Firecrackers

What a perfect Fourth of July weekend on the Huron Chain of Lakes! It was warm but not hot, no thunderstorms, and everybody was out having a good time (as seen here, on Baseline Lake). Our only complaint was the small crowd of drunks who camped in our neighbor's backyard last night and shot off bottle rockets and M-80's until 3:30 am. Heeewww. They're sleeping off their hangovers right now but as soon as we get this posting finished, we've got some chainsawing and weedwacking to do along the fenceline!

Here's a RR collection of random images from the weekend:

Friday evening sun vs. cloud, Baseline Lake.






















Traffic jam on the Huron River, above Whitewood Lake, Saturday afternoon.












Double-decker poonton boat with rock band jamming from the bow. As we passed, we heard this chorus:

Good Times, Bad Times, you know I had my share; When my woman left home for a brown eyed man, Well, I still don't seem to care. Sixteen, I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be, Only took a couple of days 'til she was rid of me. She swore that she would be all mine and love me till the end, But when I whispered in her ear, I lost another friend, oooh.

After the sun lowered and the sky darkened into night, the Portage Lake fireworks show began.


Let freedom ring!



Taking fireworks pictures requires patience and timing. If you wait until the firework explodes, you're too late- the picture will be smoke and darkness. If you jump the gun and take the shot too soon, you'll photograph the sparkler trail as the pyrotechnic climbs altitude. It took us a good twenty attempts before we figured out the correct sync of things.


The folks who organize the Portage Lake fireworks do a great job every year and this year was no exception. Near the end, they added a series of fiery explosions with sonic booms that were so loud, the glass windshield on our boat rattled and car alarms triggered at nearby houses. It was the sound of freedom- and probably very similar to the last thing the Taliban fighters see and hear when a MC 130 Combat Talon lights up their mountain hideouts along the Pakistan border!