#5: [23-May-17]

#4: [31-Jul-07]

#3: [20-Nov-04]

#2: [10-Feb-01]

#1: [03-Feb-01]

15-Sep-2025 -- Driving home from Michigan to Colorado I stopped at this fascinating confluence, a study in farmland-to-forest reclamation. Previous visitors advised parking just west of the KOA, and sure enough there is a short two-track driveway to the west with a small trailhead at the end. From this trailhead is a gate advising Foot Traffic Only and signage from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (see photo). So, this confluence lies on public hunting grounds owned by the state.

I was out of my car at 10:32am. The temperature was 73°F and a bit breezy. The leaves were just beginning to change.

There is a series of trails along the various meadow edges that I used to arrive at the confluence (see Google Maps screenshot with red line marking my route). The final meadow was the only place I had to bushwhack through increasingly taller goldenrod, prickers (wear pants and gloves!), and saplings.

In the first two visits in 2001, this was a cornfield. It was fallow by 2004. The owner must have donated the land to the state. It was fascinating to see the process of wilderness creep at work.

I zeroed out and was back to my car 40 minutes later, happy for the break in driving. Onward to Crown Point, IN for coffee with friends, then a final confluence in Illinois before stopping for the night in Newton, IA.