The Loner in Liz

Who knew? Who could imagine that a career high school teacher and an elected public servant for over twenty years loves solitude? I woke up this morning, looked at my calendar and saw some blank days....An opportunity for a camping trip! A little road block was a dead battery in the van. My good friend Bob Whitt must have read my thoughts and stopped by to "say Hi". He guided me to resolving the problem, and I was on my way again. I knew where I wanted to go - a desert place I have wanted to see for 71 years, passing it every time I drive across the desert to Las Vegas and beyond.

Hole in the Wall is located in the Great Mojave Desert. There will be no fueling opportunities until I return to Twentynine Palms. I am almost down to half a tank. The last 25 miles has been on dirt roads. Witnessing the recent flash flood erosion at every turn, I make mental notes of the thunder clouds overhead, the the high ground.

Here's where the "Loner" kicks in. I am watching a magnificent sunset across the spectacular expanse of desert mountains; next to me in the East, and to the South the desert expands for 70 miles. A soft breeze cools me, and puts Sheila and Cinda to sleep.

My life is so good, but never as good as when I can be alone in nature. love, Liz

The Loner in Liz

Who knew? Who could imagine that a career high school teacher and an elected public servant for over twenty years loves solitude? I woke up this morning, looked at my calendar and saw some blank days....An opportunity for a camping trip! A little road block was a dead battery in the van. My good friend Bob Whitt must have read my thoughts and stopped by to "say Hi". He guided me to resolving the problem, and I was on my way again. I knew where I wanted to go - a desert place I have wanted to see for 71 years, passing it every time I drive across the desert to Las Vegas and beyond.

Hole in the Wall is located in the Great Mojave Desert. There will be no fueling opportunities until I return to Twentynine Palms. I am almost down to half a tank. The last 25 miles has been on dirt roads. Witnessing the recent flash flood erosion at every turn, I make mental notes of the thunder clouds overhead, the the high ground.

Here's where the "Loner" kicks in. I am watching a magnificent sunset across the spectacular expanse of desert mountains; next to me in the East, and to the South the desert expands for 70 miles. A soft breeze cools me, and puts Sheila and Cinda to sleep.

My life is so good, but never as good as when I can be alone in nature. love, Liz

The Loner in Liz

Who knew? Who could imagine that a career high school teacher and an elected public servant for over twenty years loves solitude? I woke up this morning, looked at my calendar and saw some blank days....An opportunity for a camping trip! A little road block was a dead battery in the van. My good friend Bob Whitt must have read my thoughts and stopped by to "say Hi". He guided me to resolving the problem, and I was on my way again. I knew where I wanted to go - a desert place I have wanted to see for 71 years, passing it every time I drive across the desert to Las Vegas and beyond.

Hole in the Wall is located in the Great Mojave Desert. There will be no fueling opportunities until I return to Twentynine Palms. I am almost down to half a tank. The last 25 miles has been on dirt roads. Witnessing the recent flash flood erosion at every turn, I make mental notes of the thunder clouds overhead, the the high ground.

Here's where the "Loner" kicks in. I am watching a magnificent sunset across the spectacular expanse of desert mountains; next to me in the East, and to the South the desert expands for 70 miles. A soft breeze cools me, and puts Sheila and Cinda to sleep.

My life is so good, but never as good as when I can be alone in nature. love, Liz

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan calls the water along our shore "home". Smart bird. All the crusts from our sandwiches are thrown to him, so he loves lunchtime. He also likes keeping his territory for himself. We often watch aerial chases and fights as Jonathan defends his lunchroom.

Jonathan doesn't know it yet, but he has only five more days before he will have to revert to a diet of fish. Closing down the place for the winter starts today, as I will take the boat in to the marina to be winterized, then take it back to Ada's cottage to be stored. On Friday screen porch panels come down and snow support posts are put in place on the screen porch roofs, shutters go on all the windows, all the water pipes must be drained, etc. A big job that Angela and Derek must undertake before they leave. Today is my last day to enjoy this wonderful place, but I will be taking home memories of another wonderful summer at Hatch Haven.

Wunning in the Wain

Rainy days have their own appeal - while sitting in my upstairs room, reading and listening to the rain on the roof appeals to me, I just received a dirty faced, drippy visitor in the person of Hannah, who told me she and all the kids were just "Wunning in the wain". Each to their own!

We are hosting 6 friends of the O'Connors this week - three adults and three little boys. Angela took them in two separate groups on a boat tour this morning - it was gusty with white caps, but Angela has learned to handle the boat well, and everyone, especially the kids, enjoyed the trip. I spent the morning doing some repairs on my kayaks, packing up my fishing gear, and starting to pack. Monday is my last day here. This afternoon rain makes it easier to stay indoors and pack!

