Ledges

Outcrops of Pennsylvanian-age rocks, that filled the indented crust of the Lower Peninsula, are uncommon in Michigan. The Michigan Basin, 15,000 feet of sedimentary rock deposits is largely covered beneath a thin veneer of debris deposited when the Quaternary-age glaciers retreated 12,000 years ago. An exception is the exposure of the Saginaw Formation - the largest out-crop of bedrock in central Michigan - in Fitzgerald Park at Grand Ledge and one of Michigan's three geo-sites.

The beautiful road from our campground.

The floor of the woods is golden in the sunlight.

A tunnel of color leading from our campground.

My favorite color combination - golden on the inside and orange on the ends.

We travelled to Grand Ledge through gorgeous fall color and arrived at Fitzgerald Park around 12:30pm. Fitzgerald Park is a registered Michigan Historic Site. Migrant Indian tribes, led  by the famous Chief Okemos, called this area "Big Rocks." They came here in early spring to tap the sugar maples.

The beauty of the ledges and woods attracted the Grand Ledge Spiritualist Camp Association, which in 1894, established a summer campground and erected this large red barn which served as a meeting place for seances. It has also been used as a factory, roller rink, basketball court, and theater. It is currently the home of the Ledges Playhouse.

The geo-site is located along the Ledges Trail, which runs along the river. These stairs took us down to the river and the trail. 

The Grand River helped to expose the unique ledges that appear for approximately one mile along the Ledges Trail. Today the river is making a path for itself by eroding the opposite bank and depositing sediment in sandy plains on this, right, side.

Mr. Spock was thrilled to be standing on what may have been an ocean beach. About 270 million years ago, during the Pennsylvanian period, water covered much of Michigan. 

Sediments (sand, silt, and clay) were carried by the water and deposited in layers along the riverbanks and beaches. Time and pressure compacted and cemented such sediments into these rocks. 

The Swiss cheese effect in the rock here is due to the action of water dissolving the calcite cement which holds the sand grains together.

Mr. Spock noticed the powdery light green growth on these rocks. He told us these plants are called lichens. They are a combination of an algae and a fungus; the algae produces the food from the sun and the fungus supplies moisture and support. 

Liverworts, the smooth, green scales covering the rock here were thought by the early settlers to resemble the shape of an animal liver and used them, superstitiously, as a treatment for liver ailments. Liverworts cling to the rock with rhizoids which work to absorb water and minerals from the rock.

Many of the liverwort species found in Fitzgerald Park are not found anywhere else in Michigan's lower peninsula. 

This railroad trestle was built around 1888, probably by the Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Western Railroad. Several railroad companies offered excursion trains to the Seven Islands Resort. 

This is Second Island of the Seven Islands Resort. There are seven islands in the Grand River which make up the Seven Islands Resort. This little excursion boat operates to provide tours of the islands in the Grand Ledge area.

Frederick standing at the tip of Second Island. At the turn of the century, the resort attracted thousands of vacationers to Grand Ledge for steamboat rides, rowboat rentals, mineral springs, and other activities. A Native American legend claims that an Indian mother threw her seven sons into the river to save them from a rival tribe. Where each son landed, an island formed.

There are many private homes along the Grand River.

If  you look carefully, you can see two kayakers enjoying the river.

It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike along the river and Michigan's geo-site.