Okay, how do I post on this topic? Is it okay to relieve yourself in the lake?

The other morning I noticed a small boat with two fishermen on board. This is not an uncommon sight. The cool of the morning is a great time for fishing. I am close to a good fishing hole, and many mornings I see fisherman taking advantage of that cool, peaceful time to get some good fishing in.

Mornings usually start better with a good cup of coffee. And what goes in, must come out. Anyway, much to my surprise nature must have called and well, one fisherman was relieving himself in our lake.

This wasn’t the first time I have noticed this type of behavior. I didn’t appreciate that act, I am sure the fish did not appreciate it either. I cannot say how for sure this effects the environment, but it seems to me, urine has nitrates and nitrates promote algae growth.

I also wonder about any medicine that the person may be taking. What are the effects of someone’s high blood pressure meds on the fish?

If you are ever considering taking this action, you may want to be aware of the danger involved!  According to the Canadian Surveillance System for Water-Related Fatalities, between the years 1991 and 2000, 42 Canadians drowned because they urinated from their boat and fell overboard.

I am thankful for the fisherman’s sake that I did not have my camera with me that morning. Actually, I am thankful for myself too that I did not have the camera ready. Not sure I would want a picture of that!

So, in answer to the question “Is it okay to relieve yourself in the lake?” No. My lake is not a port-a-potty.

 

A few days ago I was headed home after a day in South Haven and I noticed a road side “junk” store. It was a rainy day and wandering around looking at junk did not seem too appealing to me, so I drove right by. But, I quickly decided it was just too intriguing to pass by so I turned the car around and went back. And I am glad I did. It was a unique and fascinating place.

An acre of cool stuff discarded by others and rescued by the proprietor, are all waiting for adoption by a new owner. Architectural antiques include unusual doors, windows, wood trim, fretwork and more. I even noticed an interesting old bank teller’s cage, complete with all three sections, selling for less than a grand.

Iron work, hardware and all sorts of stuff, some useful and some just funky, cover the ground and even hang from the trees. There are also several old sheds scattered around the property waiting to be explored. And, if you go, don’t forget to look up. I even noticed a pair of old rocking horses on the roof of one of the sheds!   Their sign may say it the best: “We have this, that, these, those & thems”

Sunset Junque is located on the Blue Star Highway five miles north of South Haven, just south of 109^th Street. Take exit #26 off I-196. Visit Sunset Junque on the web.

I was quite surprised by the amount of people wandering around on that rainy day, so others must feel like I do, that Sunset Junque is worth a visit. It is on my list to stop by again when in the area.

 

“Honey Bug: This is not because I sold a machine but because I thought you might want to see of the  horse-less carriages which they have here. dad dad”  Postmarked Newaygo, Mich. July 17, 1909.

It looks as if the card was written by a salesman dad to his son in Battle Creek. The card is typewritten, which is a little unusual for 1909.  Dad the salesman must have been somewhat successful!

When I first glanced at this card I was looking mainly at the automobile and almost missed the cows pulling the wagon.  I am glad that never caught on. Can you imagine telling your friends you just bought a 75 cowpower engine for your boat?

All along the west coast of Lower Michigan, from its southern shores to its windy northern points, a vast tract of sandy beaches and dunes has created a landscape like no other—austere, often otherworldly, always beautiful. Swimmers, sun worshipers, and kite fliers use much of it to good advantage, crowding the state parks along Lake Michigan in the summertime, and pricey homes stand like sentinels along many miles of wooded dune tops.

But there are also places where you can go and find plenty of peace and quiet. Grand Mere State Park by Stevensville, Michigan, is such a place. Go there and you can find enough people to keep you from feeling totally isolated, but also enough space to find all the solitude you could hope for if you want it. Located off of I-94, eight miles south of Benton Harbor at exit 22, the 985-acre park includes a lovely little picnic area and playground situated on the southern side of North Lake. Farther south, a half-mile-long nature trail winds through the woods along South Lake toward a long stretch of open sand dunes and, ultimately, to the beach.

