Location Taken: Ithaca, New York
Time Taken: March 2010
One of my earliest memories, so faint that I’m half certain it’s a memory of a story my parents told me, is of playing under a waterfall. It didn’t really look like this one, but instead was a long thin stream coming over a cliff face, with a cave carved out at the bottom from years of heavy snow melt.
My memories place it in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so it would have been when I was four or so, the year we lived up there. There are a lot of waterfalls in the UP, as it’s called, since the rock there is hard and the winters bring massive amounts of snow to cause springtime floods. And my parents did take my sister and me to see the pretty falls in the area.
I’ve got a few other vague memories of that time. There was a sled-dog race or exhibition or the like that went through a downtown district. I recall watching it, being carried by my Dad. Then we ducked into a nearby store to warm up. I recall the explanation of why we ducked into the store better than the sled-dogs, by far.
I also recall the fantastic park that was right behind our house. I don’t recall if it had any playground features like slides or seesaws, but it had a fantastic large rock that I loved climbing on. It also had a gentle slope in one part of the park, where I once took a large toy truck, large enough that I could sit in it, and rolled down the hill in that. There’s probably a lesson or two about finding your own enjoyment in there.
And there’s also a memory of snow sculptures. There are parts of the UP that regularly get 10 feet of snow a year, including the town of Houghton, which is also home to the Michigan Technological University. Imagine what happens when a bunch of engineering students are presented with a massive amount of good snow and a snow sculpture contest at the annual winter carnival, and you can imagine how impressive the results are. Or, you know, you can watch a video or two to actually see what they do. They were certainly quite impressive when I was a little kid.
The waterfall you describe in your first paragraph is Scott Falls in Au Train, Michigan. Some photos are at http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/minorfalls.shtml#scott and http://www.waterfallsofmichigan.com/Waterfalls_of_Michigan/Alger_County.html. We also took you two children to the Laughing Whitefish Falls and the many waterfalls along the Dead River in Marquette.
We rented the small house at 363 E Michigan St, Marquette, Michigan. I didn’t recall the number, but I recognized in in Google Maps. The only change is that it was painted pink when we rented it. The gate in the back fence opened up to Williams Park. Google View reveals that it now has playground equipment, but in 1990-1991 it had only the tennis courts and a swing set. Williams Park has a school across E. Ohio St., and you two girls would play with the kindergarteners on recess.
Yeah, that looks about right. I recall it being a larger waterfall, but that’s because I was much smaller at the time. :3
The falls you describe is Scott Falls, just off of M-28 near Au Train.