Sunday Inspiration

In The Garden

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave to me

Within my heart is ringing.

I'd stay in the garden with Him

though the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go; through the voice of woe

His voice to me is calling.

We miss you, dad.

Camping

Leaky air mattresses, leaky tents, mosquitos.  What's to like about tent camping you ask?  Sitting after dark making smores and telling stories around a campfire.  Gazing up at a zillion stars at night.  Gaining a new appreciation for modern conveniences.

While I really do enjoy camping, my hubby and I decided that this year was our last year for "roughing" it.  Actually I made that decision around five years ago.  But I am sadly outnumbered by the males in my household.

Each time we camped, we would make note of something that was missing and made sure that we had that something for the next time we camped.  In the past, we have always had at least one cloudburst happen causing the leaky tent and sitting on a wet picnic table for breakfast the next morning.  So this time, we made sure that we had a shelter in place over the picnic tables to keep them dry for this camping trip.  Guess what?  Not a drop of rain. Isn't that the way it goes?  But at least we had peace of mind that we would be dry while eating.

That is one of many stories that create our camping memories.  We have the time that our camping "neighbors" kids decided to light all the campfires in the middle of the night.  Not only did it wake us up because the dad was swearing at the top of his lungs, but we were worried that our tent would catch on fire.  It was crazy! Or the time that we heard on the radio that "heavy rain will be moving into the area at 1:30 on Sunday.".  Was that 1:30 a.m. or p.m.?  I insisted that we break camp early, but hubby refused.  "It will be okay." Ha!  We woke up at 1:30 in the a.m. to the heaviest rain I think I had ever witnessed and it flooded us out.  We were drenched.  Or the time that we had a visit by a skunk.  Yeah, that would be this time.

But for every camping horror story, there is a good memory as well.  Making friends with your neighbors.  Laughing until our faces hurt. Trying out new "camping" recipes. Walking around the campground after dark and looking up and never remembering seeing so many stars.  The smell of the campfire.  Roasting marshmallows and seeing if you can get that perfect shade of brown.  Or burning it to a crisp. Those are the ones that keep us going back.

We have already decided that next year we will be renting one of the many cottages/cabins in the area or staying at the resort situated on the shore of Silver Lake.  Or in my mind, we will be in one of these.

Thanks for letting me share our vacation memories.  Whether you are "roughing it" or staying at a luxury resort, I wish all of you many happy memories on your next getaway.

Thanks for looking in!

The Beach

One of my favorite things to do when going to Silver Lake Sand Dunes is hitting the beach. White sand, surf, sun.  And with it being in the midwest on Lake Michigan, no threat of sharks.

My hubby and I spent a great deal of time on the beach and it was perfect.  Here you can still check out the dirtbikes, dunebuggies, 4 wheel drives and atvs.  But when you walk over the grass covered dunes, it's like you are in another world completely.  You feel the breeze on your face.  The only sounds are those of the surf and children building sand castles nearby.  You can sit on the soft warm sand or amble to the edge of the water and let the waves lap at your feet.  Or you can be like my son and waste no time and dive into the water.

I was hesitant at first, but when you "take the plunge" literally, it is so refreshing.

One thing that is a must when you go, when it is a clear evening, is to witness a sunset.

After eating dinner and cleaning up, we head back to the dunes.  Sometimes we will go to a nearby lighthouse.  We like to go about an hour before sunset so we can get a good spot to witness God's spectacular display.

When viewing this, you want to give God a standing ovation.  Actually when the last rays of the sun is sinking in the water, everyone is holding their breath.  Then you will hear clapping and whistles and vehicle horns beeping. If we think this is magnificent, I only can imagine what heaven must be like.  Isn't it awesome?

Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Sun, sand, surf. What's not to like?  Silver Lake Sand Dunes has been one of our favorite summer getaways for over a decade now.  Located between Muskegan and Ludington on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is a mecca for those who love to challenge the sand dunes on a dirtbike, atv or 4-wheel drive. Or fish. Or stroll the beach. Or go for a refreshing dip in Lake Michigan or Silver Lake.  You get the idea.  For summer fun, this is the place to go.

You know that you are getting close to where a good time is to be had when you see this in a nearby town.  I think every town should have this on their water tower. :-)

Even though Silver Lake is known primarily as a place for hitting the sand with dune buggies and such.  If you do not have an ATV, don't let that stop you.  You can either pack a cooler and bring an umbrella and stroll the dunes and take time out and relax on the beach.  Or there are several places in town to rent jeeps or to sign up for a tour.  Places like this...

And if you need souvenirs, look for shops such as this one....

Their motto is, "Come in a bug us!". Get it?  Volkswagon bug.  Bug us.  Oh-kay...moving on....

Here is the sandy corridor as you enter the dunes.....

And here is the view when you enter the dunes.  I love seeing the endless blue horizon of Lake Michigan and acres and acres of sand dotted with trees and drift wood here and there. It is like one giant sand box.

This motley crew was itching to see if they could make it up "test hill".  It is the tallest dune in the park and those with nerves of steel and no common sense make this climb.  If you go to YouTube you will find dozens of videos of people making this attempt.

And their off!  Can they make it?  Do their machines have the ability to make it up such a steep grade? Stay tuned.....

Hurray!  They did it!   On the first attempt!  They are such showoffs!  My hubby and I are old geezers, so we played it safe and went directly to the beach.  My son and our friends spent most of the day exploring the dunes and testing their machines to see what hills they could climb and if that area of really soft sand could be passable.  They had a blast!

In the next few days, I'll be sharing more pictures of the beach and camping stories. :-)

Thanks for looking in!:-)

Sunday Inspiration

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.

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