| In
the Outdoors
Nara Nature Park welcomes public
We all like a place of peace and solitude in the outdoors that
we hope never gets crowded. The Nara Nature Park fills that bill.
It is a place the City of Houghton and Michigan Technological
University would love for the entire world to know about and use
in many ways: hiking, biking, jogging, dog walking, strolling
quietly, meditating, sitting to watch the wildlife and trees;
or in winter, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and
after those sports, enjoying a hot beverage in front of a warm
fire; a place where families, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and students
of all ages from elementary through college, could come and learn
about nature.
The Nara Nature Park began as the dream of two people: Dr. Bob
Nara and his wife Ruth. The Nara family owned the land around
the mouth of the Pilgrim River, one mile south of Houghton along
US-41. With a vision of a place for all people to use and appreciate,
the Naras donated the original parcel of thirty acres to the City
of Houghton in 1993 and specified it be used for outdoor recreation
and learning. The Naras enjoy practicing what they call “Catalyst
Philanthropy.” They provide a gift that “plants the
seed,” inspiring enthusiasm in others to join in “fertilizing
and cultivating” that project and then enjoy watching it
grow to the benefit of the community.
“We feel that life’s most noble aspiration is to make
the world a better place,” Bob Nara said. Since that original
gift, subsequent parcels of land have been added through the efforts
of the City of Houghton, MTU, the DNR and grants from a number
of entities to reach a total of 1,000 acres of interconnected
trails. Groups and individual volunteers far too numerous to mention
have put thousands of hours of “sweat equity” into the
park building the board walks, grooming and marking trails, building
bridges and numerous other routine tasks.
Nearly fifty miles of looping trails connect the Nara Nature Park
to MTU ski trails, City of Houghton paved Waterfront Trail and
Houghton High School trails. There are, at present, seven public
parking areas at trailheads. A complete map of the complex system
may be viewed at www.aux.mtu.edu/rec/ccski
The trails are marked for a number of uses: skiing, snowshoeing,
sledding, walking, jogging, biking, as well as designations for
difficulty and areas for dogs. The various branches and loops
cross each other or run “parallel,” but due to the surrounding
forest, a walker with a dog and a jogger who prefers not to be
around dogs, might come within twenty yards, yet not see each
other. Signs at the various trail heads and parking areas tell
a user what is allowed, or not allowed, on each trail.
No motorized vehicles are allowed on the trails. One might take
an ORV along the City of Houghton Waterfront Trail (or a snowmobile
in winter), but once a person reaches the parking area near the
Pilgrim River Bridge, the vehicle must be parked and the person
must walk, ski or snowshoe beyond that point. This effort is self-policed.
People of Houghton whose properties run along some of the trails
watch this carefully. Jim Schmierer of MTU reported that one citizen
“griped” at him recently when he had taken a truck legitimately
to haul seedling trees for planting.
Some places are smooth and ramped for wheelchairs, like the area
at the Pilgrim River Bridge, where a boardwalk follows the river
to the point where it empties into Portage Lake. Benches along
this trail make it easy for anyone to stroll, sit and contemplate
the lovely scenery, or watch water birds. Other areas are rough
back country. One gentle sled hill invites families of young children,
while a steeper hill at the top of Lookout Loop challenges dare
devils. Best of all, once parked and at a trailhead, a person
will never cross a public street.
On June 16, the park committee met at the chalet (a sixty-by-sixty
building with public restrooms, coin-operated shower, lovely picnic
tables and a wood-burning fireplace) to report current progress
and toss around ideas for future use. The group included Scott
MacInnes, Houghton city manager; Mike Abbot, director of sports
and recreation at MTU; Jim Schmierer, MTU professor in the College
of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences; Jim Rivard, also
with MTU forestry; Bob and Ruth Nara, Susan Ingram, who works
with the Houghton County SPCA (another project the Naras remain
involved with) and a few other interested people.
