NorthernDestinations.com

Wednesday 5-17-2023

Greetings and welcome!

We have been having some nice weather lately with temperatures getting up into the 70s. We are dry though.. very dry. Fire danger is very high, and some days approaching critical.

I think that the dry conditions have slowed down the green explosion a little but it is definitely here and it is going off. A lot of the trees are getting leaves, and from a distance the various shades of new green leaves are almost as interesting as the fall colors. The dandelions and marsh marigolds are out, and the first trillium bloomed this week. In fertile spots the grass needs cutting, in most of my yard it doesn’t yet but it will soon.

The bugs… Golly. I have been fortunate here and haven’t had the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes yet, but driving around has left the car a mess. They are out and plentiful. Likewise I haven’t had a tick yet but others are reporting that their dogs are coming back with them. It is time to get the Nexguard or Frontline for the fur-faces and some Repel for us humans. For my border collie I use the Nexguard chewables and they seem to work pretty good. I wish that they had that for people.

As mentioned before it is now very dry and fire danger is very high. Yesterday we had very low humidity and winds gusting up to 28mph and fire danger was near critical. There is some rain possible for Thursday night and Friday. Hopefully it is a lot and we have reasonable fire danger for the weekend. I am sure that the folks that ride the ATV trails will appreciate the dust not being quite so bad.

The rivers have returned to a much more normal level. Trout streams are again viable. For whitewater rafting the Peshtigo River is at about a +5″, still well into the fun zone.

The area has been getting a lot busier in the past week. Mother’s Day held some people back last weekend, but traffic is picking up this week. It took several minutes to make a left turn out of the Pig grocery store in Crivitz yesterday afternoon. I expect a very busy weekend this weekend. Some years it seems like the weekend before Memorial Day is as busy or busier than the holiday weekend.

When I was in Crivitz yesterday the gas prices were as low as $3.23 and as high as $3.39. An article that I read yesterday said that gas prices were being held down by ample inventories. I like that. They haven’t had an excuse to put the $0.25-0.50/gallon Memorial Day gas gouge yet, but they usually find a way.

People are getting excited about gardening. It happens every year. My experience is that you don’t plant outdoor plants before June 10th or there is a very good chance that frost will get them. Here we are. Last night got down to 28 degrees. I was walking through the garage and considered putting the last snowblower into storage, and yeah, maybe it is time for that, but I won’t be putting in tomatoes or peppers for another two weeks.

The deer have finally backed off from the roads. They are still present and still a danger, but most are finding enough food in the woods to avoid the roadside danger. I did see a FaceBook post yesterday that someone saw the first fawn of the year. That seems a little early but it is almost that time.

The black bears are out and about, and thanks to restrictive hunting regulations, quite plentiful. Diane and I saw a Momma bear and two one year old cubs along the road yesterday. You will want to be very careful with food if you are camping and bird feeders if you have a cabin. The berries and grubs that they usually eat are not available just yet and they are hungry from hibernation, so they are quite willing to tap human sources like coolers and bird feeders.

I looked ahead to Memorial Day weekend on the 16 day GFS forecast model. It does not look like any organized storms at this point, but there will be some rain possible from the typical summer afternoon thunderstorm. At 10 days out that has all of the credibility of a northern Wisconsin tavern fishing story, but I had to look. As always be ready for any turn of the weather.

We joke about that around here. You know that a guy is a local by looking in his trunk. He has shorts, long pants, a sweatshirt, a jacket, a snowmobile suit, an umbrella, and some Repel. That’s just the summer kit…

On that note I am off to embrace the day. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Wednesday May 10th, 2023

Greetings and welcome!

Here we are on May 10th and the green explosion has not gone off yet. Shocking, amazing, surprising!

There was a horticulturist guy on TV this morning that said that our late greening of the land was because the soil temperature was too cold. He explained that the soil temp needed to be above 40 degrees for stuff to really grow. We had that stretch of 80s for a week that got things started, but then we has snow and 10 days of cold that locked it right down.

When I was out walking the dog yesterday I was surprised that we weren’t farther along. The trees have their very first leaves emerging from the buds, but they are very tiny. Some of the soft hardwoods like cottonwoods are starting to fill in leaves, but they are the leaders of that. The grass is greening up nicely. The dogwoods and cherry trees are now in bloom. Where is the rest of the plant kingdom?

We had a 76 degree day yesterday and most of the week looks like it will hold similar temperatures. That should get things moving. I would expect big changes in the days ahead.

