A GOOD TIME AT LAKE SUPERIOR
Pshhhhhh, pshhhhh, the water washed along the sand, and wiped away the footprints we’d left behind. The sun sparkled and danced on the gently pulsing water, making it look like the lake was shining, as my friend Claire and I walked down the sandy shores of Lake Superior one bright summer day.
Does it sound fun to you? If so, come along with us so you can enjoy the natural beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula too. Leave behind your socks, shoes and jacket- you won’t need them. Roll up your pants, because here we go!
So here we are, walking down the sandy shoreline. Whooooit, whoooit, whooooit, the sand is “singing” as we drag our feet.
Now we are at a thin, shallow medium paced river. Look at the shiny pebbles that dot its bottom. It comes from that small pond with slimy green algae on its rocks. Water from that other, faster river empties into the pond, from which this river flows. See! This river empties into the lake. Jump over it! Weeeeeee!
As we walk, watch out for beach-grass, its pokey…ouch! There is the reef; it’s almost totally submerged in the water. See the sandpipers hopping around? They’re funny, hey? The seagulls just sit on the end and squawk- Awwwwwk, Awwwwwk.
See this rocky outcrop? We’ve dubbed it alligator rock because it kind of looks like an alligator-only partway in the water. These crumbly rocks with ledges on top of one another are what we call potato chip rocks. Hear the crunch and crackle as we walk over them? Come wade in the cool water with me and look for pretty rocks or, if you’d rather not get your feet wet, we can play Don’t Touch the Water. It’s a simple game, all you have to do is run right next to the water and when a wave comes run up the beach so you don’t get wet.
These massive black boulders in a pile are what we call the first black rocks, because they are the first pile of them. First, but not only. There are about six piles of them. Crackle, crackle-more potato chip rocks. Wow! Look at these awesome designs in the sandstone! The colors are swirled together and splotched inside each other. These big chunks will be good for skipping. Don’t know how? Watch what I do; hold the rock so it’s flat, and then throw it so it spins but stays flat. You’ve got it! Good job!
Whoa! The wind’s speeding up! Hurry to the second black rocks, but be careful, the waves splashing on them makes them slippery. Sit on this rock, and something will happen. Look at that huge wave! Ha ha! I tricked you! The wave splashed you, now you’re all wet! Let Claire and I have a turn. EEEEEEEEEK! The water’s cold! Let’s keep going. Hopping from rock to rock like this makes me feel like a mountain goat, how about you?
Ohhhhh, now you have to be careful, because right here the rock edge broke off, so you can either walk through the woods, or you can brace your feet on the rock part in the water, and move your hands along this narrow ledge. A third option is walk on the narrow ledge itself. I’ll take the third way, so will Claire. How about you? This rock ledge is really unstable, so be careful. Now you need to wade through the water-brrrrrrrr, it’s pretty cold. I guess you could walk through the woods, but that’s scratchy.
Ouch! Walking on this rock sandbar is hurts my feet because it’s so hot, does it hurt yours? It is pretty cool though. Look at all these bugs crawling around! They’re gross but kind of interesting-in a way.
I really enjoy walking down here…….its so peaceful and quiet. And pretty.
It’s getting late and I’m starved and hot so let’s run back to camp so we can eat and swim, okay? Good.
It’s been a fun walk….. don’t you think?
Rosemary Torola
Calumet
DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/9/2009
Grade 6
