What to do When the Weather Is Yucky

Well, Mother Nature is being real mean lately. I can't wait to get in another hike. I found what seems to be a unique trail and a good one for wildlife, but it has been cold and wet and I can't take the chance of getting sick so..... I find ways to amuse myself.

We are also in the process of moving to a new place. I called the utility companies today to get them all switched to new address- I spent more time on hold than I did actually talking! Our plan is to finish moving on Thursday. It is now Wednesday and I am out of boxes and no place in town has any. I'm glad the move is only ten miles away because it is going to be take packed boxes over, unpack them and bring them back to repack again- what a pain!

For the first couple of weeks I will have to go to my daughters' house to post and keep up with email. The cable company is two weeks behind in starting new service so we are on a waiting list. Just what we need right? I hope we can somehow get at least one hike in this week in between the bad weather and moving.

I have to admit that while the weather has been yucky I have had time to find more lakes to check out for the 2009 season which will open the end of May. I also checked out what's new in camping gear and have found a few things I would like to add to our evergrowing supplies. I am also working on plans for a collapsible platform for our air mattress!

Mother Nature Not Being Nice!

We have been rained and hailed upon for the last three days! It was also in the 40"s and 50"s- too wet and cold to do much outside. Today was warm but we had sprinkles on and off for the most part of the day. I hear that this is the weather that brings out the mushrooms. I wouldn't know because that is something I don't get into.

To kill time we played a lot on the Wii- got to get some kind of exercise right? We also sorted fishing tackle and organized our new tackle box. We got rid of a lot of the stuff that just doesn't seem to work and the old worn out stuff. We still have not put fresh line on our poles but we will be doing that soon I'm sure.

We are also in the process of moving so I did a lot of sorting and packing for that big event. I can't believe how much three people can accumulate over the years. I think I'm finally down to the necessities now. Poor Thomas has a long way to go before he is done!

They are predicting good weather on Wednesday again so we hope to take in another short hike. I'm not sure where it will be but I know it will be interesting. I bet everything is super green now after all the rain we just had! I will let you all know Wednesday night. Until then- get out and enjoy a little nature!

First Hike of 2009

We got our first hike in this year. Today was so beautiful for being outside. We did get a little rain on us but not enough to worry about. The hike was a little over one mile and we discovered how out of shape we all were! I guess the winter was longer than I thought!

The trail we took was the Beaver Pond Trailhead off from Cass road in Traverse City. There are actually several trails back in the woods there and it just depends on which way you go what you will see. We did not see much wildlife today, however, we did see tell tale signs that the beavers are truly busy!

There are several places that show beaver activity, this picture was taken at the beginning of the hike.

Although it's a little blurry I'm sure you will agree this is quite a good sized beaver house! We never saw any of the critters about but I can assure you they are there somewhere!

We did see one thing we were not expecting at all! We had a little garter snake cross our path. Of course Thomas our photo man had to stop and get a picture of it.

The little guy actually seemed to stop moving long enough to be photographed. I must admit he blends into the scenery pretty well! This path that we took today is really a well done path. It has wood planking that goes over the swampy areas and several wood bridges that go over the creek and the river which seems to twist and turn in all directions . We had a few medium climbs to contend with but I believe this would be a great hiking trail for even the beginner or someone with younger children.

The only other animals we saw back there were some ducks and a pair of swans. One swan was sitting on the nest and seemed very content even when we were taking pictures of it!

When we were walking in what seemed like secluded woods far from civilization I happened to look over to my right and notice that I could still see traffic going along the road. So many people travel up and down the roads and yet never take the time to stop and return to the simple things in life! What a shame!

Of course not all critters are friendly- and I wouldn't want to disturb what lives in that nest dangling from that tree branch! So now we have taken our first hike of 2009 and they are predicting rain for the next three days! Go figure!

While we wait for the next sunny day we will be blowing up air mattresses to check for leaks and relining our fishing poles! Until next time- get out and enjoy a little nature!

In Search of New Lakes

We survived the last of the snow yesterday. Hopefully we can get a hike in on Friday. Today we went in search of some fishing lakes in Kalkaska county that I have never heard of. They are in a small village called Darragh, which is literally in the middle of nowhere!



Out of the four lakes we went in search of we managed to find two. The first one we found is called Manistee Lake which is still frozen over! There is a campground down the road too. We never did find the public boat launch.

The other lake we found was Twin Lake. There is no access to one of the twin lakes (the one the locals say has the best fishing) but we did find the public access to the other lake. This lake does not allow water skiing and speed boats so it will be ideal for fishing. The one thing I hate is trying to fish while boats are zooming by.

