One of these days, perhaps, I’ll adjust to all the wintry moods of northern Michigan. I will cease to be amazed by the pillows of snow that accumulate overnight, or while we’re away for an afternoon. It will no longer surprise me that the sky can be both filled with brilliant sun and heavy with falling flakes. I will bore of the muted pallet, and tire of the cold.
Then again, perhaps not. Continue reading
We’re in the process of considering our next vehicle (we are very deliberate planners: we intend to test-drive several – which we’ve heavily researched already – in November when the weather is less than inviting, and then purchase sometime after the winter, when we will have gotten the most out of our already-purchased snow tires), and at the top of our list of imperatives is comfort. I know that a lot of people would say the same thing, but – and I quote every chain letter in history and several Jerry Springer guests – we are for real. We make a significant number of 8-hour drives each year to visit our families, and have historically made a couple of 16-hour trips to the office in Atlanta. These are the one-way times. In summation: we spend a lot of time in the car. Continue reading
If you’ve been following this blog for a while (thanks to all “old” and “new” followers, by the way!!), then you’ve visited this shipwreck with me a couple of times. If you’re new here, then you’re in for a treat. Well, either way I still think you’re in for a treat; this is one of my favorite hikes in my neighborhood 
Continue reading
Do you remember back in June when Tony and I went out in search of a future dive site? Today during lunch we went back there – the Petobego Natural Area- armed with our snorkel gear and camera. We originally learned about it from a couple of guys we met at a dive site in Northport, who described the area as having some interesting underwater sawdust-plus-sand formations.
Back in the lumbering days, there was a sawmill located on the water near Angell Road south of Elk Rapids. As a result, the sandbars that surround the current Petobego Pond are full of sawdust. As we walked along the shore, this odd mixture of sand and dust barked (very similar to the sound of H2 + O2 –> H2O in a test tube, which I know is very specific, but I did teach high school science) with every step. I couldn’t help but barking my way along like I do on gym floors in squeaky shoes
Looks like sand, “pops” like burning hydrogen
Kiteboarders
We left our belongings at the edge of the water and then ventured in. We stayed within the pond since the nearby bay was rather choppy. Overall, we were pretty disappointed with the site for snorkeling/free diving. There just wasn’t much to see, although there were tons of tiny fish schooling around us. (Presumably we’d have better luck if we swam to the drop out on the bay…maybe next time.) The bottom was very soft (probably the whole ground wood meets ground stone thing), which I found a bit unnerving. Also, it kicked up into the water easily, reducing visibility.
Despite the flash accidentally being on without my noticing 
I still like the left-hand snap because the surface of the water from below looks neat – plus that sun-dappled bottom
But, right before we decided to hop out of the water, I spotted something I’ve never seen up here:
I’m pretty sure it’s a gar. When you’re submerged in water, you can’t exactly shout for your swim buddy. Instead, I excitedly waved my arms around in his general direction until he noticed. Unlike most fish that immediately dart away when they detect your presence, this guy languidly swam around for awhile before finally and slowly swimming away.
Note: In my attempts to verify what the guys in Northport told us, I came across some info suggesting that this place is a favorite for kiteboarders. You can get here by boat, or by walking along the shore…on private property. If you plan to visit this site via a hike in, stick to the water’s edge.
Yesterday afternoon we decided to take a driving tour of the northern lower peninsula and the Lake Huron coast. We’ve been on the east coast of the state once since we moved here over two years ago, and we didn’t really even get out of the car. Since it was such a steamy day, we didn’t do too much adventuring, but even so, we ran across a few gems. Continue reading
