Currently at Borchers

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

Mark, Cede, & I would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

We spent our Christmas Eve with good friends, Mel & Denise, and Barry & Cindy, and had the pleasure of attending Christmas Eve service at their little country church.

Christmas Day was spent with Cheri's side of the family and phone calls with our children (maybe 2012 we can have our boys and their families in person).

The Henry Side

2011 had a lot of milestones. Mark's parents, Earl Mark and Doris Gail, passed away this summer. This was followed by the loss of good friend, Russ Payne. We also had some happy milestones, Borchers 75th anniversary, our 20th anniversary of owning Borchers and the wonderful news that niece, Emily, and her husband, Jerry, are going to make us a great aunt & uncle.
(We have always been a good aunt & uncle, but now we are going to be great!)

We are looking forward to 2012 and a happier year.

This post is dedicated to Dad & Mom Hunter

2011-09-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

"The Old Ladies Kayaking Group", their title not ours! These women are amazing. Back at Borchers for their annual kayak trip, they spent three days touring different sections of the AuSable.

Roberta, Jeanette, Margie, Darlene, Joan, and Janet.

Breakfast with the ladies.

You don't stop paddling when you get old, you get old when you stop paddling.

Borchers 75th Anniversary Jubilee

2011-08-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Borchers celebrated it's 75th anniversary this summer. It was establish by Ernie Borchers in 1936 and is the oldest canoe livery in Grayling.
Also this summer, Mark and Cheri celebrated their 20th year of owning Borchers.
In celebration of these anniversaries, Borchers hosted a staff reunion. Many staffers, past and present, attended along with previous owners Jack and Aggie Trudgeon, and Ernie Borchers' daughter, Barabra Borchers Sojka along with husband, John.

Two decades of Borcher Babes.
Madi, Amanda, Mary, Cheri, Kim, Sara, and Tracey
Missing are Kim, Allie, Tasha and Lindsey.

This year, three staffers were honored with a 5-year plaque
(staffers must complete five years to make "the wall of Shame".

Ryan (left) finished his fifth year and is currently training for the United States Coast Guard.

Jimmy (center) finished his sixth year in 2010 and has filled in periodically throughout this summer. He is now living in Marquette where he attends Northern Michigan University and is interning with an engineering firm.

Alex (right) finished his fifth season and is currently attending Michigan State University and will be living in East Lansing. Alex works with the video/broadcasting crew for MSU football and is studying kinesiology.

These three young men will be greatly missed next season!

Marathon Weekend Highlights

2011-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Our friendly Borchers staff busy signing up participants for the 2011 Casey Challenge kid's race. All participants receive a t-shirt, and the top three finishers in each division receive medals.

The girl's participating in the Casey Challenge tear up the water. Grayling girls are no strangers to the river; the competition is fierce!

The highlight of the staff's marathon weekend was when they heard the sound of the ice cream truck coming down the drive way!

Ending the weekend on a high note, "our" teams all had a great finish.

Boat # Team Finish
18 Mike Davis & Ryan Foguth 14
63 Matt Meersman & Rebecca Barton 16
72 Peter Heed & Michael Fairchild 24
07 Sean Casey & Spencer Derenzy 26
05 Nick Lyesiuk & Wally Werderich 35
26 Matt & Nick McDonald 36

2011-07-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

"The Connolly/Ellis Group" returned to Borchers for their annual visit. Borchers guests since 1998, we have watched all of the kids grow up and look forward to catching up with these favorites every year.

Mid-Morning Brunch

Canoeing Fun

2011-07-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

The "Mitchell" Group took their annual trek down the AuSable. These hardcore paddlers take a trip from Burton's to McMaster's and then follow up with a trip from Burton's to Wakeley the next day.

Borchers appreciates Sean, Mike, and the rest of the gang along with our other annual paddlers.

2011-07-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Canoe Marathon is just around the corner! Borchers is once again sponsoring the Casey's Challenge Kids Race. Sign up starts Sunday July 17th. Be sure to get your team signed up!

2011-07-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Mike and Dave Steel have been coming to Borchers for years. Today they made their annual trip downriver.

2011-07-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

This was another great weekend here at Borchers. We had so many lovely families enjoy their own "AuSable Adventure!" This family is outfitted with a pair of very stylish Borchers bucket hats.

2011-07-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic 4th of July here at Borchers! So many great people made their way to Grayling to celebrate America's Independence Day.

Our bed and breakfast guests enjoyed a

delicious breakfast of french toast and sausages.

Some of our patriotic customers even dressed in red, white, and blue to celebrate the holidays!

Ed & Sandy enjoyed a stay at our bed
and breakfast for their anniversary.

Our crew says farewell to a very nice
family heading downriver.

One of our long time guests, the Brubakers, stayed with us again this 4th of July weekend. Gary, Becky, Josh, and Luke are always a fun family and we always look forward to their visits.

2011-06-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend the Ann Arbor Ski Club made their annual trip to Stephan Bridge Landing. Sticking with tradition, many of their boats were decorated in tropical fashion. As you can imagine, this group is tons of fun!

Group leader Julia in her palm tree decorated canoe

2011-06-23T11:43:00.001-07:00

It's been a rainy week here at Borchers. Thankfully the local Red Hatters stopped by and brightened our day. These lovely ladies got together to enjoy a delicious brunch prepared by our wonderful staff.

2011-06-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

After ten long years, the Mock and Dixon Clan returned this year! They had a blast on their trip to Stephan Bridge Landing and got to enjoy some of our "World Famous" Borcher's Pie.

This group is always a bunch of fun and we hope to see them year after year :)

A beautiful weekend ahead

2011-06-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

The forecast just came in and it is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous this weekend. Every day this weekend it is supposed to be at least 75 degrees and sunny, which is the recipe for a great weekend. Come on out and enjoy a nice float down river.

Mercedes the wonder dog.

2011-06-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Cede has been working very hard being Borchers official greeter. However she feels she is ready to take on larger tasks such as answering phone calls and taking reservations haha.

Have no fear..the Boy Scouts are here!

2011-06-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were graced with the presence of Boy Scout Troop 419 from Ohio. For some canoe camping was nothing new, however for a few members of the group it was their first time camping on the river. These young men and their leaders faced a lot of challenges on their journey from Grayling to Mio from the weather, with it raining 3 consecutive days on them. However they persevered and they were all smiles at the end. We hope to see these Boys Scouts again in the future.

School is Out....almost!

2011-06-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a hectic week it has been with 3 different school groups taking an end of the year class trip down river.

On Tuesday we had Mrs. Gabriel and the entire seventh grade take a trip down to Burtons landing. They had beautiful weather and they made the most of it. They stopped at Rayburn's property where had lunch, swam for a couple of hours and made the trip educational by testing the water for a science project, before they made their way down to the landing.

Then on Wednesday we had Mrs. Casey and her fifth grade class take her annual end of the school year trip to Stephan Bridge. We got to see one of our favorite former employees Sean Casey that day, which is always very exciting.

Then finally on Thursday Mrs. Lewicki took her class down to Burtons Landing.

Here is Ryan giving students instructions on how to navigate the river.

It's Adventure Season

2011-06-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here at Borchers it is not uncommon for us to have people who want to come and camp on the river, occasionally we get an adventure group like we did this past weekend. Iko Suzuki and 16 other members of the Michigan Adventures Club took a 2 day trip down river to Parmalee. Some of them were beginners so Alex and John taught them a thing or two about steering a boat.

After the trip was over they said they had a good time but they were pretty exhausted from all of the paddling. We hope that wherever their adventures lead them that they are always safe. We also hope that their adventures lead them back to Borchers. If you are interested in their group, check out their website http://www.meetup.com/MI-adventurers.

Cheri & Iko

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Finally canoe season is in full swing. Memorial day is the unofficial start to the canoe season and this year was no different. The weather was a little uncooperative, but is was still a very good weekend for us. We were able to get some new people in to learn the ropes, which is always fun.

Newbie, Levi

Also we got to see some familiar faces with the Vendt family staying with us for their 6th annual visit with us. It was nice to be able to catch up with them, and we can't wait to see the entire gang again next year!

Bob, Linda, Rob, Laura, Clinton, & Sherry

Ready For the Weekend?

2011-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Borchers is ready for the week-end, are you?

Our senior staff is checking off the details.

John & Alex taking care of reservations.

Ryan, Mark, and Matt finessing the yards.

National Safety Council

2011-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

It was our pleasure to host facilitator, James, and his class this past week. Representatives of driving schools across the state came for a Defensive Driving Course presentation.

The Sun Came Out

2011-05-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

What a great week-end, finally. We have all been anxiously awaiting the sun and it finally shone!

Longtime friends, Tony & Sue were up for the week-end and new guests Jim & Linda sat on the deck with the four of us Friday night enjoying the river.

Phil & Sara were also new guests. Small world, Phil works with past staffer Sean. They took advantage of the sunshine and kayaked to Wakeley Bridge.

Phil & Sara

Amber celebrated her birthday kayaking with her mom and her B.F.F.s.

Our rookie staff discovered one of the hidden perks of working at Borchers!

Amber, friends, & rookie staffers.

We also had the pleasure of having
Scout Troop 90 with us on Saturday.
Pack mom, Jessica, was great to work with
and her youngest son left a special mark on Borchers.

Orientation & Launch

Fishermen Favorites

2011-05-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Do you know the song, "There Were Three Jolly Fishermen"? Well, Borchers hosted Nine Jolly Fishermen this past week-end.

David, Scott, Jim, Craig, Larry, Jeff, Chuck, Ryan, Jody, and Nate!

The guys spent some of their time wading, some of their time being guided, and all of their time catching fish! They are some of our favorite fishermen.

Speaking of favorites, I am a new fan of David Roth. David gave a concert in Grayling on 05/15/11. Awesome! We enjoyed having David & Tricia stay with us, too!

April Showers

2011-04-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

This has been the worst April, weatherwise, that we can remember. The snow kept coming and now the rain.

The daffodils are getting ready to bloom, but as you can see, they are standing in over an inch of water.

