First Stop: Grass Lake Nature Preserve I took my family to the other side of Grand Traverse Bay — to Torch Lake, Bellaire and the farms, trails, woods and wetlands of Antrim County. It took some time to persuade the boys that this switch in Leaf Day activities would be worth it. “Usually, we go exploring […]
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Cherry Ambassadors around the Republic took full advantage of Leaf Day 2017. From baking with family and friends, to fishing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to driving a semi to Kansas City for our first holiday gift show of 2017. Here are some of our favorite stories… Fishing the Pere Marquette River JP, our I.T. hero, spent his […]
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Due to the thunderstorm, we started out on our third annual Leaf Day hike a little later than usual. The boys wanted to hike the dunes, so my goal was to hit the most remote and difficult-to-get-to spots on this special day off from work and school. Steph dropped me off with the boys at the […]
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Above is a favorite angle of the Crystal River at the Dunns Farm Rd culvert. Here is a second view of the Dunns Farm culvert looking straight up the Crystal River. If you have never paddled the Crystal in the winter, this mild winter would be a great year to do it. Can you see the duck […]
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What should citizens do on Leaf Day? Dress up? Give gifts? Hide Baskets? Make a big dinner? Those are all too much work. How about do nothing. How about a purposeless day? A day to just reflect on the beauty of nature? Leaf Day was created by Cherry Republic to celebrate the amazing colors of […]
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The breathtaking Islands Lookout on Alligator Hill affords a spectacular view of Sleeping Bear Bay, the Manitou Islands, and South Fox Island. Alligator Hill is an often overlooked jewel in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Its nine miles of hiking trails loop their way through some of the most beautiful landscapes in northern Michigan. Located smack […]
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Breaking trail for the Bay to Bay Hiking and Kayaking Trail. Here Bob and the team hike through the dunes in Platte Bay with Empire Bluffs and Sleeping Bear Point in the distance. It’s an epic hike. From south to north across the entire Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, hiking the Bay to Bay Trail […]
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Just one of many amazing Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore views that we will enjoy during the hike. A new hiking trail is coming to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It’s called the Bay to Bay Trail, and it will run the length of the park, from Platte Bay at the south end to […]
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A speaker at a TEDx event in Traverse City said that the average child from his African homeland walked to school 10 miles. After I heard this fact, I couldn’t help but think of Steph and I walking to school with our two young boys. Colebrook, a kindergartener and Hawthorn, a preschooler. A couple weeks […]
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Continued from the 5/31 Orchard Report email newsletter ….I have to pull the leaves out from between his toes. The sky starts thundering and lightly raining. Before one of the boys asks to leave, I say “The animals can’t hear us in the rain, we’re sure to catch them.” The whole world is a feast to […]
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