Grand Trees along the Great Lakes

Some trees survived the lumbering phase in Michigan's early history.  


There are still pockets of old growth trees in areas around the state.

While in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, my son Ben and I hiked the Estivant Pines Sanctuary near Copper Harbor, Michigan.  The pines stand up to 150 feet tall there.  

Ben and an old giant

Yep, I'm a tree-hugger

Quite the canopy

In the Shadow of Giants

Two hundred years ago it was easier to move through Michigan by water -- rivers and the Great Lakes -- than to move through the land.

That's because the land had old growth forests that were dense and impassible in places.








While walking the lakeshore this November, I followed a stream inland, tracing the water's path as it meandered toward the lake.







The trees that lived near the stream shaded
the area and their fallen leaves decorated the surface of the slow moving stream.









This oak towered over the other trees.

It's not old growth, but it is a grand tree
and a glimpse of the past when this size
tree would have been growing in the
shadows of giants.