This Is Pure Michigan

A place where the roads are not paved, the people move at a different pace, and the potholes swallow your car...this is pure Michigan. All kidding aside, our trip to Michigan was filled with great surprises and dangerous perils. To get through it we had to be extremely lucky all while being extremely unlucky. 


We have wanted to check the pileated woodpecker off of our life list for some time now. We even made a trip up to Michigan last October with the hopes of seeing the largest woodpecker in North America (assuming the Ivory billed woodpecker is extinct). With word that the pileated was showing up at our uncle's cabin on a daily bases, we planned another trip.

Day One (January 1^st)

The trip started with us driving five hours north speculating about what birds we might see and reading about them from our newly acquired Book of North America Birds by Readers Digest (thanks Grandma!). We set out earlier than expected so we decided to stop at Huron National Forest and try and find a path to hike and stretch our legs. We found a path called The Roughed Grouse Walk (see pic below). We hunted around but had no luck spotting one, but the scenery was beautiful with a light snow falling. When we arrived at the cabin it was already dark so seeing the pileated was out of the question. We caught up with family and determined the best time to see the bird in the morning. We hit the sack early so we could be up before dawn.

Day Two (January 2^nd)

We awoke before sun up so we could get our breakfast and grab a good seat for the show. Pileated woodpeckers are very shy and can scare very easily, so moving around the cabin was kept to a minimum. First the red breasted nuthatches came in to feed, then the downy woodpecker, harry woodpecker, red bellied woodpecker, and the blue jays. It was approaching 10am with no sign of the pileated. We talked about a plan B if we did not see one. For example, we could plan a short birding day and return before dusk in the hopes of seeing one during their evening feeding, or we could cross our fingers and try and see it the next morning. We agreed that we should give it until 10:15 before calling it. We talked about different locations around the area for birding and just as we were about to give up one showed up. She descended the tree and moved toward the feeder. There is no way to describe the size and beauty of this bird. In one of the photos below I have captured the pileated and the harry together. The harry measures in at around 9.8 inches, which is a good sized woodpecker when you’re used to the downy in Ohio, but the pileated dwarfed it. It was simply an amazing bird to see. Life list 73.

After the incredible high and good luck of seeing the pileated we were excited to head out and capture our second new bird of 2015. We had read on Michigan Audubon’s web page that Alpena had a section of water near their dam that would not freeze. Later in the winters this is typically the only section of open water so the chances of viewing water fowl here are very good. When we arrived we stepped out of the car and instantly located new birds. There we were standing outside without our winter gear on, taking pictures of birds while it was 9 degrees out. We finally realized that the birds were not going anywhere and returned to the car to suit up. We had discovered three new birds for our life list including the common goldeneye, common merganser, and red breasted merganser. Pictures are in the same order. Life list at 76.

We had a great morning seeing four new birds but that was all about to change. We decided that we would stop at Thunder Bay State Forest on our way back to the cabin and search for owls. We punched the address into the GPS and started driving. For those of you who do not know, not all Michigan roads are paved. The majority of the smaller ones remain dirt roads. These are often very rough but with 4WD or All Wheel Drive they are rarely any real problems. As we turned on to Glennie road we discovered that this was one of those roads, however this one was a little different. The further we got on this road the smaller and rougher it got but we didn't care as we were in our trusted CR-V that has gotten us through some rough situations. About three miles in we started hitting some potholes that we discovered were frozen over and would crack and break under the weight of the car. We were still not overly concerned and took it easy and tried not to get stuck. About a half mile from our destination we approached what looked to be another one of these potholes, granted it looked bigger, but no big deal right? WRONG! The next thing we knew we were sinking into what now appeared to be our watery grave. 

As the car is sinking my wife is screaming "What do I do, what do I do?!?!" so I tell her to keep trying to get out. Back and forth we go but both sides have an eight inch slab of ice that the car just can't seem to get over. Reluctantly we climb out the passenger side of the car, as the driver side is submerged. This is where the "good luck vs bad luck" comes into play. Our car is floating in an icy grave, bad luck. We get out without getting hurt or wet, good luck. One of us hits the lock button on our way out of the car, bad luck. I happen to grab my phone before stepping out, good luck. My phone only has 4% battery left, bad luck. Phone has a signal in the middle of a state forest, good luck. My wife's phone is in the locked car fully charged, bad luck. We get a call into a tow truck and the address relayed a second before the phone dies, good luck. I could go on and on but the point is that we were extremely lucky but also unlucky. 

After some speculation about whether the tow truck will arrive or if they got the address right, the tow truck arrives. They unlock the car and I get in. There is two inches of standing water inside the vehicle. The trusty CR-V starts but is clearly shaken up by the ordeal. The tow truck pulls and I run the CR-V in reverse. They pull so hard that they rip the ball right off of our hitch. Luckily it did not fly through the tow truck's windshield or hit anyone. They re-position the tow strap and with one last tug, they pulled us out.

As we are driving back to the cabin we determine that there is something wrong with the car and we are not going to make it. We stop at a BP station on the side of the highway. Luckily the attendant tells us that there is a repair shop just down the road. The husband and wife repair team, like many Michiganders, take their time doing things. After two times on the lift the and one short drive of the car he determine that the rattling noise was simply a bracket that had come loose and was rubbing against the drive shaft. With the bracket back in place the car was as good as new, or so we thought.

Day Three (January 3^rd)

We began the day by trying to re-hydrate from the two bottles of wine we drank on our arrival back at the cabin the previous day. We ate breakfast, saw the pileated again, packed up our things and said our goodbyes. We got out to the car and wouldn't you know, it would not start. It would not turn over or make even the slightest noise. We tried to jump it with no luck. Exhausted we pushed the car up to the garage and got two hair dryers out and started thawing out the starter. An hour or so later she turned over and we were off. Unfortunately for us a winter storm was moving in and we were going to have to drive the 300 miles home through the heart of it. We went from heavy snow, to rain snow mix, to sleet, to freezing rain, to rain before arrive home. We never shut off the car because we feared that it would not start back up. But we made it home safely nearly 7 hours after we left the cabin.

I guess the lesson of this story is that you have to look on the bright side. Yes we were extremely unlucky that our GPS took us down some back road with sinkholes, but we were extremely lucky to make it out safe with little damage to our car. We were lucky to run into kind people that were willing to help a couple of Ohioans in some trouble. Overall I would consider the trip a success and now we have a story to tell.

Happy Birding and stay safe!