Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 47

Too Many Pictures? Or not nearly enough? Door County, Post #6

     I can’t put my head around the idea of sharing any of my trips in a single blog post, with a handful of pictures and stories. Am I an oddball for finding wonder in each stop on a new road, for wanting to capture the simplest thing – a church, a rock or a broken branch? Or, for some crazy reason, am I just full of child-like fascination? I apologize if I bore you. But if you aren’t able to go on adventures or if you are wondering where you can find a new adventure – well, that’s what I’m here for.

Anyway, on my post last Friday, I told you about our ferry ride to Washington Island. I wish I could tell you how many blog posts it’s going to take me to show you everything I want to. I mean, I took nearly 800 pictures during that two-day vacation in early October. Half of them must have been on Washington Island.

Ok, but this is clearly not getting them posted.

First stop, was the Art and Nature Museum, which was closed for the season. But the great thing is that there is always art in nature.

Next was Jacobsen Museum, which was also closed, except that half the exhibits were outdoors, so readily viewed.

 

Here’s one of the reasons I get along so well with my friend who joined me on this trip.

Note the sawhorse in front of the door of this little cabin on the Jacobsen Museum grounds.

My friend was like, “no, that has to go.” So we set the sawhorse aside just long enough to get a more genuine picture of the cabin, and then, yes, put it right back.

Unto Boyer’s Bluff.

Oh, what a view if it hadn’t been so cloudy.

Schoolhouse Beach.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a schoolhouse, but this was the location of the first log school house on the Island in 1850.

And it was only 11:00 in the morning. So much more to see that day.  

For more information: 

Art and Nature Center - https://wianc.org/our-history

Jacobsen Museum - https://washingtonisland.com/the-jacobsen-museum-full-of-surprises/

Schoolhouse Beach - https://washingtonisland.com/school-house-beach/

More on the Beach - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/beach-unlike-any-other-wi/

Worry, Worry, Worry

      

      Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34, New International Version)

I’ve been writing about faith all year, and even though that word is not in today’s Bible verses, it’s still all about faith.

I’ve had a lot on my plate the last few months. My retirement is on my calendar, and I worry that this is not the best time for that.

Food prices have been going up, and they are forecasting that gas will hit five dollars a gallon this summer. The stock market has been unstable. I’ll be living on my investments; what if I lose too much money to be able to pay the bills?

What is going on overseas? Is Russia going to invade Ukraine? And will that give China the inspiration to invade Taiwan? And how much will it take for North Korea to bomb whoever they feel like? We like to believe that we are insulated over here in the US and that no one will invade our borders. Weren’t we all thinking that in December of 1941?

Of course, with the internet and all our new technology, there are other ways to bring down a country besides using guns and bombs.

Don’t even get me started on global warming. How much longer can Mother Earth survive the many onslaughts that our modern life has burdened her with?

And is COVID-19 ever going to go away? Are our hospitals ever going to return to workable patient loads? Are enough people going to go into the medical field to make up for all those who have aged out or burned out? Which is me, and then how do I deal with the guilt of stranding my coworkers?

The only way I can get any sleep at night and get out of bed each morning is my faith that God is bigger than all of this and more.

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27, New International Version)

Ferry Ride, Door County, Post #5

Tuesday of our short trip to Door County, my friend and I were up early and heading to the Washington Island Ferry. On the way, we had to stop for pictures of one of the most photographed roads in the state, perhaps the nation.

Which may have been part of why we missed the 8 am ferry, arriving just in time to watch it sail away. No worry, we were first in line for the 9 am.

The temperature was 63 degrees when we left the mainland, but with thick cloud cover and a stiff breeze on Lake Michigan, it felt much colder. But not so cold that I didn’t ride on the upper deck the whole way to the island.

So I could take way too many pictures.

After five hours of exploring Washington Island, we caught the 3:00 ferry back to the mainland. We didn’t want to chance missing the last ferry at 4.

It wasn’t quite as dreary on the return trip. I had to force myself to not take pictures of the same sites I had captured on the way over. 

Next time, you get to see all the places we visited on that short day on the island. 

Take the ferry yourself - https://wisferry.com/
Or just drive the curvy road - https://www.doorcounty.com/newsletter/october-2017/why-door-countys-curvy-road-curves/ 

Walking Where Eagles Fly, Door County, Post #4

Sounds like a rather dramatic title for today’s post, don’t ya think?