Morning Adventures

This morning Hannah was the "early bird" who joined me in the cook house before the others were up. Together we made this dish garden, to be the centerpiece on the table. Two young bucks delighted us as they entered the lake and swam across to Government Island. then a single duck swam by, looking, we were sure, for her babies. Next we went down to the boathouse to raise the flag, and saw a Mink scurrying along the dock! The trip across the beach featured caterpillars eating Milk Weed. It was a great wildlife morning!

Fwd: Good Night to a Good Day

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Liz meyer <lizmeyer920@hotmail.com>
Date: August 15, 2015 at 9:42:39 PM EDT
To: Liz Meyer <lizmeyer920@hotmail.com>
Subject: Good Night to a Good Day

Days here at the Island begin to blur...all good days, and all different.  Sitting and watching the sun go down is the frosting on the cake...time to relax and watch the parade of boats go by, watch the lake and the woods settle for the night, and truly live in the moment.

We have had adventures and misadventures with the boat, the most memorable being the day Angela and I had the kids out, to take the boat in to the Marina for a developing steering problem.  As we pulled away from our dock, we realized the entire steering mechanism was completely was gone.  There was a brisk wind and a strong current, both pushing us rapidly east to the big lake.  Our little 17 foot boat has an oversized 100 HP Yamaha four stroke engine.  With no steering, all we could do is have me push a rudder-like protuberance on the engine with my foot (It takes a lot of strength to move such a big engine).  I had to run from port to starboard pushing this big engine, often pushing too hard and ending up going in circles!  Meanwhile, Angela was manning (Womaning??) the throttle, trying to keep ahead of the wind and current, while slowing to let me steer with my foot.  We eventually got a pattern going, got back near the boathouse, which we both knew we couldn't steer into, and beached the boat, both of us jumping out into the frigid water to  bring her in.  Later in the day we got some good friends to tow her in to the Marina.

Today, three days later, Martha drove me by jeep to Cedarville, where I picked up and gassed the boat and drove back to the Island, in time for Angela and her family to pack it and head out to Rover Island, in the big lake, to camp overnight.

Angela flies back to Chicago tomorrow afternoon to work for a week.  I will be here with Derek, Hannah and David for ten more days.





Sent from my iPad

Fwd: Good Night to a Good Day

>

Fwd: Good Night to a Good Day

>

The End of a Good Day

As exciting as it is for the kids arriving at the Island, those in charge are equally as anxious that all the details are taken care of to ensure that all goes well. The first order of business is to retrieve my Boston Whaler from storage at Ada's Caribou Cottage. This entails the significant assistance from our neighbor Tom Flood. As luck would have it, he was available to take us out; the neighbors near the cottage, who keep the keys to Ada's place were home; the locks worked; the batteries to both Ada's jeep (which we were going to borrow) and the boat engine started, Tom towed us to the launch ramp; the motor started, and we were on our way to the island, two excited kids in the bow, and one Grandma driving the boat, very relieved that everything fell into place.

As we neared our boathouse, a fishing boat was strangely just drifting near our point. It turned out that a sailboat had capsized and turned turtle. The fishermen had rescued the two sailors, and were struggling to keep the sailboat from sinking. They ultimately hailed a sailing yacht that was coming in to anchor in the bay. The yacht threw anchor and came over in their dinghy, and together they were able to upright the sailboat. the. The fishing boat towed the sailboat in. No day at the Island is a bad day, but especially good things happened to make this an especially good day.

Deja vous

"I can't WAIT to get there!! ... Are we there yet?" This year it was David and Hannah O'Connor jumping up and down in their seats. We were driving up from Chicago. It seemed only yesterday it was Angela and Jeff squirming with excitement for the last few miles, after we had driven all the way from Twentynine Palms. A bit further back in time it was my sisters and me, Ada, Liz and Martha, getting more animated by the mile, as we got closer to the Island. We, too, had camped across country from Twentynine Palms to get here. This place is magical for children - the fort in the trees, boats, the beach, fishing on the dock, and always family time next to a cozy fire on chilly nights.

As each generation grows up, we learn about sharing in the work, then being in charge of the work and planning, and now here I am at the other end, again riding in the back seat- me, the third generation, flanked by Hannah and David, generation five.

I'll be turning 71 this week. I have celebrated many birthdays here, and hope to enjoy many more. As Hannah and David jump out of the car and run to "check out the fort", I am filled with nostalgia, missing those family members that have passed on - my Dad, Mom, Husband, Uncle Jim and niece Katie. How blessed we are to have young lives replacing us!