South Channel Light

 I was hunkered down at the computer, and had been for hours, when Cathy called and suggested a walk. Yes!

We went out to the Ludington south channel. This is the opposite side of the channel from the lighthouse. You can see both in this picture, but it would be 10 miles to walk from where we were to the Ludington light. We were headed for the red striped light on the left.

The water near shore was an amazing turquoise, although farther out it was deep blue. You can just kind of see that in the pictures above and below this one.

Although we probably could have made it to the south light safely by hugging the channel side of the walk, Cathy didn't want to get as wet as seemed likely!

On the way back to the car we walked through the Pere Marquette memorial. This is where Jacques Marquette may have died.

We added a little more to our hike by climbing the 73 steps up the dune to walk through Buttersville Campground. That had more shade and made a nice ending to our walk.

The little adventure made a good break in my computer-bound day- editing and other stuff.

Miles walked in 2026: 300.7
A loop from Buttersville Park, Mason County, to partway out the south breakwall and back. 3.8 miles

See Liquid Air

Onekama Township Parks

One of the things you can do for the Onekama Challenge is visit all 7 Onekama Township Parks to get a sticker. Today, Cathy and I went and did that. There were places you could hike/walk at 3 of them.

First we went to John Langland Park which is where the channel from Portage Lake enters Lake Michigan. There is a short accessable walkway to the beach, but by hiking a little extra down to a public access point we were able to hike along the channel to the light on the north breakwall.

I do love these Lake Michigan pictures with nothing but sky and water.

There were ducks alongside the breakwall. Mama merganser...

And a raft of teenagers trailing her.

Then we went to North Point Park where there were also hiking trails. Part were paved for accessibiltiy, and part were dirt surface. One short loop was gravel. A nice feature there was a garden of native plants that are labeled in Braille, Anishinaabemowin, Spanish, and English. Most of the plants are very new or gone. Hopefully it will be maintained. That had 2 miles of trails, and they were fine, but my favorites were the lakeside one above, and the next one.

There was a mile of trail at Glen Park. This is the site of a mineral spring where a grand hotel was built in the late 1800s. The waters were considered restorative, and people traveled from all over to visit. Here is Cathy on a bridge over the creek.

Several places in the creek still have these ceramic tiles sunk in them to contain pools of the mineral water. And these three are under a shelter to help preserve them. I sampled the water, and yup, it has that oily, mineral taste.

Of course the hotel burned long ago, and we couldn't even figure out where it had been. This park had the most primitive trail and the most topography.

After we visited all seven (two of them we barely got out of the car because it was just a matter of taking a picture of a sign for wetland preserves- but it was good to know the township is preserving a fair amount of wetlands), we went for ice cream. Came home, did a few errands, voted. Oh yeah, I got laundry on the line before we left this morning. I had a Zoom event at 6 pm, but I forgot. Hopefully it was recorded.

Miles walked in 2026: 277.2
Onekama Challenge: 89.0 miles

Onekama Township, Michigan, John Langland Park, Glen Park, and North Point Park trails. Total 4.1 miles

See Portage Lake- A Brief Glimpse

Logging Trail

Anyone local knows that Ludington State Park was closed for 10 months getting major upgrades, mostly to the roads. It's now open again. Although we did drive around to see the new blacktop, the trails are the same. We hiked the Logging Trail. It's mostly in white pines, so the color was green.

Who is "we?" Cathy and I went.

There are three of the CCC shelters remaining from the 1930s, and two of them are on this trail. The hexagonal one is where we took the selfie, and this one is the more traditional style.

This loop is has a little topography, so you don't feel as if you are just out for a stroll. Back at the campground there are more deciduous trees, so there was some color to see.

The park was very busy for a fall weekday. That said, there's plenty of room to spread out. We did see a few other hikers on the same trail, but it wasn't crowded.

Had to stop along the road on the way back to town. A photo of Lake Michigan is practically required. The clear blues of October are always great!

In other news, I edited a lot. I made yogurt.

Miles hiked in 2025: 397.5

Ludington State Park, Logging Trail loop from the campground. 3.7 miles

See Logging Trail 2010

Rosy Mound Natural Area

 Most of what I did today involved selling books and networking with authors. But there was a longish time gap between the sales time and the evening mingle/fund-raising event for Bluebird Cancer Retreats.

I spent some of that gap time hiking the Rosy Mound Natural Area. I have heard good things about it, so I was happy to finally see it. It doesn't have a ton of trails, but I filled most of my free time.

The main trail, Jean Laug-Carroll Trail, to the beach goes over the dunes. It does this by means of stairs. Hundreds of steps, literally. This is the first view of the lake.

Then I turned and followed the Dune Trail, which is all boardwalk.

Coming back, you can see one of the dunes the trail has to come over.

There is an accessible loop which I also did. I did everything except the spurs to the beach and dunes. I would have had time, but I wasn't sure.

The wind was bitterly cold, but I did manage to get in a walk.

The evening part of the Third Coast Author Event was one of those mingling events where you are supposed to try to talk to people while there is music and noise at about 150 decibels. I participated for a while and then came home.

For some unfathomable reason, I only slept one hour last night, so I did not feel guilty for making apologies and leaving. I'm not very good at that type of social thing anyway. Next stop, bed.

I did all right. Some parts of the event were done well and others can be improved. All in all, not bad.

Miles hiked in 2025: 79.

Rosy Mound Natural Area, Grand Haven, MI. Acorn and White Pine Loops, Jean Laug-Carrol Trail, 2.1 miles

See 8, With Day Pack

A Better View?

  Sorry about no blog post last night. My eye hurt so bad I just couldn't function. Got an eye doctor appt. this morning. Two doctors looked at it, and the eye is fine. Really fine. What I have now is post-shingles neuralgia. This could last a while, but hopefully not more than a couple of weeks. The point is... I can use my eyes as much as I'm comfortable with. I'm not doing any damage. I just need to wait for the nerves to heal.

I drove through the beach afterwards and got much nicer pictures than last week.

And some open water looking more to the north.

I actually had a fair amount of energy today (compared to the past 3+ weeks). Maybe tomorrow I'll both have energy and my eye will be less light-sensitive. Of course they had to dilate it today.

But I'm very encouraged.

See The View? at the Beach

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Manistee Riverwalk Reopens

 The Manistee Riverwalk is one of the nicest urban, water-side pathways anywhere. It's almost like a gamescape with varying surfaces, levels, views, etc. A part of it has been closed for repairs, but for once, my luck was fantastic. I had to go to Manistee today, and they just re-opened that section.

A lot of it is in sun, with pavement and flower beds. Lots of flower beds. You may see more of that tomorrow. Even this late, there were still nice things to see

Other parts are like shaded secret entrances to other worlds.

The primary business street, River Street, is a level above the walk. Many of the buildings are old. I love this section near the Cypress St Bridge. With the shadow of a railing from the upper level and the old stone and brick, it looks like a castle.

When you get out at the west end, the Manistee River empties into Lake Michigan. This is the Manistee Lighthouse.

On the walk back, there is this really nice view of the river. This is also a shipping channel as boats come in to Manistee Lake, so it has to be kept open and clear. In fact, it was a dredging operation that caused part of the walk to be closed for most of the summer. But this shows how there is a great variety of landscapes along the route.

Almost back to the beginning. This is the Cypress Street Bridge. It's a drawbridge and has been closed for repairs most of the last two years. I know everyone is happy to see it open again. You can just barely see the railroad swing bridge beyond in its open position. I know I did a post on that, but I can't find it to link. Another time.

Finally for today, another artsy shot. This is nothing but the reflection of a post. But I like it a lot.

Most of the day was spent finishing up the necessary stuff I've been working on and then getting it delivered. This walk was my reward.

Miles hiked in 2024: 473.9 Manistee Riverwalk, both directions. 3.5 miles

See Manistee Riverwalk

Walking Tour du Ludington

 As promised, I went to the Mason County Garden Club fall plant sale. I bought several plants that I'll show you over time.