In 2006, the U.S. Junior Olympic Cross Country National Championship
(for skiers ages nineteen and under) was held in the trail system.
In 2007 and 2008, the U.S. Nationals for cross-country skiing
were held there and Houghton hosted the U.S. Olympic Team. Several
of these racers reported that of various places they had competed
(including Switzerland, Russia and the High Sierras in California),
they like Houghton best because of the “lake effect”
snow.
MTU uses the park year round (along with the Alberta station)
for field techniques in biology and geology as well as forestry
classes. Houghton High School uses the trails regularly and both
high school and middle school students have been involved in various
tree planting efforts the last few years. Students directed by
instructors identify trees for thinning and cutting, groom trails,
and plant and prune trees. Some trees have been harvested and
sold to raise money for park improvements. Other trees provided
poles and timber for bridges and boardwalks within the park. The
goal is a forest with a wide variety of species of trees and undergrowth
that will provide habitat for small mammals, birds and predators
for a balanced ecology.
Tree planting projects have been hampered by deer eating seedling
trees planted for a windbreak. The solution to this problem might
be to have some young trees with “tree tubes,” others
with chicken wire fencing and still others with no protection.
Then students might be able to compare survival rates. Some areas
of the park have soil that is compacted from earlier use as farm
land. It is difficult for maples to grow in such compacted soil
but red oak, which has a long tap root, does well in those areas.
There is no end to the types of things students can study.
The park and chalet have been used for mountain biking classes
where upwards of sixty youngsters have become interested in that
sport. Outdoor Adventure, Great Expectations Youth Projects, and
Art in the Forest have used the park in the past and it is hoped
these and other groups will use it even more in the future. A
Forest Stewardship Grant might provide funding for future projects
such as a canoe and kayak launch along the Pilgrim River, one
more bridge to connect the trails to the Portage Lake Golf Course,
or projects to study forest habitats, the watershed and overall
ecosystem. Little things like blinds on the windows or an override
switch for the motion-activated lighting would enable instructors
to use projectors and screens for classes in the chalet. It’s
hoped there will be more training for teachers who would then
bring their classes to this setting.
Committee members would like to see climbing ropes and zip rides
through the forest canopy. Some engineering students at MTU have
been working on equipment like hand cycles and sit-skis that allow
disabled people to use the trails.
Other adaptive equipment for wheelchairs is in development so
people with disabilities could use the trails as they are rather
than having to change the forest by paving trails. This project
came through a Michigan program (with grant money provided by
the W.K. Kellogg Foundation) to allow greater access to recreation
programs for people with disabilities. Some of this equipment
is available now and free for people to use through the City of
Houghton.
Another future dream would be equipment to help disabled people
get in and out of canoes and kayaks. Future plans call for one
trail to be equipped for use by people who are impaired visually.
Such participants would wear an electronic device. Sensors placed
every so many yards along both sides of that trail would beep
when a person gets too close to the edge, eliminating the need
for a guide.
The committee also would like to see greater cooperation among
various marketing groups like the City of Houghton, Chamber of
Commerce, SmartZone and MTU who all have separate Web sites with
overlapping and sometimes confusing or conflicting information.
Scott MacInnes suggested creating one “umbrella” Web
site with spider-like links to each organization.
“It doesn’t seem like that long ago that we were trying
to figure out when we would get the carpet into the chalet,”
Bob Nara said, “Now it’s ‘um, it’s done and
we need to use it.’ ”
Everyone is welcome. There’s plenty of room and lots to do.
Enter this park and enjoy it.
For details, visit www.cityofhoughton.com or www.aux.mtu.edu/rec/ccski
—Deborah K. Frontiera
Editor’s Note: For details on the author, www.authorsden.com/deborahkfrontiera
Sculpture park offers more than art
Lakenenland, the Upper Peninsula’s premiere sculpture park,
is going strong. There are two perch- and bluegill-stocked ponds,
a gazebo where you might find fishing poles, a band shell under
construction, one of the nicest little outhouses you’ll ever
see, always a new sculpture or two, and, of course, the campfire
ring with plenty of wood and the coffee-and-cocoa-stocked cabinet.
