Family Walk at Rycenga Park- May 6 2018

Our first Family Walk this year was May 6 at Rycenga Park in Spring Lake Township.
It was a fun two hours of exploring.

 

   Trailing Arbutus,  Blooming!

      Goldthread,  Blooming!

 

                   Marsh Marigold

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Marie for getting us together, and thanks to all who were able to come!

North Bank Trail

2011 10 13 A new 3.3 mile phase 1 (Fruitport Road to 130th Avenue) section of  the North Bank Trail in Spring Lake Township was completed recently.  My sister, Sugar, managed to pry me off the couch with an invitation to ride our bikes on the new trail.  It was gray and cloudy, but a very comfortable temperature for bike riding. 


We used the new parking area on 144th Avenue, north of M-104, hopped on our bikes and pedaled east.

Right off we were greeted by bright red Winterberry with blueberry bushes in the background.

As we got close to 130th Ave.  we found workers still putting the finishing touches on a bridge.

Of course next year when the vegatation grows in it will look better.

We stopped off at this scenic overlook near the north end of Lloyds Bayou.

There was a bit of wildlife, yup I'm talking about the fly.

We pedaled west to Central Park in Spring Lake (Michigan) then east back to the cars on 144th Avenue.  What a fun outing, we have to do this more often!

Plans are for the North Bank Trail to extend 18 miles along the former Grand Trunk Railroad, connecting with the Musketawa Trail east of Coopersville.  This section now connects with Lakeside Trail that extends through the village of Spring Lake and joins up 26 miles of existing bike paths in Spring Lake Township.
I'm so glad my sister got me off the couch, sometimes you need a little nudge.

A Lighthearted Day!

2010 11 29  Last week's adventure, dreary (except for the sister visit), this week's adventure, lighthearted.  I say lighthearted because I wanted the opposite of dreary.  Lighthearted =  free from care, anxiety, or seriousness.  Don't get me wrong, last week was still fun but we weren't outside as much. 

This week we played and explored in Little Black Creek (above), we found crayfish(below), some other unidentified squiggly creatures, a sort of quicksand, ice, and things to float down the creek.  All carefree FUN!

We went to P.J. Hoffmaster State Park (6585 Lake Harbor Road Muskegon, Michigan).  Approximate size 1200 acres, three miles of pristine beaches on Lake Michigan,  more than 10 miles of trails,  sheltered valleys between the wooded dunes and dense stands of hemlocks, 293 campsites each equipped with electrical service, Gillette Visitor Center, and Little Black Creek.  



Foot bridge on trail at Hoffmaster State Park

Goldenrod still Blooming!

Along the trail at P.J. Hoffmaster

Little Black Creek where it comes out of the woods to meet Lake Michigan.

               

              Beautiful Lake Michigan

After having fun at the beach we wandered into the woods and hills. We were up high on the wooded dunes.

Cool ravine we walked through.

We also added to our park/places list with a quick stop to Water Tower/Tank Park in Spring Lake Township.

We went back to my house, had a cup of lemon tea then went on a walk through our woods.  We saw three Great Horned Owls!  And what different calls they made!  The usual hoot - hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo we didn't hear, more whistles and a whaaa whaaaaaa-a-a-aarrk sound, Wow.

 I think the weather is going to change this week. It has still been 50 degrees here, that's warm for the end of November in Michigan.  We did enjoy this day!



A Dreary Day

2010 11 22 It was cloudy and raining, so my sister Marie and I visited our sweetest sister, Sugar.  It was nice to visit indoors on a day like this. 

We also hung out at the Spring Lake Library, we had stacks of books on the table.  Books about trees, wildflowers, Michigan history, insects, shrubs, pods, and more.  While we were here there was lightning flashing outside the windows, and thunder booming.  It was so dark it looked like night.

After a bit the sun came out so we found a park to explore.  We have been to Rycenga Park before, it is in Spring Lake Township, Michigan.  It has trails, a creek, ball fields, playground, and a  disc golf course.  We walked the trails, it was wet but not raining.  Then we dove down to the creek to have a closer look.

Here is what we saw.

We saw lots of dandelions on the ball field.  Not much for wildflowers but it felt good to be outside.