Brendyn+Smith


 * [|auto industry]
 * [|school enrollment]
 * [|fishing]
 * [|kellogg's timeline]
 * http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-54463_18670_18793-53133--,00.html

Brendyn Smith Mr. Konett March 22, 2011  Peaceful Isolation: Black River Ranch

**Prologue**

 After the American Civil War occurred in between the years of 1861-1865, the United States had a need for wood (“100”). This sparked a logging era that would bring down several beautiful forests, especially in Michigan. At the time, Michigan was had one of the most abundant sources of wood, which made it a very easy target for loggers and the logging companies. At the time there was sawmills everywhere, including places like Muskegon and the Saginaw-Bay City area (Catton). There were new machines that would help the loggers cut more quickly, and that only helped deplete the forests of their massive trees even more (Catton). The logging industry in Michigan during the late 19th and early 20th century had been running at an exponential rate year by year, but it ran out of steam just before it was about to hit its peak.  Due to the efforts of tree-huggers and conservationists, the Pigeon River State Forest remained in its “untouched” condition despite the tenacious nature of the logging industry. The Black River Ranch sits right in the middle of the Pigeon River forest, and the beauty that remained there speaks for itself.

**Chapter 1: Isolation**  Black River Ranch. One of the most peaceful places in the world. It’s out in the middle of nowhere and there I am away from all the stressful realities of life. At Black River, I can forget about everything. Kick back, relax, and watch the orange tinted sunset slowly dim until it comes back the next day. At night, I can hear the soft croaks of the crickets as I slowly drift off to sleep. Or maybe I lay on top of a hill and view the crystal clear sky in which I can see every star and even a couple galaxies. I get the feeling of drifting away as I lay down and melt into the warm, fresh breezes of a summer night. The next morning I’ll wake up to the sun warming my skin as I begin to take a morning walk along the small beach of the lake.  There is only one town within 20 miles of the ranch. I got to Black River after about a 4-5 hour drive in the early afternoon. It didn’t take me long to realize that this place was so isolated that I had no cell phone service. All I had up there was my family and the pristine nature that this place obtained. I wake up, enjoy the 8,900 acres of private land, and fall asleep to the gentle sounds of out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. Usually I woke up and made my way down to the little cafe to have breakfast. I mainly just ate the “basics”, but once in a while I would ask for a nice Belgian waffle or something along those lines. Later in the day, I would find myself yet again heading back to the cafe for a delicious and filling lunch. A lot of the time I just had some soup and a tuna sandwich. Lastly, I had dinner. I walked in for the first time during dinner and immediately smelled the tantalizing flavors that the cooks may be producing. Maybe I smelled a delicious garlic sauce, or maybe I breathed in the aroma that came from a grilled salmon that was drizzled with a sweet, yet delicious sauce that topped it off. After dinner, my family and I would finish the day sitting down by a campfire and talking about not only the day we had just completed, but also the fun that awaited us the very next day.

**Chapter 2: Worry-less**  A lot of the time I enjoyed taking a walk down the hidden paths that had been made through the forest. The ranch sits right in the middle of the Pigeon River State Forest. The forest had been sustained over the years to its pristine condition after the logging eras in the early 1900’s that brought destruction to many other natural places in Michigan (Hanus). As I walked down the paths, I was easily washed away while the mandarin colored sun that softly beat down through the top layer of the forest and down upon me. All I could see and hear is the nature that was brought about in this peaceful forest. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in my “real” life back in Dexter, but getting away from all of that was definitely something that helped relax me for a couple days.  Another activity that helped me be at peace of mind was fishing in the lake just as the sun was beginning to hit the horizon. Going out on the little boat with my younger brother Derick was something that I’ll always remember. We didn’t catch many fish, but the cool, yet soothing breeze that came among us while going across the lake was awesome. You could see the sun’s reflection in the shiny, gentle water as we smoothly made our way across the lake to the spot where “all the fish are”.

**Chapter 3: Exhilaration**  A lot of the time I just liked to relax and kick back, but sometimes it got boring. While the ranch may seem pretty bland in terms of excitement, it did offer some fun and exciting activities. The place has a couple of Jeeps that you can take out for a nice little joy ride. I loved going through the forest’s paths with the Jeep. The paths were bumpy and had lots of curves which made it a lot of fun to drive in. There was also a landing strip for planes that was pretty abandoned most of the time. My uncle and I would take the Jeep out to the strip and accelerate as fast as the car could go. Since I was fairly new to driving at the time, the acceleration that I was able to produce for the very first time was exhilarating; it was a ton of fun.  Probably my favorite activity at Black River was going to the shooting range and firing off some rounds. My uncle and his friend would take me down to the range almost every day. My uncle’s friend was a gun fanatic, and he had a bunch of rifles and pistols that we could shoot with. I shot many firearms such as a Ruger 10/22, an FAL sniper, an M16 single shot, a Baretta pistol, and a couple more. We liked to set up rocks on top of the target board so we could shoot them and watch ‘em blow up. Breathe in, aim, steady, fire. “Boom!”. I must’ve completed those four steps about 500 times.

**Chapter 4: Going Home** <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;"> The hardest part of the whole trip to Black River was leaving. I didn’t want to leave the peaceful little ranch that kept me away from all the stressful realities of life. Sooner or later though, I realized that I couldn’t stay there forever. Going home wasn’t very easy, but I was kind of glad to get back to my “real” life.