective for those who rule our world.  It sucks.

-Derek

We have color too...

I did fail to mention that we are finally getting a bit of color on the trees.  This seems like a much more typical fall that the last few.  Leaves not changing until late September seems more realistic. :P

-Derek

A productive day...

The day was busy and full of things to do.  Besides work, I had to finish up some of the CPL stuff, mow the lawn, babysit a dog, and cut wood.  All of which kept me busy for the better part of the afternoon.  

Nothing much new since my last post.  It has been a fairly slow week up until today.  I do want to applaud the fed for keeping rates steady yesterday.  However, I do want to punch them in the face for bailing out AIG.  I am disappointed that they went back on their word that they would not bail anymore firms out.  Lehman Brothers anyone?  

The Chinese need to get a grip on their products.  A company making powdered baby formula had a toxic batch go out?  Good grief!  Granted, their population should shrink, but certainly not that way.  (Was that mean?) 

I am tired of the TV networks using unrealistic people for all of their examples.  I read on CNN today, about a guy that makes over 100k a year and has a girlfriend that, while they did not discuss her income, probably makes a mint too.  They were asking how "Paul" would retire and be able to afford health insurance and such.  They mentioned that he had over 900k in savings.  What I would like to see, is a story about someone like me, who cannot even pay off credit cards, trying to retire and pay for everything.  How am I supposed to retire and continue my lifestyle?  I guess I am not supposed to.  Not to mention, they did not mention whether they included IRAs, 401k, and other retirement funds in Paul's savings. 

Enough griping for now.  Has anyone created their 'Spore' yet?

-Dere

A big day...

It is not a very big day for anything eventful. However, it is a big day because we turned on the furnace! It kicked on and I saw $$$ being thrown through the air. Doh! I need to really hurry and get the wood cut...otherwise I may end up being too late and cutting in the snow. I am REALLY hoping that the temps hold off throughout the remainder of September so I can finish everything up.

There is still very little color in the area. Some places have more than others, but on the hill, most everything is still green. In fact, I am really hoping that I can get a few more green beans, cucumbers, and the little corn that my garden produced before having to call it quits. Most of the plants are still doing just fine outdoors. All the smaller plants growing on the edge of the woods actually seem to be thriving right now.

I twittered yesterday that I got my CPL training taken care of. The next step is to visit the county building and get my application filled out. From what I understand, the application will be taken to the county gun board and it will get reviewed. If all goes well I should have my permit within 45 days of application. I have absolutely no background, so it should be a fairly quick and easy process.

Anyway, time to chill for a bit before Monday comes. :(

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

My internet is back!

Finally!  The guy that came out to work on it was very quick.  He came to the door...asked if it was working...I looked at the DSL light...back on.  Yay!  The Internet light was not on though.  Doh!  We forgot to re-enter the username and password.  Luckily it was a quick fix!  I got online and he left.  A very quick exchange. :)

So, I got signed up for a CCW class today.  I have wanted to do that since they first came out with it.  My brother got signed up, partially by force, so I decided that I may as well attend the same class in an effort to hurry the process along.  This Saturday I will take the class.  The following Wednesday I go to the sheriff's department and start the CCW application process.  I look forward to the opportunity.  I am a bit nervous about the whole process because it, A. Is a big step, and B. Is not my specialty.  Hopefully the class will teach me everything I need to know and no one will make fun of me for not being an expert.

Anyway, I am liking the Apex Bionic jacket so far.  We had 39 degrees this morning...and I stayed nice and warm.  Still no cold, windy, rainy days.  

I really need to get some wood cut too.  This weekend, after the class, I will go crazy on it.  Once I get some motivation from my dad to get rolling, I think it will go much faster.

Time for dinner!

-Derek

Internet outage...

I apologize for no postings. Our internet stopped working Sunday night...so I am updating really quick from work. Our service should be returned today...if not I will make my way into McDonalds to write a post or two. ;)

-Derek

Added new gear today...

My extreme boredom and upcoming depression season started hitting me today. We went to town and walked around a bit. We visited Bearcub Outfitters in Petoskey. That is a nice store...with many quality products. However, I find that they are a bit more expensive than they should be. Most items can be purchased at other local stores for quite a bit less. I bought a Columbia shirt at Dunham's a month or so ago. It was a few bucks cheaper than the exact same shirt at Bearcub. Today I bought a North Face Apex Bionic jacket. It was a bunch cheaper than those offered at Bearcub.

