Hemlock Crossing is another place to find Closed Gentian this time of year. Betsy went along for this walk, and was properly impressed by the Stunningly Beautiful Gentian
"Hemlock Crossing offers 239 acres of woods and wetlands along the Pigeon River. Over six miles of trails meander through bottomland and upland forest, old pine plantations and along the river." Ottawa County Park
Mike and I took a two hour drive to Silver Creek Pathway near Luther in Lake County, Michigan. We started at the Silver Creek State Forest Campground and walked the
~ four mile loop clockwise. This trail runs along the Pine River, it crosses Silver Creek near the trailhead.
Pine River
After participating in a Jog-A-Thon fundraiser for Rosy Mound Elementary School, with my granddaughter, Vivienne, I took myself for a walk across the road at Rosy Mound Natural Area.
"Rosy Mound is a classic Great Lakes dune system including high wooded dunes, foredunes, beach and a dune blowout. A 0.7 mile hiking trail from the parking area to the Lake Michigan shoreline includes 1,000 feet of stairs up and down the dunes and scenic views. A unique shade canopy, dune boardwalk trail and rustic toilets are located near the beach." Ottawa County Park
I found many Autumn Coralroot Orchid that I hadn't seen here before, but they were all done blooming. And yes, in the next couple of days I paid the price for walking up and down all those steps! I did see plants blooming. Mostly asters, goldenrod, and Queen Anne's Lace.
Barry County is one place we find Fringed Gentian blooming. It was a cool and cloudy morning, so most flowers took their time waking up.
Larch, lots of Larch!
5 comments:
The gentians are just beautiful, especially the fringed ones which I've seen exactly once in my life.
I think I've only found maidenhair fern once in the wild too, so that was a great find.
I'm not sure I could have done all those stairs but it looks like it was worth it. You saw some beautiful things. I rarely see pitcher plants and larches are scarce here as well.
The sunset was beautiful!
Thanks Allen. Yes I think the color of the gentians makes them a favorite for me. While I was going up and down the stairs I was fine, even though I had walked to the school from the park and did three laps in the Jog-a-thon! But oh, the next two days, my legs were sore. Larch are another favorite, we planted some at the edge of our lawn, and they are just starting to turn yellow and drop their needles. The sunset was great, so colorful but we were in the car with not much of a view of the sky. At Lake Michigan I'm sure it was gorgeous!
:)
So it's not just me. I sent this post to a few friends and they said the same thing - your photos are gorgeous! The Gentians are an unusual shape and such a lit-up purple. The wildflowers against the blue sky. Your long views and the trails leading off. What an eye for shapes and colors. Thanks for posting and keeping my memories of our walks alive. M :)
You really inspire the kids and I to get out, and I can't thank you enough for that. It's even better that you go to the same places that we do - they recognize them in the photographs. Which is so fun for them!
annamatrix Thank You for your comment, it is one of the best comments ever! At times I think about not posting, then along comes a comment like yours. I have had people say that they are no longer able to get outside and walk, but reading the blog and looking at the photos makes their day. And in turn that makes my day!
:) Chris
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