Lincoln River in Winter

 Unless things take a turn for the worse, today was my last doctor's appointment of this adventure.

I stopped at the Lincoln River (point 4 on the map in the link below) to snap a couple of winter pictures. I like this one best.

After the doctor, I got groceries, and also bought a new mailbox.

This is the view eastward, upstream. Legally, this part, above this bridge, is not considered navigable. That means that the public is not supposed to poke around there in a kayak for example.

I went to bell choir practice later in the afternoon. That's really the limit for my eyes today. They are still very light sensitive. But I'm convinced things are getting better.

My goals for tomorrow are to jerry-rig the new mailbox so they will deliver the mail, and to make yogurt. Those sound moderately reasonable to me.

See Lincoln River Continued

A Little Wet Hike

  Cathy and I haven't hiked for two weeks because she was away. It was raining a little bit this afternoon, but we went for a short hike anyway, just because. A big splotch of rain was headed across the big lake, so we stayed inland a bit and went out to West Shore Community College.

We walked most of the cross country race course, which is mostly just a mowed path, but here is one pretty space

Then we went a short way up Amber Road to the Lincoln River bridge

Then back to the car for a total of 3 miles. The exercise felt good even it if wasn't super scenic.

And, Cathy gave me a drawing made by one of her grandsons- I'll just remind you that my nickname is Sharkey, and leave it at that.

When I got home I realized I'd made it to tired. But there is a little other news: I wrote a chapter and attended another book promotion event.

West Shore Community College, Mason County, MI, mostly the cross country course- 3 miles

See Ten Degrees Better

New Views of Lincoln River

  Cathy and I took another urban walk today between her work and my bell choir practice. We did some roads that go along the Lincoln River. You don't get very good views between the houses, but we managed a few. This is from the west side of Jebavy drive, where we've walked several times. You can't really tell much from the picture, but this is about where the river starts to widen into Lincoln Lake

Then we crossed Jebavy Drive and took a road into a small development that we had never walked. Here, there were some interesting views. At least I think they are interesting! This little eddy has some textural interest.

The view from the end of that street was a totally new persepective to me. I'll have to explain this picture though. Cutting through the middle of the picture is a line, slightly lower on the left, that is higher than the river. That's Jebavy Drive.

I was able to zoom in from a couple of steps to the side and get a little better view of the bridge.

There was a second street in the development too, that went further upstream. So this is maybe a third of a mile east of Jebavy Drive. There's still a big stretch of this river that can't be seen between here and Fisher Road. (Points 3 and 4 on the map in the linked post) I did just see on a map that a public golf course backs up to it in that stretch. Maybe I can catch a picture from there some day.

I've thought about paddling upstream, but I looked it up, and technically, it's not open for paddling above the Jebavy Drive Bridge. Bother.

We walked 5.3 miles, and I still made it to bell choir on time!

In other news: I wrote a chapter in the morning and worked on another project before meeting Cathy.

See Lincoln River Continued

In Search of Another Road Loop

  I had to go to the store today, so I checked out a different road loop for a walk. It was a poor choice, actually. Flat, too much traffic, and not a lot of high-interest things to see. I won't choose that one again. However, I managed to snap a few things in five miles.

This is the one water feature on the loop. It's a tributary of the Lincoln River, apparently unnamed. It flows north. In this picture the water is moving toward the camera.

This bird was standing in the road. All his yard-mates were staying in their own driveway. It was quite a collection. I did chase him out of the road. What is it? It's a muscovy duck, native to Mexico and South America, but they have adapted well to colder climates and are now often domesticated in the north. The red face is distinctive. They aren't always white, sometimes dark or piebald. I think the feet are really interesting. Look at all the spots!

And this antique hay rake looks really nice against the snow! It was horse drawn when it was used. How do I know? Because there is a seat on the rake itself where the driver would sit.

In other news: I did all that grocery shopping. I did some editing. Doesn't sound like much.

See Five Flat Farm Miles See Lincoln River Continued

Lincoln River Continued

 
Today I went out to find the pieces of the Lincoln River downstream of where I previously reported. Actually, they overlap a bit because somehow I missed one road crossing when I did that little quest. Six years ago- that seems impossible- but it's true.

Everything upstream from here, to the source, was followed at North Branch Lincoln River

Here are the five places I took pictures today.



Somehow, I skipped the crossing of Stiles Road back then, so here it is today. This is the upstream view.



From there, I went downstream to Victory Corners Road. This is the last road crossing before the South and North Branches join. I'd like to get a picture of the confluence, but it's all on private land, and I don't know whose. I'd have to just go knocking on doors and try to find out and get permission. Maybe someday. This is the view downstream. You can't quite see to the confluence although I don't think it's too much farther.



Incidentally, I commented in 2012 that I thought maybe one could kayak anywhere below Darr Road (about 6 miles upstream from here). But no one ever does. For one thing, a couple of the road crossings are culverts (although large), so a portage might be necessary. Also, a couple of the places at road crossings are lawns. I don't know what the laws are about taking a craft out of the water to cross a road when it's right by someone's house.