So, back to the point. I bought the Apex Bionic jacket. It has a good fit and it forms to your every move. I have not tried out the wind resistance or the water resistance yet. Hopefully we will get a good cold windy day in the next couple weeks. Hopefully it works the way I am hoping it will!

Eventually I will post a list of my gear on here. I know there is a lot more than what I need...and it may not be as fancy as what some people have. BUT it does get the job done...even if it means carrying a few extra pounds on my back. ;)

Time to head out for a walk.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

I had a post written and posted...

BUT it was way too mean to leave up here.  I guess it is just one of those mornings when it started off on the wrong foot.  When the first thing you hear is your wife arguing on the phone trying to provide driving directions...it just is not the greatest start to the day.  Especially when it is due to nothing but laziness and irresponsibility.

Derek

How much rain?

At the house we saw 2+ inches.  I forgot to record yesterdays total....but I am guessing that is probably fairly accurate.  Lots of rain!  We needed it.  Nothing was incredibly dry here (except the chicken grass I mentioned before) but the rain will help the green stay on everything for a bit longer.  I do look forward to the colors changing so I can get out and take some pictures again.  The way I see it, everywhere looks the same during the summer.  There is not any difference between here, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, or any other state in the area during the summer.  However, when it comes to quality tree color, Michigan has them beat.  Fall is the perfect time for photography, camping, sitting out by the camp fire at night, and so much more.  The best part is the heat and humidity cut back a bit! ;)

Well, time to start getting ready for work. 

Have a great morning!

-Derek

Rain...

It is about time!  We are finally get some much needed rain.  The other night I was over at my aunt and uncles.  We lit off a firework that went crazy...and the grass caught fire next to the chicken coop!  Yikes!  Obviously there were some jokes to be made about chicken+fire...but I stomped out the fire before they got crispy.  The remnants of Gustav are making their way through the region this afternoon and through the night.  This morning the forecast was one to three inches of rain.  Not bad for under 24 hours!  Looking at the radar it sure does not look like it is going to end any time soon.  The only downfall with this system...is it is COLD!  I came home at lunch and it was about 53 at the house.  On my way home it was 52 according to the truck.  Chilly!  (And just as a side note...only 20 more degrees until snow!)

Speaking of chilly...I am looking for the world's best chili recipe.  I want to make it in my crock pot.  I have tried a few different recipes and modified them to my liking...but there has GOT to be a recipe that will just blow my mind it tastes so good.  If you have what you consider the world's best chili recipe...send it to me in a comment and I will give it a try.  My rule is it cannot have many exotic items in it...as those end up costing a lot.  So lets get the chili cooking!  I will provide my chili making maneuvers soon.  (I have to find my maneuver list!)  I call them maneuver because it sounds more manly than recipe. ;)

I still have a TON of wood to cut.  I am not looking forward to it.  Hopefully this weekend will pan out for me to haul some out of the woods.  I do have a bunch cut down back there...I just need to bring it out.  My least favorite part! :P  Well, I think I am going to work on learning my PHP.  

Send me your chili maneuvers!  #1 chili may even get something out of it.  I could possibly even do categories.  Maybe based on region of the country?  Canada is included!  I do not know if Canadians each chili...but if so it is probably not too shabby. 

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

Apache, MySQL, PHP

I am having a very tough time getting those three to play nicely together.  I am considering trying to find a tech platform (like Nusphere) to run it all.  All I am trying to do is learn PHP!!!  I have already learned that in order to get PHP 5 to install in Vista, you need to disable User Account Control in Vista.  I was running all installs as an administrator but it could not complete.  So I turned UAC off and it worked just fine.  Weird!  

I have been reading that PHP config does not default to use MySQL anymore.  What a bummer...that always made the installs really quick.  Now I actually have to learn how to make it all work together!  Dang it. :P

Wish me luck getting everything going...

-Derek

Chrome download...

At first I was not a big fan of Chrome.  I could not get it to run on my PCs...I kept getting an app error causing it to crash.  Suddenly it started working after a new install.  Weird!  BUT I am digging it.  The tabs are much more useful than the tabs in IE.  I have not used IE 8 but I did hear that it is one heck of a resource hog.  What is Microsoft thinking?!?!?!  Resources are not endless...atleast for the average user.  

