Grab some winter fun
Don't fear it. Don't fight it. There is plenty of wintertime excitement in the Great Lakes states. Just put on your coat and let it ride.
ANGOLA, Ind. -- You are roaring down the incline, snowflakes swirling, the winter wind whipping at your face. The trees blur by, a slight dip makes your stomach drop and, whoaaaa, are we airborne, bay-bee?
There's nothing like ...
(Courtesy)
No, not skiing.
Tobogganing.
For many of us here in the Midwest, winter is an endless darkness of clutching at our coat tops and cursing Mother Nature, that frigid witch. S'no fun, indeed.
But, hey, don't fear her. Don't fight her. Get yourself a decent parka and a hat and embrace her.
While winter activity usually means something involving boots and poles, lift tickets, goggles and (potentially) broken legs, there's more than one way to enjoy the wonders of the white stuff -- whether sledding in Indiana, mushing in Wisconsin, snowmobiling in Michigan or horseback riding in southern Illinois.
A good place to start is Pokagon State Park in Angola, Ind., about three hours east of Chicago, just off Interstate 80.
Indiana has some of the best state parks in the Midwest and Pokagon is among them. Pokagon -- named for a 19th century Potawatomi Indian chief -- is a popular summer landing, with rolling terrain and a gentle swimming and boating spot, Lake James.
In winter, though, Pokagon is a perfect place to shake the blahs, starting with the park's Potawatomi Inn, a 138-room lodge that still retains much of its original 1920s ambiance, despite the many additions and updates over the years.
There's a certain down-home flavor to the inn. A sun room is stocked with big leather chairs excellent for perusing one of the books from Pokagon's free library. Families can be seen hunkered over board games near the inn's stone fireplace. An indoor pool is a plus for cooped-up kids. And Chicagoans will be shocked at the nightly rates -- pleasantly shocked. A room with two beds can be had for slightly less than $100 a night. Movie rentals are available.
The restaurant is equally quaint, serving American fare and a well-stocked buffet and decorated with antique canoes and other old-fashioned accoutrements. The waitresses? Think Supertramp's Breakfast in America.
The Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps worked in the park between 1934 and 1942, constructing roads, trails, a saddle barn and, most importantly, the first toboggan run.
The CCC was the brainchild of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and your first look at the run's 30-foot-high tower may have you remembering FDR's famous words: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.''
The CCC boys built the original tower for their own fun. Rest assured, it's been reconstructed and shored up since then. It was refrigerated in 1971 -- ice rink-type technology now keeps its two chutes snowy no matter the weather.
Riders must use the park's toboggans, made of plastic sheathing and wood. (Expert's tip: the darker ones weigh about 60 pounds, the lighter ones are about half that. Property manager Ted Bohman says the weightier models go a few miles an hour faster.)
Whatever your choice, they seem to get even heavier as you haul them up the 60 wooden steps. But it's a joyous trek, with sledders good-naturedly commiserating -- how come the dads always have to do the heavy work, anyway?
On top of the tower, inside a three-sided shed, local teens help hoist the toboggans onto a flat launch pad, a loud smack cracking above the rock 'n' roll coming from their radio.
Four folks to a sled -- at $10 an hour -- riders use their legs to scissor-hug the body in front of them. The basic instructions: squeeze tight.
On their blogs, roller coaster enthusiasts marvel that Pokagon is a place to get their excitement fix during the winter months when amusement parks are shuttered. And, indeed, the two have a lot in common -- both are a head rush of racket and speed.
The Pokagon toboggans whoosh along at up to 42 miles an hour -- the park recently has added a speed gun. With only an inch of toboggan between the rider's rump and the ice, the ride gives one's kidneys a rumble akin to a paint-mixing machine shaking a can of Glidden. The park recommends that people with a history of back or neck problems avoid the slide, but Bohman says injuries are very rare.
With a 90-foot vertical drop, the chute is a quarter mile of thrills amid the chills of northern Indiana. (Check out the video link at www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/13271.htm)
The 20- to 30-second run ends across the parking lot from the inn. Your initial temptation might be to run for it -- or at least to the quiet comfort of the bonfire on the lake shore. But after the heart stops pounding, you'll find yourself heading back for more.
"In the wintertime, you can't find a funner thing to do,'' Bohman said.
The run opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and operates on weekends through March 1, though it's also open midweek during Christmas break between Dec. 19 and Jan. 4.
See www.in.gov/dnr/parklake or call (260) 833-2012.
Some other ski-less ways to enjoy the Midwest winter:
Wolfsong, in Bayfield, Wis., offers "adventures in mushing" -- dog-sled riding.
Behind Siberian Huskies, visitors traverse the hills overlooking Lake Superior. With an average of 150 inches of snow a year in the area, Wolfsong operates from Christmas through March. The guides are John and Mary Thiel, owners of the sled business.
Would-be Yukon Jacks can drive their own team of Siberian Huskies or ride with skilled drivers.
The Morning Adventure, from 9 a.m to 1 p.m., includes a hot, trailside lunch. Weekends and holidays are $225 a person; weekdays, $180 a person.
An afternoon run, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., is $165 weekends and holidays; $132 a person during the week.
A weekend special includes three mushing trips, including a night run, for $535 a person. Visitors also can try snowshoeing or ice cave exploring.
Several hotels are in the Bayfield area, which will be hosting the 14th annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Races on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
Call (800) 681-9746 or see www.wolf songadventures.com.
Gov. Sarah Palin and her fellow Alaskans call them "snow machines," but here in the Lower 48, we know them as snowmobiles.
A new snowmobile costs between $4,000 and $10,000, but there are places in Michigan where you can rent a machine for considerably less.
Near Traverse City, the Boardman Valley Trail, an 81-mile snowmobile journey, takes riders into Pere Marquette State Forest. (Watch out for the wild turkeys!)
On the trail is Ranch Rudolf, a 16-unit motel ($94 a night) and bunkhouse (sleeps a party of eight for $230 a night).
Next door, Snowblitz Snowmobile Rentals offers machines starting at $145 a day midweek, or $320 for a Friday-Monday weekend. Half-days rates are available and helmets and instruction are included.
In total, Michigan has some 6,100 miles of designated snowmobile trails throughout the state in six state forests, three national forests and on privately owned lands.
See www.snowblitz.com or (231) 932-1800 and www.ranchrudolf.com or (231) 947-9529
Winters are milder in southern Illinois, making it a fine place for Chicagoans to saddle up off-season.
The Shawnee National Forest -- a federally owned, 270,000-acre oasis of adventure not far from Carbondale -- has trails open year-round.
At the Irish Inn, a stone and log chalet with all the comforts of civilization (whirlpool tubs and high-speed wireless internet) offers a weekend of riding.
The outing includes one or two days of riding with professional outriggers from the nearby Honeybee Stables, and all levels of riding skill can be accommodated. The inn also includes a full Irish breakfast, with authentic sausage "bangers" and Irish tea.
"The starscapes in the wilderness of southern Illinois cannot be described," innkeeper Brian McCreery said. "In winter they are unbelievable out here away from artificial light."
For an extra fee, the inn partners with Amtrak and will pick up couples and return them to Carbondale.
Two days costs $299 a person, plus horse rental at $85 a person for a half day or $130 for a full day. The ride includes a trailside lunch through Honeybee Stables, www.honeybeestables.com or (618) 638-8059.
For the Irish Inn, http://irishinn.tripod.com or (618) 695-3355.