West End News: December 24

At this time of year, it’s hard to think about anything but the holiday season, especially when the woods are a winter wonderland like they are right now. If you get just a few miles away from the big lake, every tree and bush is loaded with snow. The back roads feel like tunnels as the trees bend down to winter’s soft hand.
 
While the snowy trees do wonders for the holiday spirit, they are definitely bad news for the area snowmobile and cross-country ski trails. Trail maintenance crews are reporting incredible numbers of fallen and leaning trees across the trails. Trail clearing is a tough job at any time, but it’s made much more difficult when you have to wade deep snow to cut windfalls that are loaded with hundreds of pounds of snow and usually frozen to the ground. Despite the hard labor, the job will get done and the trails should be open very soon.
 
Right now, the only open ski trail in the West End is the unplowed portion of the Onion River Road, which is groomed for classic and skate skiing. I see that people are riding snowmobiles on the state trail, but I think they might be jumping the gun a little bit.
 
The lakes are odd this year, so I can’t recommend recreating on the ice yet, unless you are fully prepared for self-rescue and survival if you fall through. Most of the ice is fine, but there were open spots on the larger lakes very recently, so it’s unpredictable. In any case, the slush is terrible right now, so that’s reason enough to stay off the ice.
 
Stoney Creek Dog Sled Rides has opened for the season. I can’t think of anything more fun right now than taking a dogsled ride through the snow-laden trees. If you have company from anywhere south of Minnesota, they will get a huge kick out of it.  You can call for reservations at 218-663-0143. You can get more information by googling Visit Cook County or contact WTIP.
 
Of course, a great part of the holiday season is the time you spend with friends and especially family. I was recently reminded how much fun it is to question the oldest members of our families about their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.  Most of us know next to nothing about our great-grandparents, but our parents remember them well.  It’s fun to hear not just who are ancestors are but what they were like as people. It also beats talking about the presidential election, which just gets everyone riled up!
 
If you go back just twelve generations, you will find that you are the direct descendant of 4096 people.  It’s incredible to think that each of us carries around the genetic material from that many people – and in fact - millions more.  You don’t have to think like this for too long before you realize that you are literally a cousin to every other person on earth. It’s just a matter of how far back you have to go to find the common ancestor.
 
And, that’s the ideal way to think about humanity at this time of year, when our thoughts are turning to Peace on Earth.