nature

Never mind that nature and north both begin with the letter N, it seems our brains were not allowing us to play with words on our Northern Michigan road trip. Except for the letter N, we had completed the entire alphabet as we had traveled along on our two day adventure. There was a sense of pressure to find our final letter before arriving home. I can’t imagine how many opportunities we had already missed.

Then we saw it! The “nature” preserve was tucked off to the side. It was pouring with rain. We could have easily talked ourselves into bypassing the opportunity. Instead we turned down a miles long, dead straight dirt road. The tunnel of trees created a canopy over the car as we ventured toward our unknown destination. Along the way the magic of Michigan was present everywhere.

The greens of the forest were almost ethereal from the rain. A magical mist floated among the branches. As the woods wrapped us in their embrace, this peaceful location seemed untouched and unspoiled by man. Deer quietly stepped in front of the car, unafraid as if they had never known the fear of encroachment. We continued driving. The deeper we went, the more isolated it became. Suddenly the road ended and we were left to explore the most amazing beach, free of everything except beauty. We had been nourished.

On our way home from Bellaire, we decided to hike in the “Grass River Natural Area”. This “great” place is a little off the beaten path, but it isn’t hard to find. We had heard from others about the amazing “gem” that this protected location is. With our long, cold winters, there are few things more wonderful than being outside on a warm summer day. We learned a long time ago to enjoy the sun when it shines!

It was already late afternoon by the time we got started. Without a plan, we had come unprepared. It was 90 degrees when we set out from the parking lot. We knew we would soon be succumbing to the heat, since we had arrived without our water bottles. It might have been easy to talk ourselves out of this date since we were also wearing the wrong shoes and hadn’t brought bug spray. Instead, we chose to live in the moment. As we set off, we were immediately “greeted” by a friendly Docent on her way home for the day. She directed us to one of the easier trails. There are six of them which all interconnect via a looped system, none of them are really difficult, some are just longer than others.

We hoped to cover about 2 miles of the available 7. Wooden boardwalks led us over the wetlands and swampy areas, they also served to guide us through the delicate Fern Trails. Nature reminds us to reflect on this simplicity and take a moment to just breath. We paused often along our walk, sometimes just to observe a dragonfly lighting upon a cat tail, or a frog jumping into one of the many rivulets. My date wasn’t bad to look at either!

Eventually, we arrived at a wooden dock where we sat quietly for a bit to enjoy the view of the Grass River. The heat seemed to be keeping people away. Except for the sound of bugs and birds, there was only silence and solitude. it was a “great” mini “getaway” to end our day.

I for one am “grateful” that communities choose to protect areas such as this. The respite these places provide is priceless. Best of all, this had been a completely free date!

ABC Explorers

Creating stories and living life, one letter at a time

“N” is for a Nourishing Nature Preserve

G is for the Gorgeous Grass River Natural Area