Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 53

Wildlife Walk and Wonders. And Work – Blog Post #9 Camping in Michigan

   I always post my blogs first thing in the morning, which means I actually write them the night before. This week, luckily, I started my Wednesday post on Monday night. Good thing, because I am exhausted tonight (which is really last night, as you read this.)

I don’t know how the medical community in the rest of the country is doing, but here in northern Wisconsin, I feel we are at a crisis stage. No, the pandemic is not that totally bad around here, but we are seeing enough cases, hospitalizing enough people, that it is putting a strain on our already taxed health care services. And I only work in a clinic. For years, people asked me why I didn’t go back to school to get my RN. This is why – I don’t want to work in a hospital or any critical care or long-term care facility. And I feel so bad, sometimes guilty, that I work my 7:00 am to 5:30 or 6:00 pm shifts, four of them in a row and then get a three-day weekend. But I still spend a lot of hours when I am not at work, thinking about what I should have done, how my patients are doing, how my co-workers and providers are doing. I need a vacation – like maybe two weeks off every month…

I’ll keep planning the next vacation, just as I keep reliving the previous ones.

So, here are pictures from the afternoon of our second full day of camping in the UP in July. Back at Bewabic State Park and taking a walk.

And finding something to love in every day. Something to carry me through the days that are rough.

A Weekend Project - you know how those go

   When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others. (Philippians 2:3-4, New Century Version)

Last night, I asked Hubby what I should blog about today. He said that I should write about the project we worked on this weekend – putting rubber tiles on the floor of our storage shed.

I’m not sure what Hubby wanted me to say. Because he surely didn’t want me to tell you about all the heated discussions we had. Or that I completely quit halfway through, claiming that my hands hurt too much to continue, which was only partially true. I just couldn’t stay in that hot, dark shed any longer!

The packaging and even the video I found for installing these tiles made it look ridiculously easy. Just place them on the floor and snap them together. Right! In whose world?

I know that the uneven floor is mostly to blame, but that still doesn’t explain why some of the tiles snapped right together and others just said, “no, not doing it.” Or why, when measuring the edges, some how this metal shed which is just over a year old isn’t even square. Or maybe it’s just because, before we even got started, I clonked my head on the doorway. Remember, I’m short? How could I ever run into anything overhead?

Then when I sat down to write this and brought up the BibleGateway website, the verse above was the verse for the day. Hmm? Maybe it’s not just about my head, or my aching fingers, or my sore back. Maybe it’s about Hubs too, at least a little bit, about his bad back and his aching knees and his allergies kicking up in the confined space.

Lord, God, forgive me for my selfishness, forgive me for my impatience, forgive me for my short temper. And thank You so much for a patient, selfless husband. Amen.

Oh, and P.S., God, can you keep Hubby from reading this? Thanks 😉

Iron River - Blog Post #8 Camping in Michigan

   Tuesday, July 14, was our second full day of camping at Bewabic State Park, between Crystal Falls and Iron River. It was a laid-back day for us, for a change.

I wanted to drive around the city of Iron River, twelve miles west on Highway 2, but we stopped at Larson Roadside Park first. It is supposedly the first roadside park in America, created in an unbelievable 1918. I mean, how many cars were possibly on Hwy 2 that long ago?

This one could have been one of those cars - a restored 1929 Model A pickup.

Hubby talked for a long time to the guy who had restored it, doing all the work himself, having found the original parts in some old garage. His wife said he could have it if he finished rebuilding it in one month. I’m so glad that the challenge was accepted.

On to Iron River and Central School. The main section was built in 1904-05.

The two wings were added in 1910-11. The building was used as a school until 1980 and was recently renovated into a 22-unit apartment complex.

The Windsor Center was once the West Iron County Middle School, and before that West Iron County High School, and before that the Iron River High School.

The Iron River Town Hall was constructed in 1915, thirty years after Iron River was incorporated.

The First Lutheran Church.

Iron River Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 

A really cool building which I could find out nothing about on the internet.

Veterans’ Memorial.

Apple Blossom Trail, which runs between the Iron River and the Iron County snowmobile and ATV trail.

I only walked a short segment of it, maybe half a mile.

With evidence of the mines which were once in the area.

I didn’t even know I was also walking this course until I found the sign. 

I need to try Disc Golf sometime. Maybe. Or maybe not. Or at least I need to walk this entire trail. 

 For more information:

The renovation of Central School - https://www.secondwavemedia.com/upper-peninsula/features/ironriver52213.aspx

The Windsor Center - https://www.windsorcenter.org/about/info

The First Lutheran Church - https://firstlutheranironriver.com/

The Apple Blossom Trail - https://mitrails.org/apple-blossom-trail.php

The Disc Golf Course - https://udisc.com/courses/the-tailings-nkU2

What Mesmerizes Us - Blog Post #7 Camping in Michigan

I promise this will be the last thing I post from our first full day camping in Michigan’s UP. It didn’t feel like such a busy day as we were living it. 

While researching our trip and trying to find new places to explore, I had seen the Michigamme Museum online and thought we should check it out. Driving past it, though, it didn’t look very exciting. 

And not sure what was going on here. 

There were some cool old buildings on the main drag so I felt it had still been worth it to veer off Highway 28/41 to explore this little town.  

We drove to the end of the street, where we ran across Lake Michigamme, and there was a little lakeside park, so of course, I had to get out. 

Craziest thing! They were moving a gazebo, had it on the back of a flatbed car trailer, and were backing it into a place in the park. 

We had to watch the whole thing and even videoed some of it. It just did not seem like this was going to go smoothly, but it really went off without a hitch. 

No clue why Hubby and I both found this little project so fascinating, but we weren’t alone. At least half a dozen people from town were mesmerized as well. 

Sometimes life is all about the little things. Ok, for me, that would be most of the time. 

Information on Michigamme - https://michigammetownship.com/about.htm

Carry Us

   Oh, praise the Lord, for he has listened to my pleadings! He is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trusted in him, and he helped me. Joy rises in my heart until I burst out in songs of praise to him. The Lord protects his people and gives victory to his anointed king. Defend your people, Lord; defend and bless your chosen ones. Lead them like a shepherd and carry them forever in your arms. (Psalm 28:6-9, The Living Bible)

As you are all aware, yesterday was the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday; other times, it still feels surreal. Like – how could that have happened in this country?

In the past two decades, how could there have there been so many school shootings? Race riots? Police violence and violence against the police? Anger and deception and hatred? Not to mention - wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters?

It makes me think of that song by Billy Joel from 1990 - “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The lyrics remind me that every generation has had its share of problems.

Which is true. But.

I just want things to calm down, for our planet to renew itself, for people to be at peace. For the Lord to carry me – to carry all of us – forever. Amen. 

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.