After the beautiful views at Sleeping Bear Dunes, we headed up to Gaylord to play some golf and do some more exploring. We stayed at the Gaylord KOA and had a great campsite surrounded by lots of tall trees.
We played golf on the Signature Course at the Tree Tops Resort, a beautiful resort with several courses to choose from. The course was gorgeous and the views from the (back) tee boxes were amazing!
You never know what you are going to see on a golf course. These wild Turkeys were out looking for lunch while we were waiting to tee off.
The City of Gaylord maintains an elk herd and provides viewing areas for the public to stop and watch the impressive herd. Under the city’s care the roughly 40 elk are contained on 108 acres. City staff feed the animals corn, hay and sugar beets, plus vitamins. We were able to see several of them up close after a walk in Aspen Park. A portion of the trail passed by the back end of the preserve.
There was also a Fallow Deer that was hanging out with the elk.
We took a ride to Grayling to check out Hartwick Pines State Park. Here we found another nice shaded walking path and a very cool logging museum. The museum had some great displays depicting ‘Michigan’s 19th-century logging era, an industry that changed the landscape, people and economy in ways that can still be seen today’. We saw displays of the tools of the trade as well as a camp building where the workers slept and ate.
We had a great time in the Gaylord area, but it was time to head north. We are off to The UP (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan).
Great pics of Elk
Gaylord is Steve’s old stomping ground! Steve’s brother worked at Garland Golf Course!
Beautiful campsite!
That’s cool how close you were able to get to the elk and deer!