Howdy, folks!

Glad to see you check back again. The TART Leelanau Trail has been really busy in the past few weeks because it is summertime.  Did you know that the Trail is used about 30,000 times between May and September alone?! I learned that from my friend, Missy, who works for the TART Trail system. Last week, a special event called the “Tour de TART” happened and some really nice people came and set up a tent at DeYoung to give bikers shade and water…they let me hang out, too! I met all sorts of really fun kids – you can see me here with some of them. They were sweaty because it was a hot day and they were riding hard, but thankfully they were able to get a drink at that water fountain I found a couple weeks ago. They were really glad to see us! I made friends with a lot of little kids… and I got a TON of hugs. Some of them even took me for a spin on their bikes!

The Tour de TART happens once a year toward the end of July. Everyone who participates starts in Traverse City and rides to Suttons Bay where yummy food is provided along with a shuttle ride back to Traverse City. It looks like so much fun that I think I might go next year! I heard a rumor that they serve sautéed acorns….

Hello again! Today I found a little trail that runs through this really neat forest of cedar trees. You can see me here on top of the sign that marks the beginning. It is called the “Cedar Lake Loop” and is just off the Leelanau Trail past the bathroom. I saw many bikers stop off, park their bikes, and walk the trail to take a break from the sun. This is a huge forest! I have never seen such cool looking trees before… they are kind of magical.

Below, you'll see a photo of three friends I met here at DeYoung today.  My friend Emma is the one with the dark pigtails.  She had another little girl with her named Ruby, as well as her pet monkey.  (The monkey and I both got squeezed a lot… it was fun!)  Emma and Ruby were exploring the field when I arrived.  I could barely see their little heads, even from the top of the sign!  Emma's mom says they come here a lot to play.

Now I'm off to investigate the cedar forest.  You should come visit, too!  If you find any oak trees out here, please email me and let me know.  I'd like to check for acorn production!

Hey Guys!

After such a long ride I really had to go to the little-squirrel’s-room and, lucky for me, this place ALSO has a bathroom! You can’t miss it… there is a sign that reads “Leelanau Conservancy Trail” that has another little sign with two little people on it. It is just off the trail to the right if you are coming from Traverse City and to the left if you are coming from Suttons Bay.

As you can see, it's a little blue building that's very clean… Here I am on my way out the door! I saw a lot of bikers and walkers use it. Like me, they were all REALLY happy to find it.

Hello there, again!  I'm so glad I decided to stay and check out DeYoung…  There is a really pretty apple tree just off the TART Leelanau Trail. I climbed to the top of it looking for oak trees, but didn't spot any. Here I am when the tree was in blossom, which you can catch if you visit at the right time of the year. The tree smelled so good, I didn’t want to get down! (I don’t recommend trying to eat the apple blossoms though… they aren’t quite as good as apples.)

From the top of the apple tree, I spotted a bird house and decided to see who was home.  As you can see below, I tried to hello to some of them, but they didn’t seem to want to come out and play with me.  Well, I’m off to keep exploring… I'll let you know what else I find!