Here's where we go under Fisher Road. This one is a bridge. And now we are in the Lincoln River proper. It's about seven river miles from here to Lake Michigan. View is downstream.



From this point, there is a long distance till the next road crossing. And the map looks as if there is a bit of topography along the banks, so this might be interesting. I'm sure you could paddle upstream to and beyond here from Lincoln Lake. You can see a bit of the hills on the left of the picture. This is looking upstream from Jebavy Drive.



From this point, I drove along Riverview Drive, but there aren't many river views. Probably from the upper floor of some of the houses along it. I got a bit of a glimpse of where the river opens out into Lincoln Lake, but the picture isn't worth sharing.

So, the final two pictures today are taken from near the middle of Lincoln Lake. The first one looks upstream, and the second one is downstream toward Lake Michigan. The bridge you see is the one I showed you on Saturday from the other side.





To finish the downstream journey, see Lincoln Lake from Above,

and Lincoln River, Where it Ends

I've identified the source of the South Branch. This is a short river, entirely within Mason County, so it's reasonable that I could go out and connect up the South Branch one of these days.

I know the pictures look very similar, but this is a lot of fun for me, to follow a river like this, even if I can't do it under muscle power. Probably some more pix tomorrow that aren't of the actual river.

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Lincoln River and Mistletoe

 
The venue for today's event was Lincoln Hills Golf Club. I'd never been there before, so did not know you could get a view of another piece of the Lincoln River. This is looking east, back toward the bridge on Lakeshore Drive, with Lincoln Lake beyond the bridge.

Having this piece almost completes my quest to find the north branch of this river at every accessible point. Just a few more.



Inside, the clubhouse was stuffed with Christmas vendors. I'm just showing you a couple of the more festive ones. Did fairly well as far as sales, and I got to chat with some other local authors as well.





There is no other news. This took all day beginning early, and I'm settled in with a book.

	See North Branch Lincoln River See Lincoln Lake from Above See Lincoln River- Where it Ends
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Friend Fun

 
Short visit this one, but we will maximize the fun as much as possible around work.



Went for a not-so-colorful tour of some back roads today. A few places have some nice trees, but this year really just isn't very good for autumn splendor.

We stopped at the South Branch of the Lincoln River, on a road that no longer goes through.



Also snapped a shot of Lincoln Lake, where the river flows to.



The actual destination? Food. Like a Hot Fudge Double Cherry Cherry Fritter Sundae at House of Flavors. We split one and brought half home anyway!



Jade's treats were less spectacular. They weren't even treats! Just dog food kibbles hand fed, but she was happy.



Accountability Report:
Worked all day.
Figured out another needed transition for Dead Mule Swamp Druggist but did no writing.

	See North Branch Lincoln River
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Lincoln River- Where it Ends

 
I took these pictures a few days ago. You can't see these views just any old time. This is within the private community where I get to occasionally go, doing my job. Since I've recently been able to show some views of Lincoln Lake from a different place inside there, it seems fitting to bring you the mouth of the river, where it empties into Lake Michigan.



Looking back upstream from the same place this is the view. These are on the short section between Lincoln Lake and Lake Michigan.




Working upstream, you can go to Lincoln Lake from Above
Lincoln Lake
Then there's a missing piece I need to explore.
Finally North Branch Lincoln River

Spent most of today with GayLynne and Paula. Church, lunch, visiting. Nice time!

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Lincoln Lake from Above

 
I shared pictures of Lincoln Lake just last week. Here's a picture I took that day that I didn't show you. The pointy hill is within the private community of Epworth. Because of my job taking pictures for insurance companies I get to go in there a few times a year.

You can see a couple of large houses high on that hill. The one everybody notices is the big yellow one, because it's so prominent, right out on the edge.



Guess what? Today, I had to go take pictures of that very house. Can't show you that, but what it means is that I was up on that hill, with an open view of Lincoln Lake. Quite a different perspective, eh?



I even found one place to stand where there weren't so many trees obstructing the view. Pretty nice. This is an observation point that very few people ever get to use. I value being able to see the lake from this angle.



And the lesson for the day is... what you see depends upon where you are standing. The lake is what it is. But it's your own perspective that determines how you will define and describe it.

	See Lincoln Lake
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Lincoln Lake

 
Today I was very near Lincoln Lake, so I decided to just go take some pictures. The main road from Ludington to the state park crosses it, so it's really easy to forget about it, because it's just there all the time.

The first shot was taken into the sun, and so it isn't great. It must have also been a little hazy since these shots are muted. But I wanted to give you a general idea of the lake. It's long and narrow, just a wide place in the Lincoln River, really.



I always tell people who don't know anything at all about plants that you can still learn some things on a nature outing. For example, you could count the shades of green and try to give them names. You can try to find different textures. The edges of Lincoln Lake would be a great place to do either of those exercises.





Reflections and ripples always make interesting shots.



But this one is my favorite of the day. No question about it.

	See North Branch Lincoln River
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