Hooooome

Guess what!  1,100 miles and thirty less degrees later, Braeden and I are home!  Back to the Yoop.  The Keweenaw.  Da Harbor.  Our little house on the rock.  Ahhhh.

On the drive home, I expected to see more snow.  Now, I try not to have expectations in general, but we drove during the first week of April, so some snow was not out of the question.  I didn't see much.  The areas with the most substantial amounts of snow at that time were Twin Lakes, Calumet and Lake Medora.  I think Lake Medora still has the biggest piles.  They seem to have the longest winters.  And that lake is still frozen!

Then, while coasting down the hill from the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, I saw her.  She was dazzling in her blue gown.  Lake Superior in all her glory for the first time in three months.  I got all choked up, of course.  I mean, don't you?

Once I got to the blinking light, I shot down to the nearest beach, put the van into park, and jumped out to the shore.  I swished my hands in the icy water and smacked it onto my face.  Oh, it felt so good.  Right down to my soul.  There really is no substitute for Her Majesty, Lake Superior.  I was giddy, grateful and relieved all at once.

I got back the day before my birthday, and I only had one birthday wish (besides being back home).  That was to go for a bike ride.  Luckily, Annele was still with us, so she could watch my little man.

I had conquered some hills there in the Ozarks, and I wanted to see how it translated to the Keweenaw.  Well, the actual bike trails were too snowy and wet to ride, so I opted for the snowmobile trails.  Not any better, but at least I wouldn't get in trouble if I rode those!

Arkansas must have built up some strength in me because that hill up Manganese Road was like cake.  I wasn't even breathing hard!  I just gunned it through the hard-packed snow areas, and enjoyed the ease of the pavement.  I'd say proportions were half and half.  Probably less snow by now.  I hope to take Brady P up for a ride there today, so we will see.

Then up Trail 134 was a bit more difficult because of the mud, but I went as far as I could before I would have to push my bike.  That is not fun, so I just found somewhere else to go.

It was slow and wet, yet it was amazing.

That's how I know that I have a new love for mountain biking.  In fact, I am taking an instructor certification program through the International Mountain Bicycling Association this June, so I can teach other people how to mountain bike effectively and lead group rides.  Woohoo!  I am stoked.

Other than that, my return was anti-climactic, yet peaceful.  I'm sure you always feel a sense of peace when you get here, but it was different this time.  It was like my whole life is peaceful -- not just the fact that I'm here.  But that fact totally helps because I don't have to drive through traffic-laden towns.  Or go past tall buildings.  And it is still quiet.  Spring is  so lovely here.

I am still working on my memoir.  I have finished the first draft, actually!  There's still a lot to add and edit, but it is coming along!  It can only go as fast as a couple nap times a week. 

Well, I am looking forward to the best summer ever, but I'll let spring roll along first.  I hope you are well.  Maybe I'll see you up this way!  Take care.

A "Fall" Adventure

Well, the Switch-keeper just flipped it to fall.  It turned to fall two nights ago.  Three days ago Brady P. and I were out in t-shirts.  Now we have to wear winter coats and hats!  Happy fall!

So you might be thinking, "Well, that's great, Amanda.  Why didn't you tell me sooner?  I mean, where was your nice Color Report that you did the last few years?"

I've been busy, sorry.  And actually, that's why I took the time to write today.  To a) tell you that the leaves are AWESOME if they didn't all blow off already.  And tell you that the fungus is amazing too.  Dozens of species up here for you shroom lovers.

And b) I wanted to tell you what I have been writing in my spare time.  Usually I don't like to leak things too far in advance just in case something tragic happens, and I don't finish.  But I am really excited about it.

I am writing a memoir.

Oh, geez.  Now you are probably thinking, "A memoir?  But you are like 12 years old!"

Yes, I say to you.  A memoir.  You don't have to be old to write one.  You just need a mighty experience that you want to share with the world because you believe it's worthwhile.  And it helps if you actually like writing... and you don't mind sharing your personal details with whomever reads it... or risking people getting mad at you because you wrote something that offended them.

