| 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 . . .
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 . . .
—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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