The guest book (just the latest of several filled with testimonials
from around the world) is always fun to read.
February—We got lost from Los Angeles and found your hot
chocolate and fire. Thank you.
Tom Lakenen is the man behind the park and the sculptures, which
are created from scrap iron pieces big and small. He makes each
at his home in Chocolay Township, and as he finds time he moves
them out to the 37.5-acre park, about ten miles east of Harvey
on M-28. Lakenen is a welder by trade and belongs to the boilermakers
union. He has been in Hawaii, where welders are scarce, helping
to construct a combustion turbine. He’d been on the island
of Oahu throughout the spring, toiling long days, but otherwise
enjoying the fine tropical weather. The inspiration for his art,
he said, comes from the metal with which he works.
“You’re always getting some weird pieces,” he said.
“I look at it and wonder what it is.”
Right now there are more than seventy sculptures at the park covering
the gamut from pure whimsy to bold political comment. Wandering
down the lanes, Lakenen has cut through the woods—you can
walk, drive, ski, snowmobile, whatever suits your fancy and the
season—you will encounter bigger-than-life cartoon characters,
a “corporate greed” pig, a smiling astronomer, an alligator,
two guys in a boat, wild motorcycle riders, a bear, mermaids,
abstract pieces and just-landed Martian bugs. Fin tubes from a
radiator became Lakenen’s tribute to September 11, 2001.
As you walk by, the two rust-colored miniature towers eerily disappear
then reappear, and it’s like catching a ghost in the corner
of your eye.
Soon, if not already, Lakenen’s latest sculpture will be
installed. It depicts a team of sled dogs pulling a crazy character
in a wild yooperesque tractor. Many of Lakenen’s pieces have
a strong feeling of movement, as if something is about to bust
out of the steel, and this last piece is a must-see for any sled
dog enthusiast. The U.P. 200 and Midnight Run sled dog races pass
through the park, and on the Friday night and Sunday morning of
race weekend, Lakenen said, seventy-five people or more may gather
to watch the dogs go by and enjoy the bonfire.
Since its start in 2003, Lakenenland has been free and open to
all. With just a few hand-lettered signs posted here and there,
Lakenen explains his vision of a sculpture park designed solely
for enjoyment by all. Everyone is welcome to view the art, warm
themselves by the campfire, cook up a hot dog and brew a cup of
coffee. With the creation of ponds and a donation of fishing poles
from U.P. Whitetails Association, visitors also can bait a hook,
toss their line and enjoy a little fishing. Lakenen’s had
some trouble with Chocolay Township and Marquette County authorities—there
are regulations, after all—but he deals with that as it comes
up. In addition, he hopes his supporters will voice their support
for the park in letters to the township.
Along with adding sculptures, Lakenen works at expanding the park’s
use, hence the outhouse and now the band shell “for any musician
who wants to come out and play,” he said. The band shell
also would be available for stage productions—Shakespeare
at Lakenenland, anyone? As with everything Lakenen builds, the
pavilion is made from items that were headed for the junkyard
(he calls his sculptures “junkyard art”), including
roof trusses from Hedgcock Fieldhouse at NMU and walls made from
a number of doors out of NMU’s music building.
“Stuff that was on its way to the scrap yard,” Lakenen
said.
Although the park is free, there are spots to deposit a monetary
donation. One of Lakenen’s signs suggests that any donation
to improve the park would be welcome, and recently a visitor left
a large bottle of homemade mosquito repellent, a concoction of
yarrow extract and sheep sorrel. This same visitor told a story
of meeting a bicyclist from Texas at the park, a hardy soul who
had cycled to Manitoba (Canada), and who was heading back south
through the U.P., when he noticed Lakenenland by the side of the
road.
