4/29/07 (Sunday): We had a great hike late yesterday afternoon on the trail right outside our front door (that's our campground on the left)! The Betsie Valley Trail is 22 miles long. The part nearest us is paved, the remainder is crushed limestone. We're thinking about getting some yard sale bikes to take advantage of it.

We hiked from the campground to the town of Elberta (maybe 2 miles round trip). There was lots to see along the way and it was a beautiful Spring day. Some of the birch trees are just starting to leaf out.










The trail started out wooded near the campground and as it got closer to the Betsie River, turned to wetlands. This red-barked tree was at the edge of the wetland.











There were lots of birds, including this red-winged blackbird who was singing and strutting his stuff.






We also saw a pair of geese, the female sitting on a nest,












and a nesting swan (barely visible behind the vegetation).












This little snake was enjoying the sun at the side of the trail. We looked it up, and I think it's a western fox snake. Wilbur, the campground owner, thinks it's an eastern hog nose.










The wetlands didn't look anything like the ones in Florida. These horsetails were quite common. They look prehistoric, don't they? There were great views of the hills in the background and areas of flowing water. Quite lovely.















We turned back toward the campground in Elberta. It's a tiny town--a few dozen homes, the beach store and a diner. It had a nice park on Betsie Lake. On the opposite shore of Betsie Lake is Frankfort.









This is a charming tribute to the teachers who provided a good education to the children of the township for 110 years. It's made up of schoolbells from the area schools which were replaced by one modern school. I'll bet the kids aren't getting any better education from the modern school than they did from the country schools!













Today we're headed for the Betsie Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. Who knows what adventures we'll have on the way! Tomorrow is our first day of "work." Stay tuned!