Finally, we made it to the Porcupine Mountains. We went to the trail recommended by the person staffing the information center.Here is Brian, right before embarking on the worst hike of our lives:
It was certainly beautiful!
Climbing the stairs to get to the lookout:
At times, between the clouds (it was raining a bit) and the trees, it seemed like we were hiking in the dark:
The trails in Michigan tended to not be as well-kept as the trails closer to home. We actually preferred the trails in Michigan -- offering a bit of excitement, or steeplechase hiking:
We finally finished the buggiest hike in history. We had bug spray in the car, but hadn't put any on since the bugs had not been bad the previous few days. That was a big mistake! We both had to use our jackets to cover our heads and much of the time was spent walking as quickly as we could to avoid more bites and get to the safety of the car!We drove to another area of the park. Along the way, we saw a giant beaver swimming in a pond. Sadly, I didn't get a picture. He was huge!
This area is known for its waterfalls, and was basically bug-free!
We came across this adorable squirrel:
Who climbed in the tree upon our approach:
This picture does not do justice to the steepness of the hill we climbed up (and down):
But it was worth it, as the views were spectacular:
The diversity of landscape in such a small area was pretty amazing:
He's hiding, but if you look closely, you can see a yellow-bellied sapsucker. At least that's what we think he is!
We drove off to the third recommended hiking place, and it was astounding:
Perhaps the best part was coming across these cedar waxwings building a nest:
We also saw this dark-eyed junco. He sang for us for quite some time:
Back on the road, we stopped at a sign about a bat cave. There were no bats at the moment, but apparently during the fall, thousands of bats rest here:
Across the road was a little pond where we found these two frogs:
They blend in so well!And then...
Another turtle in the road! We stopped the car to move him, as we had the previous one; however, this one ran off into safety as soon as he saw us coming:
Brian followed him, lecturing him on safety and giving him other turtle life lessons. Namely, how it is not a good idea to hang out on the road where cars are going 55 miles per hour and most are not on the lookout for turtles! We doubt the turtle listened, though!
Back at the cabin, we did a sauna. After dinner, we decided to go back out to the place where we had hiked yesterday. Our goal was to see at least one bird.It was pretty chilly, so we got to wear some knitted goods:
Waiting peacefully for some birds:
Going to other areas to search:
Looking in trees:
Would you believe that, although we heard hundreds of birds in the trees, we couldn't see even one? They must all have been roosting for the night.Defeated, we returned to the beach and walked around a bit:
Then, as always, returned to the cabin for a good night's rest. We estimated that we hiked a little over 10 miles, much of it over hilly terrain, so the rest was welcome.
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