ELA and Expedition

Click for Video Blog 5

June 27, 2019

Today is the first day of a true Expedition into Creative Writing.  I'm working with a sample of students to try this out.  I've run regular Creative Writing many times in my career and I'm confident in the classroom experience.  However, in an attempt to organize expedition components into different kinds of classes, we're going to try our hands at getting some experience and then incorporating it into our writing.

For the first installment we focused on plot.  Students (and me) were assigned solo expeditions to construct a storyline from personal experiences.  A series of four activities aimed to prepare for this included going out and observing interactions in a public place and crafting a plot line or short piece of writing using that Observation as a central focus for the writing.

The second installment, today, involves going out with students in kayaks to Explore setting.  We're going to be out on a lake taking pictures, discussing what elements we see and then crafting them into a story.  Part of this blog (after the expedition) will look at the results of the Expedition.  In addition to the on-water adventure, we have other activities to focus on sharing the experience through our writing.  Specifically, how to communicate to others that have not had that experience and how to use our senses to incorporated words that paint a mental picture for others.  It's a trial and error experience that I hope will be both meaningful and engaging.  I may even do a little video blogging while we're out.

Another interesting angle I'm working on is a job shadow.  To provide an example I'll be taking a ride-along with the Vilas County Sheriff's Department recreation officer to observe boat patrol during the busy summer months on the chain.  I hope it's both a learning experience for me in law enforcement as well as provides Opportunity for other learning experiences as well.  I'll be sure to video blog about the experience as well.

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June 28, 2019

We were successful in completing the first Expedition in Creative Writing.  We travelled on a lot of back roads to arrive at Nick's house in the middle of the woods on a lake.  What a perfect location for our expedition.  His family was very accommodating and gave us access to the beautiful lake, took two in the boat to participate and gave us shelter from the strong storm that blew in while we were out.  Since the focus for this was setting, it all worked out perfectly.

Being out on a remote lake gives opportunity to see some interesting characters.  This is a painted turtle sitting on a log.  It wasn't sunning itself since there was no sun.

Our group of troopers getting out and paddling around the lake to observe setting

Nick's island.  It was bigger before the water rose.  Somewhere under many feet of water is the fire ring he used to have.  Now there's just enough room to pitch a tent.

After the rain chased us off the lake we were able to sit in the screen porch and listen to mother nature have her way with the day.  Thunder in the distance, strong winds and a shower for those of us sitting by the window provided a nice backdrop for a discussion about the class.  We ate, talked and had a wonderful time at Nick's house.  Thank you again to Nick and his family for providing us with a wonderful place for our experience.

Nicholas and Gavin enjoying snacks and conversation

Myria and Maddie participating in the discussion

Nick focuses on the sounds and smells of the storm while getting a bonus shower through the screen

Overall it was a great day!  We witnessed remote unimproved roads on the way to the house, perfect for any outdoors story, spent time on a lake without many houses on it, slapped away at mosquitos as they bombarded us in the humid air and were able to spend some quality time together.  My approach to an Expedition in Learning is to provide students with an experience that will allow them to learn and inspire them to dig deeper into something they experience during the Expedition.  For the CW students, I hope this helps them decide to walk outside or visit a location to Observe and document the experience to help make them better writers.

Back to the Bullfrogs

June 22, 2019

Video Blog 4 Available - Adventure with me back to Laura Lake to check on the tadpoles and creep up on a beaver lodge.

Most of the day was spent working around the house.  In addition to my Expeditions, I have tons of responsibilities around the house.  Earlier this summer I ground a bunch of stumps and picked up the piles.  I've been working on cleanup, mowing the lawn, finishing my fire pit area and tearing the side rails off the Jeep.  I was relieved when Myria asked to go kayaking and check on the tadpole situation at Laura Lake.  I needed this break.

Even on a Saturday there aren't a lot of people out on the lake.

There's something I really like about a picture that shows the perspective of the bow of the kayak.  Myria joined in on my obsession and took one from her perspective.  I love being out and Exploring, but when you have a willing participant who will film for you as well . . . 

On the way home we came across a young porcupine on the side of the road.

 Overall it was a good day out on the water.  Check out the Video Blog 4 for some footage and reflections from the adventure.  Spend time enjoying whatever it is you do during the summer.  Anything you document becomes Inspiration for future learning.  Let either advisor know if you need to bounce ideas off us for your learning or just document it to have fun!