Wherever you’re from, whether you’re powered by foot
or gas, whether you’re in a stroller or using a walker, on
unemployment or in big business, pull off the road and take a
gander at Lakenenland. Build yourself a campfire, relax, enjoy.
6/4—Came all the way from Worcester Mass to see your amazing
art…
6/5—Thank you so much. This is so cool. We brought 52 kids
from 4-H here. They had a blast!
6/11—Very cool, thanks for sharing!
6/13—Rode my bike from Texas just to check out Lakenenland…
—Leslie Allen
Notes from the North Country
“For I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer
days.”
—Henry David Thoreau
An Upper Peninsula summer is a superb time to make some investments.
Not to worry, we don’t mean ephemeral stocks or bonds. No
Ponzi scheme here. Rather, we suggest investments in the incomparable
beauty of summer—the greatest, longest-lasting “show”—Alma
Nature.
The cost of these investments is minimal: some time, a bit of
shoe leather, maybe an insect bite or two (or three). But the
payoff, the return on your investment, is enormous. As with most
things about nature, Thoreau said it best:
“No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not in
possessions but enjoyment.”
During the bitter cold and dark days of January, while enduring
the burden of a boring meeting (sorry for the redundancy there),
or when the quiet desperation of daily chores gets you down, there
is an escape. Call on the memories of summer and transport yourself
to a warm, sunny oasis. Surprisingly, the brain does not recognize
the difference between a real and an imagined image.
Opportunities for summer investments are all about us in this
pleasant peninsula: the slopes of Mt. Marquette, the school forest
off Forestville Road; the Elliott Donnelley tract on the Little
Garlic River, Twin Waterfalls Nature Preserve in Munising, Harlow
Lake and Little
Presque Isle, Craig Lake Wilderness State Park, Portage Point,
the myriad of lakes and rivers in the Hiawatha and Ottawa National
Forests—only a few of our favorites.
What is on your list of favorite places and times? Each sensitive
observer has favorite images of summer. Here are some we return
to again and again; use them as stepping stones for your own path
of discovery:
• The sight and sound of water always is soothing to
those who take the time to sit quietly near our beautiful lakes,
rivers and waterfalls. Try this: rest beside a waterfall and open
your senses. Soak up the sounds of cascading water; taste the
mist that swirls around you. Feel the power of water gruffing
on the rocks. Some research indicates that such moving water produces
negative ions, which reduce feelings of discomfort and anxiety.
Or, perhaps “we’re drawn to them (waterfalls) simply
because they make us feel good” (Jerry Dennis, The Bird in
the Waterfall).
• Have you looked at clouds from all sides lately? Find
a grassy spot to lie on your back and let your mind drift along
with the fluffy white pillows. Send yourself back to your childhood
when you found all manner of fanciful shapes in those clouds scudding
overhead.
• Spend some quiet time one late afternoon in a nearby
hardwood forest. Watch the shifting patterns of light and shadow
as the slanting rays of sunlight filter through the leaves of
maple, oak, birch and basswood trees.
Although not necessary, some observers keep a journal and describe
what they have seen and enjoyed. It may help to evoke memories
you can turn to in colder, grayer times. Keep in mind that if
an outdoor adventure is approached with an open mind and heart,
then surely as night follows day, beauty, wonder and quiescence
are sure to follow. When we cultivate awareness of the natural
world, it awakens ancient memories, which help us calibrate our
present lives. After a walk in forest or field, even if only as
a stroll down memory lane, we always feel better. These investments
guarantee dividends.
—Lon and Lynn Emerick
Editor’s Note: Lon and Lynn Emerick’s Upper Peninsula
books: The Superior Peninsula, Going Back to Central Mine, Lumberjack—Inside
an Era, Sharing the Journey, You Wouldn’t Like it Here and
You STILL Wouldn’t Like it Here are available at area book
and gift stores or by visiting www.northcountrypublishing.com
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