Sunday, August 23. Trip on the Manistee from Baxter Bridge to Harvey Bridge
Participants: Lois Goldstein, John Heiam, Jocelyn Trepte, Bob Fitch, Karen Mueller, Betty and Mike Gardiner, Deena Barshney, Marlene and Marv Puska, Barb and Mike Rodenberg
Boats: Two tandem canoes and eight kayaks.
Everyone arrived early but special recognition should be given to the Gardiners who are usually still asleep at that hour and drove all the way from Grayling. The trip started out at Baxter Bridge under cloudy skies with wind and a little drizzle and ended up with warmish weather and sun at Harvey Bridge. Lois said that we did the distance in record time, possibly due to the high fast water. Another contributing factor could be that we never took a break to swim as the air and water temperatures were not welcoming. However, the real reason for our speed was that Jocelyn had tickets for a 7 pm concert in town.
We enjoyed seeing the Blue Herons, Cedar Waxwings, Mergansers among the many birds, ducks and occasional turtle. There were lots of flowers along the way but the most notable was the red cardinal flower. One member of the group learned that menthol Kleenex is really irritating when used as toilet paper. No one dumped but Marv looked as if he was napping as he floated.
It was another excellent day on a beautiful river.
By Barb & Mike Rodenberg