Thursday, November 10, 2011

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.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

From your first photo to the last, you show West Michigan as the coolest place to live. We have great roads, the best autumn colors, and remote spots to explore.
You write so well - looking forward to Day 2 of your trip!
M :)

kayak1 said...

At one time we owned 20 acres between Irons and Dublin... Should have kept it!!! Would have been perfect for our motor home... We could access it from the blacktop or from the north off a dirt road... Beautiful pictures... Thanks...

Plants Amaze Me said...

Marie, Michigan is the coolest place to live especially this Fall, it was long lasting. Gee thanks for the glowing comment. :)

kayak1, Yes you should have held onto the land, then parked the motor home and go on kayaking adventures! Thanks for visiting my blog.

stratovolcano said...

There is so much material on Plants Amaze me these days! Mary wants to set up a camera to capture images of the tooth fairy. She is getting two teeth pulled tomorrow. The pictures of Michigan are so pretty. I miss Michigan, but there are no good mountains around so I would miss those if in Michigan for too long. However, there is a flying club in Muskegon. Cool blog... but you need a MAP! That's right a map. So we know where all these places are located.

stratovolcano said...

Oh yes so I showed Mary your pics of the animals with your spy camera... she was really amazed! I want to get one and place it on my hilltop in Big Bend for a month or so, and see what I get. Oooooo, mountain lions!