Off The Beaten Path Weather Report, 4:30 a.m.: 2 degrees, 75% humidity, mostly cloudy, breezy.

Weather Underground Forecast:

Today
Partly sunny. Highs 13 to 18. West winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Isolated flurries in the evening. Lows 3 below to 8 below zero. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 15 below to 25 below zero after midnight.

Not only does it look like winter Off The Beaten Path, it’s feeling like it to! I woke up to the thermometer reading 2 degrees and strong winds. According to Weather Underground, the wind chill is -18 degrees. Brrrrr. Tonight the temps are supposed to drop below zero so this afternoon we are having the crew add fresh straw to the dogs’ houses while Mark and I make the overnight trip down Highway 61 to Duluth. This will be our first night away from the kennel since the Streeper Auction in September and unfortunately it’s for the memorial service for Kevin’s mom. Hopefully all will go OK while we are gone as Nate, Lis and John Neil have to keep an eye on the woodstove, the batteries, and the generators to charge the batteries and run the well pump.

On a lighter note, I have been getting packages from UPS and in my mailbox almost on a daily basis. Too bad they aren’t for Mark and I, they are usually for the handlers. With them living so far away from home, their families have been sending care packages. Yesterday Nate got his coffee pot and Lis and John Neil got two packages from John Neil’s parents with sweet treats. One of the things his parents sent was this box of chocolate covered liqueurs. I had to ask him what he told his parents about how we spend our evenings that they would send a box full of chocolate covered alcohol, hmmmm. Anyway, thanks to John Neil for sharing his goodies from mom and dad with us.

There is rumors floating around that there is another snowstorm predicted for this weekend. So far the forecasters are only saying there is a 50% chance of snow on Saturday and not giving any accumulation prediction. If the storm does materialize into a fair amount of snow, this will more than likely be my last week of going home on weekdays after work. As it is I will be heading back down the highway on Sunday afternoon for a two night trip away for a meeting in Minnetonka on Monday morning. I’m meeting Marci from Carlton County at 7:00 on Monday morning and letting her drive to the really big city. I have always hated driving in the metro area and I hate it even more now that I have been living off the beaten path for the last couple of years. Thanks for driving Marci!

Time to get prepared for work. Wear and extra layer today and have a great Thursday.

Just heard from Mark…while there was maybe 4″ of snow on the ground when I left at 4:30 a.m., according to Mark there is close to a foot on the ground now. Start making your reservations for an Off The Beaten Path Dog Sled Experience……first reservation after this gets posted and says they saw the ad, gets an additional 10% discount.

Off The Beaten Path Weather Report, 4:30 a.m.: 15 degrees, 80% humidity, snowy skies, blowing winds.

Weather Underground Forecast:

Winter Storm Warning in effect until 4 PM CST this afternoon…
Now
Expect the snow to continue across The Arrowhead tonight through Thursday morning. The snow will be heavy in spots…especially within about 20 miles of Lake Superior and between Silver Bay and Grand Portage…including Highway 61. Some of the snow bands will drop visibilities to a quarter mile. Expect snow accumulations between 330 am and 7 am of 1 to 3 inches. Expect some roads to be snow covered and slippery.
Today
Snow in the morning…then snow showers likely in the afternoon. Additional snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Highs 20 to 25. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph becoming west late in the afternoon.
Tonight
Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 3 to 8. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. 

We are sending along our deepest sympathies to Kevin and the whole Kervina family of Duluth as Kevin’s mom Char died this past weekend. Kevin and Mark have been friends since 2nd grade and in their younger years got into a lot of trouble together in the Smithville neighborhood of far western Duluth. Even though since we moved we only get to see them once a year or so, they are a couple of our best friends. Kevin, Maryellen and everyone in your family, we are thinking of you and we will see you tomorrow night.

Well, it’s winter here in Northeastern Minnesota. We received a couple of inches of snow overnight and it’s not supposed to stop until later today. I have a couple extra sets of clothes with me in case I need to stay in town tonight. We try to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best, so I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.

We have a delivery of 24 bags of dry dog food and 10 flats of frozen meat coming today. I thought we might beat the snow, but as luck would have it (I seem to say that a lot), it didn’t quite work out. Hopefully the truck will make the drive up the shore. I drove Mark’s truck into work this morning and later this afternoon, Mark will drive my truck down the hill with Nathan following so his truck doesn’t get snowed in. After dropping Nate’s truck off they will bring my truck into town and switch it with Mark’s fully loaded one. At least that’s what we hope will happen. The snow that is falling is light and fluffy, so even though they are predicting up to 8″ or more, it’s easy to drive through.