Uphill Both Ways

Video Blog 3

Remember to leave comments if there's something you like, somethink you think or something you want to see.

June 18-19, 2019

I've decided to change the approach to the blog a little.  After a week of tying it into the standards, pointing things like that out I've made my point.  From now on out I will just be chronicling my adventures in a narrative way and highlighting interesting things I come across along the way.  The beginning of Video Blog 3 should be the last of the in-your-face kind of presentation.

June 18 - AM

Since it rained hard over night on the 17th we paused in our biking to adventure around a little in the Copper Harbor area.  We tried to go to a copper mine tour but it wasn't yet open.  Instead, we went to Eagle Harbor and looked around a little more.  Those video clips can be found in Video Blog 3.

This is the headquarters of the mining town museum

One of the houses you can self-tour to see what a family lived like at the time of the copper boom

Inside the house.  Floor boards are very wide rough cut wood.  Almost nothing is square or level.

As we left Eagle Harbor we decided to take the high road to the top of the highest peak on the Keweenaw.  What a great adventure!  The views are breathtaking and definitely something to look at and reflect on.

At the edge of the cliff was a wooden box.  Inside the box was Bob.  Watch the video of my interview with Bob.

The trees were some kind of dwarf oak looking tree.  It was curious how all of them, oak or not, leaned away from the edge of the cliff.  Almost like they have adapted to grow like this.  I wonder why.

We embarked on a second day of biking the mountain on the 18th and decided to hit some of the trails that were recommended to us from the local adventure company.

They have bike and kayak rental as well as guided tours and a shuttle service for those who want to ride down the hills but not gut it out back up to the top.  We punished ourselves and rode up the hill each day before enjoying the quick downhill.  Even though Stairway to Heaven was a quicker way up and presented boardwalks, the meandering climb and switchbacks we encountered today were much more pleasant, less work for the legs and way more interesting to look at.  At some point I'll link to the raw video from the climb or make a highlight video - for now I'm just telling you, the climb was better.

At the top of the hill we were treated to an overlook of the lake as well as a photo op.

There's a victory after every climb.  What you can barely see at the bottom of the pic is the top of the bench.  The seat is a log but the back is held on by a pair of old wooden skis.

Climbing the hill alone is long and arduous.  When you can accomplish that with your best friend, it's worth taking a pic.  She stays with me for my fashion sense . . . 

The ride down wasn't as fast as I thought it was going to be and I'd lie if I said I wasn't a little disappointed.  If I had it to do all over again I would go opposite of what we did.

After hard riding and cool temps sometimes it's nice to just relax by the fire and let the radiant heat warm the cold tootsies.

Could only leave them there for a short period before I noticed the heat getting a little to hot.

June 19, 2018

Woke up cold again this morning.  Wonderful to sleep when it's cool but dipping into the mid 40's prompted us to turn on the little furnace to take the chill out.  Campground is mostly empty and it's nice to have quiet when we want quiet.  Unless the neighbors Chihuahuas get riled up - then it's Bedlam.  Packed up most of the camper to be ready to leave by checkout and still have time to get another ride in before hitting the road.  We set our sights on an easier ride out to the point and back.  This would put us at the tip of the Keweenaw.  Good place to be.

So, the more to come that was here earlier has become a couple of days later.  No worries, though, the experience is still fresh in my mind.

Here's the highlights of our Sunday adventures in biking the Keweenaw.  Since we needed to check out of the campground by 1:00pm we packed everything up and were ready to just put the top down, hook it up and head out (shower first, of course).  We didn't get on the trail as early as we thought, but we biked out to the trailhead right away.

Interesting sign about a mile from the campground.  This is the official starting point of US Hwy 41.  It goes through Green Bay, Milwaukee and all the way down to Miami

After the sign it was all uphill.  Climbing up to go down wasn't a problem with the other trails, but the trailhead for this one was a ways away along the side of a dirt road.  The map made it seem pretty close, but a long, drawn-out uphill on a bike stinks.  We eventually made it to the trailhead and were treated to a long, winding, fun trail that took us all the way out to the point.  Soon there will be a video blog from the point - I'm going to add it to another visit to Laura Lake to make it a little longer.  In the meantime, enjoy a few photos.