The river is up almost a foot and our back driveway is partially under water with little lakes everywhere in the yard. Our sidewalk has become a tributary to the AuSable.

The fishermen had better wear their "hi-cut" waders this week-end for the opener of trout season!

Here's hoping the rain stops before the water reaches this little duck.

Stepping Up in the World

2011-04-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

April is always a maintenance month for us. Due to Mother Nature and all of this snow, we have had to take our projects to off site locations. Mark & I like to give titles to things, so... Here are some highlights of "Habitat for Humanity, Senior Edition - On Tour".

Mark's folks, needed some new porch steps. The old ones had thrown Dad Hunter into the bushes more than once this winter.

Our nephew, James, came to assist.
He was very instrumental in digging
five holes to set posts.
Too many engineers,
we only needed two holes
on the INSIDE of the stringers.
Once the posts were set,
and the auxilliary holes filled in,
he left for an appointment and never came back.

Notice the stringer, Mark and I measured twice, cut once, and all three stringers were perfect!

Mark and his mom checked out the steps; solid, low-rise, and a hand rail to keep Dad Hunter out of the bushes!

While we were in the area, we did some work at my mom's house. Her porch roof has been leaking and we decided to tear it off and replace it with a metal roof. I guess my sister and I watched the barn raising scene in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" too many times, because we love to get the whole family together for construction projects.

Levi, Jerry, and brother, Mark.

Mark

While this crew was destructing, another crew was priming the plywood underlayment.

Dad Hunter came over to help. Who knew he liked to paint?

Levi's wife, Stephanie, is a delightful addition to the family.

Emily ran errands and helped out where needed.
Mom made an awesome lunch with sloppy joes and chocolate cake.

This is my favorite "footage"
of the destruct phase.

Mother Nature got in our way again.
Rain & wind are not conducive to
metal roof installation.
Our project is to be continued this week-end.

Before we headed back north, Mom & Dad Hunter took us out for dinner.

That's me with the old goat!

Overall it was a successful week-end!
We stepped up in the world and raised the roof!

Time "Marchs" On

2011-03-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

The good news is our x-c skiers were able to hit the trails through the end of March, the bad news is our x-c skiers ......

After a few warm days for St. Patrick's Day, Northern Michigan shifted back into winter-mode for the first day of Spring.

We currently have about six inches of snow on one side of the walkway and daffodils peeking through the dirt on the other. The sun has been shining for the last week and it makes the phone ring. I guess everyone is looking ahead to catching some rays and paddling down river!

Mark and I took a little time off and spent it with family.

Speaking of time marching on, Dad Hunter had a birthday.

At a certain age, you only get one big candle.

One more note in the time Marchs on theme...

2011 is Borchers 75th anniversary, our diamond jubilee! Mark & I hope you will be stopping in this summer to take a trip down memory lane. This year will also mark 20 years that our family has owned this little spot on the river, another event for one big candle!

2011-02-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

February has been a great month and not just because it holds my birthday and Valentine's Day

We had favorite guests return and we made new friends as well.

Victoria & Sofia came with their dads to dog sled. Victoria wrote in our guest book, "This is a whole lot better than a hotel!" Sofia added, "I agree with Victoria!" Thanks, girls, we enjoyed your visits and appreciate your comments!

The girls at breakfast

& playing games with our friend (and regular guest), Wesley

Amir & the girls are joined by
Mark, Judy, and A.J.
Mark is a microbrew aficionado and his family really loved Bennethum's and their ale selections.

We enjoy having families stay with us especially when the kids are getting out to enjoy the great outdoors. Of course Wesley was here with parents, John & Marie, (on the all time favorites list) and I am in awe of Maureen who hit the trails with two little girls by herself.

Maureen & Josette

We also had the pleasure of long time guests from Toledo. Lou & Bev and friend, Kathy. You can't see it in this picture, but Bev "slumped" a wine bottle into a cheese plate for us and we love it.

Cheri & Bev

Lou & Kathy
(I don't know if Lou is trying to get out of the picture or surprise Kathy)

Sgt. Maj. Tim & Lisa joined Mark & I and the Toledo gang for a competitive game of Scattergories. Tim & Lisa had come up to dogsled, what a great couple!

The month also brought a blast from the past. Brandi & new husband came for a stay. Brandi used to guide a group of girl scouts on a camping trip down river every summer. It was great to see her and she brought her wedding album at my request for our perusal.

We also hosted one great couple after another and I apologize for not including photos of every guest. I start visiting and enjoying the conversation and forget to get out the camera. Mark & I may not have pictures, but we certainly have great memories from each and every visit!

Happy Birthday Mackenzie

2011-02-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie and her sisters, Bailey, Delaney, & Hannah came for their annual x-c ski trip.

Mackenzie celebrated her birthday with a cake from Goodale's Bakery.

Mackenzie's mom & dad, Jennifer & Brad, along with the girls, had a goal of 22 miles for their three day visit. They hit the trails at X-C Ski Headquarters, Hanson Hills, and Forbush Corners.

Hannah told me that she loves this trip and staying at Borchers, "except for the skiing part". She changed her tune after a day of skate skiing. She was a natural and loved going fast.

Brad is a coffee connoisseur and always brings his current favorite to share. This year was a delicious full city roast from Panama. I purchased a Kenya blend to send to Mark's brother in Kuwait and Brad is generously sending the Panama coffee to Matt. Check Brad out at www.siriuscoffeeroasters.com.

Speaking of coffee, have you seen this puzzle?

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!!

And, yes, the man is really there!!

It's A Small World

2011-02-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Saturday breakfast ...

Bonnie & Ken have stayed with us before during x-c season and this visit brought friends, Rod & Teri.

Teri & Jerry stayed with us this past fall for a wedding and to enjoy the bike trails and returned for back country skiing.

B & B guests like to share travel tips, hobbies, background information, etc. It is interesting how often there is a common thread. On this particular morning Rod & Teri and Teri & Jerry realized they were related by marriage. I believe Jerry's brother married Rod's sister.

Mark & I spent the evening chatting with Jeanne & Joy, two of our favorite sisters. They were up for x-c skiing and a trip down the roller coaster trail at Forbush Corners. Always entertaining, somehow we made the jump to "The Ugly Duckling" as sung by Danny Kaye and it has been stuck in my head for days. It has been a good replacement to "Istanbul Not Constantinople" but that's another blog.

A Blanket of Snow

2011-01-31T15:41:00.000-08:00

What a great winter!
Its been cold enough to
make an ice cone around running water!

Plenty of snow, sunshine, and returning guests.

George & Kay were back for their second visit of 2011.

Debbie, Sue, and Janet were here for their annual x-c ski trip. Robin came with them for her first visit to Borchers.

Mark & I, along with another guest, Betty, crossed trails with the ladies at Hartwick Pines on the Lantern Lit skiing.

Heather & Eric, Borchers regulars, B&B sat.
They had spent a full day at Forbush Corners and didn't mind cocooning for the evening.

Sue shared some of her photographs. Not only do we appreciate her sharing, but her artful eye and willingness to tromp through the snow. Check out the whole album on our facebook page.

BRRRR

2011-01-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

Baby, It's been cold outside!
This past Sunday morning the temperature was - 31 degrees, not counting windchill.

Gus & Eileen Carlson & Crew

It did not stop the Carlson family from having a good time. The Carlson's, along with their significant others and their parents, spent the week-end with us at Borchers.

While most of the gang hit the x-c trails,
"the grandmas", Pat & Ann, stayed behind.
Mark & I had a great time visiting with these two! Mark shared some of the local history and the history of Borchers. They conspired while the family was out regarding dinner plans and we throughly enjoyed keeping their secret.

The previous week-end wasn't nearly as cold. We appreciated the warmth of our return guests anyway. The Della Torre's family returned as well as Mike, Mike & Diane, and Matt & Shaun. With the exception of Mike & Diane, this houseful of guests has visited both summer & winter. We start talking and laughing and I forget to get my camera out! (Note to Shaun & Matt: Next time.... photo ops!)

I did get this picture of Alberto & Claudio next to the canoes.

We love having this family visit!

The Joy of January

2011-01-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

The snow returned just in time for a three day week-end.

Mark, 'Cede, and I are getting our chores done
and enjoying the most beautiful powder.
She can only haul one log at a time,
but 'Cede fills the wood barrel.

For years I have"borrowed" Mark's outdoor bibs & coat. I don't know why he had a problem with my adjusting the suspenders and rolling up the legs of the bibs for my comfort and leaving them that way for future use. You would think after 36 years of marriage, he would understand what is mine is mine and what is his is mine. He surprised me at Christmas with a whole new outfit in dusty rose. I can get my chores done and make a fashion statement.

Besides many hands making light work, my life has gotten easier as a result of another Christmas gift. For the last few years, Mom & Dad Hunter have given us a tool or device to add to our shop. This year's addition holds eight yards, has two wheels, and will be very useful, but the look on Dad Hunter's face when he told me about his purchase was the best part of all.

He said, "There I was, in line at the check out with a wheelbarrow under my arm when across the store, I SAW IT!" To hear him tell it, a ray of sunshine was gleaming down and angels were singing. PRICELESS!!! I must say though, chore time is a lot more pleasant for me!

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T10:08:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Mark & I had a wonderful holiday, a Merry Christmas downstate with the family,
a bonus day with our son & daughter-in-law here in Grayling
and wonderful guests to end 2010 and start 2011.

It was our pleasure to host locals, Bill & Barbara Greene, and their extended family for a holiday breakfast. Bill & Barb made sure their family from Texas had a warm welcome in AuSable Sweatshirts!

Barbara & Bill

Dave, Kirstin, Kathy, & Bill

We had a quiet day to celebrate
36 years as man and wife!

Nothing says "hot & steamy"
on your anniversary
like a cup of soup for lunch....

followed much later by date night!

Returning to celebrate New Years, Tom & Cheryl, Judy & Mike, took to the ski trails before the snow melted. We joined them for a game of "Apples to Apples" on Thursday night.

