All About the kids V

“Thanks stomper, I forgot you even had it

Helinka, check out the link below...

http://www.rei.com/FindStores?state=MI&radius=900”

“Our dog Copper of very little brain will be there.

If my brother and sis-in-law come they will probably have their dog Pearl.

Both are friendly, happy campers.”

“Hmmm....Maybe I should bring Sasha. Maybe but even a mile and a half over sand might be too much for the ol' gal?”

“helinka, the nearest REI is probably the one in Northville Mi.

Ruby, I am not sure where we get ours,I'll check.

Dogs ansd kids, not a better combo can be found, well except maybe add some water.”

“and beer.”

“Too bad nobody is staying past Sunday night? I'd like to drive up Sunday afternoon and stay Sunday night, just for the Perseid's show. If the weather is fore-casted to clear anyway?

I'm trying to figure out a place close to home, where they could be viewed better, but haven't figured anyplace out yet.

I'm thinking Crooked Lake Campground near Silver Lake Beach, which sets up high, or maybe Sack-rider hill by Portage lake?

Anyone know, of a good highpoint in S.E. Michigan? It would need to be away from any City lights, as well.”

“We were going to come up on Friday morning. But Jon just found out that he might have to go to Ft. Dix this week, returning Friday morning. We are still coming, but we will be delayed in our arrival. I am hopeful that we will be there in the afternoon.”

“Hey Sass, what's the condition on the campsite? Is it really sandy, or a mix of other stuff? How far is the campsite from the water?”

“from what I remember treebait, you have to camp away from the water---behind the dunes and where we camped (mike and I) the ground was pretty hard yet still sandy. Oh,....and coons. DAMN COONS!”

“Yes, behind the low dunes, but still only a few hundred feet away perhaps. If not for the dunes creating a natural sound barrier, you would still hear the waves.”

“all the better to hear the coons RIPING people to shreds!”

“the perseids will be visible in perseus... meteor showers are named for the constellations in which they appear. they will break the horizon around 11pm and the best viewing will be from around 2am to just before sunrise... but this depends a lot on location. they will be very near the pleiades (the "jewel box") if you are familiar with this very visible landmark. the sky will be very dark (no moonlight) so if we have a clear night it indeed should be a good show. the best viewing will be on august 12th (sunday night), although we will see something good on saturday night. on august 12th one will see 50-60 meteors per hour from the perseids and this dwindles down rapidly from either side of the 12th. there will only be an average of 10 per hour on the 10th, for example...

being on the east shore of lake michigan facing west, we will not be in the best place to view this event. we would be better positioned were we on lake huron or on the west shore of lake michigan facing east. it will probably be pretty close to sunrise (or at least pretty late) before we a good view of perseus.”

““Nordhouse is kind of lame.”
spirit coyote
8:44:06 AM
8/04/07

my kids were freaking out when they read this.
'the dunes' is one of the best kid trips...low mileage easy mileage and lots of fun at camp. my three loved it last year and are really excited about going again.”

“Treebait, you can pretty much assume sand wherever we camp, its unavoidable. We are looking for a new spot for this year, we are heading in thurs am to scope it out. We'll make sure we leave instructions on our windshield (black ford focus station wagon) for the stragglers and random ciminals. The spot will be still be close, just better to house more folks. I'd like to be near where we stayed last year though.

NCT go to hudson lake near adrian, its not high ground BUT you have a lake you can paddle out in. This spot has the least light pollution I have seen in SE michigan.”

“birch - do you think a dolly with oversized wheels will make it over the sand to cart stuff in on?”

“NCT go to hudson lake near adrian, its not high ground BUT you have a lake you can paddle out in. This spot has the least light pollution I have seen in SE michigan.”
birch
12:08:16 PM
8/05/07

Thanks birch,

If I go, I may just go closer to home at Crooked Lake campground 35-40 minutes away?

There are some fairly good hills in this area, if I remember correctly, and it should be far enough away from any really bright city lights?”

“WK, it may work, hard to say, how big are the wheels?

Helinka, glad you all are gonna make it. Givers the trip "international flare". Cant wait!”

“birch - do you think a dolly with oversized wheels will make it over the sand to cart stuff in on?”
Wounded Knee
2:15:20 PM
8/05/07

Hey... Back in PA we carried our tiki torches on.”

“Tiki torches, that would be cool.

So I added up the yes' for this trip. Not counti8ng Rubies sister and fam(5 kids or 3) we are at 30 folks!!!”

“mike is coming too...”

“the kids will be stoked that mike will be there. they know crash won't be and said today that they wished it could attend.

i did most of the food shopping. i won't be at home next week until late friday evening. i am leaving them all instructions on what to pack... bring your own gear... personal responsibility. i'll deal with a few community items and load up friday night.

