July 9...All Day at TFSP

Day two at Tahquamenon Falls consisted of a spectacular hike to Camp 10 Lakes. More on that in a moment. After a late morning start, we took the Boys for an hour long walk on the trailhead by the campsite. It was a nice trail. It started out at the riverside and then quickly climbed via switchbacks and changed to a dense forested hike. Ferns and downed birch trees abounded. The breeze was nice and the temperature was a perfect 70 couple degrees. I quickly noticed a few wild blueberry bushes and got my Sacajawea on and started gathering berries. I found a piece of bark to carry them on and after making it almost all the way back to the trailhead, I realized I didn’t need to be a pioneer because I had a perfectly good (and fortunately unused) dog poo bag in my pocket. Walla – a baggie for my berries. :)

After we got back home, we took out the park maps and picked the next To Do on our list. Seeing the “not all vehicles should attempt this drive” description of one of the fire trail routes, we knew this would be the place for us. Initially thinking we would leave the Boys in the trailer to keep them from what we knew would be a rough, slow ride, we changed our minds last minute when they were both eager to jump in the truck and go with. I’m always very happy to have them along, so we smiled, loaded them up and off we went. Begin the new truck’s first off-road adventure. It performed well other than the fact that it’s waaay wider than we were used to with the Ranger. This resulted in a fair amount of scratches down the sides of the truck as we drove past the trees that reached out to place their mark and become a lasting memory of our adventure. As most of you know, we’re pretty particular about keeping our vehicles nice. Not so much anymore. They are, after all, just things, and while we still want to keep them nice, we prefer more to use them for what they are intended, and on this particular day, it was worth the slight marring that was done.

At the turnoff to another dirt road, we parked the truck, put on the packs and headed on our way…for about 10 feet. We had unknowingly parked near a wild blueberry patch. I’m a simple kind of girl, so stumbling upon a patch of wild blueberries is enough to make me happy for the rest of the day. I pulled out my Tupperware container (thanks, Angie) and got to picking. Bill and the Boys watched…from the shade. After awhile, I pulled myself away so we could actually do the hike and relegated myself to simply picking berries along the way. The whole trail was loaded with them. Sooo tasty. For me, few things are as tasty as wild berries. No washing these things – just pop them in your mouth like nature intended. If a bug comes with, well then, you get a little protein with your vitamins and antioxidants. :)

After a short hike through the woods, the trail abruptly ended in an amazing clearing filled with wildflowers and lake grasses.


We walked across the brittle grassland and approached the water. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I love moments like this. No people, no hubbub, just the peaceful and serene landscape surrounding me. This is what I think of when I think of a perfect day. The Boys quickly learned that the water was shallow and began to romp and play like puppies.


It’s amazing to me to think that Merlin is now (as of July 10) eleven years old. Bill and I had so much fun watching them play. Regardless of our propensity to anthropomorphize, the Boys truly seemed to be happier than they’ve ever been running free and splashing carelessly in the marshes. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be graced with their companionship, even friendship; they’re just really great dogs and it’s so nice to have them along with us on this adventure.