Jeff Dennis, along with his wife, Chris and his co-pilot, Fritz, doesn’t let a little cold, snow and ice stop them from exploring... even if they have to bundle up with hoods and mittens to go for a spin in the kayaks. On this day recently, they headed out to Bete Grise for a look at the Mendota Lighthouse still surrounded by winter snow. They found ice coating the edges of the channel irons, too, along with an iceberg that Fritz warned Jeff about, he probably has watched the movie Titanic too many times.

That’s an otter in the bottom photo. I instantly wondered if otters hibernate in the winter and found the following info online: “They remain active year-round, often thriving in cold, snowy conditions by utilizing specialized, dense, waterproof fur for insulation. Instead of sleeping through winter, otters hunt for fish and crustaceans, frequently using open, flowing water and sliding on ice to travel.” So, I learned something new today and maybe so did you!

Now we join Alexis Dahl with her experience with the U.P. Alpine Luge Club. It’s a little bit longer than her usual videos, at around 36 minutes, but it’s well worth the time. Her lead in says: “There’s only one place in America you can compete in this sport. What you saw in the Olympics was only one side of the sport. Special thanks to Robb Cookman, his family, and the Upper Peninsula Luge Club for being such wonderful hosts. If you want to learn more about them (and learn how to find a public sliding day next winter), here's their website: UP Luge.org

Fritz must be pretending she's on the Titanic.

Awesome pictures...Good thing Jeff, Chris AND Fritz
kept us going all winter long!! A huge thank you to
that pack~

And Alexis's video is just so amazing. She's
incredible with what she tries and where she goes.
We are so lucky to have her here! She's been on so
many adventures that she shares with us! A huge
thank you to Alexis too!

Nice pictures. I really like that area. But I
wouldn't want to be out on that lake in a kayak at
this time of year. Even Fritz looked a little
apprehensive, lol.

Hi
I agree, DebS; I think the only one safe in those
conditions was the otter.

The alpine (natural hill) luge track was great. But I
can see why they'd want to have something artificial
that they could standardize: pond hockey vs the NHL.