- Hello everyone.

I'm Matthew Ozanich and welcome to Destination Michigan.

We're coming to you today from a very frosty straits of Mackinaw and in just a few moments, we're gonna be heading across the bridge and having a Destination Michigan UP Winter Adventure.

And for the first time in our program, we're gonna be visiting both Marquette and Houghton.

We're gonna do some ice fishing.

We're gonna meet with some sled dogs, and just really see what the UP has to offer in the winter.

Don't go anywhere because the Destination Michigan Winter UP Adventure starts right now.

(gentle music) And so our adventure begins.

Across the bridge with a lower peninsula in our rear view.

I've crossed the bridge many times in my life, but really nothing compares to that view of the frozen straits of Mackinaw over the bridge.

The frozen landscape really making you feel like you're in a different world.

After the bridge, we head west along US 2, then up to 28, continuing west through Munising until we arrive at the city of Marquette.

After driving through miles of the barren Upper Peninsula countryside arriving in the city Marquette is a really nice change of pace.

Here, nestled along the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is the largest city in the entire Upper Peninsula.

After many hours in the car, we decided to get out and stretch our legs at the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.

The light that was first lit in 1853, that is 77 feet high, is still in use today and is an active aid to navigation.

I was a little surprised to find that camera guy, Adam and I were the only ones out tacking in the view.

Regardless the views from the point were a welcome site.

The fire engine red schoolhouse-style light keepers residents really stood out against the white and gray of the winter landscape.

A landscape that can be undoubtedly beautiful, but also very unforgiving.

During the summer, visitors naturally take advantage of the beach adjacent to the lighthouse.

Ice clung to nearly every surface that was exposed to the water.

The waves crashing along the lake shore created icebergs, some eight to 10 feet high.

It wasn't evident exactly where the beach ended and the water began.

Standing there looking out over the waters of Lake Superior, I didn't know it yet, but mother nature was just giving us a glimpse of what was in store for us throughout our visit.

But no matter what the weather was gonna throw at us, we were definitely gonna make the most out of our UP Winter Adventure.

The next morning, Marquette Harbor welcomed us with a gorgeous sunrise.

(upbeat music) So to kick off the day, we thought we'd stretch our legs and head down to the waterfront.

The sun is just beginning to rise behind the unmissable Marquette iron ore dock.

The Presque Isle Dock, referred to as a pocket dock, was built in 1911.

Standing over 1200 feet long and 60 feet wide, it might not look it, but it is still in use today.

Although there were no freighters to be found on the icy waters of the Superior during our visit.

The ore dock is also arguably one of the most photographed spots in the entire Upper Peninsula.

It's become a favorite spot for tourists to come and snag a selfie.

We ventured just a stones throw away from the ore dock and made our way to Superior Outfitters, a little shop there in downtown Marquette.

Before we head out on the days adventures, I figured we'd stop by the shop and have a chat with owner Nick.

Although he's a transplant to Marquette from below the bridge, he has seen plenty of winters come and go.

Tell a bit about how you made your way up to Marquette, because you said you weren't originally from the area.

- Yeah, I grew up in Southeast Michigan.

I was looking around at different colleges and Marquette is the place to be, I thought.

Really love it up here.

Outdoor recreation opportunities are endless.

The people are great.

It was pretty for familiar with Marquette and the UP to begin with.

And it's just a comfortable place for me to come.

If you have the mentality that you enjoy winter sports and can make it work, you're in heaven.

I loved ice fishing as a kid.

I had to wait forever and it was a very short season downstate where here we usually have safe ice before I even dust off my gear.

You know, there's a lot more opportunities.

- [Matthew] Do you ever, you know, have conversations with people who maybe just moved to the area recently and maybe they're in their first year of living in Marquette and maybe are scratching their heads thinking, "Man, these winters are tough."

- Usually still hearing that around February or so.

And then if it lingers on into April or May, that's when it can get rough for a first timer, but especially if they're not from the Midwest, you know, it can be a bit of a shock when it's, you know, dumping snow or it's just in the single digits for days.

It can be a little rough.

You know, we see them picking up gear for the first time.

You know, a lot of people show up and they don't have an adequate winter jacket.

You know, they've got something for 50 degrees, that's their winter.

And here you might need something a little better than that.

- [Matthew] After our chat, we made plans with Nick to meet up for some ice fishing a little bit later in the day.

But first up on our agenda today, a nice leisurely walk through the woods.

Here we are.

It is day two of our Destination Michigan Winter UP Adventure.

And we just left Nick at Superior Outfitters, who suggested that we come to the Noquemanon Trail Network to hit up some trails.

So that's exactly what camera guy Adam and I are going to be doing, but we're gonna warm up, bundle up a little bit, and then hit the trail.

