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The American Society for Deaf Children, http://www.deafchildren.org , would like to invite writers to submit articles for their magazine, The Endeavor. The topic is Celebrating Deaf Children in Diverse Family Backgrounds. Examples: Deaf parents/adopted Deaf child, Same sex parents/Deaf child, Parents with a Deaf child and other special needs, etc. 800 to 1000 words. Submit to Tami Hossler at asdctami@aol.com by October 1st.

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CHASING VISTAS 6
Melanie Bond
Words: 1,108
[Memoir]

Chapter 17 Little Girls Point

On the cold, bright Wednesday morning of August 16, 2000, Buddy Bear watched Dano try out his new rollerblades. The Eddy Park campground with its paved roads was an ideal place for Dano to learn and pactice the rudimentaries of rollerblading. I jogged after him to keep him within my sight. We soon came to a nice sandy beach at Sunday Lake and spotted lots of ducks swimming around in the lake, quacking up a storm. The thought of joining them sounded appealing but on second thought, it probably wasn't a good idea to jump into a mucky lake. Buddy Bear and I applauded Dano for learning to rollerblade without taking a single spill. Soon it was time for us to be on our way. Our destination was the coveted Little Girls Point on Lake Superior.

What an unforgettable beach Little Girls Point turned out to be! We stood on a high bluff overlooking Lake Superior which offered spectacular views of the distant Porcupine Mountains, the Apostle Islands, and the Great Lake Superior. From these bluffs, one could expect to enjoy many riveting sunset views. We were attracted to this small jewel of a county park because agates were known to wash up on this beach. Minnesota claims these Lake Superior agates as their state gemstone.

As soon as we made our way down through the bluffs to the beach, we were amazed to see powerful waves crashing along the shoreline. And, oh, the pebbles! Huge mounds of pebbles everywhere! They rose up from under the churning lake waters to cover the entire beach until the bluffs stopped their growing advance. Tons of colorful pebbles, big and small, all worn smooth by the constant pounding of the waves. It was just an awesome sight to behold! They turned out to be the most perfect remedy for the most wonderful, barefoot-tingling massage I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing!

Dano especially wanted to comb the beach for agates. Armed with small cloth bags to collect any stone or fossil that struck our fancy, we set out to look for agates. But there was just one problem. We had no clue what they were supposed to look like! We asked a few beachcombers how we could identify which of these myriad colorful stones were agates. Surprisingly, they didn't know either. We finally stumbled across an older weather-beaten soul who told us to look for irregular stones. He picked one up and explained its unique features. It did not look the least bit impressive. Rather, it looked more like an irregular, pock-marked, splotchy colored ball of cement, worn somewhat smooth by the waves!

And isn't that the way these hidden gems usually come, in the rough where they are more likely to be overlooked and least appreciated? Many consider these agates to be the oldest in the world, maybe even up to a billion years. If you have ever seen thinly sliced and polished agates, then you would know the remarkable colors and intricate patterns found in these agates. Here is a general description of these gemstones:

"Lake Superior agates are generally shaped as irregular spheres. They are made up of quartz, often reddened by iron and deposited in layers to create concentric circles that look like the rings on the cross section of a tree . . . these agates range from about the size of a pea up to more than 20 pounds . . . colors red, orange, and yellow are all caused by iron and are the main colors in Lake Superior agates."

Harvey searched for smooth flat stones to indulge his passion for pitching them across the surface of Lake Superior. He loved watching them skip and counting the number of times it skipped before they sank into the waters. If it skipped at least 4-5 times, it was a good throw. It didn't matter to him whether he threw away an agate or not! As we scoured the beach for treasures, Harvey found an army-green wrist watch and was surprised to see that it was still working. Six years later, this watch was still ticking! What a great bargain!

Soon Harvey said, "It's time for us to move on. We've only got about 3-4 hours of daylight left for driving."

Dano and I both whined, "Aw, do we have to go now? We're having so much fun here!"

And we were having so much fun here, romping around on the beach and climbing up and down endless mounds of pebbles! No two pebbles were alike. Our bags were overflowing with nature's treasures. Dano believed that he had found at least two or three genuine agates. But that remained to be seen because we didn't have time to crack them open right then and there. Dano and I were reluctant to leave this wonderful beach.

I asked Harvey, "Can we grab a big bucket so that I can take these pebbles home with me? That way, I'll always be able to walk on them and enjoy a good foot massage whenever I need one!"

Harvey responded, "I don't think that's a good idea, Mel. I don't want to carry a bucket of stones around on our trip. We're already carrying a heavy load. When we get to Arizona, you can collect all the rocks you want!"

Later, I came to regret not taking these smooth and colorful pebbles with me because these pebbles were truly one of a kind. They could not be found anywhere else except in the Great Lakes region. Rocks were plentiful out west but they weren't smooth. My only hope was to someday return to Little Girls Point for these special pebbles.

As we journeyed west from this quaint county park, we left behind the last vestige of the freshwater Great Lakes in the Midwest. The further west we drove, the more rocky the terrain became with rocks and stones becoming more rough and jagged with sharp edges. In a way, I felt as if we had gone off the edge of the world and were being transported back in time. As we left Michigan, I felt sad about leaving my family and friends behind, especially my two young daughters who were now on their own for the first time.

Two quaint indian legends explain how Little Girls Point got its name. In one legend, two or three fair indian maidens drowned at this cape. In another legend, a mythical Ojibwa maiden became lost in the "Great Forest" on her wedding day. Her spirit was later seen wandering here at Little Girls Point with her lover.

[To be continued next week.]

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Melanie Bond is a retired document analyst and technical writer from the Michigan Department of the Treasury. She is a prominent leader in the deaf-blind community, being the founder of several important discussion lists.

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