We gave up trying to find the other ones in that area because there are many dirt roads and they all seem to be named the same! I guess you could say we were afraid of getting lost- we decided to make a trip to the campgrounds and get directions from the owner for any other lakes in the area this summer!

Of course, we finally made it back to civilization and pavement and instead of going west toward home decided to explore south. Well, after several lefts and rights we were again lost in the middle of God's country! I can tell you that although we never found any bodies of water we did find a Llama farm. Somehow we made it back to the main highway and headed home. I must say we had a beautiful drive and enjoyed it very much.

Our next search will be in Benzie County on Friday morning before we go for our first hike of the season. We will also have Thomas with us so we can post some great pictures. Come back late Friday night and learn of our adventures for the day! Remember- Think Spring!

Meet The Crew for 2009

Well, I thought Spring had hit northern Michigan, but guess what? They are predicting snow for Tuesday! Yesterday was gorgeous and we untarped the boat,set up the screen tent and the lawn swing. Today it was chilly and rainy so we just hung out inside and talked about the different trips we will be going on.

Thomas was busy practicing with his new camera, making sure it will take the fabulous pictures of our great catches this summer! If you enjoy camping, hiking or fishing you will truly enjoy his nature pictures and this blog will tell you all our secret places to go for the good times!

So let me introduce you to the crew that will be taking you on this wilderness journey. First, of course, there's me, my name is Nancy and I am the researcher. I spend hours finding the secret spots. I am also the one who does the gear check to make sure we have everything we need when we get to our fishing hole!

Next is our cameraman and hiking expert, Thomas. He is our "nature boy" because of all his hiking experience and survival skills. I'm sure you will enjoy the great pictures he will contribute to this blog.

Then there's Ray, he's the one who keeps us focused! He is the cook, campsite inspector, and driver of the boat. Without him we would have no adventures to share!

So, now you have met the crazy crew and we can get on with the real thing-hidden camping, hiking and fishing spots in Grand Traverse, Benzie and Kalkaska counties of Northern Michigan!

We are all ready to get started for the year but it seems old Man Winter wants to stick around a little longer!

Tomorrow we are planning to find a couple of lakes I never heard of before. According to the site I found them on they are supposed to have Walleye, Pike and Large mouth Bass in them. I've lived up here for 24 years and never even heard of the town they are in before! That is my goal this season- to find places that few people know about and let you, my fellow fisherman be able to find them too.

Tune in on Wednesday to learn what we found and how our outing went. I will keep you informed of what we find and what we are doing as we patiently wait for the fishing season to get here. We will be starting our hiking this week too and try to catch the Beavers at play!

2009 Fishing,Camping and Hiking Season

As the weather warms up, the crew and I will begin our 2009 camping, fishing and hiking season. We will start hiking as soon as the weather permits. Here it gets warm in the daytime but extremely chilly at night. Of course, by the end of May, the fish will be biting and by mid-June we will be able to include camping.

Our goal is to find hidden or little known spots for summer fun! The word vacation actually means "time devoted to pleasure, rest, and relaxation." There is no better way to do all three then in the wilderness away from the hustle and bustle of our busy world. While popular and well known vacation spots are great- to really relax and enjoy the experience I find that it's much better to go off the beaten path!

You are more likely to see wildlife along a secluded trail than you are along a populated one.It's great to have a chance to watch river Otters at play and deer grazing in a clearing, but to do this one has to be extremely quiet so naturally the fewer people the more likely it is to happen. We plan to bring you as close to the beauty of the wilderness as we can. We will be writing about the wonders that we see as well as posting pictures. Whenever possible we will give you directions to the same hiking trails we write about so you , too, can enjoy them. We will also give you the name of every campground and fishing lake that we find. If we're really feeling generous, we might even tell you where the big fish can be found!

We live in a tourist town- full of motels and resorts and every summer vacationers flock to our area. Most of them eat at restaurants, swim in the indoor pools and call it a vacation! Yeah, we have a lot of things to do here if you want to fight the traffic and the crowds to do them (what a way to relax!) However, on the outskirts of town is where the real vacation stuff is located. Our area has many nature trails and protected wildlife reserves, small lakes with huge fish and quiet campgrounds. This is the true beauty of Northern Michigan and we are going to share it with you!

I know that spring is here as our Mallard ducks are making their nest in the pond on the other side of our driveway. Soon the Pileated woodpeckers will be back. The squirrels are out playing tag among the trees, flowers are starting to bloom and hopefully this year we will have Hummingbirds to entertain us. We can watch all this from our living room window, yet two blocks away is the main tourist area and all the traffic.

So, as the 2009 season for camping, hiking and fishing begins we will be busy the next few weeks getting our gear ready, planning our trips and getting out the hiking shoes! If the weather holds up we may even get our first chance to hike this weekend.