Yeah.  I can do all that.

Besides, I am about 80% finished with the first draft.  "What?!?"  You sound surprised.  Well, why do you think you didn't get a color report?  I got stuff to type before I forget it all, man!  And don't get too excited yet.  The first draft is like the framework of a building.

I am really stoked about this story.  Can I tell you what it's about?  I know, I made you read this far, so I may as well.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my little boy and I had a rough first year of his life.  I mean, medical stuff that I never, ever fathomed happening to anyone's child, happened to my little boy.  He survived open-heart surgery, urethra surgery and several emergency room visits.  That's the jist of the hard part.

He was also, unbeknownst to us until after his birth, born with Down syndrome.  Now, if I would have visited a gypsy with a crystal ball ten years ago, and she told me, "Amanda, you will be kissing and hugging and loving the snot out of a person with Down syndrome in a few years," I would have said patooey.

I know, right?  I was a jerk.  

So it is more than perfect that he came into my life.  I have never been sad about it, by the way.  It is part of this journey of life.  My community, my family and I are all better because of that precious little boy.

I know.  Tears.  Well, through my wit, rawness and charm, that's what my next book is about.  How hardship and stress and the unexpected can turn out to enrich our lives beyond what we ever thought possible.  Going with the flow, and being grateful for each new lesson.  I mean, why else are we here?

It doesn't have a title yet, but you can be sure that I have a whole list of them written down, and sometimes possible titles come into my head and keep me up at night until I write them down.  I also don't know when it will be ready.  How can I predict that?  Just give me time, and hope nothing tragic happens... even though it's part of the journey.  Wink.

Anyway, you've been so patient while I spew about my personal life.  Here are some pictures from the U.P.  Luckily, I went to the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association (MOWA) conference in September, so I took my camera on some cool adventures... mostly waterfalls!

The conference was based in Bergland, Michigan surrounding Lake Gogebic.  I was excited to explore this territory just over one hundred miles from my own house.  The following pictures were taken in the Black River Parkway Falls area just north of Bessemer.  So worth a trip.  I mean, there were 5 cool falls within less than eight miles of each other.  My friend and I didn't realize that the North Country Trail connected them all, so we drove to each one separately.

The first was Great Conglomerate Falls.  We saw so many mushrooms along the way, we were like little kids!

Great Conglomerate Falls

Way cool red mushrooms

Then we drove to the next spot where we could walk to two falls: Gorge and Potawatomi.  These were awesome as well, with their own set of mushrooms.

Gorge Falls

Potawatomi Falls

A little yellow guy between the rails of the overlook

Haha.  I really need to get a mushroom book.  "Little yellow guy?"  That wouldn't pass in my wildflower world.

Past these were Sandstone Falls and Rainbow Falls.  Both awesome as well.  Rainbow was too big to capture on my camera to do it justice, so you will have to take my word for it.  We lucked out, though because it rained in the evenings, so the falls were much more voluminous than they would be during a dry spell.  Falls in the fall?  I highly recommend it.

Sign before Rainbow Falls

I love the warning on it

The next day two friends and I visited O kun-de-kun Falls.  It was totally worth the mile hike, but let me tell you that you might want to wait until someone redoes that trail because it was a muddy slip-and-slide.  If you are agile and don't mind the mud, go for it.  That one is just off of Highway 45 between Bruce Crossing and Watersmeet.

And there are so many other falls in that area that I just didn't have time to get to them all.  If you ever need a waterfall fix, check it out.  Any area visitor center should have a map of all these falls and more.

Can I brag about one thing?  I entered an article into the MOWA craft awards, and it won first place in the "Best Feature" category.  It was about the "Becoming an Outdoors Woman" event held each winter in Big Bay, Michigan.  If you are a woman, I recommend attending it.  If you want to read it, the link is here.

Wow.  You made it all the way to the bottom of this post.  Thanks for your eyeball endurance.  Not many people will read this many paragraphs in a row these days.  Kudos to you.

Now I better see what else I can get done while my little boy naps.