Of Tanagers and Two-Tracks.

[taco2go]

Following a week of jetlag and a busy weekend on call, I needed a quick day trip to refresh the body and mind
(BTW here's a small clip of a little 'mahindra (tractor) mayhem' from the village I was at in India.)
http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm264/joashr/Tractor%20Wheelies/?action=view&current=TractorWheelies.flv


So I spent my day off yesterday two-tracking down the Manistiee river basin with my 3 year old son. This is a great time of year to do day trips in some of the NF tracts in Mid/Upper Michigan. The weather is perfect for walking about and birdwatching, without the stifling heat and mosquitoes
We wanted to go to an area we had not been to before, and were pleasantly surprised by the number of nice networks of trails to explore here. We basically drove up to Mesick and worked our way down to the Hodenpyl Dam , along the manistee river to the Tippy Dam.

An absolute gem of a place for salmon angling in the fall. Mostly brown trout this time of year.

After a quick snack break we headed futher east, on some nice forest service/seasonal roads to the Udell Hills area.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the denser forest area in this region. Most peripheral sections of the Manistee National Forest are pockmarked with private lots, unlike the swathes of public land in the U.P.

One of the wider trails led up to a fire tower managed by the USFS.

Anyhow, the forest here is dense enough to allow for more than a few sightings of the scarlet tanager.

 

[taco2go]

Most of the 'trails' in the lower Penninsula’s two national forests are easily passable in 2 wheel drive despite the occasional occasional ruts. They are beautiful nonetheless, and make for refreshing day trip along some inviting 2 tracks Bring a canoe along and it’s gets even better.

Might return soon enough for an overnight trip.

 

[jeepmedic46]

Beautiful area, Thank you for sharing those pics.:smiley_drive:

 

[haven]

Thanks for sharing the photos.

In Spring, Scarlet Tanagers migrate to eastern North America from their winter home in the forests of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. After breeding, and as the supply of insects begins to wane in late summer, the birds return to their tropical home range.

So we share the Scarlet Tanager with people who live in Central and South America. We get the better part of the bargain, though. The male birds replace their bright red feathers with less conspicuous olive and yellow-green plumage when it's time to fly south.

Chip Haven

 

[computeruser]

Looks nice! Thanks for posting more stuff about our great (but underappreciated) state.

It's been years since I've been up that way on anything other than paved roads. I'll be up around Hawkins at the end of the month - might have to check that area out when we break camp Sunday early afternoon.