All about thre kids IV itinerary

“The plan is to meet at the the Nurnberg Rd trail Head at noon friday 18th, we'll leave the Trail Head at 1pm or so then hike in. We will have a camp area for us already (to avoid last years search). We can leave a note on my car for stragglers. After that its fly by the seat of your pants time. Some swimming, geocaching, hiking and being lazy.

The walk in will be abouit 1.5 miles its sandy but no big deal.

less than two weeks...”

“my kids start school tomorrow, <snif>....
last edited: 8/06/06 7:26:37 PM”

“WOW that is early. School starts sept 5 here. Latest start I can ever recall, 11 wks of summer break.”

“birch, when will you be arriving?”

“can you post directions for helinka and celtic canuck? i got them as far as heading north on US 31 after turning off highway 10, but im not sure how to describe the road to nordhouse. i know there is a gas station, and i think maybe a sign that says lake michigan rec area. does nurnberg come all the way oot to 31?”

“CB, we hope to get there Thursday night, or early early Friday a.m. .

Birch'll have to answer the second question. I'm hopeless with landmarks, etc. I know there's a party store with showers somewhere near the trailhead road but couldn't tell you what the name of the road is. He'll know.
last edited: 8/06/06 9:49:03 PM”

“I was hoping to take the kids this year but as luck would have it, that is the weekend they are coming home from Florida. The girls got new backpacks this year and haven't gotten to use them yet. We'll probably do something close to home after they get back. We have lots of new territory to explore now that we've relocated.

I know you'll have a great time and can't wait to read the trip reports!”

“CB, we are headed up thurs for a family night before. Are you coming?

Directions...

From the town of Scottville/ intersection of 10 and 31. Go west on 31 to "Stiles Corner" turn right (north) on Stiles rd. Take Stiles north till it ends at Townline Rd. Turn right and start looking for Quarterline Rd, turn left (north) on Quarterline. Continue north till you see Nurnberg (there is a party store on the corner) Turn left (west). Drive till you hit the trail head (dead end) stay left at the first fork in the rd on Nurnberg.

FWI, the parking area was supposed to be redone allowing roughly 25 cars with no roadside parking. It may be wise to try to get a spot early as Nordhouse is popular this time of year.

Sketchy cell service, email me for contact numbers if you want.

Bummer sunny, we were hoping to see you.”

“i can be there thursday nite”

“We are all looking forward to it.... :)”

“We're disappointed, but G and I are out. The budget is in quite a crunch since I've not been working, and we can't afford to drive too many more places with these crazy gas prices!

:(”

“bummer SG, maybe next year.”

“This sounds like fun.
It almost makes me wish my boys were still little schits.
We had some nice trips to places with water.
I had a blast standing waist-deep in water butt-launching small kids.
I could get some real distance with the real light ones.

When I see this title the first thing that pops into my mind is Intra-Venous.”

“Townline Road to Quarterline road is a very short distance and as long as you stay on the paved road you can't miss it. The party store is called Betty's Place and Betty Rubble is right in the front yard. Last time I was there (the trailhead) the parking lot had been widened and there were well over 25 cars jammed into it.


Still hoping to make it. Last year was a blast! (thanks to birch and Sassafras---miss you guys!)”

“Take a lot of pictures because we are unable to attend, sorry!”

“cool about the parking NC. Last year we were talking to the owner of Bettys Place and she tld us about the parking changes that were coming. I hope they were changed, it'd be great to see ya there.

Bummer WK”

“does anyone object to trixie-the-wonder-dog coming along with us?”

“of course not, last year we had three dogs. Plus with my back hair and poor table manners I could be mistaken for one at times.”

“birch & sass!!
did you really use a gearsled at the dunes last year? how was that in the sand? do you think the kids toboggan would work just as well?
hmmmmm....i wonder if the dog could pull the sled?
last edited: 8/07/06 3:52:25 PM”

“for the last month ive been trying unsuccessfully to get trixie-the-wonder-dog to eat the rest of the pets in the house.

that really doesnt have anything to do with anything. i just thought id mention it”

“wrap bacon around their neck like your momma used to do to you...”

“im not wasting good bacon!”

“Helinka, yep I used a sled last year(actually it was a bear). It was not easy but it was worth it. Cold pudiing,hotdogs beer and drinks plus fresh produce is a winner every time. I'll be bringing it for sure.”

“I'm officially out. Sass, I sent ya an email...

Sorry I'm gonna miss this one. Even more sorry I won't be able to take Ariel hiking this year. I feel awful about it. :-(”

“I too have to bail...it's the dang rescheduled family reunion. My parents are even coming into town for it from Minnesota, so I cannot skip it.”

“I see "All About the kids Intravenous itinerary"”

“gotta keep the kids sedated somehow

ruby, we are family too!”

“the weather's supposed to be superdupernice this weekend! wooohooo! finally a trip with no precipitation!!”

“I know, Jimmy. And you're family I'd like to spend time with. This family reunion thing is bringing me down. A whole bunch of others are not going, giving really super lame excuses. The whole point is to honor our grandma who passed away in February. I feel like I have to make a point to the other schmucks in my family who have plans (at the last minute) and can't (won't) attend. This kids trip has been on my calendar for 12 months for crying out loud.”

“sorry for your loss. i lost my grandpa (like a father to me) a few weeks ago. i can tell you i certainly know the importance of honoring such a family memory. we had such a great time reminiscing and sharing stories about him. it was a key thing to help with the grief, for me at least.”

“what day is the reunion?”

“Oh bummer, sorry you guys can't make it!

Ruby, you should go to the reunion. There'll be another hike next year. Maybe if Calvin and Hobbes want we can try and do it again sometime this fall...or meet up somewhere closer like Ft Custer for car camping and dayhiking.

I was hoping to get the older kids involved in a game or two of capture the flag (with the drunken idiot camper's stolen flag from last year of course) . Tarabull and Noncom taught me how to play last fall. Now I'm going to have to resort to playing with grown ups!”

“will there be any grown ups there?”

“Probably not. =D

I had to make a chart for Ab to cross days off on today.”

“Sorry to hear that Jimmy. I can certainly relate.

The reunion is on Saturday. I considered coming up on Saturday night and staying through Monday. But my parents and sister are coming in from Minnesota for the picnic, so I need to stick around the area to be a hostess to them. And Jon keeps telling me I overplan and try to squeeze too much in too little time.


I wish I could play capture the flag. That was my favorite game to play at camp when I was a girl. So glad you still have the flag, Sass!! Tell Abby we are so sorry and the Luke looks forward to the next time we get to camp together.”

“Heehee! I just told Abby that Luke can't come, where he'll be etc. Her response was to say "I wish he would have given me a hug and kiss last kids hike!"
I started to giggle and she amended the statement to say not a kiss!”

“On the directions, I stated that from the corner of 31 and 10 take 31 west to stiles etc....I was incorrect. Iake 10 west to stiles....”

“Classic quote: I know, Jimmy. And you're family I'd like to spend time with. --Ruby”

“LMAO!

Hey, just so y'all know I have a 4.5 hour drive to get to the park. So there is zero percent chance of this happening by noon EST Friday... we have to put the big dog into the kennel and they don't even open until 8:30. So please don't wait for us at the trailhead. I would appreciate a note somewhere telling me where I should have my crew hike once we get there. I am guessing we will arrive somewhere between 2-3 EST but potentially a little later depending on how quickly we can get out of the city. The traffic on 80 is miserable thanks to the construction.”