come with me

on a boat ride...

these stairs are kind of a big deal at our cottage. there are a lot of them and the metal ones hurt...

i know this picture is pretty unimpressive, but i had to include the "water rises rapidly" sign. great, no?

this is hardy dam, on the little muskegon river. we used to go camping on the body of water that is on top of this dam. does that even make sense?

the first tree to turn.

we investigated a new waterfall/stream. there are lots of them along the river, all spring fed, but we've only really gone to two of them. so, we tried a new one.

the woods in this area are so beautiful. these big areas on the side of the river are mostly untouched. eric found this cool mushroom. thinking of you, lisa!

we have to park the boat before it gets too shallow. part of this process includes my dad running to the back of the boat and lifting of the motor so the propeller isn't damaged by the sand. very thrilling.

eric and i are pretty sure that this is a wood anemone. it was growing out of a stump in the water. i love that purple grass, too.

i think i like this stream...

this is fish head shanty. when my dad was younger, his grandparents had a cottage on this river. i'm pretty sure it was the owners who nailed all of the heads of the fish they caught onto it. sounds pretty gross, but i also think it's pretty cool. there are no more fish heads, and it's falling into the river, but it's still there.

the water...