Huron National Forest Corsair Trail

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (kinnikinnick or bearberry) has a circumboreal distribution, growing around the world in northern latitudes.

Pinus banksiana (jack pine) predominates on more than one million acres of forest in Michigan.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Lingonberry) is also circumboreally distributed.

Quercus (oak). There are a dozen species of oak in Michigan.  Quercus alba (white oak) & Quercus rubra (red oak) are most common in this area.

Pantherophis vulpinus (eastern fox snake) is found in the upper Midwestern United States, east of the Mississippi river.

Pinus banksiana (jack pine)

The Lumberman's Monument.  Photos taken in October 2017

Click here for more photos of the Corsair Trail.

In the Huron National Forest, we hiked the Corsair Trail for 2.5 hours. The forest was very quiet & stunningly beautiful. It was filled mostly with pine & oak trees, plus many understory plants. The forest was replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression of the 1930s, helping it recover from the devastation of the timber industry from 1870 to 1900. I saw many plants I recognized & a few that also grow in Washington. I had bought a field manual of Michigan flora before I left Seattle, but it was too big to carry with me.  I almost stepped on a fox snake, which then lay motionless on the trail. After we finished the hike, we drove to the Lumberman’s Monument, where we saw interpretive displays about logging & lumberjacks. The Corsair Trail system has 28 miles of trail that varies from gently rolling to somewhat hilly terrain. The system was developed primarily for cross-country skiing.  But the trails may be hiked anytime during the snow-free periods.

Pinconning Nature Preserve

Photos taken in October 2017

Click here for more photos of Pinconning Nature Preserve.

In October 2017, we drove up the shore of Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) on Michigan highway M-13 to Pinconning Nature Preserve. It was quick & easy to access the preserve from the highway at the small City of Pinconning along E Pinconning Road. We walked on a pleasant trail through a small forest to a wetland on the bank of the Pinconning River. We were unable to go far into the wetland, let alone to the river, because the trail became too wet & mucky. But it was pretty there on that small preserve, which had once been a farm.  My advice is to wear big rubber boots.

The preserve has a variety of plant communities including lowland deciduous forest, scrub/shrub, & marsh. In addition to wetlands, there is 2,165 feet of frontage on the Pinconning River.  The complete loop trail is a little over 1 mile.  The preserve is owned & maintained by the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy. Headquartered in Bay City, the SBLC owns and maintains 10 nature preserves that are open to the public, dawn until dusk, every day of the year, forever. They are natural areas in need of protection & management for the ecological benefits they provide to people & the environment. Some land was purchased through partnerships, while other properties were donated outright, or donated while reserving the right to live on & use the property. When the landowner dies, the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy takes title & control over the property.

Downtown Bay City Michigan

 

Bay County Building

City Hall

Pere Marquette Depot

  

Saginaw River.  Photos taken in October 2017

Click here for more photos of  Bay City Michigan.

I visited Bay City Michigan in October 2017.  I liked the downtown area very much. The were many interesting & attractive buildings. Most were built between 1880 & 1930. It reminded me of Pioneer Square in Seattle.  Unfortunately, many buildings had also been destroyed. Those spaces became little-used parking lots.  That happened to a lesser extent in Pioneer Square.

New development centered on Water Street along the Saginaw River. Several buildings with new condos had recently been built. A few old buildings were converted to condos. The Victorian train station was restored, converted to offices & surrounded by parkland. The 8-story, Art Deco, Bay County Building (Bay City’s skyscraper) was in good shape, as was the Victorian city hall. Five blocks from the riverfront, at the edge of the small downtown, were Victorian houses, mostly shabby (but none derelict) with some refurbished, or decently maintained. It was all very charming to me.  

Half a mile south from downtown, there was new development on the Saginaw River at the former site of Defoe Shipbuilding Company called Uptown Bay City. There were condos, restaurants, shops, office buildings & a hotel.  It was nicely done.  

As of the 2010 census, Bay City's population was 34,932. There are a number of suburbs. The Bay City Metropolitan Area population was 106,107. Settlement began in 1831. Bay City was established as Lower Saginaw in 1837 & incorporated as Bay City in 1865. It was the largest community in Bay County & became the county seat.  Rapid economic growth took place. Lumber & shipbuilding industries created many jobs. Timber was floated to mills & factories along the Saginaw River.  Businesses concentrated along Water Street.