Kensington Metropark

When we visit my mother Mary and her husband Keith in the Detroit area, they always regale us with an endless list of attractions, far more than we could ever see in one visit.  It can be overwhelming, trying to decide between so many exciting choices!  However, this time I knew I wanted to visit Kensington Metropark, because of the opportunity to possibly see a sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis).  Mary has often sent me pictures of these striking birds, and I have written about them for work, but never had the chance to see one myself.  Mary and Keith explained that they don't see the cranes on every visit: Kensington is a park, not a zoo, and the sandhill cranes are wild animals.  But it was a risk I was willing to take, as it sounded like a lovely place to hike regardless.

Lake St. Clair Metropark

Since Frankie was born, my mother Mary has visited us in Syracuse every year around this time, sometimes carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating with us at Halloween.  Unfortunately, she had to have knee replacement surgery six weeks ago.  The surgery went well, and she is recovering nicely, already experiencing less pain than she did before the surgery, but it is a slow process.  Since she is still actively undergoing physical therapy and cannot drive yet, her annual fall visit was off the table this year.  However, Frankie's school was closed Thursday and Friday, so I bought tickets for the two of us to fly out to Detroit for a long weekend.  This way we wouldn't have to miss out on seeing Mary, and would get to see Keith, too.  Plus, we haven't visited Detroit in a few years and there is a whole lot to do here.  Thursday, we stopped at the Edsel Ford House on the way back from the airport, and hiked the short loop on Bird Island, and yesterday we went to the Detroit Zoo, where many animals were absent due to the cold, but we had notable encounters with an otter and a polar bear.