P.J. Hoffmaster State Park

Way back last year on December 19 2011 we hiked the northern portion of Hoffmaster, this is where you will find Little Black Creek.  We parked at the campground entrance (6585 Lake Harbor Road Muskegon, MI 49441) which is closed this time of year.  We were out for 3 hours enjoying ourselves.

 Along the drain, this is not Little Black Creek.

At the mouth of Little Black Creek, we had fun here and played in the "quicksand".  It sucked my boot down so deep Marie had to grabbed my arm and save me from being pulled under!

There were gulls.

 We crossed the creek and continued through the woods, now we are north of Little Black Creek.

Here we are high above the mouth of the creek looking south.

 This is a moss I have been seeing often this year and I can't say I remember it from years past.  I'm not sure what kind of moss it is.

Now we are going back to the car through the campground.                       

                                        

On one of the bridges we found this tribute to Dillon.  Later online we found a blog about Dillon, a little boy born too soon.

  Peaceful Little Black Creek, a wonderful day.

North Ottawa Dunes

December 12 2011
North Ottawa Dunes,  513 acres, an Ottawa County park. 
For more info on this park check out this link,
(http://www.co.ottawa.mi.us/ParksVI/Parks/dunes.htm)


We parked at the entrance of Ferrysburg’s Coast Guard Park (18161 North Shore Road Ferrysburg Michigan)  here you will find signs marking the North Ottawa Dunes trail.  No bikes, no horses, yes to dogs on a leash and in the control of the owner.  It was a beautiful December day, with blue sky and no snow.

We were out 4 1/2 hours and covered about 4 miles, walking as far as

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park. The property features tremendous topography with an elevation change of 185 feet in the parabolic dune formations. Eight distinct dunes in the rugged landscape exceed 750 feet in height.

   Not wildflowers but nice to look at.

 We even found a Field Pansy blooming!  It was a small flower so I took a photo through Marie's hand lens.

                                   Coast Guard Park from the entrance

Plenty of room to roam.

Eastmanville Farm

December 5 2011
Eastmanville Farm (Ottawa County Park) located at 7975 Leonard Street in Polkton Township on the Grand River.  This 229 acre property was acquired by Ottawa County in the early 1800s and established as a “poor farm” to provide housing and services for indigent residents. This operation, called Community Haven, survived until the late 1990s.

This park, now called Eastmanville Farm, currently offers 3.5 miles of equestrian and hiking trails and a parking lot.

Lots of maps along the trail.

 We even found a wildflower blooming in December!

 Trail on the northwest corner of the property.

The park property is also south of Leonard Street so we checked that section out.  There are no trails here, this is were you can get to the Grand River.  There is also a creek, on the west side, that flows into the Grand.

Is this a deer skull?

After Eastmanville Farm we stopped off at Millpoint Park,  located at the end of School Street in the Village of Spring Lake, to see the new boardwalk.  Well, it isn't quite done and it wasn't the best day to visit.

Kind of a cold gray day, still fun to explore.

Two Days Later

January 13 2012
Check out the post from two days ago at the Grand Haven Pier...

Now check out these pictures from today!

We even got to go sledding at Duncan Woods. 

Grand Haven Pier

January 11 2012
Very warm temperatures (55 degrees) for this time of year in Michigan, and sunny too.  

  

 I was lucky to go along for a walk on the pier.

In the channel to Lake Michigan we saw diving ducks, maybe Red-breasted Mergansers, one even came up with a fish in its bill.

There were lots of people out and all seemed to be smiling. 
This little sweetie was at the end of the pier,
so cute. 

Beautiful day!