Ladies Retreats & Trick or Treats

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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