Then, I walked a big loop mostly around the north side of the city. I wanted to get in more miles today without driving farther away, and I managed 5.3 of them. Here's some of what I saw. I was particularly interested in gardens that still look good in September.

This is a formal setting, completely hidden by a hedge when walking one direction, but from the other way it's like a secret nook. I like it, even though it's completely green. Everything just works well.

These dark hydrangeas are stunning. They are set off nicely by the hosta, although I see that the deer have been keeping some of those trimmed. (I'm told the deer in town are out of control.)

This kind, panicled hydrangea (the flower clusters are conical) have become quite popular, and the blooms seem to last well.

The beach was deserted today. It was windy and chilly. The red light- for no swimming- was lit.

The marina isn't deserted, but it's certainly not full.

I thought this was a really nice-looking garden with various textures and colors- both of flowers and foliage. I used to have some of that Red Baron grass, but mine was never happy. I would think the ferns in the back would prefer more shade, but they seem OK, except they are drying out now- not surprising for September. Most allium (the purple in the front) bloom in the spring, but this is nice. It may be 'Ozawa,' a fall bloomer. The bushes with pink in the middle are probably a spirea. I'm surprised they still have flowers, but I'm sure there are lots of varieties.

Here's a more typical commercial planting of annuals in front of the bank. Canna lily, impatiens, dusty miller, marigolds, and petunias. Nothing "interesting," but it's been kept nicely, and it still looks great.

This is the 37th year of the Ludington Petunia Parade. 30,000 petunias are planted each year along most of Ludington Ave, and along the Marina. Soon the plants will be pulled to keep the soil in good shape for the next year. There is some specific biological reason for this that was printed in the paper after a lot of complaints about the locals not getting to enjoy them very long after the tourists leave, but I don't remember what it is. Right now, they are still looking lovely. This is at the water treatment plant, and it just shows the colors nicely with a sign. Most are down at curb level.

But. It is September. Hints of what's to come.

I gave myself a break today and mostly goofed off after I got home. Shower, eat, etc. Played with garden records, and didn't do much that was required. A day off (on purpose) is good once in a while.

Miles hiked in 2024: 406.4

See Mini Tour du Ludington

A Ludington Day

 It was miserably hot today. I had to do some work in the morning, but then we headed for Ludington. It's usually 10 degrees cooler in Ludington in the summer and that was true today. We went for lunch at House of Flavors and split a Great Lakes Cranberry Wrap. Yum.

Then we drove around and looked at a few historic buildings and places. The beach was next. Pure Ludington, although things are winding down for the season since many schools have already started.

The goal was to walk out to the Lighthouse, which we did.

Nothing but blue lake and sky behind us!

Then we went back to House of Flavors for ice cream. I mean, we do know what HOF is for!

After that it was home again to do a few tasks around the house, but it was so hot we ended up watching a few funny videos.

The goal of the evening was to watch the Badger come in. That's a favorite Ludington pass-time, but I haven't done it anytime recently. I'm glad we went. Here she comes. See her?

I'm pretty sure you can find her now. She's being escorted by a Sheriff's boat. Also the Ludington Harbor Patrol was on duty. There have been some problems lately with small boats not staying out of the way, so they may have upped the escort presence.

Just a reminder. This is the only remaining coal-fired passenger ship in the U.S., and it's a registered Historic Landmark. The Badger and its sister ship the Spartan (also docked at Ludington but not seaworthy) are the two largest such ships ever built.

It has to turn around to dock because vehicles and any cargo are loaded off the back. You may remember that part of the docking system broke last summer and they lost about a third of the sailing season. But that's all fixed, with a new "apron" and counterweights. Watching it do that maneuver is quite interesting. Here is it almost backed into place in front of the Spartan.

It was still hot, so we drove around to the other side of Pere Marquette Lake for the view of the ferries from that side and also to visit the memorial to Pere Marquette. This is one of the most likely places for his death, although there are a lot of theories pointing to other locations.

Home again, salads for dinner- it was just too hot to eat, some visiting. Today was as full as it was going to get.

Miles hiked so far in 2024: 372.8.

Ludington breakwater to the lighthouse and back 1.0 mile

See Working Our Way Home