Drying out...

Things are improving here in West Michigan! It's still very wet, but the river is going down and is no longer above flood stage.  There are still people who can't get into their homes and some businesses are still closed, but the roads are open again.  We still have some extra people at our Nursing Home for a few weeks until the home that was evacuated is able to be renovated.  They've settled in well.
There were record flood levels all along the river from the East of Grand Rapids all the way to the lake.  Speaking of the lake, Lake Michigan is now 8 inches higher.  I think that's incredible, when you think of the size of that lake!
For those that asked - we had no flood damage.  Our house stayed dry and we're really thankful for that.  If you saw the picture that showed my car and the damage I caused when I backed into a tree :(  it's scheduled to be fixed on Wednesday.
I had to share these pictures with you.  They were taken by a satellite that passed over Michigan and they show the difference a few weeks of rain can make.

This one was taken the day before the rain started.  Notice the brownish color compared to the green below.

This one was taken this past Friday when the water had already started to go down.  You see how many more blue spots or lakes show up.  Also that squiggly line going through the middle is the Grand River.  You can see that it's much thicker than in the previous shot.
I think it's really neat to see how much change you can see from that far up!