Every winter, my family packs our skis, puts on our cold weather gear and heads in the direction of snow.
This seems counterintuitive when I try to explain it to people, but for me it's always made sense to spend the coldest months embracing what they have to offer instead of hiding away inside until spring. And to find the best that winter has to offer, there are few better places than northern Michigan.
Winter on this peninsula defines the culture more than any other season. As soon as the lakes freeze over there are people testing the ice to see when they can move into their fishing huts. Fresh snow is immediately criss-crossed with snowmobile and cross country ski tracks, with snow-shoe prints in the deepest drifts and thickest parts of the forest.
Inside, there's local beer with fried smelt, fireplaces and the kind of personalities that only develop in areas where people have to get along in close quarters for most of the year.
Which might be why they've developed so many wonderful things to do outside.
Once you get moving, your body creates a balance with the cold and the snow. The part of our brain that regulates the metabolism to keep you alive starts working again and the dull ache of dormancy starts to fade away.
Then, when you don't feel cold anymore; you can look around a bit and see what the view through the window has been obscuring: that winter is just as alive as any other season. The snow and ice grow and shift to create paths and barriers, allowing us to move in ways we couldn't at any other time of year. Even on the cloudiest and darkest days, the light dances around in unexpected places. And, when you find yourself in the deepest part of the woods, if you stand as still as possible, the silence is strong enough to come alive.
