Here is a little more info on the ride in:

• The main reason for this ride in is to get fans of JohnDee.com together to meet each other and have as much fun in the snow up here as possible. The events other main goal is to raise funds for the Make A Wish Foundation. Last year we were able to help a little girl from Marquette fulfill her dream of going to Walt Disney World. Over $9,000 has been raised in the last 2 years. This year we will be helping to send an 11 year old and his family from Drummond Island MI to go on a Disney Cruise. You can read more about that here.
• Persons attending the ride in will be responsible for making their own lodging arrangements. All of this years events will be held at the Best Western Franklin Square in Houghton (registration will be in the boardroom and the banquet on Saturday night will be held in the Spica Restaurant on the top floor). This hotel has direct trail access for snowmobiles. You need not stay in this hotel to partake in the ride in and can stay anywhere in the area that you would like.
• Pre-registration is mandatory to be able to attend the banquet (sort of like RSVPing for a wedding, we need to know you are coming so we can set a place for you!). Persons may still show up on the day of the rides and partake in the events, but will not be able to attend the banquet.
• There will be two cut off dates for pre-registering. The first will be January 13. Persons pre-registering after that date will still be able to attend the banquet and will receive the t-shirt, but the t-shirt will not be available at the ride in and will be mailed out at another date. The other cut off date is for the Banquet. That cut off date is January 25th. If you register after this date, you will still receive a t-shirt (via mail), but will not be able to attend the banquet.
• There are additional sizes available for the t-shirts. They are 2XL, 3XL, 4XL and 5XL. Also available are youth sizes Youth SM (6/8), Youth M (10/12), Youth L (14/16), Youth XL (18/20). If you need to order one of these sizes, please add this info into the note option on the paypal order or attach a note to your payment to John Stachler.
• The events at the ride in are:
  • Guided Backcountry Snowmobile Tours- Hook up with one of our guides for a guided tour of the backcountry of the Keweenaw! The tours will be a full day ride from around 10 am until 4 pm. No special equipment or sleds are required, but riders should be competent in their snowmobile handling skills. In the event that there are more riders than we have guides for, there will be a lottery to determine who will be able to go on these backcountry rides. 
  • The event closing banquet at 6 pm Saturday February 2nd. This is the main gathering for the ride in. It will be held at the Spica Restaurant on top of the Best Western Franklin Square Inn in Houghton. Dinner, soft drinks and coffee will be provided (as well as a cash bar). There will also be door prizes and a raffle at the banquet. Following the dinner and awarding of the prizes, we will be entertained by one of the areas premier Disk Jockeys. 
  • Live Entertainment by Award Winning Singer / Songwriter Randy VanVooren  (BigVin) 
    BigVin accolades include: 
    2007 SOWI (Songwriters of Wisconsin International) SONGWRITER of the Year. 
    3 time First Place SOWI Song of the year winner 
    Multiple Top 5 placements in recent SOWI award categories
    Member of Nashville Songwriters Association International
    Have had songs demo recorded by #1 recording artist Jeff Carson
    Currently have songs being considered by: Brad Paisley,  Gary Allan, and Tina Turner
    Had 3 songs played Nationally on GAC's  VJ Chris Conn's syndicated radio show "The ConnMan Show" for an unprecidented 3 straight weeks
    Have Opened for .38 Special, Sawyer Brown, The Oak Ridge Boys, BlackHawk, Montgomery Gentry, Ricochet, Jeff Carson, Little Texas, and MANY others
    Currently Hosts "BigVin's RockPile" from 10am - 2pm on Rock 96-3 (Menominee,  MI)
    AND "The BigVin Show" from 2pm - 6pm on Cat Country 103.7  (Menominee, MI)
• For those not being able to attend the ride in, but still wanting to make a donation, you can send a check made out to "John Stachler" and mail it to John Dee at PO Box 182, Mohawk MI 49950.
• In the event the weather does not cooperate, refunds will be made available for the banquet fees, but we will not be able to refund the money that went to the t-shirt costs and donations to the Make A Wish Foundation.

I sure hope to see you all up here for this years event as this is something that is very special to my heart and is a great way to meet me and give something back to the community from the snowmobile community!

-John