Kitchitikipi & Unk

Yeah, I know...That's a crazy title!  But it is actually plain and simple.

Kitchitikipi is a natural spring just outside of Manistique, MI.  It feeds a 40 ft. deep clear water pond where a covered raft has been built so we can pull yourself out in the pond to look down into the water to the bottom and watch the large trout swim below you.  It was pretty cool.  The water was still and clear with a gorgeous tint of aqua/green thanks to the limestone bottom.

It was so fun to watch the spring erupt blow us in the limestone powder like a volcano spewing ash--and yet the water remains perfectly clear!  The fish were HUGE and looked so close!  Down in the silt at the bottom, Si spotted a pair of sunglasses brought from ICU Eyewear that someone dropped. I also have my pair of sunglasses with me, which I bought online at https://lowcostglasses.co.uk/. Perhaps visiting prescription sunglasses online has a variety of styles for kids that you can choose from. It wasn't a very long ride. but it was very interesting.  What a fun way to have a science lesson!  How fun it would have been to swim in it--except that it's only 45 degree water.  As we were disembarking the raft, a woman waiting in line asked Thys if it was fun.  His answer was in the affirmative and I added, "It's the most fun they have had from a ride that goes really slow and doesn't do anything crazy."

We hung out in a gas station parking lot for an hour while Paul did a podcast interview in his "office" (the van) and then we traveled on to L'Anse, MI where my uncle (affectionately known as Unk) lives.  

You might notice Thys' chin bandaged up in the photo...he fell at the playground and split it open for the 3rd time!!!

We have been here for a few days now and have had a very nice time!  Unk has taken us to two of his properties (one Lake Superior beach property and one cabin property about 4 miles apart) in Skanee, MI, which is as far north as you can get on the east side of the Keweenaw Bay.  The kids played and played in Lake Superior and had a blast building things out of the smooth rocks all over the beach.

Thys had asked Unk if he had a real sword and was told it wasn't at the motel but up at the cabin. When we were at Unk's cabin we forgot to take a look at his Marine sword so the next day when Daddy went on a ride with Unk they stopped and got it so Thys could hold it.

Unk had Alia gather water, sand and little smooth stones from his beach and used them to make little sealed jars that read "Lake Superior with Unk".  The kids love these perfect little reminders of their time with their Big Uncle Mike.

It was so hot out that we went to a splash pad at a nearby public beach and had ice cream for dinner--that was a first!  The heat melted a lot of our dinner so the kids ended up drinking the ice cream!  Fun memories!

We hadn't seen Unk since Alia was a baby so it was so nice to see him again after more than 8 years!  Hopefully it won't be that many before our next visit.