• Monday-What'sUP January 26 - 05:20 am

When it comes to winter fun, Dave Roberts and his Granddaughter, Gabrielle, sure know how to live. That's Gabrielle in the pink snowsuit and the guy in white is her snowman friend. These two have appeared on the Pasty Cam pages before...once on Dec. 4, 2003 and again on March 20, 2004. Looks like Gabrielle has grown, but I'm not so sure about the snowman. :->

After playing in the snow on Lake Superior's shores, they enjoyed a winter picnic. I hope that's either hot chocolate or soup in that mug to warm Gabrielle up some. The next stop for this winter excursion was Fort Wilkins. It looks like the photographer walked right out on Lake Fanny Hooe to take the bottom photo. Pretty neat, walking on water!

Oh, such neat pictures. My favorite thing to do while growing up in the U.P. was to make a cave, lighting and heating it with paraffin wax in a container that my mother used for canning. No matter the temp outside, that cave was always so cozee. SO many ways to enjoy the winters in the Upper. Thanks for these pics this morning, Dave.

Just think of all the cool memories she will have of all the time she spent with her grandpa. I know I have my memories ;O)

Winter picnics, what fun! My family, when we were living in the Copper Country, would go to McLain’s State Park in the winter for our winter picnics. My children would love playing in their favorite park. I wish my grandsons could have experience what their father experienced while he was growing up in the Copper Country, but instead they are experiencing growing up in the suburbs of Detroit-a way different life! Thank you again, so much for sharing photos of life in the beautiful Copper Country!

As much as I like Fort Wilkins...my "forts" of snow as a youngster were "funner". Also played soda fountain with holes to serve chocolate or cherry toppings from. sigh...good memories of the older folks.

So who needs to be a "youngster" to have fun playing in the snow? When I was at Northern in the late 1970's we had a friend who lived on Lakeshore Drive, just west of Presque Isle. There was a big storm that dumped about 60 inches of snow which the blizzard winds pushed into drifts that were level with the tops of the houses along the lake.

This story begins like so many stories from that period of my life: "First we got a bunch of beer... then"...

we went over to dig our friend out. After we dug a trail from the road to her front door and garage to get her car free we started hollowing out the huge drift in front of her house. We ended up making a room that measured about 12 feet by 12 feet across. It had benches carved into the walls, shelves for the stereo speakers, a small fire pit (metal trash can)in the middle of the floor, a hole in the roof to let the smoke out, and of course a snow 'Cooler" that would hold a keg of beer along one wall. Too much fun...

Never went on a Winter picnic. I guess I ought to try it.

Thomas, you would love it! Not only did I have winter picnics with my sons, but my friends and I would have them when we went cross country skiing. Next sunny winter day venture out into the snow and have a picnic! I know my winter picnics downstate are not as nice as my winter picnics at home in the UP. (Pasties are the main picnic food with a hot drink.)

Len Oikarinen (Mr. Ski) used to sponsor an outdoor picnic near Mandan every spring. I wonder if anyone has pictures of that.