I was joking with a friend today that Google will soon have their own OS.  It really would not suprise me.  When Windows cannot run what Google wants it to run...what are they going to do?  I guess Google is not one to simply move on.  They seem to create what is best for them...and often times what is best for the whole.  I like Google because they (seem) to be in the business to enhance the online experience of everyone who uses their products...and even those who do not.  We were going over multiple products that Google could market.  I am curious why they do not sell Google clothes?  It seems like that line, as long as it is quality made, would be fairly popular among the nerds of the world.  I know I would buy a Google shirt.  There were a few other ideas tossed around...but those are not appropriate for my blog. ;)  

Here is the link to download Chrome if you haven't already:

http://www.google.com/chrome

Check it out.  if you do not like it, you do not have to use it.  It uninstalls easily and, from the looks of it, completely.  I was very impressed that they did not install a bunch of other Google stuff.  I was excited about that...there were not a bunch of options to keep Google Desktop and all their other software from installing.  Perfect!

Anyhow...that is my take on Chrome so far.  Easy install, easy to use, excellent tabs, easy to get rid of if you do not like it.

That should be it for tonight!  

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

Google Chrome Browser

I think I may check this out! Google Chrome is apparently going to be released for beta today. I personally have not been able to find anything on Google's site that would set that in stone...but a few other tech sites have said today is the day.

Keep your eyes peeled for Google Chrome!

-Derek

Labor Day weekend...

So we decided this morning that it would be a good idea if we went to Holland for the weekend. Well, Holland has many great boat launches so we hooked the boat up to the truck, got packed, and headed out. Just South of Boyne Falls I decided that possibly I should have looked at the tires prior to leaving. My guess is the tires are about 17 years old. Ouch. So I called my dad up and he informed me that the tires were in fact old, but also that the bearings have not been greased since we bought the boat. I believe that was in 1999 or 2000. (It was purchased used...but rarely used by the original owner.) We turned around and came home. I decided on the way home that we would unpack the truck, throw everything in the car, and head to Holland without the boat. We got to Alanson, filled the car with gas, and I just did not have any more drive in me. We turned around and went home.

When I got home I had every intention of just hanging low and enjoying my long weekend. What did the wife make me do? Pack down our pool table and put it in the garage. Then I had to shampoo the carpets, clean this, clean that, and move furniture. I know it needed to be done, but why today? Ahh well. It was worth while. I only got pissed once while I was moving the pool table to the garage.

I am going to ditch the shelter this evening I believe and just lay back. All my household chores are done and I just need to relax. Tomorrow is going to be an afternoon filled with disc golf and HEAT. I should have thought about that before I said yes to going. I started to make my own course through the woods behind the house a few weeks ago. I have not got a whole lot of definition built into the course yet but you can sort of see where the tees, fairways, and greens are. Right now I am using trees or stumps as the holes.

Anyway, an evening boat ride might be in the works, so I am going to get rolling. I will try to update tomorrow. :)

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

More shelter work...

I spent HOURS on the shelter today. All of the walls are up, all supports are in place, and I am ready to start covering the outside! I still have not decided whether or not I should put plastic on the inside to keep the wind and wet out. I think if I put the plastic on the inside and then covered the outside in branches...it would still look good, right? I really do not know why I never tried this before...aside from our attempt last fall. It is not difficult and it does not take much time. The best part...is it is CHEAP! I have a total of around three dollars invested in the entire outfit.

A friend just got me to sign up for Twitter. I do not really understand the purposes of it yet...but I will figure it out. So to the left you can now see "My Twitter" which will show you my last two messages. I think if I had cell service at the house...and unlimited text messaging I would make better use of it. It would be handy in the woods if we had cell signal here!

We missed another O-zone karaoke night tonight...possibly we will go next week. I am still trying to recover from vacation!

Anyway...that is it for tonight. Pictures of the shelter progress have been uploaded to my picasa.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Shelter...

I worked on the shelter a bit more this evening. I uploaded pictures to my picasa.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding

I have most of the frame done...I just need to add a bit more support and then put the walls and door up. Then it should be ready for winter! We will see I guess!

It is getting late...so I am off.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

We are home...

We finally made it back! We arrived yesterday afternoon...after driving through a ridiculous storm in Gaylord. The same storm produced about one inch of rain at the house. Not bad for a quick storm! The cat was fine and everything was as we left it. Just the way it should be!