The ATV trails open this weekend. A few people have been around riding the roads, which is legal, but the trails don’t open until Saturday. I would normally expect a crazy busy weekend for opening weekend, but it is Mother’s Day this Sunday. That may cut into it a little. If I were still in the bar business I’d still be ready for a busy weekend.

I took the Mrs for a ride up in the northern county forests last week to see how spring is progressing. I now understand why the ATV trails don’t open until this weekend. Some of those roads were still a little muddy with frost-out mud and a couple were a little dicey in spots. After this week all but the most sheltered spots will have firm ground. We did find a couple of places that were deep enough forest and so sheltered that they still held snow.

There are no upcoming events that I have seen for this weekend other than some Mother’s Day buffets. The Sportsman’s Cafe has one that seems reasonably priced compared to the others.

The nice weather has me working like a mad man on my outdoor stuff. I have a new to me RV that I am trying to whip into shape, the house, cars, and lawn mowers all need love, as does the pontoon boat. One of my goals is to get the small fishing boat into shape and actually go fishing during the bass and panfish spawning seasons. In my 22 years here I have made that once. May is always so busy that I just never get there. As I have said 21 times… this year is GONNA be different… We will see..

The one thing that has changed with the spring is that our wonderful variety of song birds are back. People are reporting seeing the gross beaks, orioles, hummingbirds, and I saw a pair of goldfinches chasing around the other day.

The deer are still common along the roadsides but it isn’t completely nuts like it was for the past few weeks. As the green plants away from the roads grow more they will be less of a problem.

People on Facebook have been posting a lot of black bear pictures. They are out and they are hungry. There are no berries or grubs for them to eat yet, so bird feeders and garbage are their primary food source. Be wise about how you manage those or you will likely have visitors.

I am off to get the day under way. Have a great week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday May 2nd, 2023

Greetings and welcome!

We have had a particularly crappy stretch of weather since our last visit. Yesterday morning we woke up to enough snow to make the roads slushy and the ground white. The snow was from a cut off low pressure system that slid out of the jet stream and sat over northern lower Michigan (The lower U.P. if you will..). As it sat there and spun around for 4-5 days it brought us rain showers, temperatures in the 40s, and a really relentless wind. This is a common occurrence in May, but usually it comes between about the 10th and 20th.

The winds were brutal. For the past few days we have had steady winds over 25 and gusts that went close to 50mph. If your garbage cans blew away check with eastern Pennsylvania to get them back.

The general greening of the land has been put on hold while winter was hanging on. I think that I only heard the spring peeper frogs once in the past week and there was almost nothing for emerging plants and bugs. I have a hunch that when temperatures get back to normal or even above normal late week that is all going to go off like a firecracker.

The opening of fishing comes this weekend. I would expect much below normal water temperatures. For the past week we have been about 20 degrees below normal temperatures (about 60F). Having 3 or 4 days of that wind with 40 degree temps will suck the warmth right out of the lake. There is no ice on the lakes at all, so launching won’t be a problem. Some years the lakes have still been iced over. That went away two weeks ago when we got into the 80s.

I did manage to get back into Lake X and my secret camping spot last week, but just barely. There were still some frost-out mud spots that would not have been passable only days before. The really deep woods secret spot was not an option yet.

Last night I was checking the Marinette County Forest web site for an ATV trail opening date. A lot of people are chomping at the bit to get out riding. There was nothing. Later on I got the news that I was looking for. The trails will open on May 12th.

I ran into this little gem while I was looking though..

U.S. Forest Service – Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest motorized trail re-openings will be delayed until May 25, 2023 due to weather-related safety concerns.

Due to safety and resource concerns caused by lingering snowpack and high water in areas, the re-opening of trails in the CNNF will be delayed until 5/25/23. Precautions are being taken to ensure trails are re-opened safely.

USDA FS : Flambeau ATV/UTV Trail, Park Falls District.

I am not sure if that applies around here too, we are a long ways from Park Falls. I will try to track that down. Most likely the railroad grade along 32 will still open when the rest of the Oconto Co trails open, but i don’t know for sure, nor do I have a date for them opening.

The recent weather has been driving me crazy. Like everyone else I am dying to get outside and work on my fishing boat, the new to me RV motorhome, the house, and a million other things. None of those things is going to happen at 40 degrees on a rainy day in a howling wind. Cabin fever is wicked strong around these parts.

Time to wrap it up. I am off to go and let my doctor practice on me a little and I don’t want to be late.

Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday 4-25-2023

Greetings and welcome!

