TRAVEL: Lake Hudson State Recreation Area

A few weeks ago, we visited Lake Hudson State Recreation Area in Clayton, MI. We'd been meaning to check it out for a while! For us, it's just about a 25 minute drive. A fun, very affordable weekend get away for families with older children can certainly be had here!

The park features boating, fishing, camping and a lake side beach. Park entry is free with a Recreation Passport, available at any Secretary of State or at the park entrance. Passport is $11 and is good for entry at all state parks for a full year, or until you next renew your Michigan plate.

The park roads are well mantained. There are areas of the park that require you to dim your headlights after dusk to accommodate star gazers. A fabulous view of the heavens can be seen over Lake Hudson. There are no hiking trails at this particular park, however.

The camp sites are clean and include a fire ring and picnic table. There are a few sites that have direct access to the lake, and others that are directly across from one another that would be great for groups. There are RV accommodations as well.

Frankly, the picnic area adjacent to the beach may be a bit lacking if you're traveling with small children. There is no shade available via trees, nor pavilion. There is no playground equipment. There are picnic tables and grills, though, if you're looking to have a picnic. The sandy shoreline itself is clean, as is the water. Note that there are no pets allowed at the beach.

We didn't go fishing during our visit, but I've been told the Musky fishing there is excellent. There is a boat launch, as well as several places suitable for fishing from the shore. A Michigan Fishing License is required for all fishermen over the age of 17. State residents can purchase their yearly license online HERE or at your local sporting goods shop for $26.

We certainly plan to return to the park again. It's been a few years since we've renewed our fishing licenses, we now have a perfect excuse!

(I meant to post this last week, but we got busy while Brian was on vacation from his day job! ;) )

Meet Simba!

This little female mallard was found alone under a porch a few miles from the Huron River by a friend of Brittney's. She was getting too big to continue living in a city sized back yard, so here she is!

At first, she was mistaken for a male, hence the name "Simba" lol She's quite a bit smaller than the pekins, and tends to follow humans around. So far the other ducks and all but a hen or two are just fine with her. Paprika and Chili are being rather ornery towards our newcomer...

On an aside, we have been enjoying our summer as much as possible with the exceedingly cool temps (except today, was a scorcher!!!) and almost daily rainfall... New posts forthcoming now that we're moving into harvest season!

DIY: Crochet Water Bottle Carrier

To go along with my 4th Flops, I made a quick water bottle carrier. This skip-stitch design was fast and easy. We all know how it is - go to a get together, sit down your drink, and forget where we put it!

I started with the following YouTube tutorial, but had difficulty getting the entire video to load (internet brain fart), so I followed it to the second round of skip stitches. From there I did six more rounds (8 total) skip stitches and topped it off with a round of single crochet.

The strap is just a row of single crochet, a row of skip stitch and another row of single crochet. Be sure to attach it securely with your blunt sewing needle!

Water Bottle Tutorial:

There are a number of applique videos and patterns on YouTube and Pinterest to customize your carrier with. As I mentioned yesterday, by changing color and motif, you can create an entirely new piece, like this Halloween style one I made for Britt: