LOL. Yep. One year when I was at Minot, we had over 50 days where it did not reach zero...and it was horrible...but the two weeks of summer might have been worse.

I was tooling along the Seney Stretch on a line to Engadine in the UP and came across the dense black smoke of a tire fire. But it wasn’t a tire fire and it wasn’t smoke.

It was clouds of blackflies!

Arrgh!

Regarding mosquitoes... we arrived here to our new home here in the UP in September - the mosquitoes were THICK! I was thinking that these nasty critters would be soon departing once the cooler weather arrived.

Now, fast forward to this week: snow is on the ground and the morning temperatures are in the mid-teens/ low twenties. During this time (exactly Wednesday of this week), my wife and I were taking our dog for a walk in our woods and I swear I saw some mosquitoes flying around. I quickly had my wife look and she, too, saw what appeared to be mosquitoes in the air... well, on a brighter note, the cold weather did slow down those dang ticks...

I do love it up here even though it is quite a transition - the Yoopers are some great people. I have started my inventory list of switches to replace noting the type and amperage rating so I will take advantage of the nine months of winter:)!!! I do remember twice visiting my in-laws during the week of July 4th and we had the fireplace lit!

I and two buddies loaded up in a little pontoon bush plane that was held together by rusty wire and some zip ties. One window was busted out. But we were on our way to go fishin’ way up past Mosinee to lake Missanabi up in Canadia for three days so we didn’t care too much.

Anyways, we loaded up the plane with essentials and also some food and we’re already to get pushed off the dock by the pilot’s hottie girlfriend in a bikini top.

So, pilot yells to his hottie girlfriend in a bikini top to give us a shove, hon, and don’t bust a tit cuz I’m comin’ right back after I drop these wood ticks (meaning us) off where the bears are.

(!)

The rest is a blur except I do know we caught three fish.

On purpose, I scheduled a five-day job in the UP during winter solstice just to see what it was like.

I lucked out and it got to -40F with wind and snow. Actual true no BS blizzard. But I had to drive so that made it interesting.

I’m heading south out of Houghton along Lake Superior on my left, the driver’s side. Bright sunshine. I mean clear and crisp with tiny, tiny sparkles of super-cooled water molecules reflecting from everywhere. Still as the calm before a storm. I’m going maybe 40 mph with sunglasses and gloves and then just like that, suddenly the world looked like I was inside a ping-pong ball. Me and the Dodge Caravan suspended in pure random whitnenss.

I have a sister-in-law from the UP. Wakefield, I believe. The wedding was in July and it was cold at night. Beautiful country! This was back in the late 70's...

Wakefield is as far west as you can get in the UP or real close to it. It starts to feel like Wisconsin which is just over the bridge in downtown Ironwood. It feels almost mountainy like Appalachia.

Matchwood, MI is near there. There’s a Wolfpack around there and Matchwood is in its territory.

Naturally, Matchwood somehow became part of a Federal environmental/protected species battle with testimony before Congress, blah blah. Wolves were eating people’s animals. And getting shot.

I opened this thread thinking what can they still be talking about regarding dimmers?

Nothing.

There can only be on stijn thread.

Houghton in the winter would be a challenge. San Francisco hills + sheet ice.
Quincy mine tour was fun. Those Finns mining the copper lived in Siberian luxury.
There was an exquisite historic B&B to die for owned by a family. Can't remember the name.