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| I had the privilege of joining the Wilson family for a week long vacation, to the Northwoods Conference Center in the UP recently! It was amazing how the Lord brought it all about for me to go with them, and it was especially fun that it was a surprise for the girls. We flew up Thursday, 9/8, and got back Thursday, 9/15. The primary reason we were going was for a family conference that weekend. Mr. Towle taught the first session, and Pastor Wilson taught the rest. (6 total.) We had a wonderful visit with the Towle family, and enjoyed the cool "beginning of Autumn" weather! We went hiking at a place about an hour away, that had gorgeous waterfalls, and winding trails that made me think I was walking through a picture book... It was seriously the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, and it was such a reminder of the variety of beauty in God's magnificent creation! It was one week I'll never forget, and was thoroughly enjoyed with precious friends. |
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| Waiting to board! |
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| Yay! At least flying gets you places a lot faster than driving. |
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| If you look closely, you can see a full rainbow, with the shadow of our plane in it! It was SUPER neat, and a lot brighter in person. |
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| It was so good to walk around the corner, and see familiar faces waiting for us! |
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| We stopped at Culver's in the middle of our 3 1/2 hour drive from the airport to our destination. |
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| Almost there! |
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| The CASTLE! As we called it=) |
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| My room. |
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| This tree was just starting to change color outside my window, so by the end of the week it was much brighter! |
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| Walking our LONG walk down the hall to the kitchen. |
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| \We were treated like royalty, with elaborate meals served very promptly! |
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| Smile!=) |
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| This kitchen was amazing, and you could tell they were used to cooking for large groups! |
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| Setting out lots of cups in preparation for the conference! |
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| The view from one of the dining room windows. |
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| The lobby! |
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| This "Bad Boy" got stuck in the mud... |
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| They soon fixed that with a big chain, and truck! |
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| Off on a 3.7 mile walk around the lake! |
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| The tower was a great place to run up and spot things... We loved watching the sunset, and moon rise from there. |
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| People were starting to get there before supper, Friday night. |
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| Food line~ |
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| Some of the most fun outside time was spent on the water. We went out on the pontoon boat with Mr. and Mrs. Towle, and then in a little fishing boat, and kayaks later. Fishing was a lot of fun, and we all caught some! |
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| It was nice and breezy most of the time. |
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| My buddy, Heather=) |
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| One day we went exploring around the property, which is over 2,000 acres! There were at least three lakes on it, and several old houses. It was fun riding in the back of the truck, and stopping at lots of scenic places. |
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| The trees were so pretty up there... |
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| Walking back to the truck, after touring around this big house. |
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| Elizabeth and Anna=) |
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| Fall foliage! |
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| Elizabeth and I ~ Thanks to Christina for the pic...=) |
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| A fun game of Dutch Blitz! |
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| We had fun watching Heather open her birthday gifts. She turned four while we were there! |
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| Excitedly, she tore off the quilt, which revealed to her ecstatic gaze.............. |
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| her very own bike! |
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| We played volleyball a few times, which was REALLY fun! |
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| Heather rode around, and around, and around the court on her new bike! |
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| Hiking time... |
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| Some beautiful falls, that were bigger than anything I'd ever seen! |
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| Everyone that went, but Rachel... She gets the photo credit=) |
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| I kept getting behind because of all the photography opportunities! |
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| These colorful little mushrooms by the way... |
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| At one place we could climb out on the rocks! |
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| Not a better spot to get pictures together! |
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| Anna |
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| Elizabeth |
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| Yours truly |
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| Then we drove a little farther to visit Lake Superior! |
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| Sweet Christina=) |
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| Danny and Matt loved getting chased by the waves=) |
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| The rocks on the shore were so flat and smooth, so they were perfect for skipping! |
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| This was an interesting tree... |
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| Ski lifts are something we Floridians never see, so I had to get a picture=) |
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| View from the tower one evening! |
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| The Towles tried scaring us with this bear, so we tried it on them the next night... =) It didn't work though, because they're so used to it! |
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| On the way to church, Tina and Matt were wearing sunglasses and trying to dodge pictures taken from the seat behind them... Didn't work too well=) |
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| Another incredible sight from the tower! |
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| The far pavement is part of an airstrip there! |
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| As many Towles as were there when we left... This is just 8 out of 17! |
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| Vibrant trees on the way to the airport... |
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| It was neat seeing the sunset from the plane! |
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The innumerable lights after dark from the air!
Praise the Lord for safe travel and a wonderful visit! The neat thing is, while I was in the UP, Farrah was visiting the Siefkas in the LP! We left the same day, and got back the same day, and didn't see each other once that week! Farrah's pictures coming soon... just, she doesn't have half as many as I do since they were working on their house most the time. |
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of GOD; for they shall wisely consider of His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
Ps. 64: 9-10
