• Thursday-What'sUP March 30 - 07:36 pm

Bare roads have emerged here in the Copper Country and the rivers are beginning to move, melting off their winter covering. This is the time of year when everyone is getting itchy to head outdoors and enjoy the sunshine, so naturally it's time for a road trip! Carl Kiilunen did just that and stopped to check out the Rice Lake road curve along the lake of the same name. This is also the time of year when the dirt roads become sloppy and in some cases, like this one, unusable for traffic. Of course this is what us folks UP North here refer to as a "seasonal road", which means that it's not plowed in the winter months. Then once spring has sprung, the melting snow sure plays havoc with an unpaved route.

Great blueberry picking in that area. We go there every year. Hopefully, there will be no fires this year.

Spring muddy roads are clearly reflected on my nice white car. I don't mind because it means its warming up. Deb, we love picking the wild blueberrys too.

Our seasonal roads are a little different in Connecticut. When the ground freezes we get "frost heaves" which mess up the paved roads by causing the pavement to split upward, making them almost washboard in some places. When the Spring thaw comes the heaves sink back down and the roads are more or less in good shape again.
The dirt roads (the few you can find) don't seem to be bothered by the seasons that much.

Has me wishing I was there to take a drive to my camp in Little Traverse...

My husband & my oldest son took my 4wd Suburban out on a road like that (except it still had some snow left on it, too) near Copper Harbor the end of April three years ago, while I was in Copper Harbor. They managed to get it so stuck that not even using 4-wheel drive LOW (which had never before been used on that vehicle, a 1994 model) by itself was enough to free it. My hubby had to push it while son steered in 4wd low to eventually get it out. The vehicle still has scratches on the side from rocking it against the bushes, et al, on the side of the road. I have sense enough to know what the seasonal road signs mean, which is why it hadn't been stuck like that before. Figures, LOL...

beware of post road, Lake Linden. Last year we almost got stuck with 4 wheel drive Jimmy.

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