Leelanau Up North

Empire  Beach - Sleeping  Bear  Dunes  National  Lakeshore We tend to think of the liquid surrounding us here in Leelanau as "our" water. After all, this big lake is right outside our door.  We fish it, swim it and drink from it as if we own it. Though it may be our personal pond for awhile, this vast inland sea is truly water for the world. I n the fullness of time, the sparkling water at Empire Beach will flow out of Lake Michigan ... Through the Straits of Mackinac, Into Lake Huron, Down the St. Clair River, Into Lake St. Clair, Down the Detroit River, Into Lake Erie, Down the Niagara River , Over Niagara Falls, Into Lake Ontario, Down the St. Lawrence River, ... And into the Atlantic Ocean. Whew! Travel time for the freshwater off Empire to reach the saltwater off Prince Edward Island: About two hundred years. Well, Worth, the Wait in New Brunswick ... for a drink of Cold, Crystal, Clear Michigan water, ... eh?  ...

My father died on the last morning, of the last year, of the last decade. And Leelanau - no longer the Land of Delight - appeared to mourn his passing. The woods were dark and brooding. The water was murky and still, with ice creeping in. The dunes were shrouded in a thick, gray mist. Everything good and beautiful, it seemed, had left this place. The breeze, ... and the sun, ... and the water's blue - all gone ... In search of the living. Riposare In Pace, Papa. Your Loving Son, Chris