Beautiful shoreline.  Some really cool rock formations.

Much of the shoreline has rock that looks like it was left by the glaciers.  It's very interesting to see the way the rock size is different.  As they've rolled around in the water, they keep getting smaller and are eventually turned into sand.

No fire but I can still kick back and relax on this beautiful day.

The shoreline is riddled with small bays like this.  Very interesting to look at.

There are several places that rock formations jut out into the water.  Fun to walk out on.

People come out to the point and walk around.  I'm very impressed that, other than the ring for a campfire, there isn't much evidence of human impact.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation destination.  We were both exhausted at the end of the three days but felt accomplished that we were able to bike hard, enjoy the town and area and remember why getting away is a necessity in life.

Enjoying the outdoors and challenging yourself to your limits is best when done with someone who can enjoy it just as much.  What a wonderful three days!

Climb that Mountain

June 17, 2019

Woke up this morning after a cold (46 Degree) night's sleep way up in the UP.  The campground is quiet since it's too early in the week for more people to show up.  This morning's plan is for breakfast followed by a little biking.  I unpacked, set up and had the bikes ready to go early.  I love this kind of Exploration since it's seeing some new things, meeting some new people and getting my tires on dirt somewhere I haven't been before.

Sunset pic of my bike by the lakeshore.  It has now become my new screensaver on my laptop.  I take a lot of pride in being the one to have taken the picture rather than just finding one online and using it instead.

Not going to lie, we were a little intimidated going into the ride.  These are highly rated and sought after trails and we were concerned that they would be above our riding ability.  The videos on YouTube that get posted always feature people going down the trails with their hair on fire airborne half the time.  I would like to think I can still do that, but realistically it's not going to happen.  We were pleasantly surprised to realize that, while challenging, most of the trails were at our ability level.  The ones that we were concerned about didn't have to be ridden and there was no pressure to override our abilities.

Having the right equipment makes the task a lot more enjoyable.  Fat bikes are a great all around bike but they can get very pricey. 

It felt really great to complete the climbs up to the top of the mountain.  There were a few breaks and second guessing, but overall it was well worth the effort.  We were treated at the top of the climb to a beautiful lodge and golf course.  The lodge was built 85 years ago and, since the addition of the biking trail system, there has been a resurgence of interest in staying there.

Beautiful old lodge.  All log structure and 85 years old.

Inside the lodge makes me think about the movie Dirty Dancing and the way they depict all-inclusive family vacation that doesn't include amusement parks or something owned by Disney.

The worker inside was gracious enough to allow a bathroom visit, some pictures of the lodge and a refill on our water supply.

There are, of course, a few places to sit and take a break on the climb.  Take advantage of them when you can.

As I'm getting this post put together I'm struck by how irritated I'm getting with the Internet connection.  I don't really care about it except to post the blog, but I see other campers out by their tents with laptops presumably consuming some kind of entertainment or other time-waster.  The connection here is slow anyway and that just sucks up the bandwith.  Since there is no (NONE) cell reception they must be on the campground wi-fi.  Just an observation.  I should just get over it since I have no more right to it than anyone else.

Sitting by the fire - the cold northern air is settling in and rain is on the horizon

Failed Fault and Glaciers

June 16, 2019

An interesting piece of the video I watched regarding Lake Superior was the presence of a fault through the Keweenaw Peninsula.  Since we have an Opportunity to go camping we've decided to head to Fort Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor, MI.  Some of the highlights from this trip will be featured in the video; although it's looking like it's going to be quite long.  You can click on the link at the top of the page to watch it once it's done.

Travel up to the tip of Michigan is always enjoyable.  A lot of times it seems like I'm traveling back in time.  Before we made it too far up into the state, we stopped in Bruce Crossing to get a couple of groceries at the co-op.  Across the parking lot was an amazing little shop.

Settler's Depot Gallery featuring local artists

Inside the shop everything sold was from a local artist. There were little wood containers, pictures, gloves and hats, rugs, honey . . . a wide assortment of local stuff.  What I like most about it is the support for local people.  Far too often it's easy to walk into a shop where everything you see is imported from somewhere else and mass produced to be cheap and profit-driven.  Here you knew the money was going back to the local communities.  They also featured a book exchange inside.  You can drop off a book and take a new one or there was a minimal fee for outright purchase of a book.  We picked up an audio book.  Very cool small-town amenity that I love.

