Single Track Fun...Offield Family Nature Preserve

While traveling by bike allows you to cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time, it can also leave you breathless, unable to take in all of the sights of the natural world whizzing by. This was the case last Sunday as my husband and me soared through the Offield Family Nature Preserve along well maintained paths. We were the only ones in the park so the beauty of the place was able to speak loudly, reminding us that peace of mind is arrived at best while out in the wilds. Every turn brought new challenges, either a hill to climb or descend or a decision regarding what path next to follow through the woods.

I was happy to see that the understory of the forest was not clogged with non-natives, obscuring the view through the woods, thus allowing one to gaze deeply through many layers of trees, letting thoughts expand and feel free versus feeling constricted and tense. Opening me up to notice that the beauty of the earth is all I need to bring me happiness.

What a beautiful way to spend a Sunday! This nature preserve is truly a wonderful place, whether hiked, biked or skied and I look forward to wrapping myself in it regularly.

Walking the Land...Boyne Highlands

I can get there from here. I can set my feet in motion, my senses heightened, through a play land made for man to the top of a hill where beyond the view of the bay beckons me into the hush of undisturbed forest on the backside of the mountain. It is within reach, this large tract of undeveloped land, providing wildlife corridors, places for animals to live out their lives in a relatively quiet place away from the influence of man. 

I like that I can arrive at this place under my own power, soft footfall one in front of the other, gaining elevation until I am rewarded with my efforts. Rewarded as well with the ability to get away from it all into a place where my mind is cluttered with nothing but being in the moment. Noticing the leaves on the trees beginning their annual turn or how the trail underfoot is sandy. Wondering about the geological history behind how the sand I see on the distant lake shore continues to persist this far inland. There are so many questions about the natural world, how can one answer them all?

This coming winter I look forward to gliding along the cross country ski trails placed into this forest, discovering the land anew as it is washed in white, thankful that the resort near my home has left the backside of this mountain wild so that this natural paradise can be enjoyed by many. It wasn't too long ago that the Native Americans who lived on this land felt it was owned by all, wild animals and man alike, as there was no land ownership. It was refreshing for me to realize that today, despite the fact that the land I had traversed was owned by a large resort company, I could walk the trails and enjoy the views and feel in many ways that it was still held in this manner.

Link:

Boyne Highlands Resort

Wilderness State Park

"I have had Lake Michigan calling to me for quite some time. Maybe since even before I moved back here to my native state of Michigan. While living in Philadelphia, I'd head over to Little Crum Creek daily and sit and watch the water flow around the pebbles and boulders in the creek bed. Wishing for some kind of message from the water. Praying really to understand the reason behind why I needed to spend so much of my time alongside a waterway."

Given how humans came from and are a part of nature, it shouldn't be surprising that I'd be looking for the wisdom held within the natural world to give me answers. Nature holds the keys to all that is here on our planet so seeking answers within that framework makes sense. It has been my experience when out in the wilds that sometimes awareness can come quick and can be as simple as just taking the time to notice the shape of a tree. I may see a tree's trunk deformed by a lightening strike, yet its beautiful branches still reach skyward telling me that despite trauma, beauty prevails. Other times, the lessons of the natural world can take longer to piece together. Such is the case with me and Lake Michigan.

I didn't know I was seeking a connection to Lake Michigan initially. Instead the lesson for me and water started out with questions, such as "why do I constantly want to be around water?" or "why does the sound of rain speak to me?" From my perspective, leaning into these queries takes time and requires that we step away from our every day lives and responsibilities. To just sit and be and notice while out in the wilds. To sit upon a beach on the ocean or stand upon a bridge over a creek. In response to my questions regarding water, I did make a sojourn over to the Atlantic Ocean while living on the East Coast and as I watched the sun rise into the sky to start a new day, discovered the word "LOVE" written with seashells in response to my question thrown hopefully into the wind, "why does the beauty of a sunrise move me and make me feel embraced and connected?" While I loved the insights gained from my time at the ocean, I still felt the desire to figure out exactly what was pulling at me in regard to water.

This past weekend my husband and I headed up to Wilderness State Park, a short 30 minute drive from my house. Despite it being a Sunday, we were the only ones there. As we walked up and over sand dunes and down onto a vast beach, with the blue waters of Lake Michigan stretching out before me to the horizon, I was hit with a memory from my childhood. One of being away from it all, surrounded by quiet in a beautiful setting. When I was 14, I spent three weeks sailing with my aunt and uncle and their two children along the northern shores of Lake Michigan and Huron. We spent just about every night in peaceful isolated coves or small harbors. We visited uninhabited islands, hiking across them or swimming along their shores. We were alone and away and had the places we visited all to ourselves. That feeling for me was recaptured on Sunday when visiting Wilderness State Park with my husband and as I sat on the beach taking in the scenery around me, I was 14 again. Reveling in the peace that only nature can bring. Something I haven't had for a long, long time and something my body has been trying to tell me I have needed for quite some time now. I have felt this call to water as a longing. Of missing a part of myself really. The respite found from being away from it all along the shores of one of the Great Lakes was imprinted upon me during those summer weeks spent with my aunt and uncle and is something I need to have in order to feel a sense of place within myself. A creek in Pennsylvania can't fill it and neither can the Atlantic Ocean. When one feels the call of "home," there are no substitutes.

Link:
Wilderness State Park