It's hard to believe that 2024 is almost in the books and 2025 is right around the corner. It's been a pretty big year for a lot of reasons. I remember a year or so ago there was a contest on HIVE to share your top photos of the year in a post. I know I didn't win the contest because there are a ton of great photographers here on Hive, but I remember it was fun to go back and remember the year.
With that in mind, I'm going to do that again this year. Just for the fun of it. No contest necessary.
Despite the significant snow that had been dumped on us, we were treated to a very colorful sunset on this particular evening in January 2024. I really wish I could get my phone to capture the colors the way they show up with the naked eye. I've never been able to accomplish that though.
In March I got to spend some time at a conference in Grand Rapids, MI. It's one of my favorite bigger cities in the state. It still has a bit of small town feel, but it also has the skyscaper's and bustling crowds that you would expect in a larger city. It's also pretty safe compared to some of the other ones in the state. I got this awesome corner room with an amazing view.
April on the other hand brought with it a tremendous amount of heartache. We had to say goodbye to our beloved dog @jovijett and this is one of the last pictures we would ever take of her. I'm actually not going to write much more about this because I am barely holding it together just typing these few sentences. It's good I am alone in my office right now.
Since losing our dog, @mrsbozz and I still haven't been back to the park where we used to walk with her even eight months later now. Instead, we have started to explore other outdoor areas where we can take walks. The photo above is from one of them. It's actually right around the corner from where I grew up, but still a good 15 minute drive from where we currently live.
It was a beautiful morning when we ventured out and the observation tower on the site offered some amazing views of the wetlands area.
In May, @mrsbozz and I decided to go on an early camping trip. We were lucky enough to snag a great spot right on the shores of Black Lake in northern Michigan. In addition to the sweet camping spot, we were also treated to an amazing Aurora Borealis show the first night of our trip. The lights came out a little bit the second night too, but not as brilliant as the first night.
In 2024 I also got to play a fair amount of disc golf. Probably more rounds than I have played in the past ten years. It was great to be out on the courses even if I didn't do as well as I had hoped. There are some amazing natural areas with disc golf courses to enjoy all across the globe.
In June we got to take an amazing camping trip to another area of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. We decided to visit this two or three story robot sculpture they had built out of spare pieces and parts. It's pretty cool looking and if you ever get a chance to visit Mackinaw City, you should check it out.
Early July was quite possibly the highlight of the year when @mrsbozz and I drove out to Denver Colorado to watch our niece play softball. It was a long but amazing trip and we got to see so many incredible things. I can't get over how beautiful America is and I hope that we get the chance to head back out that way again very soon.
Later in July we headed back up to the northern most point of Michigan's lower peninsula and we camped very close to the five mile long Mackinac Bridge for the first time. We also made the trip over to the historic and famous Mackinac Island. It was a really great trip!
The remainder of the summer included even more camping trips as well as a really unique fishing trip that you will see in the photos below. I'm not going to use a lot of words here, because I think the photos really speak for themselves.
I've gotta be honest, it's been hard to pick just a few shots because there were so many good ones through the year. Perhaps I should have done a better job of selecting just a handful to recap with you. What fun would that be?!
In October our camping finally came to an end and we were also lucky enough to get another Norther Lights show later in the year. It wasn't quite as intense as the previous one, but it was still pretty great. We took a nice trip down to Ohio and spent a night on the town for our anniversary as well as catching some end of the year softball games.
In November I made an impromptu trip to Wisconsin with my good friend @a4xjeepr to pick up this old Willy's truck. I also started my Grilling and Smoking community here on Hive, and I unexpectedly became a great uncle! It was quite a way to end the year!
Finally, we end the way we started. With a snowy view of my back yard. The snow is actually all gone now thanks to a late December warm up, but I have no doubt January 2025 will bring us more of the white stuff.
It's been a pretty amazing year full of unbelievable sorrow and joy. It's pretty interesting how things tend to balance out like that isn't it?
Cheers to 2025, I hope we all have an awesome year with more laughter than tears and more success than misfortune.
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