Continuing our trip up was uneventful until we reached the Houghton-Hancock Area.  Separated by a drawbridge, these cities are home of Michigan Tech, Keweenaw Brewing Company and a host of other businesses.  After driving through remote wilderness for a couple of hours, this was like coming up on a major metropolis.  It's built into the hillsides and was the hub for mining commerce back in the day.  It really makes me think that I could definitely live in a place like this.  The waterway separating the two cities makes it easier to travel from one side to the other of the peninsula.

Keweenaw Peninsula.  We're staying up at the top at Fort Wilkin's State Park.  The fort was actually here to try and keep order during the copper craze.

We spent some time in the evening on a short bike ride down to the shoreline (see video blog) and taking a look around the park.  There were some beautiful sights to see as well as a lot of observations to make from the shoreline.  What a gorgeous place to be.

Looking out over the water to the lighthouse.  The reflection of the sun off the lamp makes it look like it's on.  Such wonderful places to visit and enjoy.

Down on the lake shore I was able to get down and look at some of the rocks piled up.  This was different than the lakeshore to the west at Porcupine Mountain.  Some of the literature suggests that the glaciers brought down some of the rock from Canada.  I do know this was where the fault was for the continental break.  Kind of funny to think that where I'm at could have been the top of North America rather than just the top of America.  I wonder how that would have changed the early Exploration of the area.

Copper mining was the big draw to the area up here and, according to literature and locals, that was the reason for settlements.  IO was struck by how many little towns were on the road on the way up.  Not just "Oh, there's a town" but more like one town ends and the next starts only feet away.

Some of the rocks are very pitted.  I wonder if there's something corrosive or if it's just the kind of formation.

Other rocks are conglomerates that may be the result of volcanic activity or great pressure from glacial activity.

There's also evidence in the campground of the mining activities that were present here and gave rise to its popularity.  I'd like to look further into how the veins of copper formed as well.  If there was a fault in this area then there may have been magma flowing up and that could have caused the copper veins to form.  On the other hand, I really don't know much of anything about the formation of veins of metal in the ground so I could be totally wrong.  Anyway, the campground has a mine entrance as well.

They used to breach the ground and then follow the vein of ore.  This is the entrance to one of the old copper mines.

Information signs are all over the campground.  It's easy to snap a quick pick and then I can look back on it later if I need some information.

Having a really great time on this little vacation. I look forward to Exploring some of the mines around here before we leave.

Dragonfly Brigade

June 15, 2019

Spent time down in Rhinelander today looking at cars.  I've purchased 30 in my lifetime but this time I was looking for a certain kind of car.  Our only requirement was that it had to be under $6000.  We found a couple and it's amazing to see the difference between them.  For the most part, a car at that level will have well over 100,000 miles on it and be seven plus years old.  It was still fun to be out looking at them.

This evening we tried to hike out at the Anvil trail system.  It was cool to be out there but the mosquitos were so bad that we had to cut it short.  There's a few thinks I think about whenever I'm at a national park or a national forest:

• How many people use it?
• How big is it?
• How does it get funded?

Anyway, the bugs were so bad that we made it only 10 minutes or so before retreating to the truck and driving away.  The saving grace was when we picked Evelyn up and saw the arsenal of dragonflies feasting on the skeeters.  I'm amazed at the dexterity from them and wonder if their natural design was the Inspiration for the helicopter.  I think DaVinci actually drew up some of the first plans for it.

Not sure if it's visible, but hundreds of dragonflies are attacking the mosquitos

I'm trying to "cancel" my Sirius XM radio service.  It's a known technique amongst customer service agencies to keep the person on hold for at least twenty minutes.  Statistics show that after that time a high percentage of people will hang up, thus relieving the company of any responsibility to the problem or, in my case, the cancellation.  I'm at 22 minutes right now.  Only made it to 27 minutes before excessive vacuuming made it pointless

Being Creative

June 13, 2019

I'm going to backtrack a little before I move forward.  Last night was the first online meeting for the summer Creative Writing class.  I've dubbed it Expeditionary Creative Writing.  We kept the meeting to under one hour, had an activity and talked about the direction for the class.

