We just had a most wonderful visit with Rob the Firefighter. On Thursday we ventured to Boyne City to investigate the disc golf course at Avalanche Park. Miss Sadie, the Cowboy and I do not play disc golf ourselves, but we like to go for walks, so we rambled through the woods, stopping every now and then so that Rob could play another hole. Or perhaps basket. I am not up on the terminology.
Disc golf is a lot like regular golf except that instead of whacking little white balls with clubs, disc golfers throw Frisbee-like plastic discs in the general direction of metal baskets mounted on poles. This task is complicated by not being able to actually see the baskets, even though they are quite large, as they are fiendishly located around bends and behind trees. However, the disks have arcane properties, and may be made to bend time and space, or at least to whiz around trees.
Here is an illustration. I hope you can see the yellow disc flying along the path in an S-shaped curve. It landed quite close to the basket, which is hiding around that bend in the path. Rob was pretty pleased with this particular shot.
Here he’s fishing his putter out of a basket. The chains draped over the top catch the flying disc and deposit it in the basket, rather than allowing it to escape into the woods.
There are a lot of woods at Avalanche Park, and mountain bike paths and hiking paths run alongside the disc course. Long stretches of path separate the holes, and we had plenty of time to talk about this and that and admire the scenery. Part of the way is pretty steep going, but the view of Lake Charlevoix from the top is very nice, even on a cloudy day.
At the summit, there’s a drinking fountain for people, with a matching fountain for dogs built into its base.
The descent took us down 400 steps on a series of wooden staircases that wound back and forth through the woods. Even the dogs, wild with excitement over all the new scents, were ready to call it a day. We went into town and bought carryout orders of shrimp enchiladas and Cuban black bean cakes from the original Red Mesa Grill. Then we walked over to Sunset Park to eat and pet the dogs and watch the boats on Lake Charlevoix. It’s a good place for a conversation.
It’s also conveniently close to a cafe where a person can buy a peanut butter brownie for the trip home. Rob, his mother’s son even if he is athletic, was up to the job.
Torch Lake Views 
centria
August 29, 2009
I’m glad Rob the Firefighter could come and visit. Looks like you guys had fun. 400 steps! Were you out of breath when you climbed back up? (and did you count the steps?) As for shrimp enchiladas and Cuban black bean cakes…oh lordy. My mouth is watering.
Gerry
August 29, 2009
We did have fun. The 400 steps took us from the summit down the face of the Big Hill that we’d just ascended by hiking up the trail around the back. When we got down we were back at the car. But I did see people stair-climbing for exercise. I saw at least two running up those stairs. At Avalanche there are many different kinds of uses but they all seem to co-exist just fine.
Nance Krause
August 30, 2009
Sounds like fun. I never heard of disk golf. Nice to see Rob. This sounds like a great place to visit. Not sure I have the energy though.
Gerry
August 30, 2009
It is a great place to visit, and I wish you would. Believe me, Red, if I can make the climb you can make the climb. And the grandchildren would love it. Then on the way back we could stop at Raven Hill Discovery Center and let them pet enormous snakes while you examined the art. (Not to worry – Cheri always makes the kids wash their hands after they’ve been in the animal room.)