730 at your place, right knee?”

“Wish I could get tehre friday, but we cant go untill saturday”

“Hey, Wounded Knee, I think they have some weird rules about wheeled carts. I think I posted a link on the trip page. You do what you want to but I thought you might want to be aware.”

“i was considering bringing something to help with the load too, but the rules say no bicycles or wagons. i'm gonna assume that means no wheeled things (that's the same rule we have up here anyways). then i thought about rigging the dog up like a pack horse and letting her drag a sled. hahaha - at the first hill she'd just sit and look pitiful.
my solution is maybe two trips to get all the gear in and daily food runs back to the cooler left stashed in the trunk.
we're planning on leaving here on thursday after i get some sleep, so maybe noonish we'll get outta the city. that makes our eta around 6ish - and no stops at rei allowed :( (evil kids)”

“JS- my kids are pineing for cb too.”

“Motor vehicles, motorized equipment and
mechanized equipment is prohibited. (Example
bicycles, wagons, etc.)

I fail to see why a wagon pulled by a human being is either a motor vehicle, motorized, nor mechanized.

I guess if a wagon is considered mechanized (because it certainly isn't motorized or a motor vehicle) then it must be considered so because it is pulled by a human being.

Oh well!”

“they know crash won't be and said today that they wished it could attend

i'm an "it" now?”

“The thing has big oversized off road tires. I will bring it and if someone says anything, I will tell them that Jim said it was okay.

Jim, how about 8?”

“hehehehe cousin IT!”

“LMAO... I caught the "it" comment, wondered when someone would comment on IT?? LOL!”

“8 works

ok, i can see how a wagon would be mechanized but not a sled...”

“But those sleds are sooooo hard to pull and push up and down those dang dunes. And that's why we won't be doing it again this year. It's roughly a mile and a half to the parking lot. We'll be running back and forth if we need to. But I think this year it's going to be a bit more like real backpacking for us, all except for the 7 pound tent.”

“lol!

the kids kept asking can i take this and can i take that. i told them if they could get it into or on their backpack they can take it. i think james is planning to bring his snowboard. haha!

i am making crab cakes for dinner sat night, just like in the grand canyon this last march. the kids are beggin for mtn house meals so i went to rei and got what they wanted. no more spam in a can for me! that was nasty! but i'll bring the required mallows, grahm, and chocolate, etc, etc. i'll be using "the hauler"... my 5000 ci lumbar support pack. mr mule...”

“small crisis here at home. kids' dad has threatened to cause a fuss at the border; he hasn't given a letter of consent for the kids to travel. aaaargh. that's a really stupid international policy considering i have sole custody-although it is temporary right now- and he's not allowed to be near the kids.
i guess if we show up, then all is good.
last edited: 8/05/07 9:12:32 PM”

“I will be using the Gregory Palisades to cart in as mush as possible.

Hope this works out for ya helinka.”

“I'll need help dragging the keg....”

“Keg of what? Gator-aid?”

“ummm....how about kool-aid? lol”

“Don't drink the Kool Aid!

Helinka, I've got my fingers crossed for you guys. Hope all goes well.”

“Nope, too stiff for me!”

“it seems like my lawyer has things under control. we may have a very late arrival time tho. i'm gonna be extra cranky if we have to spend all day thursday in court over this.”

“we'll leave the lights on for ya Helinka.”

“Due to Jon's sudden Iraq deployment I don't think we can come now. They want him to leave this weekend, but he is pushing hard to push the date back a few days due to the extreme short notice. We will need the weekend to tie up loose ends and to see family and friends. We sure are going to miss you guys!”

“Wow! Very sorry Vicki! I very much wanted to see and shake his hand and tell him thank you!”

“we will miss you guys Ruby!

The weather is looking good folks! Partly cloudy and highs in the mid 80's everyday. Lows in the mid 60s. I check ludington, MI.

So, I think we're down to twelve kids now. Does that sound correct? I'm assuming that Kari and company will not come so they can wish Jon farewell.
last edited: 8/07/07 5:01:30 AM”

“yes...I lurk everywhere....ya'll have a GREAT trip....spending time with your kids is the most important thing ever!!!!...can't wait for the trip reports & pics!!!!!!!”

“Thank you Divinity!”

“Correct, Sass. My brother and sister-in-law will not be coming now either. I have been so looking forward to this trip that I just can't stay off the thread even now. You all have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“We will have 2 small units with us.

Gracie and her cousin Emily”

“13! 13 is the number of the weekend, Moooohahahahaha! (in my best The Count from Seasame Street voice)”