Chasing waterfalls

After the sunrise at Brockway Mountain and the stop at Esrey Park, we hit the next place my son wanted me to see.

Silver River Falls.

I intended to take shots like the one below so I could remember each place we stopped. Nah, I didn't remember to do that. At least I can look it up on maps.

The roaring water was wonderful. I like waterfalls. I love waterfalls. I love rivers.

Apparently my son and Em and Mari do also. Mari played in the cold water [in a safe spot] while we walked around and I took some shots.

Jer brought the tripod, but I was able to do some hand held shots. 1/20th of a second exposures do give a sense of the motion of the water. The morning was heavily overcast, so it was easier than trying to expose in a glaring bright day.

There is a trail of sorts alongside the river that allows you to check things out. Me? I would have seen how far I could have hiked towards Lake Superior, but we had so many more things to see. 

We loaded up and headed towards Great Sand Bay.

Lake Superior is like visiting the ocean. It is windy, chilly, and loud with waves crashing into the shore.

Because of the blowing sand and water spray, I kept my camera in my backpack. But still, one can take some decent shots with a cell phone these days.

We spent quite a while 'beach combing' and enjoying the thunderous waves. The winds were so strong that the dune grasses drew swirls in the sand.

Jacob's Falls was our next stop.

This was the most curious thing I've ever seen on a roadside trail. Ashes? But in a way, I understood this completely. I doubt I'd have left a whole box.

This was my first glimpse of the falls and this is where most folks stop. Not my group. 

...and yes, I climbed up these roots to get higher while my son was climbing from the opposite side below.

See the blue jacket? That was my kid.

He survived, but I was worried that he'd fall in.

While I was gone, this project finished up.  There is just some touch up work left. But the new view out my back door is now pretty amazing.

 

Our exploration of Gay Michigan was interesting enough that it deserves its own write up. --> Soon.

A weekend break

Charlie had his first L...O...N...G car trip. At first he was nervous and did a lot of whining.
Charlie doesn't like bumpy roads. He stands up in his car seat and peers at the road and then me as if I could change the bouncing he feels.

He gets concerned over stop and go traffic too. He placed his feet on the console between us and tried to get as near to me as he could. I wasn't very nice, I pushed him back into his seat. He does have a harness and is tethered into his seat but apparently IF he really wants to he can stretch out of it.

Otherwise he was the perfect little traveler. He just gave me sleepy eyes once in a while and would 'navigate' for a bit then lay back down.

We got to my son's house and Charlie got reacquainted with Teslin. He is quick to understand that she doesn't want to play and would rather ignore him. He is fine with that.

Fun things we did:
Ikea. I loved that store and found a fake fur pillow cover for Charlie as a gift.
Rich loved the seat cushions I got!

Eating out at the Noble and meeting Amber. What a fun person!

Saturday was just as great.
I'll just let the photos do the talking....

Charlie met this young German Shephard named Shark. She is Amber's young dog who is full of boundless energy.
Charlie was pretty sure that Shark was going to eat him. Shark wanted to play with Charlie and Charlie wasn't too sure about that.

I think if Shark and Charlie had a few days to get used to each other, they'd get along just fine. Charlie loves to play but has never played with someone like Shark who is very vocal. After all, it took Charlie and Teslin about 3 days to get their pecking order figured out.

However by the time I took this photo of the fireplace, all dogs were sleepy and calm.

I had a perfect get away weekend.