Log Lake in Kalkaska

If you are looking for a great beach in Kalkaska County can I suggest Log Lake.  It has a wonderful sandy beach perfect for skim boards...which my kids have not figured out how to ride yet.  But with those boards you cannot have the rocky beaches found so often in Northern Michigan.

Log Lake is a public no-wake lake that has a park and picnic area and there is also a camp ground right next to the beach if you are looking for a place to camp.  I was told there is great fishing there.  My son in this photo went snorkling and said he saw a huge school of fish.  I bought him a disposable underwater camera so maybe in the next blog I will have a photo of some of those fish.  For more information on what is going on in Kalkaska there is a great link I found: http://www.visitkalkaska.com/LogLake.htm

Cool Tech Camp

My son is in 6th grade and is now eligible to attend the TBAISD Career-Tech Center's Cool Tech Camp. This summer he is attending the TBA Drag Way class where the kids make wooden drag racers and then race them by a CO2 cartridge propelling them. My son thinks this is the "GREATEST CLASS EVER!" That is his quote.

Traverse City has tons of things for kids to do over the summer. There are courses run by the Career-Tech Center and also NMC's College for Kids. My younger child will be attending a course there this summer. For more information you can go to the Center's website at:  http://www.tbactc.org/student-services/summer-tech-camp.asp

My first attempt at oil painting

I took some oil painting lessons from the Art Center of Traverse City. I had never painted before with a real canvas and brushes. I did teach myself how to draw on the computer using Corel Painter and a Wacom Tablet, but I wanted to see how that compared to real life painting.

I must say Corel Painter mimics real world painting fairly well. I sort of like drawing on the computer better because the paint dries faster. :)

I would recommend the center for anybody wishing to learn how to paint or draw. You can find out more at the following link:

http://www.artcentertraversecity.com

June 26 is Kids' Free Fishing Day at NMC

A couple years ago I brought my children to Northwestern Michigan College's free fishing day. They loved it! My boys have absolutely zero patience when it comes to fishing and luckily you don't need any at this event. They threw in their line and a couple minutes later they caught a fish. The children were allowed to catch two fish from the stocked area where 1500 Rainbow Trout were packed into a fairly small area.

This year's NMC free fishing day is on 26 June from 10AM until 2PM. The following website has more information about this years event:

http://http//www.mynorth.com/My-North/June-2010/Kids-Free-Fishing-Day-at-Traverse-City-039s-NMC/

The last time I went with the kids they had people cleaning the fish and putting them in plastic bags packed in ice for the ride home. I am not sure if they are doing the same thing this year, but I hope so. It really is a great time for the kids.

Boy Scout Horsemanship Merit Badge Weekend

A couple weeks ago my scouts went to a wonderful horse farm in Interlochen to learn how to ride and care for horses in order to earn their Horsemanship Merit Badge. The scouts had a wonderful time. At the end of the weekend each scout was able to maneuver his horse and even back up a horse. They also learned how to care for a horse from grooming their hooves to mucking the stables. I was very impressed.

South Boardman- A Great Place To Live

Are you thinking about buying land in the country? Then can I recommend a small little town called South Boardman.

South Boardman is a tiny town located in Kalkaska County off of US 131 between the Villages of Kalkaska and Fife Lake. The town was established in 1874 when a railroad depot and hotel were built there. The next year, in 1875, a post office was established. In the last 135 years not much has changed, except the depot is now gone. The major metropolitan area of the town is the intersection of US 131/Supply Road/& Boardman Road. There you will find a Motel, a restaurant, a gas station and a furniture store. Down the street a bit is the post office. While traveling down US 131, don’t blink or you will miss the town.

Despite its rural nature, South Boardman has a lot to offer to people who want to get away from it all, but are a close commute to shops & Restaurants. South Boardman is approximately 9 miles from both Kalkaska and Fife Lake. Both villages have all the basics one would need. Kalkaska has a half dozen fast food restaurants, two large grocery stores, a HUGE community recreation center with two indoor pools, weight room and hockey rink. There is over 80 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in Kalkaska County and it has the Kalkaska Area Recreation Trail (KART), which is a paved running/biking/skating trail that is planned to hook up with the Traverse Area Recreation Trail (TART) (if it has not already).

As you travel away from Kalkaska toward South Boardman, you will pass the Country Lanes Bowling alley which hosts a number of bowling leagues and various programs for children and adults alike.

As you come to the blinking light that is the main commercial area of the town, if you turn left you will come to the South Boardman Elementary School with grades Preschool through second grade. Third to fifth graders attend the Fife Lake Elementary school about 9 miles down the road.

The village of Fife Lake is built along the lake it was named for. Fife Lake is a 600+ acre all sports lake with a beautiful, sandy public beach and boat launch. The village has a wonderful grocery store where I do most of my shopping. Usually when you find little grocery stores in small towns you can expect high prices, but I have been extremely happy with the Fife Lake Grocery Store. The Fife Lake Library is located in a beautiful building and they offer so many wonderful programs for the kids. It is a great library. But if you ask my children, they will tell you the ice cream shop in Fife Lake is the best place in town. The soft serve is wonderful there. On the 4th of July, Fife Lake is the place to be. The fireworks show is spectacular! But I digress... I meant to sing the praise of South Boardman.

What is nice about South Boardman is the Boardman River flows through the area and there are a couple beautiful lakes. If you want river front,lake front or lake view property at a reasonable price... then you need to go to South Boardman.

One of the prettiest bodies of water in the town is Perch Lake. Perch Lake is a 23 acre, no-wake lake (electric motors only) with plenty of fish. The lake is incredibly beautiful especially in the Fall.

I have two lots for sale in the Perch Lake subdivision. These lots do not have lake frontage, but they are located across the street from the lake. The township runs a beautiful park on the lake that is walking distance from these lots. The park has a sandy beach, picnic area and toilet facilities. Farther down the road there is a public boat launch.

I live on Perch lake, and I can tell you the area is extremely quiet. The only thing that can be usually heard are the crickets, the screeches of the pair of bald eagles that hang around the lake and an occasional loon.

The lots I have available are only $12,000 each and are over 0.6 acres each. They are high and dry and heavily wooded. South Boardman is an area where you can get the most for your money. If you like living in a rural area, then this is the place for you. For more information on the properties click here.

Amazing waterfront lot for sale

I recently listed an amazing parcel of land. It is 3.38 acres of heavily wooded land nestled between two lakes. This lot has about 400 ft of lake frontage on one lake to the north and 200 ft of footage on another lake to the south. The property is located in the exclusive Blue Heron subdivision and surrounds North and South Twenty-Eight Lakes in beautiful Kalkaska County. You can get this wonderful lot for only $75,900. There is a gradual slope to the lake on both sides of the lot.

Kalkaska County borders Grand Traverse County to the east. You are an easy commute to Traverse City, Cadillac, the Village of Kalkaska and even Grayling isn't too far away. If you are looking to live near state land and groomed snowmobile trails... this is the place for you. There are over 80 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the county. There are over 75 lakes and thousands of acres of undisturbed state land. If you want to buy land or a house in the North Western Michigan area you will definately get more property for the dollar in Kalkaska County.

I have a lot of land listings in the area, but I am really impressed with the design of the Blue Heron subdivision. They have underground electric and phone utilities and nicely paved wide roads. This is a great buy.