| 07/01/2023 |
07/08/2023 |
Thomas - F6
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VanSickle - F5
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Sicken - F11
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Gatlin - F7 |
DAY 1 - Saturday - Travel day. It took us over 4 hours to get to camp. Weather was hazy and it rained really hard after we all got to camp. We made friends with the camp host, Steve and he has been a nice guy to talk to. Joey came up later in Jeanis car. The first night Jeani, Josh, Amy and Tracy all went to the Cedar Valley golf purse and glow golfed until 1am! It was a scramble and we scored a 54. Josh got a logo ball for his collection. Water pressure here is almost non existent.
DAY 2 - Sunday - Gatlins made French toast croissants. Due the late hour that we all got back to camp and into bed, it was a nice leisure day around camp. We took the dogs for a walk and threw a stick for them to chase to burn off some energy. The gnats are a HUGE annoyance here. We checked out the camp store and they have ALOT of Star Wars statues and memorabilia and out of order arcade games.
DAY 3 - Monday - Kevin made bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Today will be a day of shopping and exploration. Joey plotted out a course with the maps and atlas and we attempted to see the old cedar tree, which we couldn't even get to, and then we stopped at several scenic lookout spots and enjoyed the Au Sable River! We saw the huge hydroelectric dam in Mio and the kids waded in the river. We stopped a the Farmers Creamery and had Amish ice cream. Josh and Joey tried to see a Kirtlands Warbler but were unsuccessful but they did spy a robin sized bird with reddish brown coloring and a triangular fan shaped tail. Ellie and Maddie went swimming in the pool when we got back to camp and we had hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. matt arrived at camp and we sat around the campfire and watched the fireworks from Fairview! Charlotte and Rocket are best buds!
DAY 4 - Tuesday - Happy Independence Day! Tubing day down the Au Sable. We floated the 2.5 hour route and it was nice and relaxing. The river moved swiftly and only Josh was left behind because he was attached to the cooler float. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Afterwards we all went back to camp and took a nap or swam in the pool. Ended day with a rip roaring campfire and friends.
DAY 5 - Wednesday - Gatlins and Sickens went home today. Josh and Joey went off and found the Big Cedar Tree in the woods. They had to drive the tuck down am ORV trail and park it then walk another .5 mile to the trailhead. Another .25 mile of climbing stairs and river ledge traversing and they found it. All the while it was pouring rain and thundering overhead! It was an awesome adventure. The rain continued on into the night and everyone was napping or playing games.
Big Cedar Tree
This is one of the largest native white cedars on the Michigan mainland, according to the Big Tree Committee of the Northern Michigan Botanical Society. It has a girth of 153.5 inches and a diameter of 47.8 inches. It has a total height to top of foliage of 43 feet.
Sometime in the rather distant past, the ravages of time and weather have removed a large portion of the original crown at a point approximately 29 feet above the ground where the diameter at the point of break measures 26 inches.
Efforts to determine the age of this huge tree have met with only limited success; however it can be assumed to exceed 350 years and was therefore only a seedling or a small sapling when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The rather isolated location of this specimen on a small-island area within a few feet of the Au Sable River, has afforded protection from the numerous forest fires that over-ran adjacent lands during the early 1900's. It is also highly probable that its defective condition caused the early loggers to pass it by in favor of sounder trees.
DAY 6 - Thursday - Day started gloomy and overcast and cold!! It was a stark contrast to the beginning of the week with 89+ degree days! Holy cow! It was 62! IT rained pretty steadily until noon or so, then it cleared up and warmed up. We all went to Mio and walked around town, not much to see or shop at. We did go into a furniture store. A Carhart store, and we stopped at an Amish General Store. The water pressure still sucks even though most of the camp is empty. The Bumpas’s moved into the campground with about 20 kids all under the age of 10.
DAY 7 - Friday - Jeani made a Hungry Man breakfast bake and it was good! Josh Joey and Kevin all went golfing at the Fairview Golf Course. Joey golfed for the first time.
DAY 8 - Saturday - Travel home day! |