Cabin Adventure - Day 2

Friday morning, second day of our trip and our 34th wedding anniversary, we took a hike on the Manistee River trail.  But before we left and after a hearty breakfast, we took Tilly out for a walk since she would be staying at the cabin while we went for the longer hike.  Last year we took her on a 10 mile walk, it is just too much for her 14 year old body.

                      Sunrise at the cabin

There was frost over night, probably the first frost of the season.  The car was frosty and the dry brown ferns had a coat of white.  Below is a picture of moss so pretty with little ice crystals on them.

We decided on starting our hike at Red Bridge on Coates Highway, this is the south end of the Manistee River Trail.

There is a parking area just east of the bridge on the south side of the road, to access the trail you cross the road (Coates Highway) then follow the trail along the road about 1/4 mile to trailhead.

OK good now we get on the trail and head north(ish), before long you are high above the river and have a great vista of the river valley below.

Many trees had a hazy smoke look to them, they must have already dropped their leaves.

Many signs have been updated in several of the US forest lands.  And this boardwalk has been replaced, it was pretty wet walking through here before.

Cool tree

We walked as far as Cedar Creek, it was a beautiful day with perfect weather.  And we hadn't seen one other person on the trail.  We had it all to ourselves!

If I remember right we were out for about 4 hours total, we weren't walking fast and we stopped several times to take in the view.  From the parking area on Coates Highway to Cedar Creek is ~3 1/2 miles, so we walked 7 miles, not counting going up and down the hills!  Perfect.

We drove to Wellston and checked out some stores, then drove to Irons for a good fish dinner at the Oak Grove Tavern.  The place looks a bit scary from the outside, but the food was good.  I would go there again.

Back to the cabin we went, Tilly was glad to see us and we walked her to the creek for a swim (her not us).  A serene evening up to about 8:30 when the owner of the cabin, Fern Dog, showed up along with two other people and 5 dogs.  Well it is a big cabin.

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.