Among many other curious things,
you develop, a Fossil Fancy, at Nordhouse.

Because after a couple of weeks,
it feels like you did it all.

You are never bored, but Nordhouse is always so interesting,
that you are always searching for more.

No matter what it is that you are searching for,
you are bound to find a fossil of some ancient plant.

But when fossil finding becomes second nature,
you search for alternate activities.

I once scientifically remembered that yelling obscenities,
eases pain.

So one morning when the water was still cold,
I decided to test that strange theory.

And I guess... it works,
I chose that four letter word.

That Simon and Garfunkel once referred to as,
"The Old Familiar Suggestion"

Come to think of it,
I was going to yell it anyways because of how cold the water was.

And I probably found some fossils,
on my way back.

Another time I set off on a long adventure,
to check if I could see The Big Sable Lighthouse.

As far as the beach goes,
the lighthouse is the northern most feature of the state park.

So if you head south from Nordhouse,
it maybe possible to see it, or so I thought.

I think it was too far to see,
though I half remember mist being in the way.

On my way back,
I started searching for a nice place to sit and rest a bit.

And I discovered this strange dry cove,
with hundreds of exposed rocks.

It quickly became my prime fossil hunting spot,
I'd set off in the morning.

And by noon,
have a lite baggy of strange and mysterious rocks.

But there was never an end to interesting things,
funny seagulls and somewhat frightening frogs would always come by for a photo.

Occasionally I'd stumble upon some driftwood,
I'd build horses out of the little bit and paint the big ones.

Once I started taking photos of all the sunsets,
which are very beautiful at Lake Michigan.

And if there was nothing going on on the beach,
the ancient forest was just a hop away.

It turned out Acorns and Mushrooms
are very photogenic.

Once I found all the fossils I could carry,
I begun searching for arrowheads.

But I think thousands of people tried that exercise before me,
so I started just searching for rocks that just looked like arrowheads.

And I found,
two.

There is a lot of time to think about Life and Nature at Nordhouse,
and call of the wild, is absolutley real.

You begin wondering about walking the long trails,
Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail

I think there are many hidden adventurers,
that would find those trails to be great medicine, and great health.

I would always return from my adventures,
and with a notebook full of programming and art ideas, and get coding.

Though one time, I enjoyed the beach sand in my car so much,
that I just didn't want to get rid of it.

Few days later,
I cheerfully drove back to Nordhouse.

And got some more fossils,
to add to my collection.

It was a double vacation,
I guess.