Sargie's son, Cale, and Sargie
Taken in Marquette on Saturday afternoon

November 13, 2016 - Sunday

37 degrees/clear skies/breezy

Pentoga Road

I'm looking out the window and see that Lake Pentoga is now a mere shadow of its former self. The water table is slowly sinking back underground.

If I were to win the lottery, I'd hire heavy equipment to dig a several acre pond in the area where it flooded. A flock of mallards landed just feet from the garden last week and it would be fun to have our own private fishing and swimming hole and an ice skating rink during the winter months. Hey a guy can dream, can't he?

Saturday began in the shop where I readjusted the new blinds. The window is an odd size and the blinds are too wide to fit on the inside of the frame and almost too narrow to hang on the outside. I did some shop magic and they are now on the outside and look as though they should be there. 

My attentions were turned to the ice shack. I removed the old roof, used it as a pattern, and cut a piece for the new one.

I've considered painting the ice shack, but I hate to ruin the patina that gives it that all natural look. More importantly, the only paint I have is white, not too smart of a choice when setting a shack out on a snow covered lake where snowmobiles often zoom by. 

One of the biggest pains was to eliminate the nest of lady bugs that had moved into the nooks and crannies of the ice shack. I used the heavy duty shop vac to solve that problem.

Sargie and I had talked about where to take our drive on Saturday. We decided to head north to Marquette to visit Cale and do some shopping in the UP's largest city. (21,000 residents.)

We were about twenty miles out of town when we saw a sheriff pointing a high powered rifle at two men, both with their hands in the air. That got our attention and we both remarked that is was just like we see on television. We also decided that it wouldn't be wise to turn around and ask the officer if I might snap a few action shots for my web page. It wasn't long before we met other law enforcement personnel screaming towards the scene at the speed of light.

We had a wonderful visit with Cale who proudly showed us around the facilities of Anytime Fitness, the gym that he manages.

It's a two-story, very modern, very large, structure. We found Cale in his office doing managerial type things.

A full frontal, mirrored, triple selfie, with a half twist in the hug position. Taken in one of the workout rooms.
I'm pretty sure that in the photography world, this shot would constitute a fairly high difficulty rating, at least a 9.5 or higher.  

We eventually bade Cale farewell and made our way through downtown Marquette which is located adjacent to Lake Superior.

The downtown area reminds me of our's from my childhood days. The stores are thriving with real businesses and the sidewalks are filled with people doing their shopping.

We also did some shopping of our own while in town. 

Christmas is coming. While in one of the stores, the power went out and we were left in the dark with the exception of music playing and the Christmas trees all lit. Honestly, it seemed almost magical.

Sargie was deep within the enchanted artificial Christmas tree forest when the lights went out.

We also drove around the shores of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful and fitting evening after a fun day together.

The ore dock where huge freighters take on vast amounts of iron ore that is locally mined.

After grabbing a bite to eat, Sargie drove us back to Pentoga Road where we had a quiet and relaxing evening.

Sargie's off again today. Though we're not planning any trips, we'll no doubt make our way into town for her Coke and to take advantage of a sale item or two at one of the stores. Otherwise, the only thing on my agenda is the Packers/Titans game. I hope the boys remember to show up and play this week.

Time to throw another log on the fire and grab that all-important first cup of coffee.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...