Kalkaska Field Experience 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7

The swish of rain pants, sound of zipper sliding up my coat, and the pitter-patter of rain drops through the trees - these were the sounds present on the walk to the dining hall for breakfast.  Over breakfast we discussed the rain percentage for the day and consulted the Doppler radar. The verdict was in: it was going to rain, likely for a significant part of the day.

Off we headed in the Toyota 4-Runner for the Kalkaska Oil Pad Sites.  Most of the night had been consumed with dreams about disastrous road and weather conditions.  The Lord knows the concerns of our hearts - when we reached our first dirt road (Boardman River road), it was apparent that a grader had just gone down the road! The road was smooth and solid - unlike the soft sand of Sand Lake Road and the Shell Oil Road of last week.

Our first site and last site of the day were completed without rain.  The three others were all done in some decree of precipitation.  The second site was when the mist started - this was at about 10:30 AM.  By the third sight it was a very steady mist and the fourth was a steady rain.  Fortunately, we had packed one umbrella.  Nikki and Jessica collected the data as a team using the umbrella.  Seeing that I had rain pants and a gor-tex coat, I worked on: laying out the transect, collecting the soil sample, and walking the quadrants for shrubs/trees.  The last site was the most challenging to access - we had to return to the center of Kalkaska and then travel about 2.5 miles down a two-track dirt road.  We were all thankful the vehicle we had for the day had a high clearance -  We completed the fieldwork at 4 PM - each was happy to be on our way back to Au Sable for dinner.

For all my trepidation about the day - it turned out to be a great day of success.  Once again showing that we should not be anxious, especially about factors we cannot control.