Button Rock Preserve/Sleepy Lion Trail

Distance: 6 miles round trip
Elevation: 5,960 – 6,420 ft
Elevation Gain: 460 ft

Ralph Pierce Reservoir viewed from the Sleepy Lion Trail. You can see Mt. Meeker in the distance.

Button Rock is a delightful and lesser-known open space just west of Lyons. It is dog friendly, contains views of distant Twin Sisters, and skirts a narrow reservoir bordered by pine trees. It is another of my favorite shoulder season hikes.


Creek along the initial part of the trail to the dam
The trail starts off in a large dirt parking area surrounded by high cliffs. On the west side of a wide gate, a broad flat road heads east towards the Ralph Price Reservoir. The road transects the canyon with several interesting water features along the way. If you continue heading west, you will end up at the base of the dam, but for a more interesting route, take the Sleep Lion Trail around a half-mile up the road. A large sign marks the trail.


These man-made falls are about half-way to the Sleepy Lion turn off.

Rocks along the Sleepy Lion Trail
The Sleepy Lion Trail winds through Ponderosa and Douglas fir. There are occasional open meadows and isolated red boulder formations. At the high point you can see the tip of Mt. Meeker and the double hump of Twin Sisters. There are also views of the reservoir itself.


Twin Sisters in the distance
From the highest vantage, the trail descends down an old rail bed to the base of the dam. Here a dramatic jet of water shoots out of the reservoir’s water control feature. It is difficult to pull oneself away from the chaotic and powerful display of man’s attempt to control nature.


The Ralph Pierce Reservoir seen from the Sleepy Lion Trail
On the far right-hand side of the dam is a short but steep trail up to the reservoir itself. This ascends several hundred feet through several highly eroded areas. Anyone used to Colorado’s steep ascents will find this short jaunt to be trivial. For those who wish an outing that is easier on the knees, skip the trail and head back down the broad road to the trailhead.


The old rail bed portion of the Sleepy Lion Trail
The Ralph Price Reservoir is an interesting and rarely visited place. There is no official trail that circumnavigates it, but you can walk along the right shoreline for a mile or so. In low years, there are boulders to nestle in and in high years, the deep blue waters of the reservoir lap the shoreline almost to the level of the trail. If the wind is not blowing too much, this is a pleasant place for a picnic.


Water jet

Base of the Button Rock Dam
To return to the trailhead, the hiker has two options, he can return down to the base of the dam via the steep trail or wander up and around to one of the dirt roads that skirt the area.


The deep blue of the Ralph Pierce Reservoir
On a sunny fall day, Button Rock can be a pleasant Front Range excursion. While known to the locals, it is rarely visited by those outside of Lyons. This does not mean that it will be uncrowded, however, but I have found that most visitors stay on the main road and do not take the more scenic but more strenuous Sleep Lion Trail.

Aphrodite Fritillary

Ok, it is still decently warm in Colorado but I am already bemoaning that winter is nigh so I was going back over some photographs I took one day at lunch on Boulder's Mesa Trail this spring.

This butterfly was only still for two seconds, so I was lucky to get it in focus. I believe it is an Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) although there are several butterflies that look similar and you really need to see their underwing to get an accurate identification.


The females lay eggs on violet plants but will feed on any type of flower. Unlike some of their moisture loving cousins, they are found in the plains. It was HOT this past summer if you recall. You know it is hot when the poison-ivy was wilting.

Fritillary by the way is a fancy term that means a "butterfly with brownish wings marked with black and silver"

Day 6: Sault St. Marie Lock Tour

The U.S. Soo Locks. Note the ore carrier in the left lock. The doors to the right lock are open. View live web cam of the soo locks.

On our last day of vacation, we bolted up to Sault (pronounced Soo) St. Marie to take a Lock Tour. We had no idea a priori whether this was a good use of our time but it toured out to be a blast. If you don’t want to go through the Locks, you can also just drive to the viewing platform about a mile up the road from the tour dock. Large ore carriers travel through the locks several times a day.


The lock doors closing


Looking up at an ore carrier already lifted up to the level of Lake Superior


Looking at the interior wall of the lock


A Coast Guard patrol boat shared our journey. Note the manned 50 cal machine gun. The Coast Guard is playing a vital role in the war on terror. The ore carrier that was on the left has already left. You can see it in the distance.



Looking back on the locks after exiting. The viewing platform can be seen on the right.
Sault St. Marie is the third oldest establishment in the United States being founded in 1688. Sault means to jump so this was a place to jump the St. Mary’s river.


Bridge to Canada

The locks exist because Lake Superior is several hundred feet higher than Lake Huron. St. Mary’s River connects to the bodies of water. The tour takes you by some of the rapids that still exist. The first locks were actually built in 1797 were destroyed in the War of 1812. The US built its first lock in 1855. The locks are run by the Federal Government and are free to all passing ships.


Captain Mary, one of two female ship captains on the St. Mary's River.

A pavilion on the Canadian side of the river.
The boat tour takes you through the locks, up around to a steel mill, back through the locks, over to the rapids, and the finally along the Canadian side of the river. The captain of our boat is one of only two female captains on the river. She was quite interesting to talk to.