Summer Goal 1 - Creative Writing

Not only is this an opportunity for SOAR students to practice writing, but it's a chance for them to control the class a little more.  I'm trying to accept the role of lead learner rather than teacher or advisor.  In this capacity I'd like the class to evolve on its own with student-centered learning through student-directed lessons.  My plan is to lend my experience and expertise in the subject and support learning opportunities this way.  All I need is for the students to accept the lead as well.  I'm hoping this will lead to a model that can be used in the future.

This also gives me a chance to do a little writing as well (more than just the blog).

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(quick observation -- the horizontal line isn't available in the editor.  I switched over to HTML and added the code to get it to appear)

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June 14, 2019

Today was filled with ordinary things.  I returned the stump grinder in Three Lakes, watched a little Batman and took the truck down to Rhinelander to try and figure out the problem with the brakes.  I appreciate that the shop manager at the Nissan dealer walked me through the problem-solving process they use to figure out what's going on.  I've preached this to all of my students and it's a fundamental part of Computer Science.  I recognized it right away and it made sense what he was talking about.

I also indulged a little and looked at the new trucks.  Even though buying one would mean I have to live in it for a couple of months while my wife forgives me, it was still nice to look.  I'm always amazed at how many changes are made with each iteration of the vehicle.  Twenty years ago having over 200hp in a vehicle was some kind of a sports car.  Today most trucks are double that and cars are getting to the point of insane.  As I was sitting there I thought about vehicles in general.  I would love to take an expedition to a car company and talk to the engineers about design.  Everything that is in it connects to some kind of comfort, function or safety measure.  I could easily Explore this and Investigate physics and forces.

Afternoon/Evening was picking up the piles of sawdust that used to be stumps and swatting about 1000 mosquitos in the process.  I dumped them into the woods and started thinking about a few things while I was there:

• Compost.  They're wood fibers and will rot.  I wonder how long it would take for it to turn into soil
• Smell.  My entire yard smells strongly of pine.  When I ground the oak stump it had a significantly different smell.  I started to wonder what created the smells in the different wood.  Bet there's some science in that.

That's enough thinks for tonight.  Time to work on a little creative writing.

Rain, Stumps and Research

June 12, 2019

Rain today.  I planned to take Mr. Foster's advice and do a little fishing today. I charged the batteries on the boat and planned to go out.  It was raining.  I don't mind being out in the rain but decided instead to do a little work around the house and maybe look some stuff up regarding my Expedition to the Porcupine Mountains.  Being out and about was really fun, but there's more to learning new things than just wandering around taking videos and thinking about things.

I already know I know a little about almost everything . . . but there's always something more to learn about just about anything.  I started off pretty typical for research nowadays, I went to YouTube to see if I could find something more about Lake Superior and the geological formations there.  Evelyn and I had talked about it and, if you remember from the SOAR HS Blog #2, she speculated that it was from magma flow.  I wasn't sure since it looked like sandstone, but was determined to figure it out.  SOAR HS Video Blog #3 will cover some of the path I took to find information, how I document it and whatever else I come across during the week.

As it turns out, it takes quite a bit more time to put together the video blog than just sitting down and putting my thoughts onto digital paper so I'm going to shoot for one video per week as opposed to however many written blogs I choose to put out.

Opportunity and Investigation

I'm finding more and more as I learn that the Inspiration - Presentation model isn't quite fitting into the timeframe that I originally thought it would.  Actually, I'm seeing it as much more of a fluid, categorical kind of progression.  Since I'm not just focusing on one learning target at a time, when the Opportunity presents itself I just go with it and do what I can while it's available.  Today, for example, it was raining outside so I spent some time watching a couple of different videos, putting a link into Google Keep and then making a screencast.  Not surprisingly, this also touched on some of the 21st Century Skills standards.

I'm using the technology available (including a tool in the next video) and leveraging it to further my learning.  As long as I document this (maybe in a blog) I have built evidence towards my learning.

I am finding, as I write this, that it's probably not the most interesting blog post to read.  I much prefer to be out and about experiencing my learning but since it was raining today I can reflect on a little more of the lead-learner side of things.

