Sarett Nature Center

Yesterday Ken and I did a nature walk thru some nature trails. Even though it was a rainy and gloomy day, it was nice to be outside for a while.

I always love how paths looks when they disappear into the trees.

One part of the trails went right thru a huge tree. I guess it was too awkward/heavy/inconvient to move so they cut a piece out of the tree just big enough for the trail.

We were a little early for the bright fall colors, but there were a few leaves that had already changed.

We didn't get rained on as much as I expected because we were so deep in the trees. I loved how the rain made ripples in the reflection of this little pond.

We were out there to look at the nature, but the things that caught my attention the most were the non-natural things. We rounded a corner and came across this red boxcar in the middle of the woods. The nature center is 800 acres, miles away from a major road, surrounded by farms, woods, and marshland. I have so many questions about this boxcar! Why is it there? Who brought it all the way from wherever it was and just left it there? How did they transport it? What was it orignially used for? The words on the sides and front say "Michigan Fruit Canners" but that doesn't really tell me much. Was it part of the cannery, or a traveling dispensary? I emailed the main email address for the nature center to see if they have any info on it.

This bent and rusty iron wheel was right by the boxcar. Still doesn't solve the mystery.

The final non-natural thing that caught my eye were these little pink crocs left by the side of a trail. One was broken, but still wearable. What parent decides it's better to leave a kid's shoes behind in the middle of a nature preserve than to limp back to the car in them, or carry them in your own hands?