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Traverse City Adventure: Into September, into Michigan

Not far over the Michigan state line, we passed this concrete grain elevator and storage facility - one of the largest I've ever seen.
Dennis Forney
September 3, 2017
Hidden Lakes Gardens’ conservatory - where cactus, tropical plants and bonsai are displayed - is nestled into a dramatic display of rare and dwarf conifers.
A Japanese white pine bonsai at Hidden Lakes Gardens. Letting these magical creations seep into my eyes opens doors to my inner spirit but there are no words to describe what is in those extra-dimensional rooms. Tom gave me a juniper he made into a bonsai. Now he thinks I’m beholden to him the rest of my life. I showed him a picture of the bonsai grove of larches in the next photograph. He asked that I bring it back to him as a gift. Puts me in an awkward position. Beside the larches are a bonsai ginkgo and beside that a bonsai yew.
I don’t know the name of these blue flowers but I love their color. They’ve been widespread along the way starting in Delaware but up here in Michigan their color seems more intense. It might be that we’re at their northern limit because I noticed yesterday - moving northward and westward - that they’ve disappeared from the wild landscape.

DAY 21 • 1 SEPTEMBER 2017 • SYLVANIA, OHIO

We crossed into Michigan just north of Sylvania, on the northwestern outskirts of Toledo.  Two days ago we passed a sprawling Whirlpool factory so I know we’re in appliance country.  I wonder whether the Sylvania television and radio company are related to the town of Sylvania.  Not far east of Toledo is the town of Milan, Ohio, birthplace of Thomas Edison.  Connect the dots.

In Michigan, I noticed almost immediately that the blue wildflowers beside the road - bachelor’s buttons? - were a more intense hue.  The air seemed clearer and cleaner.  Paul’s grandfather used to say that he could feel his sinuses clear as soon as he crossed the state line from Ohio to Michigan.

Two highlights of this day: Chomp Burger in the university town of Adrian.  Great burger joint in the steam-punk style.  Think Willy Wonka. 

And then there was Michigan State’s Hidden Lakes Gardens  - a 755-acre botanical garden and arboretum - near the village of Onsted in an area known as the Irish Hills.

There are a lot more pines up here as we move northward.  The arboretum showed great specimen trees. Walking and riding around a sylvan scene like that makes you feel stress flowing from your body and mind.

We clocked 44 miles today and ended up in a mom and pop motel on Evans Lake.  Our total now is 748 miles.

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