Word has as it that there's a really cool overlook at the top of Mount Marquette, the top of this trail, where you can see over the entire city of Marquette, it's a little snowy outside, hopefully that won't spoil the view too much, but I have a feeling that the trail itself is gonna be gorgeous.

Let's go take a walk.

Decided to take the Mount Marquette loop.

Hopefully get some good views atop of Mount Marquette.

(upbeat music) Adam and I may have been the only hikers on the trail, but the forest was by no means quiet.

The packs of snowmobilers definitely kept us on our toes and also made us a little jealous about the speed with which they were able to traverse forest.

It was actually a really nice hike all the way up to the top of Mount Marquette.

We made it to the top just fine, but the snow and high wind sought fit to spoil our view.

Well, Adam and I made it all the way to the top of Mount Marquette.

The trail was gorgeous.

The trail was serene.

Was a little bit of snow and a bit of clouds so the view was, eh, Adam was a little disappointed that we didn't have clear skies for the view for his photography, but you know, Adam, it's all about the experience.

- It was.

- Walking the trails, getting outside.

After our hike, through the NTN, it was now on our way to Negaunee to meet up with Nick at Teal lake.

(upbeat music) And those high winds that we found on top of Mount Marquette followed us all the way to the lake.

Following Nick and his sled out to his fishing spot, you couldn't even see the other side of the lake.

Wind and the snow was blinding.

Thankfully Nick's spot for fishing was only about a hundred feet away from the shore so we didn't have far to walk.

- [Nick] Well, the dead sea will hopefully give up some perch and pike for us today.

If we stay till dusk, we'll have a good chance at walleye, but also is an emerging musky fishery.

DNR has been working really hard on that.

- [Matthew] The last time I was ice fishing, I was in grade school.

So I was really excited to learn that technology and comfort has really come a long way in the world of ice fishing.

So we had the shanny up.

We had a few lines in the water and things were going fantastic.

And then mother nature decided to give us a little surprise.

- [Nick] Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- [Matthew] Nick says, typically in winds like this, you would keep somebody inside the shanty to make sure something like this doesn't happen.

But thankfully we all had our eyes open and were able to track it down in a matter of minutes.

And thankfully, our ice fishing trip did not finish before it was even able to get started.

Adam told me, he thinks these are the harshest conditions we've ever made him film in.

I think he's probably right.

- A lot of shacks are gonna get wrecked today.

Oof.

- [Matthew] We gave it a good try.

But the only thing we were able to pull out of the hole other than ice was this young walleye.

So we let him go to be caught another day.

Adam and I then said goodbye to Nick and headed off the lake, hopefully looking for a place to warm up.

And boy, did we ever find it.

Just down the road from Negaunee, the 135th Annual Ishpeming Ski Jumping Tournament was buzzing.

Though my attention initially went to the warm glow of that raging bonfire, the real star of this show was the towering ski hill, dubbed "Suicide Hill."

The tournament first held in February, 1888, has taken place every year since then.

And starting in 1927, this hill became home to the tournament and the Ishpeming Ski Club.

In fact, this ski club has been the proving grounds for 13 Olympic athletes.

Taking in the warmth of the crowd and the sights on the hill, this was the perfect a to wrap up day two of our Winter UP Adventure.

(upbeat music) To kick off day three, we say farewell to Marquette with our sites set on Houghton, but first we're gonna make a quick detour.

(gentle music) (snow crunches) Well, here we are day three of our UP Winter Adventure, Adam and I left Marquette a few hours ago.

And before we made our way up to Houghton we figured we'd stop here at Canyon Falls, just as 41 turns north, pretty deep snow out here.

The base of the Keeweenaw, so we had to get the snow shoes out, but we're walking along the trail right now, trying to see if we can see a frozen Canyon Falls.

I see some stuff up here, must be getting close.

Looking for Canyon Falls.

We're walking right along the Sturgeon River, hitting the trail with snow shoes, gorgeous day out, but it seems like we're the only ones out here on the trail today.

All right.

So we have made it to the end of the Canyon Falls trail.

It's just a few more steps down here will bring us to the shore of the Sturgeon River.

Now, when you see it, you may not be able to tell, but I promise you there is a river under there.

To be honest, I could have plopped down right there and spent all day listening to the sounds of the frozen river.

But we had a lot more to see in the Upper Peninsula.

The clear blue skies we had on the trail were followed up with high winds and snow as we made our way into Houghton.

(upbeat music) The city was named after geologist Douglas Houghton, who first reported in 1841 that the area was completely loaded with copper ore.

The resulting mining boom would be the genesis of the Houghton that we see today.

The town's population may have peaked in 1910, but it's still a really active community today.

It's a college town.

It has a great vibe bring downtown, and it's quite obvious walking the streets that things do not slow down in the winter.

- You learn to enjoy winter.

I mean, there's just a ton of stuff to do in the winter here.

