Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 51

Alberta and Plumbago – Blog Post #6 Camping in Michigan

Some places, no matter how many times I drive by them, remain a mystery.

Yes, that familiar logo is for the Henry Ford Company. 

In 1936, Henry Ford built a sawmill at this site, damming up the Plumbago Creek to form Plumbago Lake. Not sure where that name came from, but it led me down a rabbit hole. Plumbago is a kind of plant not found anywhere in the wild of Michigan; it only grows in warm climates. The flower does symbolize hope and good wishes, so that could be why someone named it that. 

But the term also is an old-fashioned name for graphite. Again, I’m not sure what any of that has to do with this part of the UP. But my internet search did lead me to a waterfall along Plumbago Creek. Drat. I’ll never find that one.

 

But back to Henry Ford. I guess in parts of lower Michigan, he created sawmills and company towns around them, attempting to build ideal communities for the workers and their families. This one in the UP is one of his smallest.

He named it Alberta after the daughter of one of his superintendents.

Even though it says the gift shop and museum are open in the summer, I’ve never seen much activity in this little bit of a town, so we’ve never stopped.

As with so many of my travels, there is always next time.

For more information, click on the following links:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta,_Michiganhttps://www.michigan.org/property/alberta-village-museumhttps://www.mtu.edu/forest/fordcenter/https://www.waterfallsofthekeweenaw.com/plumbago-creek/plumbago-falls/

The First Discovery of the Trip – Blog Post #5 Camping in Michigan

First of all, I need to apologize for not posting this yesterday. The Labor Day holiday on Monday has me off by a day all week. At least I’m not alone; no one seems to know what day it is!

But when I was on vacation camping in the UP in July, we didn’t need to know what day it was. All I needed to know was where my waterfalling book was. When I page through that book, I’m stunned at how few waterfalls I’ve actually been to in upper Michigan.

Dino is stunned too. But he’s also always up for a new adventure, as long as it’s a short walk.

This first section of the Tioga River was right in the roadside park. I don’t remember ever being there, as hard to believe as that is.

We didn’t know how far this trail would lead, so Hubby and the pup headed back to the truck.

You know me, though. No path is too long where a waterfall is concerned. 

This trail was quite short, something around five hundred feet is all. And if the water drop was short, I didn’t mind because the setting was perfectly peaceful and beautiful.

This poor little waterfall didn’t even have a name – I’ve run across quite a few labeled “Unnamed Falls”. Seems kind of sad.

The actual Tioga Falls is a mile and a half north of this one, as the crow flies. Which is the only way to get there, according to the guidebook. Studying Google Maps, I think we could get to it. There’s always next year.

Location of the Tioga River Roadside Park - https://www.waterfallsofthekeweenaw.com/tioga-river/tioga-park-falls/

Reading, Writing, Listening

    Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions. (Isaiah 30:8-9, New Living Translation)

For many years, whenever I run across a Bible verse that I like, one that speaks to me and has special meaning for me, I try to memorize it and commit it to my mind and heart. But, being the miserable sinner which I am, I rarely do that.

I do write those verses down on an index card. Then, every couple of months or so, I rotate which one of those cards is sitting on my desk to read every day. And believe it or not, I still can’t get them memorized!

Every week, Hubby and I watch Dr. David Jeremiah, a Southern Baptist pastor, on TV. The sermon we listened to this week was about writing down, not just verses from the Bible, but entire chapters and entire books from the Bible. He challenged all of us listening to get a blank notebook or journal and write chapter 8 from the book of Romans in it. It is only 39 chapters, so that can’t be so hard.

I found myself a blank journal and started by writing the verse above on the first page.

But when I was talking about those verses on the index cards on my desk? The one facing me right now, as I type this, is:

   And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His Purpose.

Which is verse 28 from the book of Romans, chapter 8.

And that, my friends, is yet another reason why I believe there is a God in Heaven. So, if you think He has never spoken directly to you, I hope you start listening.

Canyon Falls, then and now - Blog Post #4 Camping in Michigan

June of 1980 was the first time I visited Canyon Falls, on Hwy 41, ten miles south of L’Anse, Michigan. I don’t know where those pictures went, but luckily my sister Pat and I went back the following year. I’ve been there a few more times over the years and it never gets old. Except that there are still always more people on the trail than I would want, even if this year one nice lady did take our picture. 

