Saturday, June 20, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy

I don't know how much anyone has noticed, but I have been falling behind with a few things on here recently. This has actually been a good thing for me. The reason for this is because I've been spending even more time with nature.

I think I mentioned about a week ago that I discovered a new place where I could go hiking. I originally saw it a last summer while I was driving by an alternate entrance. I had just gotten through applying for a different job in the area. Apparently they weren't smart enough to hire the best person for the job.

Because I didn't have a big reason to go back to the area, I didn't go back to investigate this new nature place. It looked very small and I had other things to keep e busy.Well, I finally got around to going back and I discovered that this place is huge.

It has over six miles of hiking trails. That's bigger than any other place in this area. There are three times that many combined hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails too. You can hike on them all. Thebest thing is that it isn't really that far away from me.

I've been spending most of my available time there just trying to find my way around. I took my compass, which I don't usually have to do, and it promptly got lost in this huge pond. It was dropped through the cracks of this dock.

This wasn't such a good thing because this pond is at the farthest point away from the entrance. It was a good thing I have a good sense of direction. The trails twist and turn all through the park, and I had to find my way back. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

I'll be giving more details on this park this week some time. I have plenty of things to show you from my visits there. In the meantime I decided to show you some pictures that demonstrate what I saw.

I have been getting home very late and very tired after visiting these trails. It's a good kind of tired. Walking through here so much has helped me work out the pain in my legs from running from those baby raccoons I've been telling you about for the last few days.

This new place isn't the only thing I've been doing. I have a new little device that I hope will enhance my experiences with nature. I hope to begin hiking bigger areas and do many new and exciting things that I never dreamed about before.

My new toy is a GPS(Global Positioning System) that's specially made for hiking. It's much better than a compass, and besides, it has one built right in. As soon as I learn how to use it I'll be doing some bigger and better things. I'll still tell every experience through the eyes of a beginner though.
There you have it! I'll try to catch up on everything here on the internet this week. This recent outdoor stuff has made me very tired. I've now been awake all night trying to get everything, including this post, reasonably caught up. I'm not quite there yet.

Okay, that's enough typing for me. It's very early in the morning, and also time for me to go to sleep. I hope you enjoy these pictures. I'll talk to you again soon you soon!

13 comments:

  1. The new trail looks good, Ratty!

    And the new toy (GPS)...

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  2. Reading this post made me miss hiking and the outdoors. You're fortunate to be able to spend much time with nature. Great photos.

    Tasha

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  3. It is hard trying to keep up with the blog and everyday life in the summer, isn't it?? I find I am turning the computer off more often now.

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  4. OH! A GPS to play with, how cool is that. So you too sometimes stay up all night. Interesting.

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  5. I am burning some midnight oils, but you burn tonnes of them.
    It is interesting to know you have GPS with you in the park, or can I say, in the jungle. It should be very big in size, and full with wonders, after wonders.

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  6. that looks like a very beautiful place to go exploring. i just wish there was somewhere around here that i could do the same.

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  7. I'm sorry you lost your compass Ratty. Hope it wasn't a sentimental thing.. But that is neat that you have one of those new GPS things. Your pictures show an inviting trail and I hope you have lots of exciting encounters in there. Maybe there will be more Raccoons..Ha! I loved those pictures!!! I can't believe you held back and didn't try to pet them. And what if their mom got rabies. Yikes! I was wishing you had seen their mom though. Kind of sad that they were out there like that all alone. But they did look big enough so I hope they can survive on their own. Maybe if you told someone they could check on them. Like a wildlife or game preserve guy or something. I have to stop worrying about all the critters too. It can get to be too much..LOL hope you got some sleep. have a great weekend!
    by the way. Where in Michigan are you?? I've been up in the UP before. Beautiful up there.

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  8. I've got a Garmin Geko GPS and it's fantastic for navigating when it's dark / misty. It's really handy for finding caves. Some of them are difficult to spot until I'm right next to them.

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  9. Icy BC - I hope I begin to see a few more animals there. Not too many yet. The GPS will open up a whole new world of stories for me to tell.
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    Tashabud - I hope you are able to start doing some of the things you miss. I just read on your blog that you're leaving it for awhile. I hope it's a positive thing for you.
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    Lin - I'm finding it harder all the time. I never really had a chance to do some of these things before. The good thing is that it's the blog that drives me forward.
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    Sharkbytes - The GPS is going to be fun. I try not to stay up all night too often, but sometimes I'm up way too late though. Last night was an extreme case.
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    Rainfield - Last night I burned the midnight oil til I ran out of fuel. I will be going to bigger places now that I have the GPS. I've just begun to learn about it though, so I'll have to go slowly.
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    PJ - I found this one by accident, but the best way to find places like this is to check the websites of the towns around you. Some areas are full of these places. This one is actually a state park.
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    Ginnymo - The compass was really only a $2 cheapo that I bought last year. Still, any of my possessions are somewhat sentimental objects for me. I did feel a small loss. I have stronger feelings for the raccoons. I can't stop thinking about them, and I don't really want to stop. I've been thinking of going back to see if I find them again. If they're still alone I'll tell the park officials down the road. I slept until afternoon, and only got to have a small hike today.
    I'm in the lower peninsula of Michigan. I live in a suburb of Detroit called Farmington Hills.
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    John - Mine is a Garmin eTrex Summit HC. It's the best one I could find for the money. It's supposed to be good for things like hiking and geocaching. From what I've learned about it so far it should work well for me. I wonder if I'll be able to find a few caves around here. That might be fun.

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  10. Ratty, you have some great areas to explore with all the forest and trails. Where we are now it is mostly farm land so it's a bit of driving to find good hiking.
    You are going to love the GPS, when you learn how to use it maybe give geocaching a try.
    SQ

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  11. SquirrelQueen - Geocaching is one of the main reasons I bought the GPS. There happens to be dozens of these withing two miles of me. I didn't know I'd get so lucky with that.

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  12. A GPS is a great idea...you will love it..no more worrying about getting lost....except of course, you get reception everywhere.
    If you come to the U.P. there are "dead spots" where cellphones and GPS's won't even work...
    then you have to rely on the compass again!

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  13. The Retired One - My house is actually a dead spot for any GPS or cellphone, even a TV. The signals just can't make it through the walls.

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