Time to get out and play in the snow

Some people live in places with dusty palm trees, scorpions, wildfires, and rattlesnakes – and they think we have it rough.  Ha.  Snowy weather is fun if you pull on your puffy jacket and your wool socks and get outside where winter adventures are waiting for you.

Float the Jordan, the first river to be designated wild and scenic under Michigan’s Natural Rivers Act.  Jordan Valley Outfitters will take the whole family on a guided winter rafting trip, complete with hot beverages and snacks – or a complete dinner, should you choose the romantic moonlight float.  The river flows through deep woods sparkling with snow while you relax in the comfy raft and let the guide do all the work.  Call (231) 536-0006 for details.

Stargaze.  The stars never glitter so brightly as on a cold winter night in Michigan.  Buy or borrow a copy of The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey, and learn to see constellations you’ve never been able to find before.  Rey, who wrote the Curious George books, intended this work for children, but it is wonderfully appealing to the whole family.  Once you’re hooked on stargazing with the naked eye, visit NMC’s Rogers Observatory to peer through its 14-inch telescope at the Orion Nebula.  Members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host a free public viewing on Saturday January 12th from 8-10 p.m.  Climb the stairs into the dome to reach the large telescope or, if it’s a clear night, stay on the ground to look through others that will be set up outside.  The classroom, restrooms and outside telescopes are wheelchair accessible. The Observatory is located at 1753 Birmley Road in Traverse City, about half a mile south of Hammond Road, and half a mile west of Garfield.

Learn to track wildlife.  A crisp morning with fresh snowfall is the perfect time to try wildlife tracking.  The woods, meadows and wetlands of Antrim County are home to deer, coyotes, foxes, beavers, minks, woodchucks, muskrats, porcupines, bobcats and at least one bear.  Even in town you can spot signs of raccoons, possums, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, chipmunks and voles.  Begin by exploring your own back yard with a little help from these guides:

• Mammals of Michigan Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela, is packed with details on all 66 Michigan mammals. It features exceptional photos of the animals and their scat, illustrations of tracks and track patterns, and information on size, food, habitat, sounds, and behavior.
• Critters of Michigan Pocket Guide, by Wildlife Forever, is designed for children, but their parents will enjoy it too. It includes just 50 “critters” including birds and mammals, with photos, details on habitat, food, and predators, and diagrams of tracks and track patterns.
• Tracking & the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks & Sign, by Paul Rezendes, is a beautifully detailed work geared to adults.

If you decide you want to learn more, you can take a tracking class at Grass River Natural Area (near Bellaire) on Saturday, January 26 at 10 am.  Reservations are required and there is a fee.  Call (231) 533-8314.

Take me fishing

I know, I know – today is St. Venison’s Day Up North in Michigan.  But some people haven’t had enough fishing yet, and there’s still time for steelhead, walleye and whitefish.  Try these accessible fishing spots:

• Elk Rapids – Follow Dexter west to the end and park in the free lot behind the dam.  The lot itself is the biggest barrier – if you can negotiate the rutted surface you’ll be home free.  A boardwalk will take you to several ramped fishing piers.   
• Wakeley Bridge Landing on the Au Sable River has a grated wheelchair area along the shoreline, just at the downstream end of the Holy Water.  Follow S. Down River Road east of Grayling to Wakeley Bridge Road.  Go north on Wakeley Bridge Road – the access site is downstream on the right.
• Traverse City – there are accessible boardwalks along the Boardman River at Union Street and behind Front Street.
• Petoskey – the Bear River Pier is accessible at the river mouth, with barrier free walkways on both sides of the river upstream to Lake Street Bridge.  There are accessible public restrooms on the west bank behind the fire station.

For updated information, check the Michigan DNR fishing report.

No child left indoors

At Accessible North we believe in “No Child Left Indoors.”  Of course the best way to get the kids outside is to take them there yourself.  Even at this time of year there are interesting places to go. 

• Take a walk or a wheel along the boardwalk at the Grass River Natural Area between Bellaire and Alden.  It’s open from dawn to dusk year ’round, and it’s free.  Print the map from the website and go explore.  (The interpretive cabin is closed now, but there is an accessible pit toilet.) 
• Visit the Oden Fish Hatchery in Alanson to see how they raise brown and rainbow trout for release in the Great Lakes and inland lakes.  (Call (231) 347-4689 to schedule a tour or to find out when you can watch the November egg-taking process.) 
• If it’s just too miserable to go out, the CAMP board game - developed by Education Outdoors in Eastport – is a terrific way for families to learn more about the natural world.