It is 40 degrees at 9am this morning, warming off of a low temperature of 22 degrees.

Our great spring awakening that happened during the week of 70 and 80 degree temperatures has slowed to a crawl. The grass is a little greener and the early trees and bushes have progressed a little with their catkins. The maples are starting to get their little red flowers, but that is about it. I am not seeing the daily changes that we have when it is warmer out.

Our normal high temperature right now is in the upper 50s. Someone needs to mention this to the weather guy. Yesterday we got up to 46, and it wasn’t that warm the whole day. It was coming off of a low of 20. We are stuck in a cold and rainy pattern that isn’t much fun for a guy like me that is dying to get outside and work on the house, cars, boats, and all of the other stuff that has waited all winter to be done. I’d love to clean out my gutters abut I’m not going to do it in snowmobile boots at 42 degrees. Likewise I have a new to me RV that I’d love to get started putting into top shape for upcoming camping trips. GRRR.

The whitewater rafting and paddling last weekend was outstanding. It was a busy time on the river as paddlers came from near and far to paddle the unusually high water and participate in the Pesh-Fest activities at Kosir’s and Rapids Resort. The water level has fallen considerably from its peak of 52″ down to a more normal 24″. Don’t get me wrong, +24 is an outstanding level and a great fun level for playing in the whitewater, it just isn’t at a once in 20 years level any more. Likewise small rivers and trout streams remain swollen, but they are down quite a bit from last week.

The deer are still crazy up by the roads. With the reduced velocity of the great greening of the land, roadside grass is still their favorite food. A lot of the stupid ones have been eliminated and the rest are a little more wary, but they are still right there and still running out in front of cars.

We can add turkeys to that list. They have become much more active in the past week. I hit a turkey once at 60+. It totaled that minivan. It might as well have been a cannonball as hard as it hit. Trust me you don’t want to hit a turkey. Anyway, it looks like they are coming into a breeding season and they are up by the roads too. We saw this group of toms displaying up on the road yesterday.

Saturday night we had a very active display of northern lights. According to internet reports they could be seen as far south as Oklahoma. There are tons of pictures on the Facebook group Crivitz Area Talk. I don’t want to pilfer anyone’s photos so go there and take a look at all of them. We are in an active period for the sun and will be for the next year or two. That bodes well for people that love seeing our billions of stars around the campfire, you might get a little bonus. There are phone apps that will alert you when the northern lights are active.

The ground has continued to dry up and is on a pretty normal trajectory. I might try to run the forest roads up to Lake X and my secret camping and fishing spot. The one in the really deep woods I won’t attempt just yet. I could probably get in there in my big 4×4 truck with the big mud tires, but that would only rut it up for future visits.

Along that same line the ATV trails are coming along but aren’t quite there yet. I have not heard anything about a reopening date for trails, but we seem to be on a pretty normal schedule for those.

The Marinette County powers that be opened most of our county roads to ATV in action taken over the winter. There are some exceptions, including Hwy C between the C & F intersection and the Forest County line and most of Parkway Rd north (Hwy I). Here is a Facebook post from the Southern Marinette Co ATV Club.

Southern Marinette Co. ATV & UTV Club

There has been some confusion on what roads are open and when they are open.
In Marinette County (Year Round) (24/7), you can ride on ALL city, town, and village roads, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF…
1) City of Marinette.
In Marinette County (from May 1 to December 1) (daylight only) you can ride on ALL Highways (lettered roads) WITH THE EXCEPTION OF…
1) County Highway C beginning at County Highway F and ending at the Forest County line all in the Town of Silver Cliff.
2) County Highway I…
a) beginning a Wolfe Lane and ending at Homestead Lake Road all in the Town of Silver Cliff.
b) beginning at Camp 5 Lane and ending at a point 3,480 feet south of USH 8 in the Towns of Silver Cliff and Goodman.
c) beginning at a point 2,220 feet south of USH 8 and ending at USH8 all in the Town of Goodman.
3) County Highway N beginning at the City of Niagara limits and ending at the Florence County line all in the Town of Niagara.
4) County Highway T beginning at State Highway 64 and ending at County Highway B all in the Town of Peshtigo and City of Marinette.
5) County Highway U beginning at USH 8 and ending at the Florence County line in the Town of Dunbar.

One final thought.. The black bears are out and foraging. There are no berries or grubs for them to eat and they are hungry after hibernation. Mind your bird feeders, garbage, and food if you are camping.

That’s it for today. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB