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Continuation of a previous post

Note: Most pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Iargo Springs

There were some springs near the cabin, and we heard that we had to go see them on our trip. So one morning (it was good for us to get out of the cabin in the morning because our kids woke up around 7 or 8 but the teenagers (and some other adults) would sleep until 10 or 11 so we felt bad that we were being noisy and figured we might as well get out of the house and go see something interesting) we headed to the springs.

The first thing we saw when we got to Iargo Springs was a very nice view of the Au Sable river, into which the springs fed:

The next thing we noticed was the stairs going down to the springs and river. There were a lot of stairs, and at the bottom was a nice boardwalk. The boardwalk went in a lot of directions, as there were a couple of springs and a lot of little creeks and waterways flowing from the springs to the main river. The boardwalk was mostly railingless, which was nice because the boys could hop off and explore whenever they wanted.

We went to the springs and the boys put their feet in the water. The main thing to know about spring water, other than it goes well into plastic bottles, is that it is extremely cold. It was a hot day, so the older boys enjoyed dipping their feet in the water, but not for very long. I tried it, and after about 30 seconds my feet were hurting; when I got out of the water the sensation was similar to the pins-and-needles feeling when my foot falls asleep. And when we put Gamma into the water so that he could enjoy the refreshing coolness, he started crying. We took him out. Don’t worry, the creeks were only ankle deep.

Alpha and Beta liked hiking alongside the boardwalk, seeing what branches they could find:

Gamma was more cautious, staying on the boardwalk. Although he did like to climb railings (in the few places where there were railings)

The nice thing about the springs is that there are a lot of trees so it stays cool. The bad thing about the springs is that it stays damp, so the mosquitoes like it there too. The other bad thing is that there are a lot of stairs. After the trip down the stairs, I wondered how many there were. So on the way back up (with Gamma on my back – now that’s a workout) I counted the stairs: 290 (give or take 10).

Conclusion

The rest of the trip included playing in the lake, watching a DVD or two (old-school cartoons mostly – 1950s-ish), and going to the local fireworks display on the 4th. Overall, it was a success.