The first day that my friend and I spent exploring Door County back in October, the weather was cloudy and damp. It didn’t stop us from climbing Eagle Tower and Canopy Walk in Peninsula State Park.

The original tower was built on this site in 1914. It was taken down and rebuilt in 1932. That tower was closed in May 2015 due to structural issues and removed in September 2016.

The current tower just opened in May of last year. It offers full accessibility to the observation deck via the 850-foot ramp.

When we first visited the tower Monday mid-afternoon, we climbed the 95 stairs to the top and took the ramp back down.

When Wednesday, our last day in Door County, dawned with the sun finally breaking through the clouds, we naturally had to go back and climb to the top again


Didn’t see any eagles soaring either time, but that’s okay. 

All you get is me doing my best to fly with my feet firmly planted. 

  For more information, click on any of these links: 
Eagle Tower is finally back - https://doorcountypulse.com/finally-eagle-tower-is-back/
The Tower and the Friends of Peninsula Park - https://peninsulafriends.org/eagle-tower/
Tower History - https://peninsulafriends.org/eagle-tower-history/

Faith, again, as well as hope and love

         I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2, New Century Version)

I know. Last Sunday I said that I was sharing my last post on my word of the year – faith. Yet here I am with more final thoughts.  

I imagine that Psalm 23 is the most famous chapter in the Bible. Come on, you know it. “The Lord is my Shepard I shall not want.”

And I bet that 1 Corinthian 13 – the Love Chapter – is the second most famous. And seeing as tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I felt I should mention it.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, New International Version)

It looks like faith and love, as well as hope, are all pretty important. The stuff that makes it worthwhile to get up every morning, to hug your loved ones and allow yourself to be separated from them for the day – or week or month. To believe that things are going to be all right. Those three words are what make us laugh and make us cry. They make life worth living.

And when the chips are down and nothing seems to make sense (and I start writing things that sound like a country-western song), then we have hope in a better tomorrow, faith that God has gotten it covered. And lastly, that love blankets us all.  

Down at the Dock, Door County, Post #3

 After a very full first day in Door County in October, and a very filling dinner at the Bayside Tavern in Fish Creek, my friend and I returned to our hotel and then walked the block down to the dock. The evening was cool, rain was trying to fall, it was dark out, but who am I to miss some photo ops.

Anderson Dock in Ephraim has a long history. But its current story is the graffiti it is famous for.  

We went back the following evening, before it had gotten dark and when rain wasn’t quite as threatening.

                                        

Some may argue that it is still graffiti, that it’s not art, that it’s still vandalism and shouldn’t be allowed.

What do you think? Beautiful or ugliness? 
Click on the following links for more information: 
Overview of Anderson Dock - https://www.doorcounty.com/business-directory/anderson-dock/
History of Anderson Dock - https://www.wearegreenbay.com/from-the-local-5-digital-desk/history-of-anderson-dock-a-not-so-hidden-gem-in-door-county/
More history - https://doorcountypulse.com/whats-with-the-graffiti-at-anderson-dock/

Miscellaneous First Day in Door County, Post #2

Last Friday I started telling you about the quick trip my friend and I took to Door County last October. Our first stop, Cave Point County Park, was so fascinating that I took 113 pictures and spent that entire blog on Friday just sharing some of those pictures.

The rest of that first day, Monday, October 11, we packed in a lot more sites and nearly as many pictures.

Just down the road (and several missed turns) is Cana Lighthouse. To get to it, you can ride this wagon pulled by a tractor.

Across this isthmus, which has varying amounts of water in it at any time. But because it was Columbus Day, the tractor and wagon were not running. We could have walked across – as two brave women did – but the Lighthouse was closed for the holiday anyway, so it didn’t seem worth it.

It wasn’t as cold out as it looked, just windy.

Then I spotted something out on Lake Michigan. Boaters? Birds?

No. Surfers of all things!

I was captivated.

Once again took too many pictures. Are those guys nuts?

Next stop (after yet again getting us turned around) was the Bjorklunden Church at Boynton.

On the grounds of Lawrence University Outreach Center.

Of course, a little while later, we couldn’t resist a stop at a cemetery.. 

We didn’t see much wildlife all day other than this spider.

Last stop during the day light hours was the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park.

Who can resist a lighthouse? 

What makes them so romantic?

