Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Ottawa Sands and Saugatuck Dunes State Park in November


        November 15, 2018                  Ottawa Sands with Marie


   The Sag     



      Grand Haven Board of Light and Power along the Grand River



Walking along a trail I could just see the top of the county building in Grand Haven, about one mile away.  From the same spot I zoomed in with the camera and got the photo below.  The county building through the BLP power lines.

 Goldenrod was still blooming even though there was some snow on the ground.

 From Ottawa Sands looking east to the U.S. 31 drawbridge and the railroad bridge.
   We saw the eagle nest. We also saw the eagle flying high in the sky.

November 19 2018  Marie and I hiked at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, the north end.
"A day-use park along a secluded strip of Lake Michigan shoreline, Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers 1,000 acres of land with two and a half miles of shoreline. The Lake Michigan beach is a two-thirds mile hike from the picnic parking area. In addition, the park has fresh water coastal dunes that are over 200 feet tall. The park's terrain varies from steep slopes to rolling hills. The park, located in Allegan County, is relatively undeveloped."




 These mushrooms were growing in the sand, one had been broken off and the cap flipped over.  The top was edged in purple and underneath was all purple.




Then we arrived at Lake Michigan!


In this photo you can see Big Red the Holland lighthouse approximately 4.4 miles to the north of where I was standing at the beach at Saugatuck State Park.

 
High up in a tree, I could see a dark shape.  A bird?  A Walmart bag?  In the picture above you can just see it on the dark hill....center of the picture then a bit to the right.  I zoomed in (photo below) and I think it was an osprey. 

 
Here I circled the bird (with red) in the tree...




 That same day we also walked at River Bluff Park.



      Kalamazoo River
Some of the trail here is down from the Gerald R. Ford Freeway!  As long as those trucks stay up on the road! 

 Dandelion Blooming!

Witch Hazel blooming!


Some neat lichen?


We drove to Wade Memorial Nature Sancutary, no walk here....

We drove through New Richmond Bridge Park.

And we drove down 133rd Avenue, where in the spring we see so many of the early blooming wildflowers.


Then home past farms, and barns, and through a tunnel.



A wonderful day, I am so glad we went!  Thanks for stopping by the blog.
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3 comments:

  1. Allen NorcrossDecember 20, 2018 at 5:19 PM

    You certainly saw a lot of interesting things! I don't recognize the lichens or that mushroom but they're always fun to see.
    It's always great to see flowers too, especially in December.
    The sand dunes are fascinating and they make me wonder how and why they formed there. We have sand dunes at our tiny strip of ocean front, but nothing like those and they're many miles from any ocean.
    Great places to visit!

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  2. Plants Amaze MeDecember 22, 2018 at 11:40 AM

    I found this explanation for Michigan dunes,
    "You have to go back to when glaciers covered Michigan to find the original source for the sand. The deposits left behind were mostly made of quartz, and over time the constant movement of the water formed what is now our sugar sand. In order for sand dunes to develop, you must have a large source of dry sand, the winds to transport it, and an area large enough for the dune to take hold. The eastern coast of Lake Michigan has a vast array of impressive sand dunes, thanks to the westerly winds that take the sand and blow it into dune formations. Often these dunes become covered with vegetation, which stabilizes them. If this vegetation is gone, the dunes experience wind erosion."

    I thought maybe you would know the lichens straight away! The mushrooms in the sand we have actually seen before, according to Marie...

    Yes always something of interest, even if it is just the fresh air!
    :)

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  3. AnonymousDecember 22, 2018 at 6:51 PM

    You really made Ottawa Sands look enticing! It's a former sand mine! I liked your zoomed-in photos of the county building and the US-31 drawbridge. Another adventure, the north end of Saugatuck Dunes State Park was fun. Amazing the things we found, even in November! Then, River Bluff Park, Wade Memorial, New Richmond Bridge Park, 133rd Avenue which is a dirt road with a train overpass, and a tunnel under an airport - wow! All in Allegan County. It was a nice walk and drive. Thanks! M :)

    ReplyDelete