Hey, everyone!

With all of the excitement of the past few weeks, I decided to relax a bit by continuing to explore the “Cedar Lake Loop” trail that I found.  Here you can see me climbing one of the trees that have a little red circle on it. These circles mark the trail and keep you from getting lost… be sure to pay attention to these if you visit DeYoung! I found a really comfy nook in the roots of this cedar tree where I decided to curl up and take a little nap. Isn’t the bark amazing? I love how it twists and turns, and the roots are so gnarly. The cedar forest is full of cool trees like this. I really like this trail – it’s the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day after searching for oak trees. Come join me!

And I want to hear from YOU! :-)  Please email me to share the places that you’ve explored at DeYoung.  (Be sure to let me know if you see any OAK TREES!)

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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….

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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!

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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.

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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!

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Hi there!

Just checking in to tell you how much fun I am having out here on the TART Leelanau Trail.  You can see me here, pumping some water for my water bottle, at this place I found called the “DeYoung Natural Area on Cedar Lake.”

Did you know that this is the only water stop on the whole Leelanau Trail? It is really cool.  There is an old-fashioned water pump with a built-in drinking fountain, and a special spigot that you lift up to fill your water bottle… or to stick your head under for a cool-down!

There is also a really comfy bench nearby where I stopped to have a little snooze… but when I woke up, my tricycle pal had left without me!  That’s OK, though, because this place looks like a nice one to explore and look for ACORNS. 

Below is another picture is of me, carefully crossing the Leelanau Trail near the water fountain.  You have to watch out because people buzz by really FAST!

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Hello Friends!

In this picture you can see me on the back of my little friend’s tricycle. She let me tag along with her on my way out to the countryside.  This picture was taken in Old Town on our way to downtown Traverse and the TART Trail along the Bay.

So far, I have seen some really cool things along the bike path. The TART Trail stands for “Traverse City Area Recreational Trails.”  Did you know that the Trail starts in Traverse City, then meets the Leelanau Trail and connects all the way to Suttons Bay?  It is 15 miles long!  It would take me three squirrel years to tricycle the whole thing!

There are all sorts of people riding their bikes, some are walking, and others are wearing these weird shoes with wheels on them. Maybe someday I’ll try that out… it looks like a lot of fun.

The view is very pretty, so far I have been able to ride next to Grand Traverse Bay and look out at all of the sailboats, swimmers, and fishermen and women. We've passed some fruit stands that made my mouth water, and there are lots of pretty trees that look like a ton of fun to play in. I’ve also stopped to swim in a couple of streams and ponds.

That’s all for now, check back next week to see where I am!

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Squirrelly greetings and welcome to my very first posting EVER on my very first blog!  I'm so excited to get started.  To learn more about me, please visit the About the Squirrel page, alright?  You can even email me, because I want to get to know you, too. 

Here I am, sitting on the porch near my tree in Traverse City.  My place is so cool.  I even have a bird bath where I like to play… it's really nice in the summer when it's hot outside.  (Even though the birds don't like sharing.)  Do you have a bird bath, too?

The people who live in the house nearby are really friendly.  Sometimes they cook things on a big hot thing outside and they let me keep whatever falls on the ground!  Best of all, the little people who live in the house think I'm really cute.  Which I am.  :-)  They even give me rides on their tricycle sometimes.  In the photo at the bottom of this post, I'm checking out the grass with one of my buddies.

Now that it's summer, I think it's time for an adventure, don't you?  Since May, I've been thinking & thinking about what to do.  Then I remembered a story that my great-granddaddy squirrel used to tell me…  Once, he found this AMAZING oak tree with loads and loads of acorns!  Acorns are my absolutely favorite food, so I thought I'd go on a search of my own!  For the rest of summer, I'm going to travel to the country to see what I can find.  I'll post photos and stories about my journey on this blog every week.  I hope you will check in to see where I am and what I've found!

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