This gorgeous waterfall once was the source of power for the Schoolcraft Blast Furnace, a part of northern Michigan’s 19th Century iron boom. A question about the geology of the area led to a lively conversation that involved three rangers at the Munising Falls Visitor Center who told us that the value of the iron mined in Michigan in the 19th Century exceeded the value of the gold extracted during the California Gold Rush. We were fascinated with the Recipe for Pig Iron and curious as to how it was developed. Of note it’s iron in the rocks that yields that orange color behind the falls and that supplied the raw material that became railroad track and fed westward expansion 150 years ago. Today it’s a lovely hike to a beautiful falls.
By deliberate choice we were in Medina for all the winter holiday festivities from Candlelight Walk in the days before Thanksgiving through A Christmas Carol and A Celtic Christmas as well as an Alex Bevan Concert and a historic house tour all the way through Medina’s 31st Ice Festival but perhaps the highlight was the town hosting hundreds of folks whose homes and lives were devasted by Hurricane Helene at the A Promise of Christmas Event the middle of January. It’s an honor to be a part of this amazing community!
The warmth we anticipated when we headed to the Caribbean in mid-January didn’t really materialize but the fun we had with our dancing friends and the great crew of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander more than made up for the not so favorable weather.
Aboard Jewel of the Seas, a favorite ship of ours, we enjoyed a foray into the history and geology of Canada’s Atlantic coast while enjoying the joys of friendships, longtime and new. Now we’re looking forward to returning to the same ship for further adventures!
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