DAY THREE - Such a beautiful morning. We were staying at Cathy & Mike Clawson's in Big Bay MI. Cathy is Keith's niece. We woke to a deer eating from the trees on the edge of their property. It then laid down for about an hour in the back yard before it was startled by something and headed back into the forest. What a great way to start Sunday morning. 

For the hunter's and animal lovers among us.
(You may be both, & that's OK.)

After breakfast we went church at St Mary's in Big Bay. The church was almost full - approx. 100 people in attendance, The music ministry consisted of a guitar player and an organist, and the congregation sang with gusto. The service was a faith-filled experience, and the associate pastor delivered an inspiring homily perfectly suited to Father's Day. (Either we're getting old, or priests are being ordained younger. This guy hardly looked 30.) His faith was solid and he shared it easily. We spent about 15 minutes after Mass talking to him about our journey and received his blessing before we left. The Big Bay community is very hospitable and we felt very welcome and comfortable there.

St. Mary's Parish - Big Bay, Michigan

Cathy and Mike made this first stop on our journey perfect. They are most welcoming and very hospitable. Their home is absolutely beautiful. On 37 acres, the house is 3 bedrooms, two stories, and (quilters, pay attention) her basement is a quilters paradise. The storage; the machines; the fabrics, threads, notions. . .it helps she used to manage a JoAnn's Fabrics in Marquette for many years. She and Mike built 90% of their home themselves over a period of 11 years. Unbelievable.

Mike's 1st and 2nd loves . . . not sure of the order!

 

In the early afternoon we left and had a spectacular day for traveling. The U.P. of Michigan was a visual delight of verdant forests and fields, and that kind of puffy-cloud-blue-sky day that makes you think of God's glory. We crossed over to Wisconsin with lush farmlands and cows that WI is famous for. The weather turned wet and we could watch the storms move towards us as we approached them. A few spat upon us, and these were followed by windy downpours that nearly obliterated the view of the road. This was an on-again off-again experience through the balance of the afternoon. We slid into Minnesota on blue skies, again, and the scenery looked more like the UP with deep forests lining the roadway. 

We're camped now at a lovely little campground in Grand Rapids, MN - yes MN has one of those towns, too. It's late so we'll see you in the morning on the road, again.

For those of you who are map-reading challenged, little Einstein is sitting on Grand Rapids MN. That big-city cluster --he yellow spot criss-crossed with red lines -- is St. Paul.