First of the now and thens. Above is this year, below is forty years ago. Forty years! Hard to believe. And no, I'm not sure this is the exact same spot, only the same river. 

Above from July 2021, below from July 1981. I believe the one below is where I dropped the lens cap from my 35 mm camera and squawked, "oh, crap!". Pat thought I had slipped or something and was relieved it wasn't anything more important. Until I had to stretch over the edge to reach the cap. Then she was like, let it go!

Above (now) and below (then), I'm pretty sure are not the same spot, but the trees still kinda look the same - growing out of the rock, somehow. 
No matter how many pictures I take, though, or how poor the quality now is from those old ones, I still love looking at them and reliving the memories. 

Persevering - Blog Post #3 Camping in Michigan

When we were camping this past July, we spent one day wandering around the city of Crystal Falls. We’d been there the year before, but our wandering that day hadn’t been nearly as fun since it was raining out. One of the places we returned to this year was the park at Clark’s Landing. 

I hadn’t intended on taking twelve pictures of this flag, but I had to get it with the breeze blowing just right. 

I also hadn’t intended on sharing the pictures of the rest of the American Flags I had captured in Michigan’s UP, along with one just over the border in Wisconsin (ten points if you know which one it is).

 

Of course, until I went through all of my pictures, I didn’t realize there were so many flags.

With current events, both in our country and the world, I thought it would be appropriate to post them today.

Sometimes things get turned upside down, or sometimes they are just broken. But we will persevere. 

Along with this fellow watching over his own corner of the world.

Overview - Blog Post #2 Camping at Bewabic

        The morning of July 11, Hubby, Dino and I headed out on our first week-long trip in Carlton the camper. As mentioned in my previous blog post, things didn’t get off to a smooth start. The rodent infestation put all our preparations behind. But I have finally learned that vacations shouldn’t be planned around any particular schedule; that there shouldn’t be any set times for anything. I thought I had realized that on my first camping trip to Bewabic with my sister Pat way back in 1980. I’m glad I am finally coming back around to what it means to be on vacation.

Anyway, it’s late on Thursday night and I should get to bed. I promise that next week I’ll write all about what we did and what we saw while camping in the UP that week. For now, you get to just see a few random pictures to hold your interest until then. 

Wow! We do manage to cover a lot of ground; so much for vacation being relaxing. 

 

Camping with Uninvited Guests - Blog Post 1

Hard to believe that it has been just over six weeks since we left home for our annual camping trip to Michigan’s UP. It does seem to have become a tradition, a week at one of my favorite state parks. This year we were back at Bewabic, which is between Crystal Falls and Iron River, eight miles or so north of the Wisconsin border (as the crow flies).

Funny how last year’s camping trip was cut short by a day due to a certain kidney stone. This year’s trip was delayed by a different sort of invasion. 

You may remember (or you can click this link to refresh your memory) that before we set off on our first camping trip in the new camper this spring, that I found a dead mouse while cleaning. It caused my gentle lick-and-a-promise cleaning to turn into a full-blown scrub to the rafters. After which, since no one else showed up in the mouse traps, I was confident in success.

The Friday before we left for the UP in July, I once again hadn’t planned on cleaning top to bottom. I thought an airing out and a sweeping would suffice. Well, when I went in that morning to start packing the food, I discovered mouse droppings in one of the cupboards. Ripping apart all the cubby holes, I found more poo and freaked out! No mouse or mouse beds though, so I don’t know where they were or if they were coming and going.

So, we gathered some steel wool, duct tape and electrician’s tape and I crawled under the darn camper, crammed steel wool into every hole and crack I could find, and then covered them with tape.  

Then I vacuumed, swept, and wiped down every surface with bleach. Last we set four mousetraps in the hidey-holes, as well as in the cupboard where I found the droppings.  

Several hours later, before going to bed, I had to check them and sure enough, found a rodent squished in one of them. Set that one and was like – argh – I don’t have time for this.

Saturday morning, at 7, we left for Lifest for the day and pulled back in the driveway just about 9 at night. Of course, I had to check the traps.

