{"id":14093,"date":"2016-09-29T12:56:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T17:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/?p=14093"},"modified":"2016-09-29T12:56:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T17:56:18","slug":"a-little-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/travel\/a-little-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"a little trip&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>last sunday, september 18th, kevin and i drove to starved rock, where we&#8217;d been in the spring, and then we spent three nights on mackinac island.<\/p>\n<p>for one thing, i want to stay on mackinac for at least a week next time. \u00a0at least. \u00a0and take our own bikes.<\/p>\n<p>but first, starved rock&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>when we went there in late april, most of the leaves weren&#8217;t out on the trees yet. \u00a0this time it was a little bit warm outside, and we spent two nights in this cute cabin. \u00a0well, in 1\/4 of it&#8230;we were in one of two parts of the cabin that had a fireplace, which sounded like a great idea except it was much too warm to use our free firewood that came with the place.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14107\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s451.jpg\" alt=\"s451\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s451.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s451-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>here&#8217;s the path right outside the cabin; it was very convenient to get to a trail right outside the door.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14094\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s46.jpg\" alt=\"s46\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s46.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s46-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>i didn&#8217;t bring my video camera, but i kept taking little videos with my phone. \u00a0the quality isn&#8217;t smooth and lovely like i&#8217;d like it, but you can get a good idea of what the inside of the cabine looks like, plus there&#8217;s some video of one of the canyons.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oCSij0f2DX4?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nok, so we left on our trip on sunday morning, and i decided to go running before we went. \u00a0i had piled a bunch of snacks on the dining room table, thinking that we could go through them and select some.<\/p>\n<p>but since i was busy, kevin did the packing &#8211; and he brought everything! \u00a0we had so very many things that we could have lived on them for about a month, if we would have been ok with just eating nuts and crackers and many many many cliff bars. \u00a0here&#8217;s a portion of all our bounty.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14095\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s47.jpg\" alt=\"s47\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s47.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s47-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>but better to much than not enough, right?<\/p>\n<p>after we arrived, i saw a bride standing outside the cabin across from us. \u00a0she was there with a bridesmaid, and she said she was going to get married at 5! \u00a0that was at about four o&#8217;clock, so it was happening soon. \u00a0it was kind of warm for an outside wedding.<\/p>\n<p>we wandered around a bit, because kevin had been feeing sick and we didn&#8217;t want to start hiking. \u00a0instead, we walked around the lodge and watched some people setting up a drum circle outside.<\/p>\n<p>we had dinner at the outside patio behind the lodge. \u00a0kevin tried to capture a picture of the light hitting the chimney, and i don&#8217;t know why his fancy camera couldn&#8217;t do it. \u00a0my phone did.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14096\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s48.jpg\" alt=\"s48\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s48.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s48-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>our cabin is on the right, very close to the entrance to the pool\/hot tub area. \u00a0i brought two bathing suits, assuming that i&#8217;d want to hot tub both nights. \u00a0it was waaay too hot to hot tub, though. \u00a0but it was convenient that we were so close to the lodge, but also separate.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14097\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s49.jpg\" alt=\"s49\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s49.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s49-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>we went to bed fairly early, but i woke up about one in the morning, and i was getting bitten by a lot of mosquitoes. \u00a0kevin was up, too, also getting gnawed on. \u00a0i shut the bathroom window because i could see a gap under the screen, and kevin closed the flue in the fireplace &#8211; it had been left open, a perfect entryway for the mosqitoes. \u00a0he also dug out a couple of citronella candles and lit them.<\/p>\n<p>we didn&#8217;t sleep very well, though, and when we got up we realized that two of the three windows that we open had big gaps at the bottom, so the mosqiutoes were continuing to buzz on in.<\/p>\n<p>whew. \u00a0we closed everything up and kept the candles burning all day.<\/p>\n<p>when i stepped outside, the bride&#8217;s dress was hanging next door. \u00a0i had to wonder if it was all worth it for her, the wedding hoopla. \u00a0since we were there right after our 10-year wedding anniversary, i thought about how exhausted i was on our wedding day, and that it all could have been much simpler. \u00a0but hey, 10 years!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14098\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s50.jpg\" alt=\"s50\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s50.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s50-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>luckily kevin was feeling better, so we took a nice hike, but didn&#8217;t venture out till about 11 in the morning. \u00a0we went back to St. Louis canyon, one of the many that we saw the last time we were there. \u00a0beautiful.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14099\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s51.jpg\" alt=\"s51\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s51.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s51-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14100\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s52.jpg\" alt=\"s52\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s52.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s52-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14101\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s53.jpg\" alt=\"s53\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s53.jpg 400w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s53-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>after our hike we drove into nearby Utica, and kevin wanted to stop and take a picture of a door. \u00a0a guy was outside working on a b&amp;b, and he was very friendly and chatty, and told us about this one &#8220;secret&#8221; canyon over at the nearby matthiessen state park.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14102\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s54.jpg\" alt=\"s54\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s54.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s54-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>this is lake falls, and the guy, named john, told us that this canyon is completely man-made! \u00a0i can&#8217;t remember why somebody would have constructed this, and maybe john didn&#8217;t even tell us, but since he told us the story we felt that we had to go see for ourselves.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14103\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s55.jpg\" alt=\"s55\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s55.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s55-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>man-made! \u00a0how is it possible? \u00a0why did they do it? \u00a0i can&#8217;t even find anything about it online. \u00a0we hadn&#8217;t planned on walking down the many steps to the falls, and i was wearing flip flops, but we felt the need to go down there. \u00a0john said that he liked go sit there and study the canyon, contemplating how &#8220;doc matthiesson&#8221; had done such a splendid job of it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14104\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s56.jpg\" alt=\"s56\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s56.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s56-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>this is the view down the stream.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14105\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s57.jpg\" alt=\"s57\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s57.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s57-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>after all that excitement, we finished our day with a good dinner at the lodge dining room. \u00a0look at the size of that fireplace! \u00a0it&#8217;d be fun to sit there on a winter day, but i don&#8217;t know about doing any hiking in the snow&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14106\" src=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s58.jpg\" alt=\"s58\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s58.jpg 540w, https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/s58-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>we had a good night&#8217;s sleep, but i did liberally spray myself with buy spray before getting into bed.<\/p>\n<p>we got up really early on tuesday morning to drive to michigan to catch\u00a0the ferry for mackinac island. \u00a0we left at 6:30!<\/p>\n<p>but that&#8217;s for another post.<\/p>\n<p>ok then,<\/p>\n<p>mrs. thursday morning hughes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>last sunday, september 18th, kevin and i drove to starved rock, where we&#8217;d been in the spring, and then we spent three nights on mackinac island. for one thing, i want to stay on mackinac for at least a week next time. \u00a0at least. \u00a0and take our own bikes. but first, starved rock&#8230; when we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[295],"tags":[39,297,296,216],"class_list":["post-14093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","tag-kevin","tag-matthiessen-state-park","tag-st-louis-canyon","tag-starved-rock-lodge"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6JLYy-3Fj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14093"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14114,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14093\/revisions\/14114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceuncensored.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}