If you can wanna ski or snowmobile or snow shoe or ice fish or play hockey or whatever you want to do, it's a pretty active community.

You look downtown and on days when we have major storms, there's as many people downtown shopping as there is on a sunny day.

So, you know, people get used to getting around and this is our way of life.

- [Matthew] Approaching the waterfront, it became evident that Yoopers really have a thing for massive iron structures.

Not to be outdone by Marquette's ore dock, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge stands a staggering 180 feet over Portage Lake and connects the towns of Houghton and Hancock.

This is a lift bridge, but since everything's frozen over, there's no boats.

So today this lift bridge was just a regular bridge.

Still cool though.

Now there's lots to see and do if you have a day to spend in Houghton, but we thought we'd pay a visit to a true sports landmark.

You do not need a crystal ball to tell you that hockey is huge in copper country.

And here nestled along the waterfront is one of the games most storied landmarks.

This is Dee Stadium, the birth place a professional hockey.

We're here to meet longtime resident.

Scott McInnes.

He tells us the story of Dee Stadium goes back a long way.

- Back in the mining era here, Houghton was just booming, and hockey was the big game in the winter.

The first building that was on this site, the Amphidrome was built in 1902.

It was one of the largest rinks in North America.

At that time, the players in Canada did not get paid.

If you got caught getting paid in many cases that you were banned from the game.

So we had a dentist that came from Canada and got together with some of the money people here, James Dee was one of the big ones, but they decided, all right, we're gonna start paying the players.

We're gonna be open about it.

And James Dee had all the connections in Canada and we ended up with a six team league for three years before Canada finally realized we better start playing our players and everybody left.

But for three years we had all the top hockey players in North America, you know, playing in this building in some of the surround communities.

- [Matthew] Dee Stadium has an incredibly active rink from old timer's leagues to little ones falling on the ice for the first time.

But in the barn tonight, we find that a JV game between Houghton and Calumet is bringing life into the slice of hockey history.

- I think that the neatest part about this, it's an old building and the bleachers are all wood.

You know, you can make a lot of noise in this building.

It's got echo to it.

And so, yeah, and it's cold.

So people get actively want to move and it's quite an atmosphere.

- [Matthew] Scott's played in Dee Stadium his entire life.

And his father, John MacInnes, was the coach for Michigan Tech and led his teams the three NCAA National Championships - When Michigan tech was here.

I mean, there were people standing up in the windows, they were in every corner of this building.

And the teams back in old days had to walk through the lobby to get to the locker room.

So there was some pretty interesting times, and there was some pretty fierce rivalries and it got pretty ugly sometimes there, but there was, you know, many, many fantastic games here with division one hockey, you know, some of the best hockey, some of the best hockey in the country.

And yeah, we packed the place.

You know, I think the enthusiasm for the sport, especially in the area has not dwindled.

I think that, you know, we still pack the ice arena, very busy building still.

We've got a lot of teams that play outta here.

You know, people come from all over the state to play in our junior hockey tournaments here.

And we have a huge old timer tournament in the area.

So it's still a very, very active rink.

- [Matthew] With our UP adventure nearing its end, we finally had to make our way up into the Keeweenaw.

We head north from Houghton first to stop in the town of Calumet.

This old mining town is chalk full of character and history.

For a quick break from the cold we made our way inside the Calumet Theater.

Well over 100 years old, its ceilings are adorned with amazing artwork.

Now, if you really want to get a good idea of how much snowfall reaches this area each year, you have to stop and check out the Keeweenaw Snow Thermometer measuring all the record high snowfall throughout the Keeweenaw's history.

And at the top, it's the winter of 1978 and 79 with a whopping 390.4 inches.

And as we ventured further into the peninsula, we found one of the most spectacular winter drives you will ever see in the Great Lakes State.

This is definitely one of those times when the journey is one of the parts of the adventure.

Our north or most stop on this visit was going to be the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, where we got an up close look at the winter power of Lake Superior.

Now, Adam and I would've loved to be able to make it all the way out to Eagle Harbor at the tip of the Keeweenaw, but we had to make our way back to Calumet to meet with a few new friends that you could hear from a mile away.

(dogs barking) As we've seen winter fun takes many forms in the Upper Peninsula, but it's not just the people who relish playing and competing in the snow and ice.

- The excitement at the start, the dogs are just absolutely berserk.

- [Matthew] In a sea of people and a long snow covered trails and tracks, the excitement that echoes through these parts can't be beat.

This right here is dog sled racing at its finest.

- I went on a dog sled trip up in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

I was hooked.

Because I love physical activity.

I love the outdoors and I love animals.

And it was the perfect blending of all three.

- [Matthew] Dogsled racing is a passion for Geri Menard, owner of Silver Creek Kennel in Newberry.

