First of all, special thanks goes to Sue, M&M, Tracie and Jackie for their willingness to help out with the shuttle plan. Easy river, good current, not much paddling required. Fred, the birthday boy, filled his trash crate to overflowing, so he was one happy guy. Bella, the King Charles spaniel, enjoyed the ride, and didn't even mind getting dipped in the water before being placed into the boat. At lunch we tidied up a campground, and Angie and John contemplated how to get their kayak seats to return to their original non-smelly state. We all discussed the importance of cleaning river shoes and paddling gloves after every outing. Debby & Mike were particularly helpful with boat unloading and loading. Judy led the way, as usual, though she was in for a bit of a surprise when she came upon a studly gentleman as she rounded one bend in the river.
And we marveled at the artistic sand sculpture across from our lunch spot. We didn't see anyone for the first couple of hours, then encountered several groups of tubers along the way. There were several helpful people at our takeout. Ice cream stop in Fife Lake! Written by Lois
The following day, Judy sent this note to the Record Eagle:
Yesterday, August 10, 2014, a group of 12 Traverse Area Paddle Club members did a river trip on the Manistee River from Sharon Rd to M-66. This was one of the many trips we do, but on this trip we had a very unusual find. We often collect bottles and cans discarded in the river, but this time one of the bottles, found wedged in a log jam, had messages inside. The messages were written in August, 2010, by two young girls, one 11 years old (Bre) and one, as she says, "nearly eleven" (Paige G.). Both messages were wrapped around pieces of wood the girls had carved. One was said to be a spear and one was meant to be a letter opener. The messages were very endearing. One starts: "This letter and stick is rapped in joy and happiness to me. And mabe even you!"
We have no way of letting the girls know their messages were found. There are no full names, addresses or telephone numbers included. It is a lovely story, though, and I enclose, as an attachment, images of the two letters.
Judy Swartz