Winter at Hickory Meadows

We love Hickory Meadows. Where else, excluding use of a Star Trek transporter, can you get from the city to 112 acres of wilderness in less than 5 minutes? That’s speedy fast folks!

We might even love winter at Hickory Meadows more than any other season (no offense to the peepers in spring, sun-drenched meadow in summer, and fall colors of course). When the snow falls, several miles of trails provide a great beginner cross-country ski track as well as some sledding hills back in the wooded area for when the kiddos get tired of walking and would rather slide.

On our trek back we were rewarded with the colors of an amazing Northern Michigan sunset against the snowy white fields and the cozy smell of bonfires up the road at Hickory Hills (the city-operated downhill ski spot).

Cora loved the ice designs that the creek had made as it gradually froze over. I imagine it has melted with these warm temperatures, but we will be anxious to see the new shapes that form when winter returns in a few days. The eyes of a 7-year old saw some shoes, a rug, some ghosts, some waves, some leaves, and a face! What do you see in the ice?

For the trail map, click here.

Ladies’ Night – Downtown TC

A few photos of the lights and shoppers out in downtown Traverse City

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on Ladies’ Night.

Twigs and Swigs No. 1 – The Commons

As residents of Northern Michigan, there’s not much we love more than our outdoors and our local eateries. So we are starting a series of posts providing a suggested combination of the two. It’s called..wait for it…”Twigs and Swigs,” (trust me, that took a lot of collaborative creative brain power to come up with that one!).

The trail system at The Commons, a personal favorite, is number one in the series. For those of us with kids, or those of us who are kids at heart, this spot provides an outdoor playground. Downed branches are balance beams, willow trees are jungle gyms, the rocks in the creek beg a game of hopscotch, but watch out for the dude in the photo below! Art afficianados, don’t feel left out, enjoy the juxtaposition of the work of our local Banksys and nature’s own art displays long the trails.

Once you’ve worked up a sweat, fallen out of a tree, slipped into the creek, and decided you should try your hand at graffiti; perhaps it’s time to move on to the swigs! At The Village, you can’t really go wrong. But with the chill of fall upon us, may I suggest warming up with a hot chocolate with gobs of whipped cream on top at Cuppa Joe. Delish…

Footnotes:

The photos in this post were taken along the trail to the left of the Underground Cheesecake Company (not marked on the map) and the trails behind the TBAISD building and Greenspire Montessori (yellow into green and then purple).

We at Northern Swag are not suggesting you actually try your hand at graffiti (at least not publicly).

Swag Spotting – Hunting Season

Treat Farm, Sleeping Bear Dunes

Treat farm is a spot you can’t reach by car, and perhaps that is why it remained undiscovered for me until recently. The hike meanders through a wooded forest south of Empire (at the corner of Stormer and Norconk roads). About half of a mile in, the trail opens up into a sun-lit meadow dotted with the buildings of this historic farmstead, beckoning exploration. The Treat Barn was purchased by Charles Treat and his family in Detroit and moved piece by piece on rail cars to Empire in 1912. Horse-drawn teams moved the pieces to the spot where it was reassembled and now stands. Mr. Treat was an engineer and after laying the foundation for the barn, he continued to experiment with concrete. You can explore some of his unique creations, including the domed concrete root cellar. Also check out the rain water collection system on the building (used due to difficulties in drilling a well) and be on the lookout for remnants of the family’s farming (asparagus and apple trees) that fed them until the 1930s when the sandy soil started to deplete.

A walk through the meadow will lead you to a trail up the backside of the dunes south of the Empire Bluffs. Atop the dune you’ll be rewarded by two breath-taking views; the one of Lake Michigan and Platte Bay in front of you and the vista of the farm and beautiful woods behind.