Checking Out "Up North"

Friday, September 5

In a very heavy rainstorm, we wound our way up to Gaylord this morning to visit the Call of the Wild Museum.

 By the time we arrived there was just mist in the air but it was still a good morning for being inside and seeing the beautiful displays of wild animals, birds, and fish that can be found in Michigan and regions further north.

We each wandered through with clipboard and list of different things to watch for which would keep us on our toes making sure we checked out all that was written about the various animals and what we could see within the displays which were beautifully done.  We saw everything from a huge polar bear

to an opossum family

to two moose fighting over territory 

 while mom and baby watched.

There were lots of birds to sort out and get a real chance to study

and even a chance to "pet" an animal

One wall was covered with doors behind which there was a sample of fur or footprint and another with the answer as to what animal it belonged to where we could really test our knowledge of such information.  Along with that there were many plaques with poetry and sayings that were quite fitting to nature and slowing down to truly take it all in.

After wandering through the gift shop for a few minutes, we set off to visit the elk preserve with the hope of seeing them out in the open.  We weren't lucky enough to spot them but did see a flock of turkeys pecking away at a meal.

By then we'd worked up a pretty good appetite so we went into the very alpine looking town for lunch at the Sugar Bowl restaurant and then walked around to check out a few of the shops in the area.

 Then we headed back south a short way to Grayling and the Hartwick Pines State Forest where we wandered through some of the old growth of pines that were up to 350 years old as well as some of the newer growth

visited the little log chapel in the woods

wandered a bit more stopping at each post where more information was given about the area and the trees including how a terrible windstorm of over 100 mile an hour winds in 2003 had injured many of the trees tearing off their tree tops and causing them to die but then opening up areas to begin new growth.

We spent time checking out the old logging museum/camp seeing how they lived and worked in the 1800s and early 1900s

clearing much of the land in Michigan without thought for replenishing this wooded areas till the CCC created during the depression came in and began to give life back as well as create memorials such as this museum on land that had been preserved by a family who loved the trees.

 Ken and Gary tried their hand at sawing a tree down

like these men did in the past (note the number of board feet these two horses were expected to haul out of the woods) and Carolyn checked out the wheels used to help haul those huge logs

 to a saw mill where those board feet became a reality.

We returned to the campground for rest and some dinner and then enjoyed a couple of games together - Golf and Sequence - before calling it a night as the cool temperatures began to settle in.