The last of Hurricane Ike

The remnants of Hurricane Ike came through Elkhart September 13 & 14, dumping up to 12 inches total in some parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Bud & Irene have lived on Christiana Creek since 1955 and have never seen the creek as high as it is. There are many lakes that feed the creek, and it continues to rise even today, 5 days after the rain stopped! Here at our house, the Washington ditch, which drains all of the farm fields around us flooded its banks and ran over the field next to us and flooded our pond. The Washington ditch went down back to it's normal level within just a few days. Click here to see some photos of the creek at Bud & Irenes house, and here at our house.

Late Summer at Kidders Cabin

We finally got a few days to go up to the cabin! It was so nice to be up there, even if it was only for a few days. We had not been up since early June, and were ready to get going! We had a couple of nice days to get some chores done, mainly mowing the grass and trimming some trees along the paths on the 10 acres. We also went on a sunset kayak trip on Wolf Lake, and got back just at dark. What a relaxing way to end a day! We also got to kayak the Pine River again. (see the post below) We had nice weather, and finally some rain! It's been dry up there, too. We also got to visit with Chuck & Joy and see the big Buck that Chuck got some photos of. (Of course, the location is top-secret!) We were sad to see our "Kidders Cabin" sign was missing. Leo & Bud made the sign for the cabin in 1996, and it was a treasured part of the cabin. We will have to make a new one to replace it, but it just won't be the same. Hopefully whoever took our original will return it one day. Click here for some photos of our trip.

Kayaking the Pine; after the flood

We were anxious to get to the Pine River and see how the flood in June changed it. We had been reading on the internet that it was really different, and was actually closed to canoes and kayakers for several weeks. It really has changed in many areas! There are many more rapid areas, lots & lots of logjams, and the twin boulders that were near the end of the run at Low Bridge are missing? Moved? Or just underwater & sand and we can't see them. If you've done the Pine you will remember these boulders that you had to go between. They were one of the rivers major challenges. There are many more challenges since the flooding, but it is still passable, and lots of fun! The trip from Peterson Bridge to Low Bridge took us approx. 3.25 hours. What great day! Click here to see some great photos of the Pine River, and some of its logjams & boulders.