Today I decided to start preparing a winter shelter for my entertainment when the snow starts falling. I have not done a TON to it yet...but I am taking pictures and video while I am putting it together. I will upload those pictures when I get a moment during the week. I believe I am going to start putting videos on youtube...but I have never done that and it may take a bit for me to get an account and upload the videos.

The design is of the shelter is wigwam-ish. However I am going to add a chimney to it and change the door a bit. The door will be framed with saplings and hinged with rope, and the chimney will be open at the top of the shelter. I am going to cover the walls with saplings and possibly staple emergency blankets to the inside. I may substitute the blankets with black plastic on the inside and then cover the outside with pine bows or sticks. Lots to be decided still but I am going to call it "The Onion" shelter since the final product will look like the top half of an onion. Should be a good time when it is done!

Anyway, that is it for tonight...stay tuned for pictures and videos.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Heading home...

Well, we should be heading home bright and early tomorrow. It will be good to get home and see the kitty and start cutting wood. I am not really excited about the drive back but it will be worth it just to get back into the swing of things. I think we will stop by Bluffton to get some fireworks on the way up. I really want to get some of the good stuff again! I ran all of my stock pile out on the 4th...usually I try to keep some on hand but I could not resist this time.

The wife is out getting food for us...she is taking forever! Hopefully soon I will have my DQ Flamethrower chicken sandwich. Yum.

When we get back we should be taking some camping trips. Nothing extremely crazy but a few practice rounds trying to lighten up the loads. I also want to start preparing for a couple winter trips too. I know I need to save some money...but I have to have some fun too! ;)

I heard the food is almost here...time to go. :P

Goodnight from Kentucky!

-Derek

Kentucky at it's finest...

We made it back to Kentucky! We arrived around 5:30 PM last night and hung out at the wife's parent's house for a bit. Her brother's girlfriend was over so we decided to drive her home to Cumberland. We all piled into the Grand Prix and head out. As we approached the town a cop was sitting on the side of the road...so I gently tapped my brakes to slow down the 3-4 MPH over that I was going to a very precise 55 MPH. Well that cop turned right around (I heard that it was Trooper Young, who works for the Kentucky State Police, from locals.) and got on my ass. Suddenly the lovely blue lights of a KY trooper car flipped on. "You've gotta be kidding me..." was the only thing to exit my mouth. So I hit my brakes and drove onto the side of the road. He hit the gas and flew passed me. So, he drove me off the road so he could pass me. There was not one single car on the opposite side of the road for miles. Ridiculous! That is sad that they do not treat out of staters with a bit more respect...after all...if it were not for us this area would be a pile of crap that would sink into the earth without anyone ever knowing. Well, I for one, will not be visiting Cumberland again. To top it all off, when we arrived in Cumberland, we decided to eat at the local Mexican restaurant. Guess who was there eating with his family? Trooper Young. So he ran me off the road just so he could make it to dinner on time? I can only hope the worst for him. (That sounds mean...but there was no excuse for what he did.)

I have another gripe to mention as well. Across from the wife's parent's house there is a house that uses a straight pipe for their sewage. It runs down into the roadway drainage and into a ditch which runs into a river passing behind her parent's home. Repeated attempts by neighbors to get this resolved (even as high as the state government level) have been rejected. And guess what? The jackass that has the straight pipe is a local cop. The wife believes his last name is Tiegl. So more crooked bull crap government here working to provide for the citizens. Way to go!

So to cap it off....Trooper Young and Officer Tiegl....both people who should be dealt with....but will not be because everything around here is so incredibly crooked. There is no excuse but what can anyone do about it? Absolutely nothing....as usual. All we can hope for is that the locals will band together and try to fight off some of the bull that occurs around here.

That is it for now I guess....I only have complaints because today has been a bit interesting.

-Derek

Another Monday...

Well, here we are. Another Monday down! This time though, it is not another 9 hours day sitting in my office. Gatlinburg, TN is the place to be tonight! We are sitting in our hotel room getting ready to head out for dinner and I thought I would post something before we go out. I do not have my pictures uploaded to picasa yet but they will possibly be there tomorrow while I still have internet to use.


