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| Horse Shoe Falls Niagara Falls |
Hard to imagine I’ve been in Michigan almost three weeks. Since leaving NH on June 22 I traveled just about 1000 miles to the Au Sable Institute, have learned much about our new oil pad team, become reacquainted with our oil pad sites, had some rest, and this weekend enjoyed a ½ Marathon with some MI friends. To say the least it has been a full three weeks.
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| Bridge to Port Huron and Michigan! |
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| Friendly Red Wing Blackbird |
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| Crossing into Vermont |
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| Lake Michigan and Piping Plover protection area |
This Weekend I enjoyed a camping trip to Wilderness State Park to take part in the Waugoshance 1/2 marathon. Wilderness State
Park is located just west of the city of Mackinaw along the northern most part
of lower Michigan. The park consists of
about 26 miles of shoreline and 1000 acres of land. Parts of the shorelines are protected for
Piping Plover nesting. We also saw two
endangered plant species here the Pitchers Thistle and Port Huron Tansy.
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| Breakfast Time on race day! |
From the area
near our camp site we could look across and see the UP (Upper Peninsula). The Strait of Mackinac is 5 miles and
connects Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. The Mackinaw bridge spans this area is one
of the largest suspension bridges in the world (currently 5th – you can
learn more about this bridge: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/history/facts-figures/).
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| Lovely Sunset |
Waugoshance was a peaceful run through Wilderness State Park including a variety of different habitats. The race started at Goose Pond just a short walk from our camp site along the shore of Lake Michigan. It began through some mainly flat pine forests which transitioned into a cedar dominated wet area. After five or so miles, the trail transitioned to rolling hills along French Lake. The last few miles of the trail were challenging with many narrow, wet board walks to navigate. I was rather concerned of what would happen if I stepped off the boardwalk into dark abyss of mud!
Honestly, after this
trail run, I’m not sure I’ll be able to
return to road running. There is nothing
quite as fun and peaceful as running through the woods and identifying species
along the way. From the large trees to
grasses (thanks to the oil pad work), wild flowers, and birds at every turn
there was something new to notice and help make the time go by fast.
The sight of the
day came just two miles from the finish when a Black burnian warbler who flew
right in front of me and landed in a nearby bush. I’m rather sure this was my first ever
sighting other than when studying my bird identification book!
