Somewhere in Manistee County Mid April 2012

April 13-15 Mike and I made a trip to the cabin, it was a rainy weekend but we had some good hikes.  We stopped in Hart for some great Mexican food at La Fiesta then continued up US 31. 

It is always hard for me to go away from home, I like home. But when I get to the cabin I feel I could stay there indefinitely. The cell phone works fine from the cabin so I can keep in touch with family. But no Internet which is a little bit of a break, I'm not saying I never want to go online again but it is much simpler without the frustrations of the computer.


We started our hike at the Hodenply Dam and quickly came to the pedestrian bridge over the Manistee River. We have hiked the Manistee River trail many times, it is our favorite hike. This time we decided to check out the North Country Trail on the west side of the river.

   Hodenply Dam

Pedestrian Bridge over the Manistee River

                 Woodpecker Creek

 You come to the Woodpecker Creek area this way and the trail stayed along the river for a while then headed more into the woods.  We enjoyed an apple sitting next to one of the creeks, there was a small waterfall and the sound was relaxing.  Birds singing, flowers blooming, nice. 

Manistee River
We went about two hours down the trail, sat again, where I fed a gnat to a spider.  Then back north to the Hodenply dam.  We will walk this section of the trail again some day.
After our walk we made a stop along M37 in a wooded area filled with wildflowers.  So much was blooming!  The leaves were just starting to leaf out here ~100 miles north of Ottawa County.  Still nature was ahead of the norm.

We made a stop in Hoxeyville Michigan for some food to cook over the fire.  I prefer to eat at the cabin, since I'm not a fan of restaurants (except La Fiesta).  
We found Norman Township Landing, this is south of Tippy Dam.

The rain had held out for the day and we even had sunshine.  Back to the cabin.

                               Inside the cabin
The next day, Sunday, We went up No 1 Road to the Hodenply Dam and parked in the same place as yesterday.  This time we stuck to the eastern side of the river on the Manistee River Trail.  Wow this place is great.

We hiked to the waterfalls (as marked on some  maps) then walked up through the woods wandering a bit as we made our way to the car.

Mike, well me too, wanted to check out the wildflower patch on M37 since it had rained over night and warmed up a bit.  The flowers were more open and blooming nicely.

Off we go home stopping in at Jones Home Made Ice Cream Parlor in Baldwin.  Yum, I had the chocolate malt with extra malt.  We drove home and hit some heavy rain. 

A great weekend, you just got to get out and do it.