We went to Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum. It is somewhat impressive though I was really expecting much more for my $14.99 per person. It turns out their building burned down in I believe 1992? They rebuilt by 1995. A good portion of their stuff was lost. In my opinion they need to hurry up and find some more....I was not really impressed. However, we did go Hillbilly golfing! It was a blast! They take you up a the side of a mountain on a "railcar" (as I would call it) and drop you off at the top. You play miniature golf until you're about half way back down the hill and then they send the car back up to get you to bring you down. It was really fun! I do not know if we spoke with the owner, or if he just worked there, but we got a bit of history and info about it. It has been there for 37 years and was the first miniature golf in Gatlinburg. He said it was either build a miniature golf course or cabins. :P

Well, time to head out. Back to KY after today.

Goodnight from TN!

-Derek

A quiet evening...

It was a great night for having been a typical Monday at work. I got home a bit late because I was working on one of my bigger projects before leaving. When I arrived the wife had some food ready to head out to the soon to be built campfire. I got the fire going and we put on the hotdogs and a couple steaks. Now...that is how a guy should be welcomed when he gets home. A campfire, steaks, and the tri-pod grill getting hot. Perfect! So I figured I would share a couple pictures of the event since it is exactly what I needed tonight! I think I might start adding pictures back into my blog as the summer rolls to an end.

I worked on the knives a bit tonight. I got the second tempered. I am having a hell of a time getting them sharp though. I have tried about everything. I ground down additional metal along the edge and used all of my sharpening implements to get it rolling. I think I just need a file and a guide. That would help more than anything at this point. So my temper probably is not as good as it needs to be...which will be good when I have to re-sharpen it. ;) I am about to give up on these and try again on new steel...the right steel. I got lazy at this point and stopped taking pictures since it really was not a very impressive ordeal.

I was going to play Mario Kart a bit tonight...but it is getting too late. I will post my friend code soon so that anyone can play with me while I am online. That could possible be the only game I ever need for my Wii. :P Too much fun!

Anyway, that is probably enough for tonight. Have a good one!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Snowshoes...

Oh...one more thing before I head to bed. If you have used Pacific Outdoors Subzero snowshoes I would be very interested in some feedback. I have read online that they are a decent novice snowshoe. I have never had a pair and I am looking for a good pair that will last me into some decent use throughout the winter.

Thanks for any feedback!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan! (again)

-Derek

A Petoskey Sunset...

After a fairly uneventful, but educational Sunday (we watched Hoods Woods videos all day), we made it out of the house and into Petoskey. We drove around for a bit and finally settled down by the bay at the waterfront park. We arrived about half an hour before the sun "went for a swim." It was a very pretty night to watch it. The clouds finally disappeared after a very dreary morning and afternoon.

You would never guess what I forgot when we went into town...my camera. So there are no amazing pictures of the sunset. That was fairly disappointing but life will go on for all of us. :P

Tomorrow is back to work...only five more days until another weekend! I do not only look forward to the weekends. Work has been very productive lately and a lot of my outstanding items are finally wrapping up. However, the weekends provide me with the time away from the office that makes life worth living. So yes, I guess I do only LIVE for the weekends. ;) That is going to be my motto for the next month and a half. LOTS of weekend camping and entertainment. I really want to get out and do some hiking too. Even if it is only for an hour or two! Just getting out into the woods is good enough for me.

Again, I need to finish up my knives before this weekend. It is going to take some dedication through the week but I think I might be able to get it done. I need to find an anvil so that I can pound metal out. So if anyone knows where I can find an anvil...leave me a comment. :)

I think that catches you up on today. Have a great evening!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Rain!

We got a heck of a thunderstorm last night! When I checked what the weather was going to do last night before work ended...there was a slight chance of some rain today. Last night around 3:30 AM we got rocked! Thunder and lightning for the better part of an hour and a half! With it came about half an inch of rain. We needed it!

We really do not have anything planned for the weekend. I had thought about going camping but now that I have seen the udpated forecasts...I think we will be better served by just sitting at home. There is plenty to do around here still to get ready for fall. Lots of wood to cut and things to get put away. I REALLY need to get the garage cleaned out. I worked on that all spring long when I was working on my knives. Unfortunately I lost interest in hanging out in the garage when the temperatures got above 90F in there! Ever since I have spent very little time finishing my project. I do have all the cabinets mounted on the wall now...so that is a huge improvement.

Now, please do not make fun of me, but I am watching Spongebob and it is snowing in Bikini Bottom. I am pretty excited for fall to roll around. I really do enjoy summer...but fall is such a pretty time and it means winter is on its way. Oh! Remember when I mentioned the sunlight in my last post? I heard someone say the exact same thing on the news the other night. So I am not crazy to already be seeing it!