Darn it if there weren’t two more victims. Argh!!!

Perhaps, at that point, I should not have chosen to name them – Mickey that first guy back in May. Followed by Minnie, Tom and Jerry. And then Mighty the morning we left to go camping.

During the week we were camping, there was only one – Martha. But the week we got home, I continued checking and setting traps, killing Michael J. Mouse and Marvin Gray. One night the first part of August, we had torrential rains, practically a monsoon. As soon as it dried up enough, I checked the camper and discovered dead Mouse-soon.

Last week, we went camping for just a few days, trapping Maurice just before we left home and Melvin the day after we got home.

And, yes, we have tried everything – moth balls all around the outside of the camper, dryer sheets wherever I’ve seen mouse evidence inside. This week we put out some poison traps six to ten feet away from the camper, but I just wonder if the whole nest of the beasts is still hiding somewhere inside. So frustrating.

At least, Hubby has been a champ through it all, disposing of their little bodies and rebaiting and resetting the traps. All I’ve done is pull them out of whatever cubby they were in and replacing them.

  But now that I got all of that off my chest, come back on Friday and read about our actual trip to the UP. Hubby, Dino and I still had a great time, even with our uninvited guests in our home on wheels.

Place our Trust in Him

  The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him. (Isaiah 8:17, Good News Translation)

For the last several years, I’ve chosen a “word of the year,” and if you read my Sunday blog posts in January, you may remember that my word for this year is “Trust.”

I chose that word (or God chose it for me) because we all need to work harder at placing our trust in God. 2021 has been another crazy year, and I don’t think anyone sees an end in sight.

It may seem that God has turned His back on us, that He is hiding from us, that He has given up on us. In reality, He is still waiting for us with open arms. Waiting for us to turn our backs on the things of this world and return to Him. Trust in Him. 

Lord, God, Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit to us so that our faith is renewed and we can place all of our trust in You. Amen.  

Stand Firm to the End

I’m sorry that I didn’t write a post on Sunday. I always hate skipping Sundays, as that’s when I try to write something inspirational.

This Sunday, though, we had a picnic for Hubby’s side of the family. It was a beautiful day and we were all blessed to be able to see each other and relax in each other’s company. And of course, eat too much good food. (This wasn’t quite all the cars we had in the yard.)

When my mother-in-law died last October, even though we had a funeral, it wasn’t the same. COVID was really ramping up then and only the immediate family stayed for the service. Everyone was spread out throughout the church and there was very little mingling or visiting before or after.

And yes, COVID numbers have been going up again in the last few weeks. Most of us feel pretty okay being out and about without masks because we’ve been vaccinated. But that’s no guarantee. I know people who are fully vaccinated who have gotten sick and tested positive for the virus. I’ve heard of people who have ended up hospitalized, on ventilators, who have been immunized. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still believe that everyone needs to get their shots. We all need to do everything we can to slow down this pandemic. If the vaccine prevents the spread in any way, then it’s worth getting.

The sad thing is that this pandemic is only the tip of the iceberg. Wildfires are still raging, hurricanes are still threatening the Southeast, an earthquake devastated Haiti. And then there is Afghanistan. Oh, what horrors for those poor people. I fear for them, as well as for so many others around the world.

   As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:3-14, New International Version

Stand firm to the end. 

Heading Home – Blog Post #6 Weekend in Viroqua

 Sunday morning, June 6, we – Hubby, his brother, his sister-in-law and I – woke up knowing we had to pack up and leave the cabin at Sidie Hollow. It had been a fun weekend, filled with laughter, treats, hikes and sunshine. And for me – way too many pictures, but you already knew that.

My morning walk down Sidie Hollow Road. 

A drive through Sidie Hollow County Park. 

One last side trip to Esofea Memorial County Park, before heading home until the next adventure. 

For more information, click on these links:

            Esofea/Rentz Memorial Park –  https://www.vernoncounty.org/departments/land_and_water_conservation/parks_and_forests/esofea_rentz.php

            Sidie Hollow County Park – https://www.vernoncounty.org/departments/land_and_water_conservation/parks_and_forests/sidie_hollow.php