Marquette

Michigan – Tuesday, November 12

I was a little slow to get going this morning after my late arrival last night, and the first thing on my agenda was to meet my brother-in-law Greg at his police station, and we were going to go over to Willow Farm – a stable owned by some good friends of his, where I was going to make a donation to their therapeutic horseback riding program. I met Annie, who is one of the therapeutic riding instructors and she told me about their program. They have 4 full-time horses to participate in the program, and are able to lease others when the need arises. I met the horses, and saw the large indoor arena where the sessions take place. They have anywhere from 30-70 students who participate in their various programs during a regular season, and have many dedicated volunteers and sidewalkers to help out. Their big fundraiser was earlier in the year, but they are happy for a donation any time! I’ve driven past this stable many times, and it was fun to be able to go inside and see it.

Then I got a mile of walking in downtown (running across a niece and another brother-in-law along the way!) before taking my mother-in-law Joan out for lunch. Myra, another sister-in-law, joined us for lunch too, and it was really nice to be able to enjoy a hot lunch in the middle of the day overlooking Lake Superior.  I took Joan back home and visited for a short while, but I had miles to cover, and Myra had taken the afternoon off work to be able to do some walking with me. We headed out for Presque Isle and walked all the way around. The footing was a bit slippery so we had to watch our step, but the icy beauty of Lake Superior’s shoreline was captivating. We saw entire shrubs and other plants shrouded in ice. And it’s only mid-November! From there, Tula and I walked along the lakeshore path outside of town and covered nearly 2 more miles. We passed a coast guard base, and another lighthouse built out on the rocks, and watched the lights blink on at the ore dock. That was enough for her in the snow and ice. Even though the sun had set, I was game for a little more walking, and covered 3 more miles through some of the old historic neighborhoods with their old lumber baron mansions. I think it was good to have a day in Marquette to help ease the transition back into a more civilized life!

I made the hour drive to Munising in the dark because I was going to be out in the boonies tomorrow, and didn’t want to waste an hour of daylight while making the drive in the morning. I stayed at one more cute little mom-and-pop motel that was kind of empty – I think they’re getting ready to close up for the season!