At this point I plan to expand my research a little . . . I've discovered that the formations on Lake Superior are connected to a larger idea, one that suggests a potential continental rift that failed to finish in this area.  This caused Lake Superior and the geological formations around it rather than another ocean.  This Investigation has led me to further Explore some of the evolution of the planet itself.  So far I'm finding out more about the different eras than I remember from my formal schooling.  As a life-long learner it makes me curious about how many other things I thought I "knew" that have actually been modified in the past 30 years.

Areas of Inspiration recently:

• Planet 9 (Astronomy) and its effects on our solar system.  Really cool idea!
• Mineralogy (Social Science) and the distribution of precious metals and stones in the area.  Could be a cool Expedition - boots on the ground, looking around.
• Paleontology (Science) and the evolution and distribution of fossils around the country
• Native tribes and people from the area (Social Science) can lead me to attend a Pow-wow this summer at one of the local Native American areas.
• Literature (ELA) - It's time to find something to read about this.  I'm leaning more towards journals and books written about settlement of this area; maybe some fictional stories even.  Could be some great mining stories and lumberjack stories out there.  Something I'll keep my eyes on.
• Research (everything) - Most of these little towns have local museums with connections to people and events
• Edmund Fitzgerald - (link to the song) - You can't look at Lake Superior without looking into this.  The words of the song itself offer tons of directions to go "From the Chippewa on Down," and the November weather and waves (Wave Properties), West wind (hurricane) . . . I could go on.  Just listen to the song.
• Folk music.  It's from the people about the people.  I want to learn to play the banjo.  Imagine straw hat, overalls and a hand-made willow rocker.  Front porch here I come!

One of the cool Opportunities that presented itself while watching the YouTube video was about the areas that were affected by the continental drift.  One of those areas was in the Keweena Peninsula in the UP (the little thumb poking up off the top).  It's a great Opportunity since I'm traveling up there next week to do some biking on the Copper Harbor trails and this will give me a great opportunity to look around for some connected learning opportunities about the drift.  Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

The more I think about how I approach things, my learning style, the more I want to do a book study on American writers.  I'm leaning towards reading Travels With Charley again.  It's been around 20 years since I read it.

June 13, 2019

Spent almost eight hours grinding stumps in my yard.  Helps me remember that hard manual labor takes a toll on the body.  Very sore afterwards but feeling good about getting rid of them.  Totaled 10 stumps and some repair work on the rented grinder.  It's an interesting story.  Not much connection from it to any standards other than a great workout for some PE credit.  I was able to examine the kinds of trees I was grinding and learned a little about how to approach a hardwood vs. softwood tree so I guess I could Explore that a little further if I wanted to Investigate the grain and such.

Otherwise, there were several different kinds of bugs and levels of decay in the stumps but when you're turning it into sawdust there isn't a lot of time for Investigation.

Chasing a Porcupine

June 9-11

Check out the SOAR HS video blog #2

I know, it sounds like a crazy idea, why would anyone want to chase a porcupine?  It's not really meant to be taken literally, but for those of you who believe in omens and signs and such, follow along for the beginning.  My bike ride at Shannon featured a porcupine that came walking out of the woods, across the parking lot and was headed for the truck. Luckily I was able to scare it away before the dog got there.  If you've never had an opportunity to see the results, I don't recommend ever experiencing it.

Opportunity - Porcupine and dog
Observation - Lots of little sticky quills into dog
Organization - Get the dog away from the situation before it turns ugly and then think about it later.

Not all experiences are worth having.  I'm Inspired to look at some natural defenses, but after the skunk incident of 2018 I'd rather participate in these virtually.  I do know the quills are hollow, have little barbs at the end and cause all kinds of headaches.  Worthwhile as a small piece of a larger biology or life science think, but not as an Expedition.

This, however, led to the second porcupine sighting while I was exploring down by the Thunder Lake Recreation Area.  Lo and behold, there was one walking (ambling?) down the road.  Didn't seem to take much heed in my being there.  I've also seen several lying on the side of the road after a car had its way with it.  It does make me think about the time of year.  Are they more active right now for a reason?  I'm sure there's something in that.

Anyway, this led me to chase a porcupine in the form of a mountain.  My family and I had the opportunity to go to the Porcupine Mountains for two nights and camp on the lakeshore.  A lot went on in just the short time and I will feature some of it on the video blog.

