A welcomed vacation...

Another fantastic canoeing and camping weekend at Sylvania!! After a quick visit with sister Laurie and her husband Mark, we got to Rhinelander on the last day of August. We stocked up on food and other supplies, and the next morning traveled to the Sylvania Wilderness Area in the Ottawa National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Brother Bob joined us that morning, and brother John and Jim joined us a little later. We set up camp, and soon Hope's parents (Rick and Ann) also joined us. Later that afternoon, Bob, Rick, John, Jim and I enjoyed a brisk hike down one of the local hiking trails. Later that evening, we were joined by others, including sister Lisa and her family (Jon, Michael, and Emma), our friends Brian and Michelle Bennett and their son David, mom and dad (who just stopped by to visit, not camp), and eventually Bob's girlfriend Lisa made it in.

The next day, John and Jim had to return to Madison so John could get ready to fly back to Turkey. We finally got rolling with the canoes by late morning, and were soon on Crooked Lake heading south. We portaged briefly to High Lake, a beautifully blue-green colored lake, and ate lunch on a small hemlock-covered island in the middle of this lake. We then returned to Crooked Lake and continued south at a leisurely pace until about mid-afternoon, when we turned around and headed back to the boat landing. Along the way, we saw an eagle trying very hard to get a baby loon (who was just about as big as the parents, who were working desperately to save their baby). By the time we were leaving the lake, the eagle had failed to get the little loon.

Brother Bill arrived at camp that afternoon, having been picked up in Rhinelander by Hope (Hope, Beth, and her mother had gone to Rhinelander to see mom and dad's remodeling). The following morning, Hope and Bill took Beth in our canoe for a quick paddle around Katherine Lake, which was a short hike through the woods from our campsite. Beth apparently enjoyed her first canoe trip...Later that morning, we all broke camp and returned to Rhinelander (or home, as the case may be).

Mom and dad's remodeling has gone well, if somewhat behind schedule. They have beautiful new cabinets and appliances, and the new stairwell and basement bedroom will serve family needs well. During the last few weeks, Bob has been putting up cedar siding on the garage, with dad's help. I chipped in a couple days with my clumsy carpenter skills, and some headway was made. They now have gotten all of the windows in the garage, and should have the rest of the siding and soffets up by winter (in theory).

Following our camping trip, we had a leisurely visit at mom and dad's. I cut some trees along their trails in the woods, and the kids played in the yard a lot. We made a quick visit to the Oconto River Seed Orchard, where Hope worked during the summer of 1997, and we had another brief evening with the Bennetts at their house. On Sunday, Uncle David Bayer stopped by for a couple hour visit in the afternoon, leaving just before the Packer debacle so he could try to catch the game at home. We rolled out Monday morning, although we ended up leaving our canoe in Rhinelander because of how much vibration and noise it was making at the time. (NOTE: the canoe is free for people to use in--we left the carrying straps in Rhinelander). As we headed south, we stopped at several cheese shops near Monroe, Wisconsin (south of Madison), and gradually headed south towards Arkansas. What greeted us then is the subject for my next posting...