There was another place we visited that day, but it will have to wait until next time
For more information, click on these links: 
Cana Island Lighthouse: https://www.dcmm.org/cana-island-lighthouse/
The Boynton Chapel: https://www.lawrence.edu/s/bjorklunden/chapel
Lawrence University's Retreat Center: https://www.lawrence.edu/s/bjorklunden
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse: https://www.doorcounty.com/business-directory/eagle-bluff-lighthouse/
Another Lighthouse website: https://doorcountyhistoricalsociety.org/eagle-bluff-light-station/

Final Thoughts on Faith

      All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth. When people say such things, they show they are looking for a country that will be their own. If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back. But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16, New Century Version)

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews. It seems to be the chapter all about faith. And since “faith” is my word for the year, it made sense to me to bore you with this chapter. (I promise this is the last post on it.)

I especially like these verses because they remind me what faith really means. So many non-believers scoff at Christians for their faith. I suppose I can understand that. I mean, we pray to God in total faith that He hears our prayers and will answer them. But God knows more than us mortal sinners do.

Maybe we can see, only off in the distance, the answer to our prayers. And then we realize that God is not going to grant us what we want, or even sometimes what we need. But faith is knowing that it is okay, that God still loves us, cherishes us, and holds us close as His children.

Side note: The church pictured above is the Estonian Evangelical Martin Luther Church in Gleason, Wisconsin, not too far down the road from where I live. It is the first Estonian Church built in the US in 1914. It’s gonna take a lot of faith to bring this antique back to life. 

Door County, October 2021, post #1

Looking back, I see that I blogged on three different occasions about how I’ve always wanted to travel to Cambodia, how I was ready to make that dream a reality, and how Covid19 squashed those plans.

Two years ago, my friend Denise and I started making plans to go in the Fall of 2020. When that didn’t happen, I went to a cabin up north with the family that week to make up for my disappointment. Denise and I hoped to take that trip in the Fall of 2021. And it fell through again. We thought about changing our plans to another trip to Kenya, but a month before, we realized Covid was still mucking with us. I really needed something special to make up for that disappointment.

I’d already been approved for vacation the middle two weeks of October. I didn’t have a lot of time to plan, but I made things happen.

The first week, my friend Denise and I went to Wisconsin’s Door County for two days. We packed a lot into that time. 

First stop – Cave Point County Park.

 Very remarkable place. And I think we were there on the perfect day – cloudy and dreary with a bit of a breeze, but temps near 70. Which all made the waves crashing into the rocky shoreline totally awesome. Beyond words.

Traveling partners in our flannel.

Hope you can watch the video. It still doesn’t come close to how cool this place was.
For more information, click these links -        https://www.doorcounty.com/experience/cave-point-county-park/
        https://www.co.door.wi.gov/554/Cave-Point-County-Park
        https://cavepointpp.com/blog/7-reasons-why-cave-point-county-park-is-a-must-visit/

Mirror Lake and Dear Wesley, October 2, 2021

 Here it is the second day in February, and I’m getting the Wanderlust, planning all sorts of trips for the coming year, anxious for Spring, and just wanting to jump in the car and go. Can’t wait to get Carlton the camper out of storage, just to sit inside it and dream.

Or reflect on all the road trips I took last Fall. I can’t believe that I ran out of time writing about all the places I explored in October. So here we are, with nothing but time until the snow melts.

The weekend of October 2, 2021, my son and a group of his friends went camping at Mirror Lake State Park near Wisconsin Dells. The state park hosted the 6th Annual S’more Fun Trail Run to raise money, and Nick and his friends signed up to walk or run it (some of his friends are more in shape than others). He asked if I wanted to join them, to either walk the route or just hang out at their campsite. The forecast was for unseasonably warm weather, so I thought I’d drive down for just the day.

                            

Well, when I got there, the plan was actually to have me dog-sit his pup Wesley, so they could all do the walk. I was fine with that, and my grandpuppy and I did catch up with them on the trail and walk a bit with them, until photo ops caused me to veer off course.

 Wes and I did walk most of one of the routes. I wasn’t sure where I was at this point, so glad there were signs.

And as already mentioned, it was unseasonably warm that day. In the low 70s, by ten in the morning, and 77 when I left around three.

We all had a good day. Unfortunately, it was about the time when the bone cancer in Wesley’s skull was becoming more noticeable. The poor, sweet baby. I’m thankful I had that good day to spend with him. You’ll get to read about one more later, but there are many more adventures for me to write about first.