 

Baldwin Michigan is neatly tucked away in wooded Lake County at the crossroads of US10 and M37, 72 miles North of Grand Rapids, 61 Miles South of Traverse City and14 Miles East of US 131.

Baldwin founded in the late 1870s during Michigan’s bustling lumber era, was named after Henry Baldwin, a Michigan governor at the time. As important at that time to many of Northern Michigan’s newly born villages and towns, the woods are still an attraction as Lake County is home to part of the Manistee National Forest, as well as the Pere Marquette State Forest.

Baldwin is home to some very popular events including the Blessing of the Bikes every spring as well as several favorite destinations including Troutama and the Shrine of the Pines, Today, Baldwin is considered to be a year around premier destination for sportsman. Fishing and hunting- the reminders everywhere. The Baldwin River flows into the Pere Marquette River just south of town. The PM, as some call the Pere Marquette River, is considered the best for trout, salmon and steelhead.

Evart Michigan: A town large enough for a McDonalds and a traffic light, but small enough not to lose its small town character and friendliness.

Birthed in the 1870's during the rise of Michigan's lumber years, Deloros A. Blodgett used the Muskegon River to float harvested logs down state. Over the years other industry moved into Evart, including Dean Foods, Evart Glass, Ventra and many other business.

Today Evart is a thriving community of some 1700 people. Conveniently located in central Osceola County, it is thirteen miles east of Exit # 153 on US 131, six miles west of M66. Evart is surrounded by many recreational opportunities which include the Osceola County fairgrounds, the popular Spring Hill Camp, the Pere Marquette State forest, the Pere Marquette Trail system, the Muskegon River and more than twenty lakes within ten miles.

A blend of year around residents, complemented by the seasonal migration of downstaters for the summer lakefront season, gives Evart the sense of Hometown USA. It is an unique blend of old and new. The frequent glimpses of the local Amish with their horse drawn buggies is a reminder of a life style past. On Evart's main street, some still leave their keys in the ignition while they run in to pick up goods from their local merchants.

Newaygo is well located at the crossroads of M37 and M82, 12 miles West off exit #118 of US 131, 37 miles North of Grand Rapids and 10 miles South of White Cloud.

Like many other Michigan towns, Newaygo got it’s start in Michigan’s lumber boom. With the surrounding forests and easy access to the Muskegon River for floating the logs down river, Newaygo was the ideal location for the lumber industry.

Today, Many consider Newaygo as the boundary line for crossing into the Northern Michigan vacationland as they head north to enjoy the Michigan lakes, rivers and streams. Everything travelers need before beginning their journey can be found in Newaygo. All the fast food stops, many unique sporting shops and interesting restaurants are conveniently located and parking is plentiful.

Newaygo is a favorite spot for fishing, rafting and tubing on the Muskegon River. Two nice parks worthy of mention: Riverside Park, a city park with plenty of picnic tables, grills and trails with lots of frontage on the Muskegon River. The park is located just off Main Street, in the downtown area. Just up river and across the M37 bridge is Henny County Park, a larger park with even more Muskegon River frontage to explore.

Fremont may be best known as home to Gerber Products, originally known as the Fremont Canning Company. Today Fremont is known worldwide as the baby food capital of the world. The third full week of July, Fremont celebrates this notoriety by hosting its annual National Baby Food Festival. Over 100,000 people visit Fremont to enjoy a week full of events for people of all ages and all interests.

Fremont is also proud of its four community parks, and rightly so. One of them, the Arboretum Park, is devoted to Michigan’s native trees. Over forty different species of trees are identified in this park. The park’s trails and its cobblestone bridge over the stream, make this park a popular place for outdoor summer weddings and photo sessions.

Another park, the Fremont Lake City Park, is located on the north side of Fremont Lake, a 790 acre all sport lake. This park has 17 acres of lakefront for the public to enjoy, along with a boat launch, sand beach, volley ball court, picnic tables, a covered pavilion and a full service RV park and campground. On the south side of the lake you will find the Sheridan Township Park, also with lake frontage to enjoy.

