Afternoon: Road Scholar participants should arrive between 3:00-4:30 PM to register. Registration will be in the Education Hall. Participants will get their name tag and room key.

Dinner: Dinner at 5:30 PM. There will be a social before dinner where participants can talk while enjoying wine, cheese and other snacks provided by Trees For Tomorrow (TFT).

Evening: -Orientation and Icebreakers - The TFT Road Scholar Coordinator will go over the itinerary for the week, give a tour of the facilities and address any other questions. Participant introductions will also occur this night.

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:15 AM.

Morning: -Snowshoe Hike - Snowshoes will be distributed to participants. We will snowshoe near Trees For Tomorrow to get an idea of how to maneuver on snow. While snowshoeing, winter ecology will be discussed by trained Trees For Tomorrow professional staff. Examples may include: how ruffed grouse dive-bomb into snow and use it to insulate themselves from the harsh winter environment, how deer suvive the winter, and interpreting wildlife signs and tracks that we discover along the hike.

Lunch: Lunch at 11:45 AM.

Afternoon: -Ski Instruction - We'll get outfitted for skis and poles, then get out on the snow! We will begin instruction on a groomed/tracked flat surface. Flatland instruction will include skills such as: learning how to fall and get up, weight balance/transfer, movement on skis, kicking and gliding, poling, double poling, and kick-double poling. Depending on skill level and group needs, we may begin hill lessons this afternoon. Hill instruction will take place at a groomed/tracked golf course. Hill skills to be taught include: snowplowing, herringbone, snowplow turns, and step turns. Instruction will be based on participants' skills levels and will be adjusted accordingly. The Trees For Tomorrow ski instructors are comfortable with many levels of skier abilities and teach lessons on a regular basis to 4th graders-adults.

Dinner: Dinner at 5:00 PM.

Evening: Community Engagement/Issues- TFT staff will discuss local and state issues surrounding grey wolf conservation and management, and will also discuss the management of other large carnivores in the state.

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:15 AM.

Morning: Morning Stretch- TFT Staff will lead a short stretch session to familiarize everyone with effective stretches for XC skiing. Ski Instruction #2- To give everyone the opportunity to feel comfortable and confident on hills, we will return to the Eagle River Golf Course and continue to work on hill maneuvers, especially turning on hills and snowplowing.

Lunch: Lunch at 11:45 AM.

Afternoon: --Ski Tour at Anvil Trails - Located in the Nicolet National Forest, this historic and popular trail system provides a nice diversity of trails in a beautiful area. This trail system was built with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and is one of Wisconsin's first National Recreation Trails, trails that have local and regional significance. We typically offer 2 guided tours: 1 longer tour (4-6 miles), and 1 shorter tour (2-3 miles) depending on comfort level. One of the highlights of this trip is the opportunity to feed black-capped chickadees sunflower seeds from your hands. As is the case with all of our ski tours, we will stop periodically to examine the variety of interesting things we may see (i.e. animal tracks, various trees, etc.).

Dinner: Dinner at 5:00 PM.

Evening: Program provided by Trees for Tomorrow Staff. Program topic to be determined.

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:15 AM. Enjoy a mid-week Farm-to-Table breakfast featuring locally produced ingredients.

Morning: -Ski Tour at Afterglow Lake Resort - Tours are two to five miles depending on skill level. I believe nearly every skier in our area will tell people Afterglow is one of the finest groomed trails around. One of the trails follows Afterglow Lake and the others wind through beautiful stands of sugar maples, hemlocks, and more. The warming area at Afterglow Lake Resort provides an excellent place to relax and have lunch.

Lunch: Sack lunch at Afterglow around 11:30 AM.

Afternoon: - Winter Tree ID - Interested participants will learn how to identify trees in the winter. Using a dichotomous (two-way) key and other mnemonics, participants will learn trees such as: eastern hemlock, sugar maple, white pine, quaking aspen, along with many others.

Dinner: Dinner at 5:00 PM.

Evening: -Candlelight Snowshoe - Tree For Tomorrow staff will have a 0.6-mile snowshoe trail illuminated by candles. Candlelight snowshoe and ski outings are a popular activity in the Northwoods at various state parks and resorts. We've done this activity for a few years now, and it has been one of the participants most memorable experiences. We will follow this program with a s'mores get-together around the fireplace where we can test out some new campfire recipes!

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:15 AM.

Morning: -Sylvania Wilderness Hike - We will snowshoe in a designated wilderness area. This Upper Peninsula of Michigan gem escaped the heavy logging of the late 1800s and early 1900s and provides access to one of the few virgin timber Hemlock-Hardwood stands in this area. This 20,000-acre wilderness area contains 34 named lakes and many glacial pothole lakes that are unnamed. While there, we will snowshoe and talk about what makes these areas so special and what we can do to help them stay that way! Past participants tell us that the highlights of this trip are seeing the old growth stands and having some true quiet time during a "silent-sit".

Lunch: Lunch at 11:45 AM at Ottawa Visitor's Center.

Afternoon: -Witness Bond Falls Waterfall- Participants will get the chance to see one of Michgan's Upper Peninsula waterfall gems. Bond Falls is one of the most photographed waterfalls around.

Dinner: Dinner at 5:00 PM.

Evening: -Compass Use and Route Selection - The first component of the two part class is learning how to use a compass. After learning how to "put red in the shed and follow fred", participants will learn how to use the compass to get direction off a map and how far to walk. Each group will pick a route and calculate all the bearings and distances to be walked. This classroom preparation will set us up well when we head into the field the next day!

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:00 AM.

Morning: -Ski Tour at Razorback Ridges Trails -Tours are two to five miles depending on skill level. This trail system is one of the largest in the area with an excellent warming shelter. Located in the Northern Highland - American Legion State Forest, this ski area provides an opportunity to visit different forest types, including Jack Pine. We see a variety of tracks at Razorback nearly every time we ski, including fisher tracks!

Lunch: Lunch at 11:45 AM.

Afternoon: -Orienteering at the Press Forest - Using all the calculated routes from the previous night, groups will navigate through the woods to find target trees. The last few years, participants have thoroughly enjoyed this activity!

Dinner: Dinner at 5:00 PM.

Evening: -Closing - The TFT Road Scholar Coordinator will present a slideshow containing pictures from the participants' experiences during the week. Passports will also be stamped. At some point during the week, Road Scholar participants will oftentimes have the opportunity to meet one of the TFT education raptors (bird). We will talk about their story (why they are not releasable), adaptations that allow them to be efficient predators, life history, and ways we can help them.

Breakfast: Breakfast at 7:15 AM.

Morning: Departure by 9:00 AM. Please leave your room key and name tag in your room. Safe Travels!