Steve said we could do whatever I wanted to do on my birthday. Go for another ride and visit the new house, of course! So, we headed up Hwy. 41 toward the property. We went beyond "The Last Place on Earth,"
past the snow thermometer,
past the cliffs,
through Phoenix and headed down the road toward our driveway.
We've had more snow since then, but we could see bare ground on our driveway that day.
It's really difficult to take and post a photo that shows the "real" color of our house. It looks too peachy on my laptop and too orange on my tablet. My younger brother said it looked gray on his laptop. The siding looks like a cedar shake shingle, and the color name is "traditional blend." If you want to see the true color, I guess you'll just have to visit us and see it in person.
I couldn't resist daydreaming in the house again.
OK, time to leave - another quick shot of Steve's beloved truck.
It's amazing how the snow depth decreases as we head out of the higher elevations and down toward the shores of Lake Superior. We could see some open water near Eagle Harbor.
We turned left in Eagle Harbor and headed down Hwy. 26 - following the coastline to Eagle River.
We stopped at Jacob's Falls for a quick shot. . .
and hoped for some good deer action in Eagle River. Sure enough!
Remember, this is one of the locations in the Keweenaw where deer "yard up" for the winter. You can tell they're used to seeing cars and people at this time of year.
The deer don't just stay in this one location in Eagle River. They take over the entire town - wandering through the backyards and between the cottages and cabins - eating everything they can reach. You can see how they've stripped everything from the lower branches of the trees.
Before leaving Eagle River, we stopped to take some pictures of the falls. The water was really flowing - thundering down toward Lake Superior.
Another great thing about living in the Keweenaw? FREE meals on your birthday! Quite a few of the local joints give you a FREE meal on your special day. Just show them your driver's license. If you have a large appetite, you could go to one place for a FREE breakfast, another place for a FREE lunch and another place for a FREE dinner! We had doughnuts for breakfast, so the FREE dinner was just fine - especially since we were going to The Hut. Their portions are very generous. Steve figured he was entitled to a special treat, too, so he had his first burger of 2014.
Since my meal was FREE, I opted for one of the most expensive things on the menu - the rack of ribs. It's the most popular birthday meal at The Hut. Wow! I can see why! The ribs are simply tremendous! Did I mention they were FREE?
I'm sure there's gluten in their BBQ sauce, but we're going out with a bang - remember? After eating a nice salad and the Michigan wild rice, there was no way I could finish the ribs. No problem. I did what everyone else does - brought home a doggie box.
We weren't about to give the meaty ribs to Cocoa, but we did bring home those bones for her. Believe me, she was very happy with the bones!
When we got home that evening, we saw something that made a perfect ending to my day - our first Robin of the year! The light was fading, so the shot quality wasn't good, but it was a Robin.
Spring. Is. Coming!
All is well in the Keweenaw.
