Cabin Adventure- Day 1

October 27, 28, 29 Mike took a couple days off from work so we could enjoy our anniversary with a trip to Fern Dog's cabin.  The weather was changing almost constantly, with rain one minute then sunshine the next.
We headed up US 31 turning off on M-120 to go northeast, there was still beautiful autumn color in the trees.

We saw the sign for Pines Point (M-120 and west on Garfield Rd. to south 168th Ave.) and decided it was a good time to revisit this place.  It is beautiful here, right along the White River.
Pines Point is in the Manistee National Forest and there is a fee to visit.  You will find that the canoe/kayak is a walk-in landing. This site is popular for tubing on the White River during the summer, with a half-hour float around the peninsula located in the picnic area. It is quiet and secluded, surrounded by towering white pine.

Tilly got out of the car to stretch her legs and have a sniff here and there.  She likes going for car rides, but it is getting very hard for her to get in and out of the car.  We have to put the front seat all the way forward then she can get her front paws up on the floor of the backseat area.  Usually she needs a boost with her rear half.  Not sure how many more trips she will be with us.
 
Mike wanted a different way to go north, so checking my Michigan County Atlas by Dave Brown, I saw the Walkinshaw Wetlands were just a bit north from here, so that's where we went.  I don't know much about this place.  Here is some info about Walkinshaw Wetlands.  It is a 1,000 acre expanse of marsh and wet meadows.  America's third largest bird the Sandhill Crane, known for its leaping displays in the spring mating season, nest here in the Walkinshaw Wetlands, part of the Manistee National Forest, southeast of Walkerville.

Next stop Green Cottage Access point on the Pere Marquette River, also in the Manistee National Forest.  This site has canoe access, a boat launch, parking, toilets, angler walk-in fishing.  And this green cottage.  Nearest intersection is Peacock Rd. and 72nd St., this is just a few miles southwest of Baldwin.

Pere Marquette River
After this we bumped over to Baldwin and stopped in at the US Forest Service Ranger Station.  This is a great places to stop for info and maps, I even bought three new nature books.

Along M 37, at some point we turned west again and drove through the towns of Irons, Dublin, and Wellston.  Dublin General Store located at 18372 Hoxeyville Rd Wellston, MI 49689 is a favorite stop, they have tons of good stuff, we got some beef jerky.  They have 50 varieties of delicious home cured jerky. 

We went north on Synder Rd. and Mike saw Stronach Dam Rd. and thought it looked interesting, so we followed this to the east and it dead ended at Consumer Energy property with this sign.

So we all bailed out of the car for more exploration to find... the Pine River.  Checking the map later I realized we were just south of the Cooley Bridge on M-55, huh.

What a cool little stop that turned out to be!  I found 6 different kinds of wildflowers blooming, Brown-eyed Susan, Spotted Knapweed, goldenrod, asters, Bouncing Bet, and Red Clover.
We finished our drive arriving at the cabin,

made a fire in the woodstove, went for a walk, ate good stuff, relaxed.  Ah.

Silver Creek Pathway, Arboretum Trail, Flea Roast and Ox Market, Cabin Fun, Loda Lake, Spirit of the Woods Music Festival and More

June 2013
In June Mike and I, made a couple trips to the cabin in Manistee County, Michigan.  Mid June we hiked part of the Manistee River trail starting at Slagle Creek Bridge and heading north 90 minutes then back to Slagle Creek.  Wonderful walk as always.
Manistee River Trail...

Slagle Creek 

 Slagle Creek Bridge

Manistee River

Buttercup (noticed the shine on the leaf) that tells me it's a buttercup.

 

 Fungus with bark growing through it.

After a three hour hike we enjoyed the Spirit of the Woods Music Association and Folk Festival, in Brethren, Michigan.

                         No that's not us  :)

 



While in Brethren we walked to Lake Eleanor.


On this trip we stopped in at Gale's Pond an Oceana County Park.  It is located on Fillmore Road in Elbridge Township and is just under 19 acres in size. The park has a 2500 foot handicap-accessible boardwalk that extends across the pond and links up with nature trails along the back portion of the park.

I found Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium viirginianum).
Rattlesnake fern gets its name from the fertile section of frond, which is reminiscent of a rattlesnake's rattle. The fertile section is bright yellow when the spores are mature; it is green in the photo above.

Next along the trail, I looked close because I've seen liverwort here before and there it was!



On one of our trips over to the Dublin General Store http://www.dublinstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc in Dublin, Michigan where they have yummy jerky, we past the Arboretum Trail (I've been here before) we decided to take a walk around the trail.

"This Arboretum was planted in the Manistee National Forest in the 1930's to compare how various species of trees from throughout the world would grow in the local climate. Some of them have survived and thrived. Others are hard to find. The interpretive signs have been removed which is a shame, because they were written by someone with a cute sense of humor. This is a wonderful treasure that is practically unknown, but the Forest Service is abandoning it, and will no longer be maintaining the trail."
From Get off the Couch http://www.getoffthecouch.info/

A few years ago we turned east on Stronach Dam Road off Snyder Road near Wellston, Michigan and found a place to walk to the Pine River, it is Manistee National Forest Property.  It's a fun little spot to stop.  We stopped there yesterday.

 

 

 
We had to pop into Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary on one of our trips.

 In Irons this past weekend we attended
the Flea Roast and  Ox Market.

 Bands played, fleas were roasted, horses pulled too much weight (7,000 + pounds), we listen to bands play, (the Silverado Band played Friday, we had heard them play the Saturday before at Grand Pines assisted living where my mother-in-law lives), there were carnival rides, raffles, and an ox (flea) market.  I'm sure this is great fun for some but just give me a quiet trail through the woods, thanks.

Off to the cabin for the night.  It is so quiet and peaceful here.  At night we heard the call of the Barred Owl.

So just yesterday we left the cabin and made our way to the Silver Creek Pathway in Lake County, Michigan.  We have hiked this trail several times and enjoy the variety of areas it offers. 

 

 

 

"Silver Creek Pathway has been a gradual work in progress, an evolving trail that is now considered well worth the wait by visitors to this corner of Lake County. What began as a short path for campers in the 1970s is now a 4-mile loop that extends between two state forest campgrounds and follows both sides of the scenic Pine River. The key to the trail’s development was the installation of a pair of bridges that allow hikers and others to cross the river and return to the trailhead."
From http://michigantrailmaps.com/Lake/SilverCreek/SilverCreekPathway.html

There were some interesting clouds on the way home, it was good to be home. 

 

 

 Almost home.