Tomorrow Mark will be coming into town around noon and we will be making the trek down the shore to Duluth for the memorial service for Kevin’s mom and Kevin and Maryellen want us to stay with them Thursday night. Friday morning we’ll get up at a decent hour and do some shopping in the big city before heading back home. Hopefully the weather will clear as traveling on Highway 61 along the north shore isn’t much fun in bad weather. This morning in a couple of spots I felt like I was back at the UP200 Race driving along M-28 between Marquette and Grand Marais, Michigan. Anyone who has driven that stretch of highway during the race in the last two years knows what I am talking about. You feel like you are driving through a snow globe that someone keeps shaking up.

It’s time to head downstairs for a shower. Drive safely today and if you are lucky enough to stay home…enjoy the fresh snow!

Off The Beaten Path Weather Report, 4:15 a.m.: 10 degrees, 70% humidity, cloudy with snow falling, reallllly breezy with blowing snow.

Weather Underground Forecast:

Today
Windy. Partly sunny. Highs 18 to 23. Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph becoming north 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A slight chance of light snow in the evening…then light snow likely after midnight. Snow accumulation up to 2 inches. Lows 8 to 13. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast 10 to 20 mph in the late evening and overnight. Chance of snow 70 percent. 

Hang on to your hats this morning. It’s extremely windy in downtown Grand Marais with sustained winds of 24 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. We received a couple of inches of snow overnight and it was blowing around like a sun of a gun with “snow devils” popping up along my entire commute into town.

All the materials that have been laying around the yard for the last couple of weeks are starting to look like a garage. With the dogs getting the day off the gang worked all day yesterday getting the ground around the garage level and getting the trusses set. As Murphy’s Law always seems to have it, the Menards load was short a couple of 2×8′s so after morning chores, breakfast and sending the two JV teams out on the trail, Mark will be running into the lumber yard to pick up the missing pieces. After Mark gets back he’ll be hitching up the Varsity Team for their run and he will be bumping up their miles again.  The JV teams will have to wait until this weekend so I can lead the handlers around the new-to-them loops. So far, everyone has been doing great and the new snow should help cushion their feet.

When I walked outside to a couple of inches of fresh snow this morning, it’s time for me to start thinking about keeping a couple of extra sets of work clothes in my truck in case I get snowed out. While I want the snow to get off an ATV and onto a sled to run the dogs, I also don’t want to get snowed out and have to stay in town on the nights that I work. With the lack of snow last year I got spoiled being able to sleep in my own bed every night and wish there was a way I could do it every year. In order to do that I would have to win a major Powerball jackpot as I don’t even want to know how much it would cost to improve six miles of road to be able to have it plowed in the winter. Oh well, we knew this is the way it was going to be when we moved Off The Beaten Path, so I guess I’ll just have to suck it up. I have been even toying with the idea of finding a part-time job on Monday and Tuesday evenings for something to do while I’m stuck in town. We’ll see how it goes.

Drive safely today, Highway 61 was a skating rink this morning between Grand Marais and Hovland and according to MPR, it doesn’t sound like it’s any better heading toward Duluth. Have a great Tuesday.

Off The Beaten Path Weather Report, 4:15 a.m.: 20 degrees, 80% humidity, partly cloudy with a few snow flurries, a little breezy.

Weather Underground Forecast:

Today
Partly sunny. Highs 25 to 30. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of snow showers in the evening…then a chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows 5 to 10. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph becoming north 10 to 15 mph in the late evening and overnight. Chance of snow 50 percent. 

A very Happy 47th Anniversary wish to Mark’s mom and dad, Tom and Diane and to their special anniversary present that they recieved 41 years ago…Happy Birthday to Mark’s little brother Bryan. We hope you all have a great day!

Lis and John Neil made it back safely from Milwaukee last night and it sounds like they had a great time on Thanksgiving with 26 family members sitting around the table. Wow, that must be a realllllly big table. We’re glad to have them back safely.

Today the dogs will get the day off while the crew works on the garage. After our runs yesterday, Mark and Nate worked on getting the bottom boards on and level. Today they will be shoveling dirt around the exterior to make the ground level and if there is time, get the trusses on. While Mark says it now can snow, snow, snow, it sure would be nice to get the roof on before that happens. I wish I could be there to help, but I have to work. My body is still recovering from all the shoveling on Friday when we set the posts so it might be a good thing I’m sitting at my desk today and let the young ‘ens do the hard labor.

The poor puppies are stuck in prison for the next week as Pine Marten trapping season is open. Many of the trappers use 220 Conibear traps with skunk bait as lure and the smell can be too tempting for the puppies. Last year, Bill and Cindy Hansen of Sawbill Outfitters lost their pet dog to a marten trap and two years ago we almost lost Roxy to one. We want to keep the little guys safe and fortunately this year the season is only eight days long and ends this coming Sunday.

I guess it’s time to get back into the swing of work. It sure was nice having four days off, but the time always seems to go by too fast. We hope Mom, Dad and Bryan Black have a great day! (We’re late as usual as your cards are going out in the mail today. Don’t feel bad, my brother and sister just got their birthday cards last week…only three weeks late).