Work...I went to one of our repos in Pellston on Thursday. It was not too bad. It certainly needs some work...but if someone were to be really dedicated to it for a month or two they could probably have a nice place to live! It is basically an empty house. They did leave the counter top, sinks, and toilets, but that is about it. It has a full basement and a large garage. If it were not in Pellston someone might be a bit quicker to pick it up! Yesterday we had a meeting with a rep from one of our vendors. We went to Little Traverse Golf Club. If you have never been there...the food is excellent...but the view is even better! You can see parts of the inland waterway and nearly the entire Little Traverse Bay! It is a very nice place and the food is not too unreasonable. You pay a little more for the atmosphere and view.

That is about all the great stuff that has happened since my last post. I will try to get some more pictures posted today or tomorrow. Keep checking my picasa! http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding.


Have a good one!

-Derek

August has arrived...

August is here and fall is just around the corner. The day are getting a bit shorter and the sun is starting to take on that yellow end of summer tint. Some may not have any idea what I am talking about...but to me it seems like the light is just a bit different this time of year. In the past August was always something to dread. It was the last month before school OR while in college the month when school started. Now I look forward to August since the temperatures cool down a bit.

We have a lot of wood cut so far. LOTS more to cut and split but I think we have a great start. The tractor is functioning as it should (thank goodness!) and the wood splitter hose has been fixed with a little creative electric taping. :P It is a belt driven hydraulic wood splitter that relies on the tractor for power. SO it is a very good thing both work...otherwise we would be buying a new splitter. The logs we have cut this year are nearly 18" across and thus far have been impossible to split with a maul. I am starting to get excited about spending my Saturday mornings and afternoons out in the woods cutting wood. It gets me out of the house and helps me relax. If I do not have to buy any propane this year life will be even more relaxing! It does look like the price might have to come down though. Oil prices have been falling quite rapidly.

So I mentioned Emmet County Road Commission the other day. The reason was there was significant washing out of the roads in our area. I emailed them and they were out fixing it a day or two after. You can see the pictures on my picasa album. Right now they are fixing the road around the corner. It was a washboard and driving across it was fairly dangerous...not to mention incredibly hard on cars! The truck has more rattles and squeaks than it ever has before after driving on some of these roads to take pictures.

This is really the most boring time of year for me. Work keeps me too busy to try to go anywhere. I would absolutely love to get out camping soon. I have not been out once since Green Timbers! That is why I have not had much picture taking opportunity. I have been trying to take what I can...but none of them are impressive. A good trip to the UP soon should change that.

I have the four wheeler all ready to go at any time now. The battery is dead but everything has been fixed. The rear brakes work, the air filter has been changed, the oil and oil filter have been changed, and the rope starter has been bolted back on. It has been fairly fun to go through the woods but I am really looking forward to heading out to some real trails. Cheboygan county has a fairly significant ORV park. I want to get over there as long as someone is willing to go with me. There are no trails in Emmet County that you can legally ride on. We have to take the backwoods trails so we do not get caught. You can take any other kind of vehicle on the two tracks but not a four wheeler. Motorcyles, dirt bikes, trucks, and such are all welcome. What is wrong with a four wheeler? If the county new what was good for it...they would open up the two tracks to four wheelers during certain hours of the day. Can you imagine the increased traffic the area would see? Instead of having to drive to Cheboygan county people could come here...and the locals could stay here and ride.

Since I am talking about fall and four wheeling...if anyone locally would like to setup a ride in Cheboygan county just to go out for a few hours and chill...I am game. It is just like my pleas to get anyone to ride sleds with. I am not expecting much in the way of rides...but it would be fun to get to meet some more people who are into the sports. Speaking of snowmobiling! The season is coming up! I took a drive down a few of the trails the other day and it looks like most of them are already in fairly decent shape. I only drove a couple miles of trail 71, but it looks good. For info on local trails...check out http://www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com. I really need to get my wood cut so that I can help brush if needed. I have not been a member and I have never brushed...but this might be the year!

Anyway, that is my update for now. I will really try to post a bit more often. Once fall and winter come around my updates will be much more frequent.

Leave comments and check out my picasa! http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding

Have a good one!

