Northern Michigan Snow

Over the holidays I was able to spend a day in one of my most favorite places in the world – our family cabin in the middle of the woods in Grayling, MI.  Grayling is a quiet little town a little over an hour south of the Mackinaw Bridge right off I-75.  Now that I live in Atlanta, it is very seldom that I get to see snow and I do miss it.  My trip up north offered up about 9 inches of beautiful white stuff with gorgeous blue skies.  This provided me the chance to play outside just about all day!

Started off the morning with a snowmobile ride.  Those of you that like to ride would love the miles and miles of groomed trails as well as off the beaten path trails.

In the afternoon, I strapped on my camera bag and went for a hike through the woods with an eventual destination being the Au Sable River.  The Au Sable is a hot spot for trout fisherman and canoe/kayaking.  I would have loved to fit in a winter kayak trip but ran out of time.  Below is the gorgeous forest I hiked through.

As a child I used to wander through these woods all the time.  One of my favorite spots to hike is down to the swampy area where a natural spring feeds into the beginning of a  little creek.  The smell and feel down there is so unique, love the cedars and their smell.  I couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque welcoming when I arrived.  The water was like glass and an amazing reflection showed of the snowy trees and blue sky above.  It is so amazing in the winter with the contrast of pure white snow and bright green moss.

My final destination was to the best swimming hole on the river – the Whirlpool.  There are times when it is so cold that only a very small channel of water is seen, the rest is frozen and snow covered.  I’ll have to post one of those photos some day.  But on this day, it was a very serene, peaceful place.