The Dutch moved into the area in the 1800’s from the Muskegon and Holland area. Today, a visit to the main street is a reminder of the Dutch heritage, as many of the buildings in the business district reflect Dutch architecture.

Fremont is close to many golf courses, Newaygo County’s many natural lakes rivers, streams and the Manistee National Forest.

Located on the southern Ionia County line lays a wonderful small Michigan town. Lake Odessa lies along the northern shore of Jordan Lake. Nearby are Tupper Lake and the popular Morrison Lake.

Founded in the 1800’s, Lake Odessa was named for the city of Odessa in the Ukraine by one of the town’s founders who had an interest in the Ukraine and the sincere desire to have a distinctive name for the village.  Lake Odessa is proud of their history, as displayed in the Lake Odessa museum located in the historic train depot.

The village’s slogan is “Welcome to our Friendly Port”. It is evidenced by a very friendly main street, featuring many sharp, and renovated store fronts. The  homes well kept homes lining the streets make this community an all Michigan community.

Lake Odessa is home to Cargill Kitchen Solutions, formerly Sunny Fresh Foods, a company making processed egg products. It is also home to Twin City foods, a processor of vegetables.

Lake Odessa is large enough to have a Mc Donald’s, but small enough not to lose the small town character. It is located only 6 miles south of exit 64 off I96.

Canadian Lakes is a residential community in west central Michigan. Located in Mecosta County, Morton Township, it is five miles southwest of Mecosta Michigan, and eight miles east of Stanwood (exit 131 on US 131).

Canadian Lakes consists of seven thousand wooded acres, several golf courses, sixteen lakes and two thousand acres of wooded common area. This private community is home to several shopping areas, banks, grocery stores, retirement homes but no fast food restaurants. It is served by it’s own 3800 foot airstrip.

Golf courses are the Royal, Pines and the Highland, all association courses. Canadian Lakes is also home to the championship courses, St. Ives and Tulleymore.

Canadian Lakes consists of several connected lakes; Canadian Lake (240 acres), East Canadian Lake (76 acres) West Canadian Lake (100 acres) and the Far West Canadian Lake (40 acres). Several smaller lakes of various sizes can also be found in the area; Rush Lake, Lake Laura, Range Lake, Fawn Lake, Sunset Lake, Spring Lake, Kitt Lake, Lost Swan Lake, Canyon Lake, Dukes and Kilkenny Lake. All of these are private lakes with no public access. The often overlooked beautiful Little Muskegon River also runs through the community.

The lakes (and ponds) and golf courses give this area a relaxed, resort type lifestyle and makes it an ideal retirement destination. Everything one needs can be found here.

One point of curious interest in the area is the castle. Yes, a castle, built in the early 1960’s by the developer of the community. Located on one of the highest points in Mecosta County overlooking Lake of the Clouds and the 8^th green and the 9^th tee of the Highland golf course. The 10,000 square foot first floor of has a stage and is used by community theater and for musical events. The second floor is a balcony and the rest used for storage. The third floor was the developer’s personal residence and is now vacant.

Fall and winter are beautiful times to visit Canadian Lakes, so don’t put off until spring what you can do today!

Six Lakes is located in Northern Montcalm County, Belvidere Township at the Intersection of M46 and M66. The village is named after the six lakes in the immediate area; First Lake, Second Lake, Third Lake, Fourth Lake, Fifth Lake and Sixth Lake. The out flow of these Michigan lakes form the beginning of the Flat River. Flat River is a short Michigan river which flows in the Grand River.

The top three things I like about Six Lakes are: the large summer flea market located on M66, the beautiful lakefront Belvedere Municipal Campground, and the great burgers at the Flat River Saloon.

The mystery to me regarding Six Lakes is why is it called Six Lakes when there are really seven lakes. If they had included Little Bass Lake, the village would have been named “Seven Lakes”.

Well, whatever the name, be sure to stop at see all 7 lakes on your tour of Michigan lakes.