-Derek

New Pictures

I have added a few more albums to my Picasa today. Check them out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding

There will be more to come when I get some time to upload them. It takes a little while.

The next album will be of Sturgeon Bay just North of Cross Village, MI.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Emmet County Road Commission

I am going to write either tomorrow or later tonight. I am having difficulty focusing on my writing because "Grandma's Boy" is on Comedy Central....

Stay tuned for more...and sorry again for the delays in my updates!

Derek

Quite a storm!

Well, I do not know if we were supposed to get it, but we did! A nasty thunderstorm rolled through our area tonight. The lightning was fairly intense at times. In fact, it was so close that the doorbell started to vibrate, and then the phone rang! That has only happened one other time at this house that I am aware of.

Aside from that, not much excitement around here lately. I have been working on the four wheeler to get it in shape for the remainder of the summer. It was inherited from my wife's family. It is a 2000 Suzuki Quadrunner LT250. Certainly it is not as big as they come but it gets me around the woods pretty good! Earlier in the spring I was riding with some family and the pull start started to come off. All eight bolts magically disappeared at once. So we limped it home and it sat in the garage. I found a great place to buy Suzuki parts in the area so life is good. Brandt's Power Sports in Cheboygan. It is a bit out of the way for me but they are open when I need them to be. They are fair too...they will not try to sell me a bunch of crap that I do not need.

The yard is about 96% done. There is still a bit of wood to pick up from some trees we cut down and the pool needs to be cleaned out...but other than that things are finally starting to calm down around here. A bit more work in the garage for this fall and I will be all set!

I have also taken up another hobby. I have started walking bright and early in the AM. So far it has only been three days but I feel fairly dedicated to it. I know it is in my best interest to continue so I believe I have the motivation to keep going with it. Unfortunately it has been a bit of a bummer summer. Not much time to do anything. I have not had any time to make more knives. I ruined one that I was making and start grinding the other one back down a bit. They LOOKED very nice...but they just would not get sharp. What do people use to sharpen steel from scratch? I have tried grinding it, using actual knife sharpeners, knife sticks, and more. Do I need to buy a filing kit? That would be my guess. I also have not been camping since the Green Timbers event! How disappointing! I was going to take a week in August to do whatever I felt like but we are going down South now. That is not a problem...but it would have been nice to choose what I wanted to do. Oh well, I cannot win them all! ;)

I rather miss the snow now. When it snows I always have things to talk about. During the summer I hibernate. I hate the heat and humidity! If I had an outdoor companion (like my doggie was) I would probably spend a bit more time outside during these months. I have been out a bit to snag some pictures...but I do not have the docking station hooked up to any computer right now. I absolutely hate the fact that this PC does not have more than two USB ports. One is for the wireless keyboard and the other is for whatever device I feel like using that day. Right now, at 10:27 PM, I do not feel like hooking up the camera dock. ;) I keep saying I will upload more...hold tight. I will! If I get a chance this weekend I will upload them to my picasa (http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding).

Anyway, that pretty much catches you up on my summer so far. We have had a few fires in the pit outside...and we have lit off a few fireworks...but that is about it. I have been working, eating, and sleeping. Please leave comments and start some conversation! It would be much appreciated! Ask questions! :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

iPod Troubles

Well, sorry it has been so long since I have written. I wanted to throw a quick note up about how awful it is to try to get songs OFF of an iPod. We just started using our that we had repaired by iPodMods.com. They are based out of Kalamazoo, MI and do a very good job getting gear working again. Ours had a broken screen when we got it. We sent it off and in less than a week we had a new screen installed and everything was working just fine.

So, back to getting the songs off of the iPod. There is NO way that I have found to download yours songs from an iPod back onto your PC. When songs are deleted from the PC you cannot pull them back from the iPod without special software. I wanted to give everyone a heads up on what software I am using and how easy it is to get your music back.

Download a software called ephPod. Just google it. Install the software on your PC, start it up and select your iPod drive, select the songs you want to copy from the list, right click and 'Copy Songs to a Directory'. (I believe that is what it was...) It works like a charm. (so far)

Anyway, that is enough for now. I am going to play disc golf. I suck at it but it is something to do. I will try to write more later tonight...and get some more pictures put up.

Derek

Geez...

