Thanks, Susie, for that incredibly beautiful photo. I used to go to that area quite frequently, but haven't been in years. Now I'm motivated!

Wonderful post, Jim. My wife and I were married on October 14th, it was also a beautiful day-mid 70's and spectacular color. We married at Beaver lake (outside) and the geese were so loud, we had to yell our vows. We like to go to Lake Placid and walk around Mirror Lake to enjoy the foilage. One year we took the horsebuggy ride but I think the walk is more gratifying. You and Dale should try it. Happy Anniversary! Paul F B

I also believe you should go see her. Five years ago, when my 29 year old niece was dying, she called in all of her family and friends one-by-one to say goodbye. It was so hard for us but it gave her strength and closure. She was such a rock of strength for all of us - we had to keep our minds together to be there for her and to match her incredible strength. My 2 youngest got some great advice - finish high school, keep on being the good clean kids you always have been, go on and have a good life. They keenly remember her words to this day and will always remember. She reminded me of many things, especially the days when she was little and we used to play Atari games. She told me whenever I walk past a blank monitor or TV screen, she'll be playing Atari with me from heaven. I'll never forget that. Okay, I'm crying again just remembering my darling baby niece. My oldest was going to wait to visit until her funeral, but I told her to forget the funeral, her cousin needed to see her while still alive so DD#1 drove for a whole day to come back to visit. Her eyes were so red from crying the whole drive back. DN told DD that she was full of sh## for bawling and to knock it off! I was 15 when my niece was born and she was my "heart" child, more like my own child even though I have 4 of my own. Maybe your friend Donna needs to say goodbye too. Prayers and best thoughts to Donna, her family, and all of you who love her.

I've lived next to a tournament bass fisherman. They live to get from fishing hole to fishing hole as fast as possible. They have competitions on their personal boats for getting oomph into the engines. The loud noise and smoke on Sundays while they tuned their engines is one reason why I used to live next to a tournament bass fisherman. Sorry, but those kind of serious fishermen would consider a nice quiet lake like that to be completely out of the question. That's a leisure lake, for the retired sit in the sun on the dock kinda fisherman. Market to them! But those kinda folks want easy access to emergency services, doctors, and hospital access. Chart those 15 minute routes and use that as a selling point. Make a list of local doctors and their specialties. And they want to go grocery shopping close, without having to worry about ending up some place "unsavory". That's where it's going to all fall apart for anyone out of the area considering the home. People use Google Maps second nature these days. They'll check out the whole location without ever leaving their armchairs. Are there any plans by the community to address this unsavory area? Downtown redevelopment? New industries coming to town? Who is taking on that challenge? Without some plan by the community to try to address the reputation of the town, out of towners only have that existing reputation to judge the place by. You're not going to be able to hide it, so find a way to address the problem head on.