Our previous day was a nice rest day at Silver Lake State Park.  Angela’s cousins, Rhonda and Dan, and their Grandson Ethan were able to meet us at our favorite beach, “The Channel”.  It is a beautiful little spot where the channel from Silver Lake meets Lake Michigan.  The beach is different every year, but there’s always a shallow area in the channel where the kids can play and dig in the sand and the water there is about 10 degrees warmer than in Lake Michigan.

We had a slow morning and didn’t make it out to the Channel until about 1:30, but it was a lovely afternoon and we stayed and played until about 5:00. Then we headed back to the campsite for Tri-tip Teriyaki and Rice, followed by Berry Cobbler.  This summer has cemented Jeff’s love affair with Dutch Oven Cooking.

A look at the weather that night told us rain was a threat for the morning, so we made sure to try for an earlier start.  Amazingly, we managed to pack up and head out before the rain hit us. As we stopped to pick up ice at the Parkside Store, the rain began.  The steady drizzle certainly dampened our moods as well as our bodies and we struggled to get to the bike path, without using the dirt road from the trip down.

Fortunately, by the time we made it to the path, the rain had largely stopped.  Within a few miles of path riding, we began to see the many blackberry, and black raspberry bushes that populate the edges of the path. Brittany remembered the tupperware containers in our lunch bags and we began filling them as well as our bellies for a special lunchtime treat.  Then we found the Mulberry tree.

Joshua climbed the mulberry tree and shook the branches…

The rest of us spread out our tablecloth and caught the falling berries. Yum!

As we headed on to find a suitable lunch spot, Lydia confided her thoughts from the morning, “I was really sad about the rain, but then I thought about how God uses bad things for our good, and I realized something good would come of it. And then we got to pick all those berries.  God did bring good from it!”  We ate lunch next to an old M-60 tank, just off of the Hart-Montague trail.

M-60 tank in Shelby, Michigan

Later, as we often do at dinner, Caleb began to reflect on highs and lows for the day.  He said, “I have FIVE highs for today! 1. The rain stopped! 2. Picking berries 3. We’re going to scout camp 4. This is a great bike path with no gravel! 5. We have five rest days after today”