Here are some of my highlights from the experience:

Setting up the camper just before the rain was fun.  It's nice to be high and dry during a storm.

The site was nice and close to the shoreline.  We didn't have a campfire because the rain started coming more and more.  The campground was pretty empty (Sunday night) so we had a wonderful time just listening to the rain fall and the waves crash on the shore behind us.  At one point the wind became a little strong and flipped the canopy over the top of the camper.  Guess we should have staked it down.

Sunrise over the lake was beautiful.  The storms lasted through much of the night but morning was clear

Water splashing up over the rocks giving it a unique shape and contours.

Looking the other way.  Many trees blown up on shore and many more growing, roots exposed, right on the rocks.  Seems like an odd adaptation since they're not growing in soil at all.

Looking down the shoreline.  Very rocky shore that looks like it was pushed up at an angle.

All over the shoreline is evidence of human impact.  A popular destination, the shoreline has a red sandstone that is easy to mar or break.  People have been taking advantage of their own sculpting over the years.

In addition to the shoreline we saw near the campsite, we also took advantage of hiking on some of the trails that the Porkies are known for.  In addition to getting out and getting a little fresh air and exercise, we were able to take in some breathtaking views.  Since this is a wilderness area there are many old-growth trees and as we walked through them I couldn't help but think of the history.

Specifically, I reflected on the number of outdoors writings I've read over the years.  I wonder how many of our great environmentalists, nature writers and activists have walked along the same trails that I walked over the past couple of days.  Not limited to the UP, there are so many wonderful places to visit.  The only opportunity I didn't take on this trip was to talk to one of the park rangers and get some first-hand knowledge of the park.  Luckily it's only a couple of hours from my door so I could get back there yet this summer . . . maybe when the flies aren't so bad.

The path to lake of the clouds is boardwalk and paved.  It's a nice way to make seeing this spectacular site accessible to just about anyone.

For some reason I love perspective shots.  I find myself drawn to this kind of picture.  It seems like the path stretches off forever.

Lake of the Clouds

I'm all for safety and it's nice that sometimes you take a little risk in your life to see some amazing things.  I don't wander about aimlessly in the wilderness, but signs like this give me a sense of the importance of looking around at my surroundings.

Expeditions are great!  They're even greater when you can share them with someone else.  An Expedition doesn't need to be done alone.  Each person who experiences it will walk away with something different.

Perspective . . . 

Perspective!  This is actually a suspension bridge.  Makes me think about the use of this style of bridge and the amount of engineering that must have gone into it.

One of the big thinks I think when I walk around in a place like this is the early explorers and the kinds of conditions they experienced when they were discovering these areas.  Why did they come up here?  What was the motivation?  Did they do it just to see what was out there or was it something less romantic as they looked for ports or lumber sale?  The economy of Michigan, especially the UP, relied on timber harvest.  I want to look further into the state and national park system and how we use them, preserve them and what the future holds for them.

Not sure if it's visible but there are several large trees toppled and gathered on the other side of the bridge.  In the spring this river must swell to a great depth as the snow melts.  There's a lot of hydraulic power behind this and leads me to think about the ways we harness that power.  Right now it looks like it's only a couple of feet deep at the most.

 I've done a lot of thinking in just a couple of days.  Not every day or every trip is going to involve stuff like this.  Today I have time to reflect on it but only because I took the few seconds it took to snap a picture and most importantly because I'm aware of the kinds of learning opportunities that are out there.

ELA - Writing this blog, thinking about literature and the writers that were impacted.  Not to mention the plethora of signs along the way.  During this trip the themes of stewardship and preservation were always present.

Social Sciences - Early human migration, our economy, geography (both the land and humans)

Science - Fish, trees, rivers, ecosystems . . . when you're in nature there's a lot to look at

Math - Engineering the bridges and walkways, the angles and formations of the rocks.  When you go on an Expedition there's always budgeting (gas, food, lodging, entertainment).

A small final note: Having the right equipment helps.  For this adventure I had a camera, good hiking boots, a camper, my family and a sense of purpose and adventure.  Once again, there was no Internet available but there was a lot of learning that happened.

I'm sure if I spend a little time with the cheat sheet I could come up with more, but I also want to just enjoy and take in everything.

Check out the SOAR HS video blog #2