Little River Casino Resort and RV Park, Manistee, Michigan
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. I Peter 5:7
I like perfection. Not as in I’m a perfectionist (very far from it!), but as in – I like things to go according to plan, especially our day trips.
Today was NOT that day.
Remember that great Visitor Guide Book I mentioned? Well, today, it didn’t serve us too well, and it caused a heap of frustration for Blaine, which in turn, trickled down to me as well.
There were several things in the “Destination” section that we still wanted to check out, but simply getting to the first stop proved to be a study in frustration. (frustrated = feeling or expressing distress and annoyance, especially because of inability to change or achieve something) In psychology, frustration is a common emotional response to opposition, related to anger, annoyance and disappointment, frustration arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of an individual’s will or goal and is likely to increase when a will or goal is denied or blocked.
Yeah. All that . . . .
Following their directions or (once) mis-reading them, caused us to spend a good bit of time “lost” or making wrong turns – at every turn. All day. Or at least for the amount of time we were out.
I also had on the wrong clothes.
I was prepared for sight-seeing today, as I mentioned – finishing up our Destination Tours. The only way I was prepared was, we tossed our tennis shoes into the Jeep at the last minute.
Our first stop was the Hodenpyl Dam. Once we made it to the correct road, it was easy to find.
After that, we planned on visiting the suspension bridge “trail head located at the south end of the dam parking lot”.
It wasn’t. And once we found where it really was (which we had to drive to), it involved a six-mile hike and almost getting plowed over by two bicycles. We didn’t know it was going to be six miles, and by the time we figured it out, it was too late to turn back.
Beautiful far-reaching views!
Here’s where it happened – – the almost collision . . .
And here’s the proof that bikes passed by here.
As I said, I wasn’t prepared for a six-mile hike today. I was wearing my sight-seeing clothes – a nice top, capris and sandals. Well, at least I put my tennies on – and I uncovered another top in the back of the Jeep. It was too warm to hike in capris, plus, since I finally found a pair that fit right, I’m careful with them, not wanting them to get stained or wear out. Do you know how much wear goes on during a six-mile hike? The constant “swish-swish” of thighs rubbing together? That can be hard on fabric.
In addition, we were hiking with little sustenance – six cheese crackers, ten baby carrots and 20 grapes – shared between us. Of course, there were the tictacs and a bottle of water to share. . . .
And we encountered a couple of hiccups even on the trail, because nothing said “suspension bridge”.
Oh! A sign!
We saw this group putting in back at the Dam.
We found it!
Oh. Wait. No. That’s not it . . .
There won’t be a trail here for long . . .
I’m not sure where we’d go, since this sign isn’t anywhere near the river . . .
There it is!
Oh. Wait. Nope. That’s not it either . . . .
But we finally made it!
That HAS to be it!
The Manistee River
We finally located the bridge!
And when I went down by the water to take a picture of Blaine, I got about 5 years scared off my life as “Boris” put his big sloppy-mouthed face just on the other side of the bridge supports, right across from where my face was as I was walking down the hill.
This was after my encounter with Boris. : )
Alright, time to throw a little fun in here . . .
If you scroll through the pictures fast, you’ll see me walking across the bridge. : )
Time to head back . . . .
We give up . . . .
What in the world is this stuff??
Blaine took his glasses off and looked closer, he said it looked like they had legs.
All I know is, this is the stuff sci-fi movies are made of . . . .
Our final stop today was to be the Glen Park Mineral Springs. Originally known as Onekama Springs because of the mineral water that bubbled up in and around the area, the site was purchased by lumberman AW Farr in 1880. A hotel was built on the site which brought people from all around the country to experience what was believed to be the healing powers of the springs. Today, Glen Springs is one of the most picturesque places in Michigan.
Now, wouldn’t that make you want to see it? Well, here’s what we saw.
Not exactly what I’d call a picturesque place – – – anywhere. There were no signs, other than the information sign, telling us where to go and no obvious trail either. We either missed something, or their book is wrong – again.
This was the most picturesque thing we saw here, and there was only one.
But because we missed the turn for Glen Park, we accidently stumbled onto another Destination site – Fenmoor Cottage. Designed and constructed in 1930 by a professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois, it’s a unique home. It was built as an actual boathouse and has a living room, fireplace, kitchen and two bedrooms. The windows were shaped to go along with the nautical theme.
Our final act of the day was to overindulge at the Casino’s Prime Rib and Crab Leg buffet (which is why we had such a paltry amount of food with us), although clearly, we didn’t do it right. Many were taking giant piles of crab legs back to their table, and we witnessed several asking for half a cow. Although who am I to talk? I had 1 ½ thinner cuts – but to be fair, it was probably only about that many pounds, and much of it was fatty waste. It sure was good, though! Everything we ate was!
