Tuesday, September 01, 2026
We flew to Michigan to visit family. Stayed at a cute BnB (2nd story of a house) near Lake Ann, a village my Ransom ancestors lived near in the 1860s-1880s. Elijah Leland Ransom and his brother Benjamin Samuel Ransom moved north from Branch County, Michigan around 1864 or 1866. They purchased a grist mill, where grain was ground, and later added the ability to saw timber. There are the remnants of two dams and you can still see timbers from the mill in Ransom Creek.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy purchased the mill and dam site for the Ransom Lake Natural Area. There is a trail around Ransom Lake and Matt and I walked it the first night we were there.
Homer and Matt.
We spent a lot of time visiting with my family. Matt loves Lee's Amish farm, with all the animals.
Matt holding Tina, with Jean and Ginger in the background.
I took the family to Olive Garden for supper. Matt is astounded at how quickly members of my family eat. Amish brother Lee is taking the photo.
Elizabeth, Jeff, Matt, Susan, Homer, and Aunt Harriet.
I took Matt north and drove across the Mackinaw Bridge. Matt does not like bridges. We went to a diner (Clyde's) and I watched as they fried my grilled cheese in a puddle of hamburger juice. I did eat it. Then we drove back across the bridge. Had to drive on the grill, Matt does like bridges.
Then we went to Fort Michilimackinac. A partially reconstructed 1700s French and then British military fort. There were archaeologists working on a cellar and I chatted with two of them. For the most part, Matt did not care for the interesting artifacts and room exhibits on display. I enjoyed the experience, I was last there in 1987.
Matt is happy to leave the fort, Mackinaw Bridge is background.
The weather was lovely in Michigan- 70s and maybe into the 80s. Lots of fresh produce, we purchased things at Lee's Amish produce store he works at.
And back in Arizona the weather has been horribly hot. I was out visiting a site last week and this barrel cactus was blooming.
Barrel cactus.
I was also out for a few days digging Early Agricultural Period pits. One morning a nice large wolf spider visited and I put him in a safe place.
Wolf spider.
And then some bad things happened. Dolly Parton died. I remember watching her syndicated show in the early 1970s, Dolly on a swing singing "Love is like a butterfly, as soft and silky as a sigh..." in the show's intro. She was perhaps the best good person I have ever shared the earth with.
Then little Rowan dog got into a car and the door got shut and he died in the hear. Just horrible. Doug was heartbroken. I had to dig his grave and bury him, sobbing.
And then yesterday morning very early two young men were murdered outside the Venture Inn, one of two gay bars here in Tucson. The maniac who did it had a list of LGBTQ+ businesses to target. I had not met either men, but had followed Cameron on Instagram. He was a courageous public journalist, covering the protests in support of Gaza and against the stupid AI center being built here in town. What a horrible world we live in where evil people have access to firearms.