For Geri, along with fellow musher, Jerry Trudel of Sharks Came Racing in Calumet, it was hard not to fall in love with these animals and learn all there is to know about how to steer these packs through the rugged terrain they encounter.

- You have to be adventurous.

(laughing) You have to be a good dog person.

You have to be conscientious.

Be watching your dogs all the time.

When you're working with dogs, you just never know.

You can have a perfectly clean run one day.

And then the next day you could have, you know, two, three different things go wrong and you gotta be, you know, on your feet being able to work through whatever situations arise.

- I started out with bike drawing, which is you put 'em in harness and hook 'em up to a mountain bike.

And I was hooked.

I mean, that's like riding downhill all day long.

I mean, it's just, it's cool.

And then when it, we got too much snow to do that, we'll try ski drawing.

I said, how hard can that be?

We used to water ski.

We both spend a lot of time face down in the snow, looking up at a dog butt, you know, and it's turned around going- - "Let's go."

- Yeah.

- [Matthew] Alaskan Huskies are ideal dogs for racing, given their fun loving personalities, their thick winter coat, and they got really good feet.

Training them, though, starts when they're young, usually six to nine months old.

And as the practice gets going, the leaders of the pack begin to stand out.

- They're the ones that they're driving hard, and driving hard in the team.

Sometimes they, instead of actually being in a straight line, those leader potential dogs are kind of like inched out a little bit further to the left or the right and where their viewpoint there's like nothing like straight ahead of 'em.

And when we're seeing that, we're like, okay, there's a dog that has potential to have the confidence to be upfront.

I mean, they're not looking back behind them.

They're just driving, driving, driving.

- The lead dogs have to be comfortable, first of all, running while being chased by a whole pack of dogs, you know?

Yeah, they're all harnessed, but they've gotta be comfortable with all these dogs behind 'em.

When you're training the dogs and running 'em, you just watch the dogs and look, you know, just watch and see how they respond to say the commands and you'll start 'em out, farther back in the team.

And then you'll just see some dogs just really, I don't know.

It's hard to explain they had this look.

They want to be up front.

So you'll move them up a spot and you move 'em up.

Just keep moving 'em up.

- [Matthew] Dog sled races can vary in distance, time, and the number of dogs on each team.

Perhaps one of the most famous races, the Iditarod in Alaska covers 1000 miles and usually takes anywhere from five to eight days to finish.

The Upper Peninsula's premier event is the UP 200 with mushers starting in downtown Marquette.

Mushers and fans flock to the area for a weekend full of dog sledding.

And we were there for the Jack Pine 30, which covers about 26 miles and begins and ends in the town of Gwinn.

- It's a pretty awesome experience because it's not something they get to see every day.

So they will get to see, they can actually, inspectors can actually go into what we call like the dog lot area where the trucks and trailers are parked.

They can ask the mushers.

You it's okay if they pet the dogs and you can observe the pre-race prep.

When you're at the starting shoot, you'll see how excited these dogs are as they are brought up to the race start.

To see the power as those dogs take off.

And depending on the length of the race, even with the Jack Pine, there's places where people can spectate, which is pretty cool because you get to experience the chaos at the start and then see how quiet that team is once they're actually on the trail.

- [Jerry] As soon as you're out of the shoot, your dogs are instantly quiet.

You know, they'll be screaming in the shoot, but as soon as they start running, they're quiet.

It's dead quiet.

- [Matthew] While dogsled racing obviously happens in the winter, caring for and training takes place year round thanks to the extensive of and spectacular trails that wind through the beautiful Upper Peninsula and for mushers like Geri Menard, seeing the passion that her dogs have for racing helps keep her motivated to be the best version of herself.

- Being able to experience life with these dogs.

They're absolutely incredible, phenomenal athletes.

They're inspiring to me.

They are what motivated me to start running myself.

I feel like my dogs have made me a healthier, better person.

And it's just very, very special, to have this type of lifestyle.

I mean, it's something that I, you know, had dreamed on after that first sled dog trip that I went on, that I'm like this would be wonderful to be able to do this every day.

And now here I am, having met that goal.

- [Matthew] Now we've seen a lot so far in this episode of Destination Michigan.

And I know what some of you are gonna say, "I've been to Marquette, I've been to Houghton.

Why didn't you go to this place or that place?"

Well, we would've loved to, but quite frankly, four days is not nearly long enough to see everything that the UP has to offer in the winter.

But all that means is that someday we are just gonna have to make our way back.

Well, here we are back where it all started as our Destination Michigan UP Winter Adventure comes to a close.

Now while the UP may be in our rear view mirror, the memories that we made will be sure to last a lifetime.

And while the temperatures were cold, we want to thank everybody in Marquette and Houghton and Calumet who gave us such a warm welcome.

So thank you all very much for joining us on this Destination Michigan UP Winter Adventure, and from everybody here, thank you so much for watching.

We'll catch you next time.

(upbeat music)