The Advance Team Has arrived

Rain followed us across the Upper Peninsula on the last leg of our journey. Mix that with a long mileage day and a 55 mph speed limit, and it equals a 12 hour day. We arrived at Hatch Haven about 6:30 PM, tired, but grateful for the safe 3,000 mile journey, and joyous at once again being in this place. The picture shows the cook house, which was one of the early homestead cabins in the late 1800's, bought by my grandfather Hatch, and slid across the frozen lake to the Hatch homestead before 1910. The Main House is a Sears and Roebuck kit house, purchased, brought up from Detroit by boat, and constructed here on our portion of Island 8 in 1909.

Now hosting the 5th generation, this place continues to be the touchstone of the family, and for my two sisters and me, holds the experience of being children, being parents, and now being grandparents and the "senior generation" here.

Ada and I came as the Advance Team to get the hanging flower baskets up, the beds made, groceries bought, and the boats out and operable. A labor of love and following the footprints of those before us. love, Liz

Where in the world??

The last two nights Ada and I had the pleasure of staying at a special place with special people. This place is in Iowa, but not in the cornfields, in Mason City, but not in the City, as the view is all grass, trees, and birds, in a neighborhood, but not...more like a cul de sac/circle of friends. This neighborhood has no fences; each extensive lawn and landscape blends with the next, as do the neighbors, who are like one big family. We were visiting Jim and Carmen Loveland and the neighbors and good friends joined us last night for a smoked pork loin feast - a meal we all agreed was a "best ever" event. As background to how we ended up on this adventure, Jim Loveland stayed in my guest house in 29 Palms when he was working as a contracted LEP (Law Enforcement Professional) aboard MCAGCC Marine Corps base in 29 Palms about a year ago. He invited me to visit with them when I made my next trek across country. Besides being a retired police officer, Jim is a brick layer, wood craftsman, and house builder. This house they built is beautiful, and has been their family home for many years...always getting the benefit of a new project here or there.

Jim gave us a tour of Mason City, which included the old bank and hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1910. It has been fully restored, and is one of the finest and only remaining examples of this famous Architect and era. Wonderful!

Ada and I left Mason City, Iowa this morning, drove north all day through the green lands of Minnesota, and we are camping on a lake in Wisconsin tonight. As we ate our macaroni and cheese with hotdogs, we judged last night's feast better....by far!!! Love, Liz

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Carnine Ranch

It was a harsh world in the Sandhills of Nebraska in 1901 when Forrest's father homesteaded the land. There were endless miles of rolling, sandy, semi arid grasslands, but not a tree in sight. Finding bitter cold blizzards in winter and hot drought conditions in the summer, this homesteader said, "If I could have afforded it, I would have left." Not having the opportunity to leave, he dug a well, planted trees, and started growing alfalfa and wheat, and a family. Forrest, the second generation to run the ranch, is now 88 years old, and his son Daniel, now in his 40's, is continuing to run the ranch as well as his father and grandfather. The ranch is large and productive. Of the 6,500 acres, about half is irrigated and producing crops of alfalfa, corn, and wheat. The remaining land supports their cattle business.

There is no sugar coating ranch life. The folks are genuine: honest, hard-working, conservative, warm and friendly, and always there to lend a hand to a neighbor. But they live by the laws of nature. I bottle fed a young calf who has been weaned from his mother. She was a good, nurturing mother, but had an infection and couldn't feed the baby. When they took the calf away, she stood by the fence and bawled for three days. They watch over the calving, assist at the births when necessary. Forrest carries a small notebook in his shirt pocket. Each animal has a numbered tag on its ear, and Forrest keeps notes on each one - even though there are about 300 head of cattle!

The trees planted over 100 years ago now offer wind breaks in the winter, and shade in the summer. Dorothy tends the beautiful lawn and gardens around the old ranch house that has seen a century of branding, planting, reaping, sharing and caring.

Branding Day

It is a day of herding, roping, vaccinating, branding, dust, bawling calves, worried mama cows, seasoned cowboys down to kids trying their hand at it all for the first time, women preparing a feed for 60 or so people, families and neighbors gathering together. To be here today on the Carnine Ranch is to experience ranch life as theses families have lived it for generations.

Dorothy and Forrest Carnine have been our family friends since Dorothy, Ada, and I were Tri Delta sorority sisters at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in the early 1960's. Dorothy met and married Forrest Carnine and joined the family ranch near Alliance, Nebraska, and thus began our summer treks to the ranch. The story of this ranch is the story of Americana at its finest. that story must wait for another writing. Love, Liz

Highs and lows

Highs and lows were the Order of the Day- both literally and figuratively. We started the day in our forest campground surrounded by deer, who had more curiosity than fear. The day was long- nearly 400 miles of road construction, thunder, lightening, and rain. Ascending and descending the great altitudes of Colorado, was a driving challenge, but also offered the scenic beauty of Colorado: the mountain towns that are replicated in model train villages, the remarkable Colorado River, and the rugged beauty of this state. After about 12 hours on the road, we reached our destination, having navigated through the metropolis of Denver, arriving in rain and thunder, and finding that our campground, our day's destination, was a real dive. A decent dinner and a couple of glasses of wine smoothed out the day, and listening to my XM radio somehow offsets the landing pattern of the Denver Airport overhead, the frequent train traffic which blows whistles ceaselessly through this neck of the woods, and the sounds of I-79 close by. Wouldn't change the adventure for the world! Love, Liz

What it's all about

There is something about the vibrations of my van when it gets on the road again that makes me smile all over. Once again I am unfettered and in the "new adventures" mode. Today's journey exemplifies the ideal. I planned a short trip (233 miles) for today, knowing that my sister Ada was making the departure from her home for two months, and there a numerous last minute details to attend to. Our journey today took us across the Indian lands of Northern Arizona and Utah. This is truly the land of the Big Sky, and where all the old single-wide trailers are living out the remaining time of their usefulness.

We ended the day in Monticello, Utah, founded in the 1800's. A fascinating museum told its story, we dined in a local Cafe, then headed up the mountain to camp in a National Forest. We are sharing the campground with more deer than people. It is refreshingly cool. Ada has her tent set up, I am all set up in my van, and we are enjoying the end of a delightful day. This is what it's all about! Love, Liz

Passages

This pilgrimage to the family's summer gathering has a melancholy beginning. A pilgrimage it is - it will take a week of driving and camping for me to get to this remote summer home on an island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A family gathering it is - all living members of Hatch Family generations three, four, and five will be present and accounted for, coming from far and wide. Melancholy it will be - once again. The history and strength of this family rests in this special place, where we grow up with grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, rising to the challenge of tradition - joining the other cousins on the overnight to a nearby island, after you have lost your first tooth, swimming the distance of the channel in that COLD water, catching your first "keeper" fish; the list goes on. However my two sisters and I, the third ,and now the "senior" generation, cannot return to the Island without memories of those that are missing - parents, aunts and uncles, husbands, and a beloved niece. Our lives were enriched by these family members, and the roles each played in weaving the fabric of our lives. The joy lies in the next generations, who are bringing energy and laughter to the gathering. So once again we make the pilgrimage - there are still memories to be made! Love Liz