When I was a little girl, probably from about 3 to age 10 we lived in a little town named Adrian, located down near the Michigan/Ohio border.
And a bit south of there was a garden, run by Michigan State University and called Hidden Lake Gardens, which showcased different plants and trees.
I remember dad driving on the narrow one way road through the woods, up and down hills and around a pond where there were often swans. Sometimes we’d get out of the car at the pond.
Recently I read somewhere that the garden had installed a “Skywalk,” a walkway up in the tree canopy, and I knew right away visiting there would be a perfect Walktober. I drove down to the garden on a beautiful, sunny, blue sky Tuesday just last week.
I immediately recognized the big rolling fields…
….and the pond where we watched the swans.
But I was on a mission to see the Skywalk so I followed the signs for Skywalk parking. I was surprised when I got to the parking lot because it appeared full. On a Tuesday? Luckily someone was leaving as I was arriving and I squeezed into the last spot.
The Skywalk itself was a good 1/3 mile (.48 km) away from the parking lot, most of it uphill, along a gravel path. But I didn’t mind, the forest on both sides was glowing in the sunlight.
I stopped often, trying to catch the magic of light in golden maples and sassafras leaves.
While I was busy pointing my camera up a family of six passed me. Four kids, just like we were back so many years ago. I’m sure if there had been such a thing as a Skywalk back then we’d have trekked back to explore it too.
Finally I got a glimpse of the elevated walkway leading to the Skywalk in the trees. It looked interesting, but I’ve been to another tree canopy walkway, up in Midland, and I couldn’t see that this one was any different.
That is until I got to the top and realized this walkway was actually a swing bridge. Ten people allowed at a time.
The docent at the beginning of the bridge explained how the bridge would move beneath our feet. Cool.
There were only about 5 of us on the span when I crossed the first one of two.
The forest floor was far below.
The woman behind me didn’t like heights and I wondered why she was there, but I admired her for pushing past her fear.
The man with her was pointing to something out in the woods. What could it be?
When I got to the end I walked around and got a shot of the swing bridge from the ground. It wasn’t easy to photograph, they hadn’t cleared much when they built the structure. Which, after all, is the point.
I decided to hike a little bit of a trail that started there, up and down the hills I walked, taking pictures of light in trees as I went.
Of course I hadn’t brought the map with me, nor had I paid any attention to the signs at the parking lot that told the length of trails. I didn’t even know what trail I was on.
So after awhile I stopped taking pictures and stopped and listened. I couldn’t hear people on the bridge anymore. I didn’t know where this trail was going. Or how long it was. Maybe I should just turn around.
So I did.
Once back at the bridge I took the original gravel walkway back toward the car.
I had band rehearsal that night and I couldn’t spend all day in the woods, much as I might have liked to do just that. I needed to stop taking pictures and get moving.
Right.
First there was the long, narrow road to enjoy as it wandered through the woods. This was how I remembered Hidden Lake Gardens, lots of trees and a winding road.
There were places to pull off and take short hikes or just enjoy the day.
One of those was near a grove of brilliant yellow maple trees. So many people couldn’t resist stopping to take pictures of those. I couldn’t resist either.
Eventually I got the infamous Rare Conifer Overlook. I remember these broad hills so well, covered in low growing bushes. I don’t think we ever stopped there to walk, we just saw this part of the garden as we drove by.
But on my visit this week I parked and walked down the wide hill. What a beautiful garden. It was worth the walk down, the time spent, and the climb back up to the parking area.
But it was past time to head home, so I followed signs to the exit, past the visitor center and greenhouse…
…past the wide expanses of lawn…
…and back out to the main road, intending to start the almost two hour trip home. But of course I was in farm country.
So I had to stop and take just a few pictures of some barns.
Certainly I didn’t stop for every beautiful barn I saw. Just those that had a safe and easy place to stop. Pumpkins were pretty too.
I think it took me three hours to get home that day. I made it back just in time to go to band.
So there you have it. My Walktober which consisted of a drive and a walk and a hike.
Perfect.
I hope you enjoyed my long and winding Walktober. I sure did. And thank you to all that read this post and all those that posted their own Walktobers. I’ll get that wrap-up done later next week.
So if you have a Walktober burning in your soul, there’s still time! Link to the Official Walktober kickoff post, or to this one and I’ll include you!
Change Is Hard 