Destination: Circle - Days 1 and 2

May 14, 2016

Today was a huge day for birders as it was the Global Big Day, on which people submit bird counts during a 24-hour period from all over the world. The Michigan Spring Migration Count runs concurrently. Even though I was moving out of my house today, I counted species on the Pine Creek Trail for two hours. Unfortunately, it was a cold, windy morning. (DHC was also counting in Indiana and spent most of the day out in the field, also in less than optimal conditions, but so it goes in the world of birding.)

I ended with 27 species which for me is about par. I never list "Heard Only" birds and that makes my species total a bit on the low side....that in addition to my skills, which are good enough but not superb. DHC got 39 species but went to several venues and stayed out longer....

The best bird for me was a gorgeous Canada Warbler. It has a necklace of black streaks on its bright, rich yellow breast. DHC's best birds were a Great-crested Flycatcher, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Orchard Oriole and a Magnolia Warbler.

(May 17: I just checked and over 41,000 people participated. The last entry so far - all entries have to be in by midnight today - was from Tanzania. The total number of species reported is currently over 6000.)

Back to Saturday: After getting warmed and renewed with coffee, I resumed cleaning, taking stuff to storage and doing errands preparatory to leaving. This was also the day of the biggest parade in the annual Tulip Time Festival, which hindered traffic, making quick trips to my storage unit on the south side of town much longer than usual. The night before, I had seen people staking out positions by spreading blankets and tarps and chairs curbside, and I even saw a few folks sitting under umbrellas to hold their places, all bundled up with books and coffee cups, and I wondered if they sat there throughout the night....which wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't been raining and in the low 40s. Later, in the local paper, I read all the RULES regarding such claiming of viewing spots: what can and cannot be used, how many hours before the parade anything can be put down, where exactly it can be placed, how soon after the parade everything must be picked up, and more, including what happens to noncompliants, etc. Only in Holland.....

I stopped at Dave and Ellen's who gave me tons of information about Alaska and, specifically, about the Alaska Marine Highway. They also insisted I visit the Title Wave bookstore in Anchorage.

I eventually got on the road and intended to drive awhile, but realized I was too tired and stayed on the north side of Muskegon overnight, thus driving only a pathetic 43 miles.

May 15, 2016

Lake Michigan

The next morning as I drove north to the bridge, I passed through intermittent but brief snow squalls and saw areas with snow on the ground which contrasted with the new bright green grass. I got cooler ice in Traverse City and continued to the Upper Peninsula over the elegant, always stunning Mackinac Bridge. I love the drive through the UP. Since so much is swamp, it isn't developed and one can drive along both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The trees this time of year were utterly lovely: spruce and pines and hemlocks along with the larches and deciduous trees, thousands of which are aspen with gorgeous white trunks and delicate emerging leaves. Most of the new spring foliage was airy lime-colored greenery, but there were also some rusty reds, along with various blooming shrubs in the understory and along the edges of the woods. I had intimations of fall now and then with all the foliage color. The sun was glinting off the watery places. I crossed wild rivers like the Ontonagon and Sturgeon which have significant waterfalls and white-water. This is Jim Harrison country....may he RIP.

I took a lesser road north through the sweet little resort town of Curtis situated between two large lakes. There were thousands of trillium blooming in the woods.




The traffic was light and the speed limit a sedate 55, but the State Police are always lurking and patrolling up here, so I minded that. At one point, a truck passed me hauling a trailer with sled dogs. This was followed by three identical high-end Kia station wagons each with a large number painted on the back: 1, 2 and 3. They moved slightly faster than I did and eventually disappeared but intrigued me. Like where were they going? Do they travel all night? or stop and exercise the dogs?

What many would consider a long, boring and lonely ride was soothing for me. It was the trees, the still pristine habitat. While I know logging and mining are big industries in the UP, neither is very evident along the main highways. Once I had to stop for a deer which was standing in the middle of the road. As I edged forward, it bounded into the woods, at which point the always-present second deer also darted out and across the highway.

My destination was a motel right on Lake Superior in Ashland, WI. I had been running on empty as I approached this town in the dusk but knew I could fill up in the morning. I had a decent room, although I think the carpet had been recently scrubbed as it seemed slightly damp. At least I hope that's what it was.

Lake Superior