REFRESHING, SOOTHING WATER
Michigan has 11,000 inland lakes.
Over 3,000 miles of shoreline.
Its’ shores touch four of the five Great Lakes.
There’s over 300 waterfalls in the U.P. alone.
Water……
Constantly flowing…. moving….
It pushes its’ way through underground waterways.
Bursts out of the ground giving us fresh water springs.
Iargo Spring is so cold it makes your feet go numb.
Kitch-iti-kipi spring is cold, but never freezes.
Calm water on a still lake….
The subtle gurgling and trickling of a slow-moving stream…
Rushing water; churning and surging down the river….
Then you have the thundering, crushing power of Tahquamenon Falls….
I love walking barefoot along a Great Lake’s shore.
The rhythmic waves rolling in…. rolling out….
The sound of water calms me.
The feeling of my toes digging into the wet sand delights me.
It makes me sing inside.
To float on a raft and feel the water underneath gently lifting you,
then rolling back down.
So rhythmic and soothing.
Relax….
Relax….
Much of our body is comprised of water.
Is it no wonder we feel at one with it?
I love to swim and glide through and on top of it.
To feel it splashing, stroking and caressing my skin.
It’s such a joy.
It’s such a rush.
Water is my elixir.
It cures most anything.
Take me to the river…
the lake…
the sea…
I long to be near the water,
where my soul soars free.
Note: A fellow blogger suggested that I do a post with just pictures of water. I batted the idea around in my head and decided to take a poem I wrote about water and put pictures with it – I didn’t always have pictures that went perfectly with the words, but I did my best. Thank you capost2K for the inspiration.
Michigan Mary 
Beautiful!
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Thank you! It’s just water but God presents it in phenomenal ways.
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A beautiful post! I love it. Michigan is one of the 10 states we have yet to go. This inspirers me to get there soon. Thank you.
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If you love water, you have to come visit. If you click on my menu and then go to either Waterfalls or my Adventures tab, you will see many beautiful places to go. I love it here!
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Absolutely amazing photography, Mary! Anita and I are talking about adding to our “bucket list” a tour of going around the great lakes through Canada and the adjoining states, and your photos are selling it to us! THANX!
Any recommendations for time of the year; we’re thinking about a month’s worth of travel.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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Excellent choice. Of all the beautiful Great Lakes shorelines, Superior is Superior. You would get the fall colors in early October – and no bugs! Hopefully no snow storms that early, but the north is unpredictable. I won’t promise anything! Maybe start your trip in September and end in October. What I recommend for the Michigan Superior shoreline as musts are: Porcupine Mountains where the Presque Isle River runs into Lake Superior. (See my post: I found it! the Nonesuch shale!) The boardwalk along that river is amazing and if you cross the walking bridge you can walk down river to see Lake Superior. Excellent views. Also, Ontonagon (nice beach, but all the beaches are nice!), Keweenaw Peninsula and Pictured Rocks. I haven’t been to the Soo Locks but that’s on my list. Everyone says it’s amazing. There are several amazing sites around Marquette: Presque Isle Point, Dead River Falls (walk up river, there’s at least 5 falls to see. It’s a little challenging to walk, but worth it.) Sugarloaf Mountain and Lakenenland Sculpture Park, Stop at the scenic turn-outs. They’re worth it. These are just a few. You can’t go wrong with the lake Superior shoreline. Another place I want to see desperately (It’s in Wisconsin) is the Apostles Islands. The images I’ve seen on line are amazing. Kayaking those islands would be wonderful! If you click on my menu and then my Adventures or waterfalls tab, you will see many of the Michigan places. 48 of my 49 waterfalls are in the U.P. I live in the mitten but I try to get to the U.P. once every year. There’s a lot of wilderness and trails. Have fun! I’m getting excited for you and Anita! You’ll love it!
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Mary, this is beautiful. I very much like your poem, too. This is a compliment as I often do not have any idea of what a poem is about! I am envious of how you live in Michigan all year. And frankly, I am not usually envious. I usually think if I really want something I can try to figure out how to get it. I’ve been to Tahquamenon Falls – twice. But it’s been a while! I do hope sometime in the future to spend a lot of time exploring Michigan in our travel trailer. Your pictures are spectacular!
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I’m glad you liked the poem. I don’t always get poems either – some poets write way over my head and I have no idea what they’re saying, but I’m more straight-forward I think. I always say I’m a bit of a water-freak and people who know me just nod in agreement. So, I love it here in Michigan. Although, I did go to West Virginia two summers to go white-water rafting. (That’s better in West Virginia). That was a blast! Did you go to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls and take the row boat out to the island and walk the trail around it? The Lower Falls are the most beautiful, but the Upper Falls are impressive because of its’ power. I always like to hear that someone likes my pictures because I’m not a photographer at all. Luckily, camera’s are so advanced and nature is so beautiful, that even I can take great pictures sometimes! Thank you Betty! P.S. If you do come to Michigan and have questions or need suggestions, I would love to help you!
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It’s been a while since I visited Tahquamenon Falls. The first was when I was growing up with my parents. All I remember doing was walking a trail to the falls. We did visit the Soo locks on that trip; I remember it being cold even though it was in July. The second visit was with my kids when they were growing up. We took a boat ride on the river. I think it lasted about 3 hours. It was a bit long back then. I don’t remember a row boat or an island! Some year, I am hoping Dan and I can visit those areas along with the upper peninsula – Mackinac and the Pictured Rocks. I’ve been to Mackinac, but not Pictured Rocks. So much to see and explore in Michigan! Thanks for your offer; I will keep it in mind!
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If you didn’t get in a rowboat to go out to the island, then you didn’t see the lower falls close-up. You can see them without going out to the island, but it’s so much better when you can walk on the trail that goes around the island because you can see the falls the whole way. It’s not a big island. It’s actually the perfect size. You still have time when you’re done to make it to the Upper Falls and see them too. I went to Tahquamenon a long time ago in the fall. Beautiful. A year ago I went in the winter. Of course, you can’t go out to the island in the winter, so fall is better, but the ice and snow was great too! Yes, Michigan has a lot to explore. I still have a lot of things on my bucket list. There’s still many falls left to see, islands to go to, etc. etc. etc. I want to see Lower Tahquamenon in the fall one more time. I didn’t get pictures for some reason, but I will next time!
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Wow these pictures are really amazing.
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Michigan has the most amazing water. I’ve only begun to explore it all!
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