Pile of salt on the edge of the river


This ore carrier cruised by just as we were disembarking from the tour. I could sit and watch them all day. Is it any wonder I ended up in the Navy?

If you are ever in the area, the tour is worth doing. If this interests you, check out the Soo locks visitor's center web site for more information.

I hope you have enjoyed this virtual travel diary as much as we enjoyed living it. Many thanks to Nina at Black Coffee at Sunrise for all her travel tips.

Day 5: Grand Hotel Mackinac Island

(Left: The dress code at the hotel is posted on the walk way in). As I mentioned in my previous post, we had initially intended to stay at the Grand but they were booked with a convention. We toyed with at least having dinner at the hotel but all women must where skirts after 6pm and we decided it was not worth bringing dress clothes for one night. This trip was just not that kind of trip. Our primary focus was hiking and outdoor activities. Our second choice was to at least have lunch to see what kind of spread you would get for a $42 lunch buffet. We screwed that one up too though by mismanaging our time. We should have gone to lunch first and hit the fort second. We did not know that the lunch ended at 2pm. Oh well, we had a panini in the hallway, which at least tasted good. I cannot say that any meal we had on the island was worth having again. We anticipated many gourmet restaurants to choose from but there were not.

The grounds of the Grand Hotel are open to the public for a $10 fee. Most people just want to sit on the porch but there are other things to see. We headed to the wine bar after lunch thinking it would a pleasant place to lounge. Alas, it was so filled with cigarette smoke that we bolted back outside.


The famous porch


Carriages pass each other on the street below
The porch is very nice and on a summer day it must be a mob scene. We were wrapped in our jackets and did not linger for hours. You can see the Mackinac bridge from the porch and watch the ships transit the straights.


Chess set on the porch
I also enjoyed wandering the grounds below the hotel. There is a beautiful fountain, lovely flowers, and a horse and carriage topiary. The grounds were much more peaceful than the hustle and bustle of the porch.


Fountain in the gardens


Flowers were blooming even in October


Topiary in the gardens
As I said in my previous post, the Grand Hotel is the attraction on the island. No one should miss it. I would like to test the cuisine to determine if the price tag is worth it. The atmosphere alone is not sufficient in my mind.

Day 5: Mackinac Bridge and Island

Main street. The fort can be see poking above the buildings.

Everyone we talked to about Michigan said we had to visit Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-ahhhh) Island. While touristy, they said it was a unique experience. No cars are allowed on the island and the tourists get around in horse drawn carriages and on bicycles. The exclusion of cars is a less than successful attempt to keep the island locked in a Victorian era. I am not sure why people romanticize that era. Women were trundled up in corsets, certainly could not vote, and lord help us, but there were no feminine hygiene products. Give me the future any day. I am anxiously waiting for the Enterprise transporter to whisk me off to Paris for dinner and give me the perfect body while at it! While horses have a smaller carbon footprint compared to a gas-guzzling, car-smashing Hummer, they do stink, which definitely intrudes upon the romantic air the island would like to project to the outside world.


Driving over the Mackinac Bridge


Shepler's Ferry
Before heading to the island, we decided to drive over the Mackinac Bridge, which is the largest suspension bridge in the world. This was a cheap thrill but the views from the bridge made the $2 toll worth it.


Main street heading east. Park on the left is just below the fort
Being a former Naval Officer, I was really looking forward to the ferry ride to the island. What is nice about the place we were staying was the fact that they handled all of our luggage so we did not have to worry about getting it to the hotel. We found out later that we paid a hefty $12 per person, regardless whether we had bags or not for this privilege. It took about 20 minutes to cross to the island and cost $17 per person round trip. That was with my military discount, so you’ll pay slightly more. I did enjoy being out on the water and seeing the Grand Hotel come into view.

(Left: One of the ubiquitous fudge shops. Most of the store clerks were young kids who were less then friendly. ) There are four major attractions on the island, the Grand Hotel, which I will cover in detail in my next post, the main shopping drag, the bike route around the island, and the fort. We managed to do all of these things in a day and a half. Frankly, the only one worth doing was the Grand Hotel. We had actually planned on staying there but a huge convention had booked all the rooms. This was probably for the best because the rates at the grand hotel are $300 per person per night. That would have been $900 per night for three of us. Not many places in the world are worth that kind of money. That price did include breakfast and dinner. The pictures of the rooms I found on the Internet were also very unappealing…more of that kitschy Victorian stuff. Still, as you will hear in my next post, the Grand Hotel is THE attraction on the island. Don’t bother going to the island if you are not considering staying there or at a bare minimum spending a lot of time there.


The famously photographed limestone arch. The hike up is short and the views very nice. The carriage tours take the less active visitors there directly.


View of Lake Huron from the arch
The main shopping drag turned out to be surprisingly short and very monochromatic. The stores consist of Fudge shops and more fudge shops and T-shirt joints. I was expecting something a little more upscale to be honest.


