The Ledges

Today, when I told Sariah we were heading to the Ledges, she automatically thought I meant the ledges in paradise (Pictured Rocks).  You know, the ones where the horse flies do nothing but pester her.  That's not where we were going, but the ledges in Pictured Rocks are one of the favorite places our family visits.  Look at the above picture and imagine it continuing to the right, reddish tan rock in thin layers.  The shallow parts are pure carribean turquoise and the deeper parts are a darker shade of the same.  You get to the end of the rock and must go round a corner.  You can climb to a flat ledge that is about 5 feet above the water line.  From here, you jump, hundreds of times if you have the energy and clock-time into deep, cool, jewel-like water.  Below are a couple of shots of kids walking out to the "edges of the ledges."  It drops off at that edge and is probably somewhere between 25-30 feet deep.  We love tipping off the edge, doing cannon-balls off the edge and just plain swimming off the edge.  Must be careful of waves because of the undertow there.  I can't wait to be there this summer.

But, no Sariah, we aren't heading to "those" ledges.  We went to the Ledges in Grand Ledge.  It's an area of limestone similar to Pictured Rocks where the Grand River has worn down the stone and left beautiful walls covered in ferns, lichen, moss and liverworts.

We had a very nice hike, a picnic lunch on the ground with a blanket (this is important to Sariah), another hike and then a short visit to the playground.

But, the thing that was hard on me today is the amount of noise we must endure when we go out into the wild world.  There were chain saws, leaf blowers, other worker machines, airplanes, cars driving by on nearby roads.  It wasn't the people who were walking, though I do really enjoy being totally alone on the trail, it was the machinery.

I wonder if people know how important the quiet of nature is.  Nature is really not that quiet, but it is a different and soothing kind of noise that many of us are deprived of.  Spring and Summer are the best because leaves to absorb some of the sound and there are birdsongs and other animal sounds that drown out some of man's world.  Winter can be horrendous without the leaves on the trees and with the perpetual inhaling yawn of the city constantly there.

I wonder if it would be better if I didn't realize how much I need nature sounds. I need nature sounds without background crud.   I think I tend to listen more carefully and feel more disappointed and resentful when I can hear human noise.

One thing is for sure, it helps me appreciate the U.P. even more.  I'll be so glad to get up there this year!