By Mike Norton
Boy, what a weekend! Another one that wasn’t supposed to have happened. I think I’m going to stop listening to the weather reports except for purely entertainment purposes. We were a bit worried on Saturday morning when we looked out and saw a fresh inch-deep carpet of snow on everything, but as soon as the sun came out it all started melting away. Both Saturday and Sunday turned out to be great walkabout days – and I obviously wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Downtown Traverse City was crammed with people in sweaters and light jackets on Sunday afternoon (though I’ll admit that most of us stayed on the sunny side of the street.)
It’s funny, though. Down here along the Bay we’re looking out over bare ground and emerging vegetation – and yes, I did see my first crocuses the other day. Little purple ones. Still, in the hills just a mile or two away, it’s still pretty wintry-looking. The Grand Traverse Ice Yacht Club had its annual Fun Regatta on Lake Leelanau on Saturday; the constant thawing and refreezing of the ice has made it very smooth out there, and they had near-perfect conditions for about 100 speed demons to zoom back and forth across the ice.
And although our nearest ski areas have closed for the season, I noticed that they’re still keeping things open out at Shanty Creek resorts. Now that conditions are less than excellent for skiers, they’re turning their snow to other uses. Next weekend they’ll have their crazy “Race the Face” snowmobile drag races up the face of Schuss Mountain, and on April 4 they bring in trucks for the Schuss Mountain Snow Challenge hill climb.
It’s been a good winter. The prettiest I can remember in a long time. But I’m ready for a little of this now:
Lilacs and Cherry Blossoms Above the Bay
Tags: Grand Traverse, Michigan, Shanty Creek, Skiing, Traverse City