Walkway up to the fort. We wanted to have a hot drink at the Fort Mackinack cafe. You have to pay admission to the fort to each there. The guide books say this cafe is in the lower level which is misleading because that implies that is below this walkway. It is not. There are two "levels" within the fort itself.
Renting a bike and cruising the island would normally be a very pleasant diversion but on our day, it was butt-numbing cold and I was chilled through despite my many layers. My two companions proclaimed me to be a total wimp since they did not seem bothered by the weather at all. It costs $35 a day to rent a bike and the ride around the island is only 8 miles. There are other interior routes, but because I was begging for something hot to drink we opted for the fort vice a mono-speed climb over the interior hills and dales. As such we really did not get our money’s worth that day, but I can image that on a spring or summer day, such a jaunt would be idyllic.


There are three ferry lines that service the island. This one shoots out a jet. They are easy to spot transiting the straight.
I had received a Navy fix on the ferry ride over but also received an Army fix at the fort, which has a commanding view of the waterfront. Alas, we did not have nearly enough time to spend at the fort because we wanted to catch the $42 lunch buffet at the Grand (we missed it), but I did get to see the Officer’s Quarters and the cool animatronic figures depicting the attack in 1812 (shudder but they surrendered w/o a shot being fired). I don’t know what is wrong with the Army today. Back then, the fort was commanded by a 1LT, who made enough money to hire a small platoon of servants to keep house for him and his family. When I was a LTJG/1LT I was sleeping on an air mattress because I could not afford a real one. There is a large and impressive museum as well that we breezed through. You could easily spend several hours there if military and early American history interests you.

The rest of that first day was spent at the Grand Hotel, which I will cover in my next post.


Lighthouse viewed from the western side of Main street. Note the handles of all the bikes.
I suppose everyone needs to visit Mackinac Island at least once, but in retrospect I wish we had stayed near Munising. There was much more to do in that area. As crowded as it was on the Island in October, I would hate to see the mobs in the summer.

Day 4: Hike to Chapel Falls, Lake, Rock, and Beach...Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Distance: 6.1 miles round trip


Chapel Falls
There is a great 10-mile hike around the entire Pictured Rocks area, but since it was quite cold and threatening rain, we opted for the shorter 6.1 mile journey down to Chapel falls, Chapel Rock, and Chapel lake. This was a surreal hike through very dark and dense trees. We kept asking each other how would they describe the sensation of being there. It was not sinister per say but nor was it bucolic. I was reading Last of the Mohicans at the time and I could not help but imagine that just out of sight were wigwams filled with Indian warriors just waiting to erupt through the trees like fire ants from a disturbed nest. I certainly would not have wanted to leave the trail in that forest. Without landmarks, it would have been difficult to find ones way back. In Colorado, it is much harder to get lost unless stuck below treeline. There is almost always a peak of some sort visible.


The road to the trailhead hinted at the density of the trees we would encounter.

Elaine is almost engulfed in the trees less than 50 yards from the trail

Chapel falls is very picturesque being in a deep bowl surrounded by dense and dripping vegetation. I took way too many pictures and without a tripod, they only hint at peacefulness of the lightly flowing water.


Freeze frame of a Chapel Falls rivulet

Detail of Chapel Falls

An blurry attempt to slow down the falls. The two Germans each had tripods. I almost threw some slimy fungus at them in an attempt to make off with one.

The slimy fungus mentioned above. These shrooms looked like they had been coated in goo from some Alien movie
Chapel rock is very interesting and is probably more so on foot than via the boat tour, which a small craft advisory prevented us from taking. It is an eroded sandstone edifice upon which is perched a large tree. The rock has eroded out from under the tree roots, which stretched across the abyss like an anaconda rope bridge. The edifice is gouged out in many places, forming arches and holes through which the tumultuous waves can be seen.


Shelf fungus was ubiquitous in the forest. This species was covering a downed tree trunk.
There are many nice campgrounds in this area and to escape the relentless and biting wind we snuggled up in one to quickly eat our lunch. In the trees, we were not miserably cold, but out on the exposed shoreline of Lake Superior, it was cold and we did not linger on the sand.


Chapel Rock and tree with its exposed root system

Chapel Beach. The 10 mile trail continues on to the right around the headland. Our trail cut back inland at the end of the beach.
The trip back up the Chapel Beach trail takes the hiker by a small lake that is quickly becoming meadow. Here we chatted with two photographers from Germany. They pointed to the meadow and said “Moose…perfect place”. It sure would have seemed so but Moose are in fact rather rare in the UP and have only recently been reintroduced.


Chapel Lake
A little farther up the trail is Chapel Lake, which glittered in a freakish break in the clouds. It is far below the hiker, however, so no waterfowl sightings are possible without a seriously big lens.


Jelly Fungus (Tremella mesenterica). Despite its bizarre appearance, Jelly fungus are not poisonous.
While most people visiting the Pictured Rocks area opt for the loop that takes you out by the rocks and on to Mosquito Beach, this loop was very interesting, particularly to us Coloradans who have spent little time in the hardwoods. While we saw no fairies, we did see lot of fascinating mushrooms, even one that looked like Cheese Wiz. Surreal indeed!