Regulars, George & Kay,
and their friends, Patty & Tom,
came back to Borchers
after celebrating with friends
on a foggy New Year's Eve.

Mark & I attended a party along with good friends, Jerry & Ginger. Mark was challenged to a Wii dance game and beat Erich, his challenger!
According to the screen, several of Mark's moves were "perfect".

New Year's Day started with breakfast with our guests, one of our favorite things to do.
We scanned some of the bowl games in the afternoon but it was a sad day for the Big Ten.
I have been rooting for TCU a little bit this past season, how often can you support a team that imploded their stadium and has a "Horned Frog" for a mascot?

We wish all of you great things for 2011! Happy New Year!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

Mark & 'Cede & I decided that Christmas Eve morning would be a perfect time to open our gifts.

It gave us plenty of time to linger over coffee and clean up our mess before heading down state to be with the family.

"Santa" uses duct tape when
scotch tape isn't enough

Mark & 'Cede "high five" over their good fortune

Christmas Eve with Mark's side of the family is a very casual affair; food, family, fa-la-la and this year, "far away".

Mark's brother, Matt, is stationed in Kuwait. Through Skype, we were able to wish Matt a Merry Christmas and have him with us for a little while.

Matt's Christmas Tree

Matt's wife, Jennifer
and sister-in-law, Loralie

Emily & James,
Matt's son

Collyn and Jennifer

Along with Matt's family,
our son, Mark E., daughter-in-law, Kristin,
Jennifer's mom, Judy, neighbor, Jeanne, Mom & Dad Hunter,
and brother, Ross, and his wife, Loralie filled the house.

Mom Hunter relaxes amid company.

Christmas Day found us with my side of the family.

Brother-in-law, Perry, kicks back with Mark.

Emily & Jerry,
Mark E. & Kristin,
Levi & Stephanie,
Carrie & Perry,
Mark & I,
and of course, Mom,
had a great day of
games, food, and laughter.

It looks like Mark E.'s Christmas was
going to the dogs!

Our son, Michael, and daughter-in-law Teresa,
Teresa's Dad. Tom, and of course Kleo,
phoned in their greetings from California.

From near and far, our family had a good Christmas with no rabbit ears or T.V. trays (family joke to complicated to explain). We wish the same for you and yours!

Gifts & Preparations

2010-12-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

We have ample snow as we get ready for Christmas.

In a gift to themselves, Jill & son, Ian, took an extra day in the North woods to try dog sledding. Our friend, Tim, the owner of Snow Bound Adventures, and a past staffer of Borchers has partnered with us to provide an off the beaten trail adventure.

Jill and Ian reported a wonderful time mushing and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a "new" winter activity.

Tim has promised Mark and I a trip and after hearing what a great experience our guests had, we can't wait to get out and try it.

While our guests were on the trail, I was pursuing
Christmas preparations. With a son and daughter-in-law on each coast, gifts have to be bought, wrapped, and shipped early to make it by Christmas. Will they get there in the "Saint Nick" of time?

Okay, the gifts are wrapped, the tree is up, Bing Crosby is crooning out the Christmas spirit, and the only things left to do are desserts to share with the family. Luckily, I am married to "The Mousse Maker".

Mark has a way with chocolate chips and a microwave!

Tonight, we will enjoy our tree and "Mixed Nuts" before we head downstate for a functional family Christmas with a little "festivus" thrown in.

Christmas Is Coming

2010-12-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

I am looking out my window at more snow flurries freshening our snow base. The shopping has to be done by Friday night so that mail to the kids will reach them by Christmas. All the grand dogs including our new addition, Kleo, are getting bandanas to match Aunt 'Cede's.

We kicked off our Christmas season
hosting a local ladies brunch.
These sweethearts really got me in the
true Christmas spirit with their stories of Christmas past and their plans for this year.

Last week-end we tromped through the snow to the river down at the Rayburn's property. This is one of our favorite places to walk! It is by far 'Cede's favorite. If we don't see anybody else there, we carry the leash and let her run.

We decided to take some photos, maybe get a good one for our Christmas card. While Mark was adjusting the tripod and I was messing with the timer, 'Cede went exploring. All of a sudden, we heard sp-p-lushhh! She immediately jumped out of the river and started tearing around.

It didn't put a "damper" on our plans.
We continued taking pictures.

We are going to enjoy every minute of the next 10 days; baking, parties, wrapping, mailing, shoveling snow, hosting guests.... and we wish the same for you and yours!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

November has been a recharge our batteries month. 'Cede and I spent some time on the road with Mark. We didn't take any long adventures, but enjoyed time spent together in the tri-state area. We were on the road when the high winds came through in October and had to have an escort across the Mackinaw Bridge, but other than that it was uneventful.

We have had time for coffee breaks and catching up. Needless to say, not much to blog.

Two years ago, our sons were living in New York City and we all went to the Macy's Parade. I was not able to be a balloon wrangler (my bucket list), but it was a blast.

It was great to spend time
with our sons and soon to be
daughter-in-laws.

Michael, Teresa, Kristin
Cheri, Mark, and Mark E.

We have so much to be thankful for this year; friends - old & new, a beautiful spot on the river, a great family.

Mother Nature smiled on us for most of the canoe season and business was good and we are thankful.

We are also thankful that our son, Michael, and his wife, Teresa, were able to be home with us this year for a quiet Thanksgiving.

It was fun to share in the food preparation and kick back together.

The Hilbrecht brothers stopped by while home from college. We are thankful for the staff that takes care of us and become a part of our extended family. Many of our past staffers keep in touch, allowing us the opportunity to watch their families grow.

We are also thankful that we had butter shaped like a turkey. (Mark is holding the sculpture.)

'Cede was thankful that there were leftovers!

Lastly, our business and our guests mean so much to us and we are thankful for each person that touched our lives this past year.

Ladies Retreats & Trick or Treats

2010-10-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

What a treat, Ladies' Retreats.

The end of October brought two ladies' retreats.
Our first group of ladies are from Nashville Baptist Church, Nashville Michigan. Along with friends Barb, Joyce, Joan, Janet, Lori, that's my mom, Shirley, on the right.

The ladies did "girl" things like shopping, going out to eat, and playing some killer rounds of Mexican Train dominoes!

Our next group of ladies set up
shop in the common room.
They wove on looms and
the knitting needles clicked away.
Borchers regular, Kay, was here
along with locals Sandy & Natalie.
Cathy, Billie, and Durinda rounded
out this delightful group of crafters.

Our retreats were followed by Trick or Treat. Because our driveway is so long, Borchers rarely gets a knock on the door on Halloween. We were, however, treated to a visit by Marcus & Eli Thomas and their mom & dad.

Dad, Matt, was a Borchers staffer for four years from 2000-2003. Matt was our 2003 MVP!

2010-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

The fall colors are fading or already on the ground. Mark has put away vans and tucked watercraft into every nook and cranny waiting for snowfall.

Canoe Season 2010 is officially over. We enjoyed a safe and successful summer and we thank each and every guest who added to our enjoyment!!

We are grateful to our staff. They touch our lives and Mark & I hope that you had the opportunity to get to know them and that they added courtesy and a little bit of fun to your experience.

Please join us next year when we celebrate our 20th year at Borchers and Borchers marks its Diamond Jubilee of 75 years of providing trips on the AuSable River.

2010-10-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

The beautiful fall weather of October has been a nice change from rainy, cold September!! The last two weeks have brought many highlights.

Glen and Zach made their annual trek from Ontario. We missed Drake, he had to work.

Our regular group from Fort Wayne came, too. They enjoyed their trip to Burton's and a drive to Gaylord for dinner at Big Buck's Brewery.

Did I mention that we like to play "logger"? Our beautiful maple tree that always turns when it's time for the staff to go back to school was hit by lightening a few years back and she finally lost the good fight. We rented a manlift and Kim, Ryan, Sara, Mark & I all did our part to recycle our loss into firewood.

October 9th was the annual State of Michigan civil war. The Wolverines of Michigan fought a valiant battle but they lost to the mighty Spartans of MSU. Pre-game breakfast spanned the great divide between Green & White and Maize & Blue. Our guests were alumni from both schools and we thoroughly enjoyed the friendly rivalry.

Father & Daughter, Jim and Jen, managed to get in a bike ride and a canoe trip pre-game and then settled into our common room to root on their team.
An additional highlight was a blast from the past! Brian Dunckley, Borchers staff 1992 - 1994, and his bride, Kelly, came home from Rhode Island to attend a wedding and chose to stay with us at Borchers. It was great to see Brian again and to meet his lovely wife!!!

Brian painting trailer boxes circa 1993

Cheri, Mark, Brian & Kelly

Last but not least, the Toldeo gang was here! Bill & Mary made "hobo dinner" over an open fire assisted by Jerry, Barb, & Craig. We are the luckiest couple in the world to have these folks in our life and they feed us! We shared stories and laughs around the campfire as we have done for many years. Unfortunately, we get to having such a good time that we forget to take pictures to share on this blog.

Look for pictures next October. I promise.

2010-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

10/10/10 a date to remember! More than 39,000 couples decided to make it their wedding day.

Borchers was fortunate to provide a canoe trip to a local couple and their wedding party.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs Hamilton!!

Teri & Jerry, return guests,
attended a wedding in Roscommon.

Love and fall leaves were in the air.

2010-09-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Fall is upon us. The colors are starting to change and I predict peak colors in the next 10 days.

We have had a lot of rain and the river was up a good 8 - 10 inches this past week-end. We don't know if high water was a factor, but B&B guests, Bill & Mary, got a very up close look at the water (twice!)

They dried out happy and along with their friends, Jim & Bonnie, and John & Patty, shared stories, cheese & crackers, and wine with us on Saturday afternoon.

Our mountain ash tree was absolutely covered with berries. Over the last few days the robins have picked the tree clean. According to folklore, this may mean we are in for a long winter with plenty of snow. Let's hope so!

2010-09-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

We had the priviledge and the honor to attend the going away ceremonies for the 119th Red Lion Battalion in Battle Creek this week.

Mark's brother, Matt, is headed to Wisconsin for deployment to Kuwait at the end of the year.
The guard is a large presence here in Grayling and we know many families with someone currently deployed or returned thankfully from deployment. Even so, it is heartwrenching to watch over 600 troops ready to move and look at the crowd and see all of the spouses and children whose life will be totally disrupted for over a year while their soldier serves.

Mark and his brothers, Matt & Ross.

Matt & James

Our nephew, James - Matt's son, is training in Ft. Lee, Virginia and will be deployed in early 2011.

We have a deep and sincere appreciation for all of our troops and their families.

2010-09-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Although we have had some nice days since Labor Day, the weather has been cool and rainy for much of September.

I don't know why, but with the change in weather, I put my camera away and have missed too many photo ops. Our son and daughter-in-law came to visit from California and I did not get a single snapshot. Some of our favorite hoosiers, Craig & Deb, Bill & Cheryl, and their married children were here with us. What troopers, they canoed "the other river" in a steady drizzle. We had a great time sharing wedding stories with Justin & Abbie who got married last November, just after our sons two weddings last fall.

Speaking of favorite hoosiers, Jim & Jeanette and Jim & Lisa, were here late in the season prior to Labor Day. I can't remember if Bill told Jim & Jeanette about Borchers or the other way around, but we have been enjoying their visits since 2001.

Four of our Favorite Hoosiers

2010-09-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Labor Day week-end is always a kind of celebration. It's the last big week-end of the year, a time to say so long to our staffers going off to college, and a time to acknowledge how the season went. We had a good year! We had great guests, a wonderful staff, and awesome weather! There was definitely reason to celebrate.

Let me clarify. The weather over Labor Day was nothing to celebrate. I don't think it reached 60 degrees on Saturday and it misted, and rained, and drizzled. Despite the weather, the Bezeau, Wright (frequent campers), and Vandewater groups all showed up to go canoe camping! That's right, canoe in the rain and camp in the rain. Over 40 watercraft headed down river on Saturday into the gloomy mist.

But back to the celebration, on Saturday night, we took our crew to Bennethum's in Gaylord.

The food was wonderful. Bennethum's featured Cajun Cuisine for September and a couple of our more adventurous staffers had Alligator and Jambalaya.

We have a tradition of the team selecting an MVP annually and presenting the plaque on Labor Day Week-end. It was my honor to present this years Borchers Best Award to Alex Gabriel. Alex has a relaxed style that compliments the work styles of Mark & me. He always takes the time to talk to families and groups to make sure they are getting the trip that best fits what they are looking for. This past season, he was truly the heart of our team.

Sunday was a busy day! The weather turned out decent.

Our Northern Michigan boys,
Jim, Jerry, & Matt,
put in one last day before going back to school.

Happy Birthday Hilly!
Jim Hilbrecht is 21!
The week-end celebration continues with ice cream cake.

We wrapped up our week-end celebration with un comida campestre mexicana,
a mexican picnic. Friends, Jerry, Rick, & Mike, treated us to a serenade by Stringtime!

Jerry & Rick - 2/3 of Stringtime!

On most Monday evenings, Stringtime performs on Borchers riverside dock. Like many other good things, dockside performances are over for the summer. It won't be long before we start putting away equipment for the fall, we won't see some of our staffers until Christmas break, and all of our summer visitors will be gone leaving great memories.

Thank you all for a great 2010 season!

2010-09-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

It is here! At last! For several years, I have wanted a shirt with a map of the AuSable River on it and it is now here. Family friend, Ryan Casey, finished the shirt from the rough draft his brother Sean and I had put together.

It is a huge hit. It shows all of the take out points and lists some fun facts about the AuSable River including how much electricity is produced by the six dams and info about the area's wildlife.

By the way, the shirt is being modeled by Patrick Kelly of Roscommon. Patrick is a graduate of MSU and joined the Borchers' Team late this year. He holds a degree in Entomology, is headed to Iowa State for his PhD, and gets very excited about mosquitoes! Patrick can tell you all about insects and pheromones, which makes his own pheromone cloud seem ironic.

Borchers has two Rosco boys. Jerry Miller came into our lives this past spring. He is attending Northern along with two of our other staffers, the Hilbrecht Brothers. Jerry's previous employer told us that we would be impressed everyday and we have been. Jerry is a man of mystery and keeps details of his life close to the vest. In general conversation, he will drop a casual line about his world travels or football career that other young men would be bragging about on a daily basis. He is known for best calves on the crew.

Jerry & Patrick

2010-08-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of this business is seeing return guests, especially the kids. Kids can change so much year to year!

Tom and John and their daughters have been canoeing with us for the last four years. The first time they came, the girls were about 10 or 11 and very into their American Girl Dolls. This year
when Tom called to schedule their trip, we had the same conversation we have every year, "This is Tom, the American Girl Girl's dad.." I knew exactly who I was talking to! One of the priceless perks!

The girls are getting so grown up and probably too old for dolls. That's the beauty of canoeing & camping with your dad, you are never too old for it.

2010-08-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

Jim a.k.a. Hilly/Hill/Jimmy has left for college along with several other "Borchers Canoe Dudes". Jim started as a Labor Day replacement at about 15 years old has been with Borchers for over 5 years. He let us know that as much as he loves his job, he needs to seek an internship next summer.

Years ago, one of our past crews started "Hugs for Hill". For whatever reason, Bobby asked the crew "whenever you are feeling it, give Hill a hug". Much to Jimmy's chagrin, it grew to asking customers to "hug Hill". It had been forgotten, but telling the old canoe stories one thing led to another and "Hugs for Hill" had a revival.

Jim & Allie

Terry from Carlisle's Canoes hugs Hilly

We are missing Jimmy this morning, so if you see Hill give him a hug from Borchers!

Visitors are the highlight of our season

2010-08-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

August has been a blur! So many familiar faces, so many canoes & kayaks!

Here are just a few of our great families, friends, churches, & other assorted groups.

Steve Kowalski & daughter

Indiana National Guard

The Douglas Family

Macomb Baptist Church Youth Group

The Sadin Family

Past Staffer, Lindsey, with husband, Jeff

Pat & Jill, Mel & Denise, Cindy & Barry,

The Ferrell's & Bernadotte's

and more.....

2010-07-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

We are often asked, "Do you get to go down river?" Yes, we do! We took an evening paddle trying to take advantage of the "almost" full moon.

Ryan was done with the marathon
and Alex had not left for school yet.

Ryan, Allie, & John

Alex & Matt

Mark & Crew

Sara & Jim

2010-07-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

Just because the rest of the staff is not racing, doesn't mean we are not busy.

Mark had to sprint about a hundred yards to catch the ice cream truck and direct him into our driveway.
Maybe we should call him the "Good Humor Man".

We continued launching canoes and giving our customers the "thumbs up" sign.

Longtime customer, Donna.

We had obstacles to overcome and occasionally, we were between a rock and a hard place!

Working at a canoe rental can be exhausting, but it's the best job you will ever have!

2010-07-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

A canoe rental's summer is measured by Memorial week-end, 4th of July, Labor Day week-end and in Grayling, Marathon. It is a busy week starting with the Spike's Challenge and ending with the big race. In between are the business race, sprints, the Casey Challenge and a lot of preparation.

Over the years, we have had the pleasure of hosting many different teams at our B&B and this year was no exception. One of the women's teams, Kate & Christina, stayed with us along with return guests Peter Heed, Matt Meersman and his wife, Danielle.

We are in awe of all the preparations that the teams and their pit crew make during race week. We enjoy hearing some of the strategic planning regarding where to feed, what to take, how to run the sprint.

Kate & Christina with their pit crew pre-race.

Borchers was well represented in the race by current staffer, Ryan, along with past staffers, Sean Casey, Matt McDonald, and Lee Barnett.

Lee and his partner came in 5th, Sean and his partner came in 12th.

Matt Meersman and his partner, local Josh Taylor came in 4th.

Ryan finished his first marathon at a very respectable 27th!!!

Matt, Ryan, and Sean

Marathon Madness

2010-07-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Wow what a crazy week it has been. Marathon week here in Grayling and at Borchers is action packed , full of activities, and keeps us extremely busy. Besides launching boats this week the entire crew had to prepare for the under 18 kids race, "The Casey Challenge", held annually here at Borchers. This race is an 8 mile, aluminum canoe race that normally takes about an hour or an hour and a half depending on how fast the teams paddle. Borchers had a great turnout of 24 teams of boys and girls ages 12 through 17 competing in this race. It was not a big year for records with only one record broken by Naomi Kolka and Mikayla Ashton in the girls 12- 14 division.

Alex Gabriel did a great job of organizing the
Casey Challenge this year.
From the pre-race organizing,
through the briefing,
to awarding medals,
Alex kept the event running smoothly.
Alex has been on staff at Borchers for four years
and took over this event last year.

Sheriff Kirk Wakefield fired the starting gun for each heat and the paddlers churned up the water.

Alex had some great help from the rest of the staff and a couple of great volunteers.
Our long time guest and friend, Charlie Cole and his fiancee, Joyce, kept everybody on track at the "cut across". Sean Casey, marathon paddler and past staffer who re-energized the race many years back, and current staffer and marathon paddler, Ryan, swept the river making sure that all of the competitors crossed the finish line.

It is a Borchers tradition that any staffer that completes 5 or more summers with us is awarded a plaque to be displayed in the canoe shop. These young men & women become an extended family and their commitment to customer service has contributed immeasurably to the growth of our business. It is also a Borchers tradition to feed the crew and volunteers after the Casey Challenge. This year we had the honor of awarding Sean Casey a "Lifetime Achievement Award". Sean was on "regular" staff for over 10 years and continues to assist us with our website, t-shirt designs, and variety of other issues. We were delighted that his family could join us for lunch and that Sean had time out of his busy paddling schedule to sweep the Casey Challenge and lunch with us.

2010-07-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Race week!

The Borchers Crew loves any excuse for putting up flags or banners.

The week kicks off with the Spike's Challenge and ends with the Marathon.

Borchers staffer, Ryan, is competing in his first summer of racing. Ryan and his partner, Mike, finished 19th in the C-2 competition.

Our other staffers competed in the business race on Thursday night.

Jim & John took the upstream leg and Alex and Matt came downstream.

Borchers was in top place with a time of 9:40 until an upstart team ran their canoes upstream instead of paddling. They may have won the event, but they didn't truly compete.

All of the Borchers sponsored teams
did well in the qualifying sprints;
Kate & Christina - 42nd , Sean & Tad - 16th,
Peter & Tom - 37th, Matt & Josh - 3rd,
Ryan & Mike - 40th, and Nick & Matt - 47th.

Friday is the Casey Challenge! Kids 12 -17 race to Burton's Landing.

2010-07-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

With the 4th behind us, we are sprucing up for the countdown to race week.

Each summer has big events like the
4th of July and Race Week,
but it is the highlights in between the big events that define our summer.

Return visits from families like the Brubaker/Kuser's and the Della Torre's

Families celebrating a birthday with a canoe trip....

Good Times on the river...

Families & Friends!

"Stringtime" providing a little bluegrass by the river...

Catching up with old friends like past staffer , Tracey

And all of the kids...

2010-07-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

What a 4th of July week-end!

We saw so many families celebrating Independence Day!
This little girl was certainly in the right spirit.

The crew got into the mood, the girls wore red, white & blue sailor suits. Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty were here, too.

Even 'Cede wore her patriotic bandana.

We had fireworks and a picnic and celebrated half birthdays for Jerry, Allie, & Sara. Mark had a belated birthday.

Our all-American holiday was one of the highlights of our summer. Your visit will be, too!

2010-07-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

The phones are ringing off the hook. The weatherman has given us a wonderful forecast for the week-end of the 4th and it seems everyone wants to be "up north".

Before I get all carried away with the coming week-end, I should tell you about last week-end.

On Friday, we hosted Woodhaven Baptist Church. What a wonderful group of folks.
They took their trip to Burton's Landing and then had a picnic. They invited our crew to join them for lunch.

Saturday, the Wright family took a camping trip
to celebrate Greg's upcoming wedding.
The Wright family has been coming to Borchers
for years, camping along the AuSable for a short trip or going all the way to Oscoda.
It seems that Greg's bride has found "Mr. Wright". We wish them well!

The Ann Arbor Ski Club took a trip on Saturday. There were several great pirate costumes but this canoe stood out among the crowd.

At eleven o'clock, Mark & I turned the place over to the staff and Matt Gingerich. Matt worked for us many years ago and filled in so that we could attend our niece, Emily's, wedding. We are so appreciative. It was fun to have his blast from the past.

It was a lovely wedding with a surprise guest.

Sparty came to the reception! Wearing his tux!

We are so happy for Emily and Jerry and we danced the night away!

Our Saturday went from a groom and Spartan's (three of our staffers attend MSU) to Viking's & Ann Arbor to a bride & groom & Spartan! Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. VanDorpe!

2010-06-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

We have had plenty of rain this June, up about 1/2 inches over the rainfall of last June. The storm two weeks ago measured 2 1/2 inches of rainfall. The river rose!

It has not deterred our campers.
The Moosman family headed for Oscoda. Our first 2010 Oscoda launch!
Later in the week, the Sawyer family headed for Mio in their kayaks. The radar showed coming storms, but they braved the elements and were rewarded with a mostly sunny day. We are pretty sure that their tents got wet at night.

The weather forecast in slightly ominous, but we are hoping for a good outcome.

2010-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

June has been a busy month with Grads & Dads.

Two of our staffers, Allie & Matt, graduated from Grayling High School

Our nephew, James, graduated from Charlotte High School.

Proud Dad Matt, James, and Uncle Mark

This past week-end brought out a lot of families celebrating Father's Day.

June has also brought new guests and many of our favorites returning guests.

Eric & Monica spent several days with us
paddling and golfing.
Grayling has two hidden gems in
Fox Run and the Grayling Country Club.

This past week-end brought in two of our favorite families.

Ed, Sandy, and Alex visited from Ohio. they shared stories at breakfast, took in a Warbler Tour, and canoed to Wakeley Bridge.

The Lazarecki's were here, too. Tony & Sue, sons, Rick & Mike, and future daughter-in-law, Christine spent a few days fishing, kayaking, and kicking back.

In honor of the summer solstice,
we stood an egg on end!

One last foot note........

We are really enjoying our "dust mop shoes". They don't pick up much, but it is fun to skate across the new floors.

2010-06-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

On this beautiful Thursday afternoon, we are busy updating our website and facebook page. I'm just glad we don't Twitter.

We are very proud of our new safety video link. It is a true Borchers Production. It features staffers Ryan & Allie.

With a cameo of Sara helping them get into their canoe.

Retired staffer, Sean Casey, did the filming and editing.

The smooth voice over is Alex.

We are pleased to add it to our website and hope that our guests find it helpful. Check it out.

2010-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Memorial Week-end was Memoriable!

Borchers was hopping with so many groups of families and friends. Everyone was out to take advantage of the great weather. Sunscreen and lifejackets were a must!

Regulars, including these guys, came for their annual Memorial Week-end Trip.

We were honored to provide trips for many veterans, including the Johnson family. We appreciate all of our service men and women!

Our crew worked really hard handling canoes, especially at the landings, but of course they are very able bodied young men!

At the end of the day, they took some time to cool off.

Alex initiated our new neighbor, Casey!

Everyone was fair game,
including Mark, 'Cede & Me.

I guess to sum it up,
Memorial Week-end was a Splash!

2010-05-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we sent out a lot more canoes than anyone could have expected for mid-May. We could not have asked for better weather, it was sunny and seventy all weekend which got a bunch of people out of their houses and on to the river. Saturday started off with the launching of BSA Troop 60, who were headed on a two day camping trip with a caravan of over 60 people.

Mark gave launching instructions and Alex & Jerry demonstrated the proper way to empty a canoe should it become filled with water.

We have had the pleasure to host several guests with a wide variety of interests over the past week. Brian was a return guest who spent as many hours as possible fishing, Jeff was paddling and researching his new book. Jeff published "An Explorer's Guide to Michigan" in 2008.

Connie & Rick came from Colorado to see the elusive Kirtland Warbler. They have "birded" all over the world, exotic places like Tahiti, Costa Rica, and Grayling, Michigan.

We also had the pleasure of hosting the Canton, Ohio Audobon Society.

All of our birders saw the Warbler. Warbler tours will continue until July 1st.

This is Ryan. When he is not at Borchers, he is addressing the cow bird problem (if you know what I mean).

One of the highlights of our week-end was the visit from Tony & Sue, and Kenn & Carrie. These couples have been staying with us for over 1 1/2 decades.

Sunday, Alex picked up former staffer, Jim J., at Parmalee. Jim & crew took six kayaks on an overnight trip. We anticipated a slow Sunday with the exception of retrieving all of those boyscouts, but many people decided to spend their Sunday relaxing on the river, taking advantage of the beautiful weather, which always makes us happy here at Borchers.

Earlier in the week, the Crawford County Sheriff's Department stopped by for our annual safety inspection.
Our guys were busy unracking all of the canoes and then giving them a nice rinse before they go down river.

Leave No Footprints.......Borchers

2010-05-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's Finished! The downstairs facelift is complete!

It all started with a structural repair and one thing led to another. We are so happy with the outcome!

2010-05-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

We are easing into the 2010 paddling season. Last week-end 2 canoes of very hardy souls completed our first camping outing of the season. It snowed in the morning and we assumed that they had changed their plans, but they launched right after lunch and spent a very cold night camping along the AuSable.

The crew has spent this week sweeping, raking, mowing, etc getting ready.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hosting a ladies circle from the local Methodist Church for breakfast.

Today we launched kayaks from the all boys school, Public Catholic Central. The high school boys left in the sunshine, but it was cloudy and windy by the end of their trip.

2010-03-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Planes, trains, and automobiles...

Our son & new daughter-in-law have been inviting us to come see them in California since they moved there a year ago. It's hard to go on vacation when you live in an outdoor recreation destination! But, we were dying to see where they live and work and decided that the timing was right.

We love a good journey. We have been talking about taking a train trip for several years and spent a good deal of time just figuring out logistics. From Grayling, how could we fly out and rail back?

Chicago was the answer to "you can't get there from here". We drove to Chicago and flew out of Midway to Reno. From there our son picked us up and drove to Lake Tahoe.

It is so-o-o beautiful!!

We went out for omelettes in Truckee at this really cool, little place, "The Squeeze In", that had been featured recently on the Food Network.

We headed out to the 1960 Olympic Cross Country Ski Trail.

It was about sixty degrees and if you stepped off of the trail, you sunk into thigh deep snow. The trail winds through a state park full of Ponderosa pines which smell like butterscotch.

We had the priviledge of visiting during the Wounded Warriors Week. Our son works for the Disabled Sports Far West Division and at least twice a year they host these amazing men & women. We were honored to hear their stories and so inspired by their attitudes.

After what seemed like a too short visit, we rode the bus from Truckee to Colfax, CA. Most people would not head west to catch an eastbound train, but.... We wanted to see Donner Pass and Immigration Gap from the rail. What a beautiful view! It was so interesting to take a 30 minute bus ride and go from winter to full bloom spring.

We grabbed a burger at a local joint and waited for the train.

The Sierra mountains were just gorgeous. We had a view from our little sleeper berth that was unbelieveable. We passed Donner Lake as well as the other highlights I mentioned and spent the afternoon oohing & aahing.

Our quarters were a hoot! We didn't mind the shared bath, but I hated going to the club car just to change my mind. It was cozy.Twenty two square feet of pure pleasure for twenty five hundred miles and 51 hours. Of course we did have his & her seats which folded into his & her bunks. Adapt, overcome and improvise we always say. We enjoyed every minute of it. We had some great table mates at our meals and the food and service was really good. We couldn't get over the scenery; The Sierra's, Rockies, The Wasatch, mule deer, elk, all the tunnels, the Colorado River. It was almost as good as Northern Michigan and the AuSable River!

2010-03-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

On the eve of destruction...

We enlisted a couple of our staffers to "make it worse before it gets better". Over their spring break, John & Ryan, dropped in to tear it up.
John loved it so much, he came back a second day to help tear out a closet. It turns out that we probably could have used the closet for a panic room or tornado shelter. Whomever built it used more than enough nails and extra supports!

AuSable means "river of sand". We found another "river of sand" when we removed the carpet. Like sand through the hourglass, it had filtered through the carpet over the days of our lives. It follows the path of guests heading up to their rooms.
(Snazzy avocado linoleum!)

We decided to tackle the fireplace, too. We knew we were on the right track when Mark made a valuable discovery. Between the paneling and brickwork...

An ace in the hole!

2010-03-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

The first week of March finds us winding down X-C season. The snow is melting and it's time for a change.

The downstairs area of our B&B has a "shabby chic" kind of feel, comfortable and well worn like really good slippers.

We are going to close the place up for a little while, take a vacation, and give the "old girl" (Borchers, not me) a face lift.

2010-02-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

The winter storm fizzled! We probably got 2 inches of snow after being promised a whole lot more. We had wonderful guests (again). Ken & Sandy were here from Fort Wayne. They skied at Headquarters except the day they did the Vasa trail. They found us a few weeks ago and it was nice to have them back. Sandy is an Oboe player for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Ken owns his own business.

Eric, one of our winter regulars, spent Friday evening out in the garage waxing his skis for the Cote Dame Marie Ski Loppet at Hanson Hills. The weather report called for a high of 34 on Saturday. Due to a clear night, the temps on Saturday morning were in the single digits. He is using this experience to buy a second set of skis so that he can have "a cold waxed pair and a warm waxed pair".

Saturday brought more return guests. Mike & Jo spent the day at Hartwick Pines snow shoeing, Heather joined Eric for more skiing after his race and the "Brooks girls" were up for their "sisters week-end"Jeanne has been staying with us since our first winter of owning Borchers! Joy has been coming for at least a decade. We missed seeing their other sister, Kathy, but were promised that they will all be here this summer for a kayak trip. We had Borchers Pie on Sunday morning which I don't make as much as I used to. Other recipes have come along over the years, but I know that it is a favorite with these BFFs.

Rod & Irene were back on Sunday. They spent some of the evening watching the Olympics with Ken & Sandy.

We are crossing our fingers that Mother Nature will send a little more snow our way for just a few more week-ends of winter fun.

2010-02-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

This month is just whizzing by. We keep getting just enough fresh snow to keep our guests out on the ski trails.

The Hewitt family was back for a visit this past week. Brad brought us some wonderful coffee from his internet business, www.siriuscoffeeroasters.com.
McKenzie opened her presents at breakfast with her sisters looking on. Her American girl doll is sitting in the chair.

Bob & Joanie stopped for a night on their way to the U.P. to see the grandkids. We haven't seen them for a while and it was fun catching up.

The week-end brought a full house from the
Sarett Nature Center. They skied Hartwick,
Hanson Hills, & XC Ski Headquarters.

Sunday night Rod & Irene checked in. What a fun couple! Rod insisted on tea & cookies. Now living in Lansing, Rod had lived in the area and grew up in Westbranch, he shared some great stories and observations.

Today is President's day and another girl has her birthday. Mark, 'Cede, & I celebrated by doing what I like to do so we went to Culver's and later had a nice long hike in the woods.

2010-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

I am looking out my window at the most beautiful winter morning. The sky is an amazing blue and the sun is reflecting off the snow. Our guests have headed to Cross Country Ski Headquarters to take advantage of the awesome grooming. By the way, the Headquarters was featured in the USA Today travel section of 10 Best Places to Play in the Snow. Congratulations, Bob & Lynne!

In our opinion, unless you group everything in our county together, Crawford Country has at least 5 out of 10 of the Best Places to Play in the Snow! 'Cede's favorite is the Rayburn property.

When I came to work this morning, I knew it was cold from the steam on the river and the little ice floes. The river gets really "flat" when it is cold. I was a bit surprised to read -2 on the thermometer. The sunshine made it seem a lot warmer.

We received a couple of emails from our friends, Matt & Danielle, Matt has raced the Marathon many times, a couple of times with staffer ex-officio, Sean Casey. They will be returning to Borchers for Marathon 2010. Matt sent a link to their recent trip to Hawaii on You Tube. They have the best adventures, Kauai and Grayling!

The winter is going too fast even though Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks, on a beautiful day like today, it's not long enough. Fresh snow in the forecast...

2010-02-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

It was a great week-end at Borchers. Our dear friends, Mel & Denise Banfield, showed up on Friday joined by Terry & Renee, and Bob & Bev. These three couples are always a joy for us to host.

We also had guests attending the Small Farm Conference at the high school. Mel always gets up early and has coffee ready for me when I come to work. Over said coffee, Mel & I sat and visited with Oriana, Chris, & Kim while they had an early breakfast. Mel is interested in getting some chickens ( I think he needs a reason to get an antique chicken coop).

It is interesting to me, how small the world is. They all had common acquaintances and shared places.

The conference attendees went off to learn the latest and greatest in the world of small farming and the other six headed out to the Cross Country Ski Shop and the golf course loop. When they returned, we spent some more time catching up and Denise expounded on the healing properties of honey, a sort of "honey on honey".

Our couples dined at Bennethum's and Mark and I anticipated the arrival of new guests along with one of our favorite familys, the Slaughters from Chesterton, IN. When everyone was settled in, Mark & I grabbed our skis and followed John, Marie, and Wesley to Hartwick Pines for the Lantern Lit night ski. They had already completed one loop and were waiting for us by the bonfire.
We skied the loop and for at least a few minutes, the Wolf Moon peeked through the clouds, helping to light our way.
For those of you wanting to experience this event, 75 lanterns lighting the 1.25 mile trail will be out again on Feb 13 & 27.

Sunday was spent visiting with our guests. The Schulte family from Marshall had attended the Small Farm Conference and Mike and the kids headed out to Hanson Hills for tubing. Mom Stefanie stayed behind and she and Mel talked chickens and other farming. (Mel is definitely getting chickens!)

John, Marie, & Wesley headed back to
X-C Ski Headquarters for the afternoon.

One more guest joined us for Sunday night. Betty made Borchers her stop on the way to Stokeley Creek. She tells us she will be back, especially to see 'Cede.

2010-01-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

After a warm, "dry" spell we finally got some fresh snow! It took two days of flurries, but we probably got 3-4 inches of fresh powder. 'Cede and I cleaned the driveway to accommodate our guests. We have a full house this week-end and are so happy to have some of our favorites returning and some new friends we haven't met yet.

The new "Michigan Travel Ideas" are hot off the presses and we were delighted to find Borchers featured on page 75. Whitney & Emily, cousins of staffers Alex & Allie, are picture perfect! Whitney is one of our regular customers, paddling down river as often as she can.

2010-01-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

Our son lives at Lake Tahoe where they have been measuring their snowfall in feet. Out there they refer to some of the accumulation as "Sierra Cement". Well, we have not had any new accumulation in two weeks and with the warmer temperatures we currently have "Crawford County Concrete". It's still usable, the trails are still beautiful, but it's not perfect. The weatherman is promising some new snow this week.

We have had some wonderful guests over the last couple of week-ends and they have been making the most of the winter weather. Last week-end, our Toledo gang was here. It's pretty special when you can reminisce with guests about their visits over the last one and half decades!

Although we experienced temps in the low-mid 30's. They reported exceptionally good trail conditions.

The week-end prior to that, we met some new regulars. Two of our couples originally headed to Tawas and had to change their destination to Grayling to find snow. They shared the house with travel writer, Kath Usitola, Anita from Indiana, Mark & Beth and Tom & Kathy.

Beth writes:
Cheri, I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality.
We really enjoyed staying there and will tell everyone about it. Thank you for telling us about Wakeley Lake trail. We snowshoed the trail after we left the B&B and we loved it. It was our favorite trail of the weekend. We walked all around the lake even though early on we came to a junction where one way the trail was posted "closed" due to erosion. We chose the "closed" route and we had no problem but you may want to mention it to anyone who may be going out there that they should stick to the open trail and not go down the closed path because the trail is lost once you pass that sign. We stayed near the lake and we picked up the trail after some time and had a great outing, but others may not want to be so adventurous. Another option would be to just do the campground loop, which was beautiful.We appreciate the compliments and the photos that Mark sent!

2010-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

I've already broken my resolution to take photos and blog on a daily basis. The New Year finds Mark, 'Cede and I healthy & happy with a very good Christmas Holiday behind us.

We spent Christmas Eve eve with our staff having pizza and catching up on everyone's lives since canoe season.

Mark & I "had our tree" before heading downstate to spend Christmas Eve with Mark's side of the family. We spoke with both sets of kids numerous times. Mark & Kristin sent a goodie basket and Michael & Teresa sent "way cool" ski jackets and pants.

We are all set to stay warm on the trail with a little "something, something" for apres' ski.

My sister-in-law, Jen, and I both made mom & dad a calendar on snapfish. What are the odds of that? Everyone can always use more than one calendar, right? Mark & I got a Reciprocating saw from Mom & Dad. We can't wait to make sawdust!!

Christmas Day was spent with my side of the family. As always, mom prepared a wonderful meal. My niece, Emily, is learning to be as awesome a cook as her grandma.

We came home to find our sign leaning precariously.
Mark spent the afternoon winching it back into
place and rebolting, but the high winds on
Monday prevailed.
I swear I was no where near that sign with my new saw!

We hosted the nicest people over the holidays!
We had some first timers from Columbus for the week. Hal & Sylvia skied all over the county. They enjoyed Hartwick Pines, Forbush Corner, Hanson Hills, & Cross Country Ski Headquarters. They also stopped at The Cross Country Ski Shop for accessories and advice.

Also joining us for the first time (but not last time - they have already rebooked) were Mike & Judy and Cheryl & Tom. We all played Apples to Apples and Scattergories in the evenings. We were joined by regulars, Eric (who is very good at Apples to Apples and skate skiing) and Shaun & Matt who were gracious to take our photo. They did let us hold their turkey. Matt officially joined us for Scattergories , Shaun ad libbed her answers while making snacks.

Since our busy week-end, it has been
really cold with only snow flurries.
According to 'Cede (and me)
there is still plenty of snow to play in.

We are expecting new guests tonight and tomorrow night and hope to see all of our regulars this winter.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving on the road this year. After all of the wedding hoopla, the kids needed to stay "at home" and Mark, 'Cede, & I had the opportunity to deliver a load of Christmas trees to Dallas, Texas. Even though we were not with our extended family, we have a lot to be thankful for including our family, two wonderful new daughters-in-law, a great 2009 canoe season, friendships made over many years and serendipitous moments in every day life. We are thankful for all of our guests who have added to our happiness in so many ways. We are thankful for the staffers who have touched our lives.

We delivered 600 Michigan firs & spruces. We were one of three deliveries to the Moomey Family lot. They have been selling Cadillac grown trees in Dallas for 31 years. What a great couple.

We enjoyed a day or two of warm weather and then headed back home with a trailer full of sale flyers for the next week's Sunday paper.

We now have a couple inches of snow and are waiting for a storm predicted for Wednesday. X-C skiing is imminent

2009-11-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

'Cede and I have been busy getting ready for winter. It doesn't seem like November without a dusting of snow. Today we found dandelions in the yard. We put up the storm windows anyway!

We have been very busy this fall. We married off two sons and continued to have a steady flow of customers. We sent the last canoe down river on November 3. Jack & his son, Dan, have been canoeing with us for many years and even though we had put equipment away, we couldn't tell them no on the beautiful day they were here.

Staffer Allie was Grayling's Football Homecoming Queen.

Here she is with her best friend, Katie.

While we were gone to wedding #2, Tracey came out of retirement to help Jim hold down the fort. Our "nurses & spouses" group was here for their annual week-end. We hear that it snowed in the afternoon. We were sorry we weren't here, first of all we missed a fun group of guests and secondly, we are kind of ready for snow.

Late in October, a group of knitting ladies took over the house (including some locals and one of our regulars, Kay).

Our most recent guests were a church group from Detroit. Christine and the ladies have been staying with us for about ten years and we always look forward to their visit.

Dave Forbush dropped off brochures for X-C skiing this week. There is a new trail at Forbush and we are just waiting for snow!

Mark, 'Cede, & I will be heading for Dallas in the next week or two to deliver Christmas trees. We will try to keep you updated on our adventures.

Mark & Kristin Got Married!

2009-10-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Our oldest son, Mark Jr., got married October 10. We have known and loved Kristin for several years, but had never had the opportunity to meet her family.

We drove to Chantilly,Virginia a little bit nervous about what we were getting into. Meeting for the first time at the wedding rehearsal could have been a bad plan. We wasted our time worrying. Kristin's parents, Mike & Debby, are charming.

Kristin's brother, sister, and their families went out of their way to welcome us. The rehearsal went smoothly and then we drove to Clifton, VA for the rehearsal dinner.

Mark & Kristin with best man, Mike Pasini and his family.

Saturday was a whirlwind before we all showed up at the church. Kristin kept her mother on pins & needles getting to the church. She cracked us up when she reminded her mom via cellphone that we wouldn't start without her.

The groom and his entourage answer the "what's under the kilt question"

I do, I do!
We are so happy to have Kristin in our family. Who else would wrangle Mark and lead her guests across the dance floor with all of the steps to "Thriller"? She delights us!

Michael & Teresa Get Married

2009-09-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

What a week! We started on Wednesday by carving lanterns out of white pumpkins, something about the pumpkins and working on them until midnight made me think of Cinderella. It was hard work, but Teresa (my new daughter-in-law), her sister, Maureen "Mo", our son Michael, and his friend Brian made it so much fun. By Thursday, the pumpkins needed to lie in cold water waiting for the big day. I could have used a little of that myself.

The rest of the week is a whirlwind of tents, decorations, errands, manicures, etc. We also had the pleasure of providing a canoe trip to Everest Academy and various other paddlers. On Friday, Tim had the honor of driving lake to lake when he picked up New York friend, Michelle, in Traverse City and then crossing the state to pick up canoe campers in Oscoda.

Michael & Teresa were blessed with beautiful weather, wonderful friends & family, and a perfect ceremony & reception.

It was a magical, fairy tale evening... and they lived happily ever after!

Two Week Countdown

2009-09-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Our summer ended with a bang. We had such a great Labor Day week-end, both weatherwise and plenty of business. Now that summer is officially over, we had a lot to do. Between busy days and rainy weather, we were behind on maintenance. Allie, Sara & I spent an afternoon on the porches. The girls scraped and I painted behind them. Rocking out to "Queen" made the day fly by.

Mark held down the fort,
renting canoes & kayaks.
'Cede tried to figure out if she could "dog paddle" a kayak.

We started our two week maintenance countdown at the close of business on Labor Day. Never has a title been more appropriate, we LABORED! Our to do list had been growing all summer and our son's wedding was right around the corner. Our number one priority was to sealcoat the driveway.

Many thanks to"Jim-Daddy", Matt, Ryan, & Joe.

We finished all of the other jobs in our maintenance marathon in time for the wedding and it didn't stop us from having wonderful guests.

We had a new group of kayak ladies who traveled in style. They paddled from Grayling to Mio, 49 miles, but they chose shuttle service back to Borchers B&B every night instead of camping.

Janette writes, " .. We enjoyed the comfortable accommodations and the wonderful breakfasts. Also, a special thanks to Tim for the good service and for his good nature in putting up with all our nonsense. He was a great sport."

Our Fort Wayne crew was back and as delightful as ever. The Tucker's daughter, Abigail, is getting married in November. Deb & Cheryl & I talked weddings.

Labor Day Week-End

2009-09-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Caplinger/Brown families were back for Labor Day Week-end. They have been staying at Borchers on this week-end for about a decade. It's hard to believe that Olivia is off to college this year and that Jim & Mary's girls are old enough to enjoy canoeing.

We were so busy with canoeists and kayakers that we only had a minute or two to sit on the empty kayak racks for photo ops.
The Bezeau group took almost half of our fleet on a canoeing/camping adventure. We had so many groups of family & friends enjoying the great week-end.
It was our pleasure to award Ryan Foguth the Borchers MVP plaque. Voted on by his co-workers, Ryan was elected as the staffer who best respresents the customer service and work ethic that Borchers staffers strive for.
"Hilly" celebrated two decades on the planet, sharing his b'day celebration with us. The girls are always happy for an excuse to call our friends at Dairy Queen. Matt McDonald won the Borchers Bi-Athelon. His skill at backing up a van & trailer did not match those of Tim Riley or Jim "Hilly" Hilbrecht but combinined with his fancy footwork and "celebrity" teammate in the "kayak race", Matt added his name to the Borchers' trophy for 2009. Meanwhile, Allie illustrated her proximity to the cone (furthest) in the driving portion of our contest.

Labor Day always marks the end of the summer and transition to our fall season. We appreciate everyone who made our 2009 season a success.

How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

2009-08-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Whew! The weeks leading up to and following Marathon have been a blur of activity. We have seen so many of our "regulars" and met many new customers delighted by their AuSable Experience.

Kayak & canoe rental can be consuming.
Many photos of our fave's are missing because we were just too busy to get a photo op.

Our friend's, Perry & Debbie, were here to take their annual camping trip. They are just too good to us. 'Cede got a new toy & Debbie made me a beautiful quilt. Mark got a quilt last year for his "big boy birthday" and she thought I deserved one too! When you stop in to see us, check out the beautiful wood carving that Perry made for us years ago.

Our buddy, Wesley, came to celebrate his birthday.
He brought his friend, Thomas, and his parents, John & Marie.We were invited to their cookout and for cake & ice cream. Later, we shot off bottle rockets to celebrate!

Did I mention that July 2009 is the coldest on record for Michigan. It also felt like the wettest.

As we said, Borchers won the men's divison of the business race. Our mixed team came in second, not too shabby for not practicing. For some reason, the trophys kept appearing in photo ops.

A.J., Karyn, and the boys stopped by for a canoe trip and to meet Mercedes.

We are enjoying the rest of our summer and getting ready for Labor Day and the Fall Season.

Hilly gave us a clean sweep before heading off to college at Northern.

With a little help from her friend,
Allie is now in charge of our alcohol policy

Matt is headed back to Central and Wednesday Alex & John head to MSU to "Sparty On".

Sara will be cheering for the Vikings and Tim will be living every day like it's his birthday.

Did we mention that
Ryan bought a boat,
Ryan bought a boat,
Ryan bought a boat?

August is here!

2009-08-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

What a super weekend. It all started with a visit from one of our favorite groups the Banfields and friends. They have been coming for over 15 years and are an absolute pleasure to have around! We also had another great visit from the Haque group who have been doing our Wakeley trip for a number of years.

Plymouth Church and Reverend Nicholas Hood payed us a visit and had several first time canoers make the adventure memorable.

It is hard to believe August is here but it is and with just a few weekends left before kids start school conditions could not be any better for one last weekend on the river. Hope all is well and everyone has been enjoying their summer.

Your Borchers Crew!

Marathon week

2009-07-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Another Ausable River Canoe Marathon has come and gone and as usual it was a blast. The B&B was super busy with paddlers prepping for the big race as well as our good friend Charlie's visit.

As for our own participants in the race Sean Casey and Matt Meersman finished in a very respectable 12th place in one of the toughest fields in years. Also our own Matt McDonald and brother Nick finished their first ever Marathon in under 17 hours! Congrats to all the paddlers in their adventure this year.

Last Friday we had the pleasure to once again host the Casey challenge youth race. This is a very fun event for kids 12 to 17 years of age paddling here from Borchers an hour downstream to Burtons Landing. It went very well and all participants looked good coming into the landing.

We would also like to mention that during Marathon week our Men's team won first place in the business relay canoe race for the second year in a row! Hopefully next year we can three peat.

Canoeing has picked up with some more consistent weather and the river could not be in better shape. We look forward to August and all the families getting in their last summer trips before school starts.

Hope to see you all soon,

Your Borchers Crew

July Fun!

2009-07-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

The past week has been a blast to be in Northern Michigan. The weather has cooperated nicely most days and the days it hasn't folks still braved the elements for a good time. We were fortunate enough to have many friends stop by for visits. Colleen and Mike decided to visit with their wedding party shortly after tying the knot. We also got to enjoy time with the Brewbaker family who are always a pleasure to see.

Last weekend brought some wet weather for a few days but that didn't scare off the Connolly Ellis group who has been coming to see us since 1997. They are so dedicated to having a good time they did not let the Saturday Morning drizzle get in the way of their outdoor breakfast and trip down river.

To make the weekend even greater we were fortunate enough to see our gal Tracey come out of retirement to join us for a fun filled weekend. Sure does bring a spark back to the crew when her smile is in town!

As a sneak peak into the upcoming week we will see the local business canoe race Thursday night at 7pm followed Friday morning by the areas Casey Challenge youth race from town to Burtons landing. Come out and root your local youngsters on. Also Friday night is the sprints to determine starting positions for Saturday nights Marathon which starts here in town Saturday at 9pm and will end late Sunday morning in Oscoda nearly 130 miles away. And if that is not enough excitement for you the 100 mile Black Bear Bicycle tour gets kicked off here in town chasing the canoers to Oscoda early Sunday morning.

With all there is to do and see in Grayling this week not too sure why you would want to be anywhere else.

Have an amazing week.

Your Borchers Crew

July 4th

2009-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

July 4th

Borchers celebrated the day by providing canoe trips to so many wonderful families. The staff participated in the ritual "empty rack dance".

We had the privilege of having Andy & Kay stay with us. Andy is a U.S. citizen from Hungary. He had to hike, swim across a bay, and take many other risks to get here. He chose America! His story made us all grateful for the pure luck of being born an American. We should never take our birthright for granted.

Andy & Kay have spent many summers in the area and Andy took Kay to explore all of his old fishing haunts.

We were so busy!
By the end of the day,
the staff had to cool down
in the river.
Some went willingly,
some not so much.

The "blonde one" & the "brunette one" didn't stand a chance of
staying dry after such a busy day!
On July 5th more families and friends came to canoe. Allie got her first chance to drive for Borchers, shuttling people back from Burton's Landing.

Mercedes enjoyed the week-end, but all that fun makes for a tired puppy!

Yankee Doodle, Lets Canoe-dle!

2009-07-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce that we will be getting a visit from the one and only Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty this Saturday at Borchers! The weather forecast looks perfect for the holiday weekend and river conditions could not be better.

Come enjoy a day on the river with us followed by an evening of fireworks.
Firework Schedule;
Grayling City Park Saturday July 4th at Dusk
Gaylord Otsego County Park Friday July 3rd at Dusk
Roscommon County Fairgrounds Saturday July 4th at Dusk

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

The Borchers Crew

July 4th is just around the corner

2009-06-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

June came and went so fast this year that it is hard to believe the 4th of July is just a few short days away. The past week was no different. Had some great weather and even greater guests.

Borchers was privileged to host the Woodhaven church groups return for a visit and float to Burtons landing last Friday. This is a fun group and a pleasure to work with. The trip ended with an amazing BBQ which we were excited to participate in. We also were able to witness the groups baptism of 3 young members right there on the banks of the Ausable!

The area has received a fair amount of much needed rain the last couple of days bringing the river levels up to prime conditions. This added with the fantastic weather forecast has us excited about the upcoming holiday weekend. In addition we are pleased to have three new tandem kayaks added to the fleet of boats we offer for rent. So far we have received great reviews of their comfort and manueverability on the water. The picture below is a proud Mark and Ryan after completing the new rack to hold these boats.

We look forward to seeing everyone on the river this weekend and wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July!

Your Borchers Crew

Fun in the Sun!

2009-06-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Amazing! The only way to explain the weather we have had here in Grayling the past week. Sunshine and temps in the 8o's with more in the forecast. The river is in great shape and

We have been having all kinds of fun getting folks down the river and have been visited by folks from as far away as Oklahoma. Also the B and B has been buzzing with guests who have been spending the warm evenings riverside.

Would also like to mention the newest addition to our crew. Her name is Mercedes aka Cede. She is our new official greeter!

Hope to see you all soon!

Your Borchers Crew

Dads & Grads

2009-06-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Borchers Canoe Crew is anticipating a perfect week-end for Father's Day! The weatherman has promised that a few rain showers will clear by Saturday noon and Sunday will be 84 and sunny.

The Dawson family is planning a trip.

Dads take your kids, kids take your dads, everyone head down river this week-end.

This past week-end, Borchers had a group of 5 canoes for a Father & Son camping trip, along with one brave daughter.

Borchers is proud to announce the graduation of three of our staffers from
Grayling High School.
Go Vikings!

Headed to Michigan State this fall to study communications,
Alex has been on staff for three years.

Ryan graduated in the top ten from Grayling High School.
He plans on spending his first year of college at Kirtland studying criminal justice.
Ryan has also been on staff for three years.

John graduated in the top ten. On staff two years, John will head to Michigan State
this fall to study pre-med.Borchers prides itself on the finest staff in the business and these three young men are an asset to our team and to all of the activities they are involved in.

Alex, Ryan, John: We salute you!

2009-06-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Fox Brigade

It has been our pleasure this past week to provide canoes and shuttle service to the Fox Brigade.

Jack along with Alan, Kevin, Bill and Sheldon arrived on Tuesday as the lead party for a three day camping, canoe trip.

After spending the night at our B&B, the brigade headed down river to set up base camp. They spent the next three days canoeing from Grayling to Mio.

Mark and I were delighted to be invited out to their camp Friday night. Their camp cook, Bob, is no ordinary chef. When we arrived, we were treated to Beef tenderloin that melted in your mouth. Not only was the food great, but these are all great guys. Many are involved or have been involved in Boy Scouts of America. Some of these men have been taking an annual canoe trip together for over 30 years. A few were first timers. The conversation and Jack's presentation of this year's award were highly entertaining.

They talked about past trips on other rivers and future plans. We hope that the AuSable River and Borchers Canoe & Kayak will be one of the highlights that they talk about and return to in the years to come.

2009-06-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

It is a sad day at Borchers. Our hearts ache with the loss of our precious Ellie. We only had her for a year, but she filled our lives with delight. We will miss the way she cocked her head with a question, the way she pranced across the yard so proud of herself, the way she danced herself silly to get a scoop of ice cream and most of all her "family hug".

She loved "adventure" and unfortunately headed out on her own and was hit by a car.

We will all miss our lovable, Aussie-Dorable Ellie.

Schools Out!!!

2009-06-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school for the kids here in Grayling and it is now time to relax and enjoy summer.

As a grand finale to the school year we were treated to a visit from Mrs. Casey's 5th grade class as well as Mrs. Gabriel's 7th grade students. The day was absolutely perfect and both kids and parents arrived at the landing sporting smiles.

According to Mrs Casey, "we all had a great day on the river. Just two tip overs. The kids swam- brrr- at the canoe campground and were excited about seeing any wildlife. We're so lucky to have the river in our 'backyard'. Your crew was respectful, cheerful, and efficient."

The days are surely getting longer and the temps warming up nicely during the day. Seeing more and more camper boats head down river too. Looks to be another promising week of canoeing and as the old saying goes; a day on the river is better than one in the office!

Take care,

The Borchers Crew

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! That is really the only way we can explain the amazing weekend here at Borchers. Not only were we fortunate to have a long weekend due to the holiday but also had some of the nicest weather for canoeing yet this year.

Saturday and Sunday had the whole crew back in action launching canoes and picking up all of our wonderful guests. We were also happy to be hosting a family reunion that filled up the B&B as well as spilling over with a few campers in the yard. Truly, an enjoyable time was being had by all.

Monday, usually the slower of the three days of this long weekend, proved to keep us nearly as busy as the previous two days. We got the day kicked off with a visit from the Ohio National Guard. It was very nice to get to spend time with these dedicated service men and women on Memorial Day. We also had the pleasure to host a river wedding. The entire party launched and floated to Burtons performing the service some place along the way.

If the past weekend is any indication of whats to come we are in for a great summer full of fun and sun.

Hope to see you all soon,

Your Borchers Crew

Canoe Season 2009 Begins!

2009-05-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Diving right into canoe season here at Borchers. Officially opened for daily canoe trips May 2nd and have had the pleasure of getting some great folks out on the water. This week we had a return visit from our friend Father Mike and his Parish of youngsters in Bowling Green. They spent two days on the water and reported excellent conditions for their campout. Today we had the opportunity to host the bunch from the Reese Out-of-doors club for a trip down river. They picked a perfect day full of sunshine and very little other traffic on the water. The upcoming week looks great and rumor has it we could be in the 70's with sunshine the latter half of the week!

Getting Ready

2009-04-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day for maintenance season! Mark & I have started getting ready for the upcoming summer.

Sean is updating the website, 2009 brochures have been ordered, we have been pouring over t-shirt catalogs, and have been making a to do list of all the details that need to happen before b&b guests and canoeists show up.

Today, we are having our willows "topped out". As interesting as they are, we have wanted the willow trees out of here for a long time. They are the trees that keep on giving; sticks, catkins, fuzz, sap, leaves. They will drop something in the yard every single day.

A three man crew, including "a squirrel" is here dropping brush and branches into the yard.

Ellie is beside herself with all of the sticks to fetch.