July visit to Rhinelander, part 1

We have been in Rhinelander for almost a week now. We arrived last Friday, just in time to participate in a couple events on the weekend. First, on Saturday morning, a Budweiser Clydesdale team arrived in Rhinelander for some promotional business, and Hope, Grandma Rose, and the kids went into town to check it out. These horses are impressively large, and this one team is hauled around in three semi-trailers:

The other big event over the weekend was my 20th high school reunion. Hard to believe that the crowd of cranky old folks there were the young go-getters of 1988! Really, we had a good time visiting with people, many of whom I hadn't seen in the last 20 years.

Monday turned out to be a really pretty day, so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and drove to the Porcupine Mountains State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We hiked along the Presque Isle River for a bit:

and went to the mouth of this river as it enters Lake Superior. The kids had a ball throwing rocks, splashing in the cold lake waters, and hunting for rocks for their aquariums:


Even Stephen had a good time playing on the beach:



After playing on the beach a while, we hiked up along the river to visit a couple of the waterfalls (this is Manabezho Falls):

The virgin hemlock, pine, and hardwood timber along this river has always been impressive:


but even the little things are pretty neat, like this rock outcrop, with its precise cracks and rounded layers of sediment, highlighted by the root beer colored river water:

By the time we returned (just before Monday's fancy ham supper, fixed special by Mom), my brother Bob had arrived from Madison. We had planned to work on my 1968 Dodge Charger some, and Mom insisted on having an early birthday celebration for Bob (born August 11) and Stephen (born August 12):

Stephen REALLY appreciated the birthday cake:

Bob stayed until Wednesday morning, and we made a fair amount of progress on the Charger. On Monday evening (and again earlier today) we went fishing, with some success (never mind how tiny these bluegills were--the kids LOVED it).

Here's brave lil' Beth, touching one of her "catches":

Another beautiful sunset on Shepard Lake, just down the road from Mom and Dad's, where we went fishing.

On Wednesday, Mom and I drove Dad down to a heart center in Wausau so he could get another angiogram, since his heart monitor seemed to suggest he was developing more blockages. Fortunately, the test showed now new blockages, and his existing stents are looking good. Dad was able to come home just a few hours after this procedure, and has been snoozing and recuperating ever since:

We are now awaiting the arrival of brother John this afternoon (Thursday). Lisa and her family will be showing up on Friday in anticipation of our cousin Jenny Bayer's wedding on Saturday, and Bob is planning to return on Saturday as well. On Sunday, Bragg Family South will head to Milwaukee, where I will attend a meeting for the next week, and Hope and the kids will drive to Michigan to visit her folks. On Friday, August 8, we'll attend a Brewer game before returning to Arkansas. Still lots of big fun to come!

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