Oh, the texts are already flying around. ShelleyJean and I are
getting the travel itch! Time for another Michigan State Park Centennial
GeoTour adventure in the works!
We've completed 72 parks
so far!
We’ve hit a few parks during the work week including Belle Isle
(where I got FTF, remember?) I had to let me teammates into the act.
We also hit William C Stirling SP near Monroe. Surprising part? I
kinda (shamefacedly) thought this would be a blow-off park, but we spied more
wildlife here than any other park! And it was a beautiful walk! As we walked to
the cache, the trail divided a clear lake on one side and a beautiful marshland
on the other. Blue herons, cranes, swans, and many deer.
We also crossed paths with history. Haven Hill in Highland State
Park was the summer residence of Eleanor and Edsel Ford. We hiked up the hill
(yes, “hill” in “Haven Hill” should have been our clue!) to visit the foundation
remains.
We also had a big weekend cache run in the Lower Upper Western
(only a real MICHIGANDER will figure that out!). We headed up to Charlevoix to
Traverse City and onto the Leelanau Peninsula before heading South.
Here are a few of my favorite photos or stops from that trip - with spoilers! BEWARE!
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| Halfway There, Almost Anyway Virtual GCGB0R |
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| Traverse City SP GC801RA |
Did some shopping at the Bear Den near Suttons Bay - LOVED IT! And
then onto the Cherry Country Quilters Quilt Shop downtown.
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Keeper of the Cache
Monarch season of Lake Michigan! |
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| Grand Traverse Lighthouse at Leelanau State Park GC801NH |
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| Buffaloed GC1R686 |
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| Interlochen GC801MN |
Our favorite part of Mitchell SP was the nearby Earth Cache: The
Mystery of the Clam Lake Canal GC1BJ3R. I actually learned something, and we
had a lot of fun watching the campers enjoy the waterway.
We crossed paths with the Linear State Parks, which meant they were stops along a rails-to-trail. Not much to report – no wildlife, flowers, points of interest along the way. Also no state park signs to pose with so we had to get creative.
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| Seen along the White Pine Trail |
Although peaceful to cache together, the caches were getting a little unexciting. We were happy to find this “welcoming”
smiley 😊
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| Lovely sunflower patch near the last Linear State Park |
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Can you read the badge?
Ionia RA GC801MQ |
To supplement the State Park caches, we detoured for
some quiet cemeteries, Virtuals, and "county caches" for SJ. I mean…. when else will we be this
close to Belding, MI – home to two virtual rewards. My favorite, however, was
the Virtual Reward – Clem Sohn GC7B6A0 – the grave of an Aviation Pioneer
buried near Pewamo (no spoilers below).
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| Corunna Historical Village GC1YZ7N |
Twenty-eight caches to go. I’m loving our pace because
we are enjoying the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of each interesting
park and town. Next up is Lower Middle Western Michigan, and the colors are
already changing!