How pathetic am I? I am really sorry I have not been writing lately. It is just SO hard to find the time while I am at home. I have been working on the car, the four wheeler, the yard, the house, and much more. When I am at work, I could probably squeak in a quick post, but I would get fired. We are not supposed to waste time on the internet. So that is out. I guess lunch would be a good time to write. The audits are almost over at work. I really cannot wait. They have not taken up much of my time so far but the number of requests for "this and that" have been overwhelming. Just the number of requests from everyone has been overwhelming. Oh well. It is a good job and it certainly pays the bills.

I promise I will post again soon. I have many pictures from some of my projects and trips for the summer so far.

If you want pictures of anything in the area just let me know. I will do what I can to get them.

Thanks for your patience!

-Derek

A VERY busy 10 days...

I apologize for the lack of writing lately. I have still been extremely busy getting the yard done. I have also been starting to cut some wood for this winter. Speaking of winter, today is very close! We had a high of 53!

My laptop battery is about to die...so I am going to end this for now. I promise and update will occur tomorrow afternoon. I should have some new pictures online as well.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

The weekend has arrived...

Sorry I have not written all week. I have been spending all of my spare time trying to finish cleaning up the yard and get the pool ready. :)

There has not been anything too exciting this week. We pretty much stayed at home. However, last night, Petoskey had their first ever summer open house. We went and strolled around for a bit and met up with some friends to walk around town. There really was not anything all that great...though Crazy Richard made an appearance! I have not seen him around in a long time! I may not have been looking very hard. ;) I bought some cigars from Pete's Pipe & Barrel and we headed home. Pete's did have a CAO brand rep in...and if you bought any two CAO cigars you got one free. Not a terrible deal.

The weather yesterday was incredible. It was approaching 90 degrees for the better part of the day. It was cloudy most of the morning and then in mid-afternoon started to POUR at work. In town, my friend said it did not even rain. Strange! South of us there were quite a few tornado warnings...so I hope those never actually formed. Then as the evening progressed the clouds started to break up and it turned into a hot, nasty, sticky night. I put the air conditioner in the window finally! It is crazy that less than a month ago I had to fire up the wood furnace again...after shutting it down once already! I think we are done with the furnace for the rest of the summer now. Honestly, living around here you really should not need central air. I know why I am hot all the time...and I am working on that. :P If I was a bit smaller I think the summer would be much more tolerable. Back to the topic, today looks like a beautiful day so far! The sun is shining and there is a VERY light breeze. The trees are blocking my view of the sky...but it sure does look like there is not one single cloud in the sky.

I believe I have not mentioned my garden vegetables yet. I planted corn, green beans, swisschard, tomatoes, carrots, and a few other veggies. Yesterday brought the little tiny leaves out of the planters! I do not plan on canning or storing anything...just eating what I can and saving a bit of cash on groceries this summer. The more fresh we have...the less canned I have to use. The less canned I have to use...the less we will have to stock up on this fall. It always bothered me just a LITTLE bit that we did not have food around the house in non-parishable form. If something had happened that we could not get out...or we could not get to the store...we would have been in trouble. The next step will be to inventory it. Again, back to the subject, I plan on building just a couple small boxes to plant everything in. I will either dig some dirt from the woods or go buy some potting soil to fill them. With my luck with planting things...it will probably not go well. :P

Anyway, time for my eye doc appointment! Have a good weekend!

-Derek

Ahhh Friday!

Well, we finally made it. Friday has arrived! This week was a productive week at work but not so much at home. Things need ot be picked up and laundry needs to be done. Fridays are NOT meant for that though. :P

Nothing too exciting has happened since I last posted. We have received some rain and things continue to get greener. I have not taken an incredible amount of pictures lately. The scenery around here has not changed much since the leaves came out. I will upload some pictures by the end of the weekend to show you how quickly the leaves are coming out.

Last weekend we went to Holland. We visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. I had never been there. I was really impressed! Unfortunately they closed at 5 PM so we only had just over an hour to check everything out. We got to see a lot though. There was a lot of picture taking ability there with many exotic plants that we obviously do not see just growing on the side of the road here in Michigan.

I bought a few new 'D' coins to catch up on my quarter and dollar books. I also picked up a couple 2008 silver eagles. They keep going up in price, but it is worth having them for the collection. Nothing too new in regards to my collection.

The weather is going to remain rainy for the rest of the evening and into Saturday morning. Supposedly we will see some sun toward late Saturday and into Sunday. I just hope the warm gets here soon!

Anyway...enough for now.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek