How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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