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,_Michigan

https://www.michigan.org/property/alberta-village-museum

https://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.

Overview - Blog Post #2 Camping at Bewabic

        The morning of July 11, Hubby, Dino and I headed out on our first week-long trip in Carlton the camper. As mentioned in my previous blog post, things didn’t get off to a smooth start. The rodent infestation put all our preparations behind. But I have finally learned that vacations shouldn’t be planned around any particular schedule; that there shouldn’t be any set times for anything. I thought I had realized that on my first camping trip to Bewabic with my sister Pat way back in 1980. I’m glad I am finally coming back around to what it means to be on vacation.

Anyway, it’s late on Thursday night and I should get to bed. I promise that next week I’ll write all about what we did and what we saw while camping in the UP that week. For now, you get to just see a few random pictures to hold your interest until then. 

Wow! We do manage to cover a lot of ground; so much for vacation being relaxing.