Life and Light in the Ridges

The Baileys Harbor Range Lights have stood as sentinels on the shore of Lake Michigan since 1869.

They were built then for a total of $6,000 and the pair guided ships into the safety of the harbor for 100 years.

The lights (right and lower right) still look to the water while standing guard over a remnant of land which is restoring the flora this area knew at that time.

This special place is called The Ridges.

The sanctuary was Wisconsin's first land trust.

My thoughts when visiting this place drifted to a similar great piece of land knew Augusta, Wisconsin where we lived for 12 years.  It was called the Beaver Creek Reserve.

Jutting into the lake on a curl of land which made the harbor, this 40 acre patch is home to a Boreal forest like what is found in Canada.  It exists here because the cool breezes off the lake creates conditions like those in the land up north.

In this area, the devoted women and men stewarding the land are intent on restoring orchids (Showy and Yellow Lady's-slipper) and the Dwarf Lake Iris.  The delicate Iris only grows in the Great Lakes region.

Likewise, they are monitoring the Northern Flying Squirrel and protecting the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly.

You begin your journey into this prized parcel begins at the Ridges Nature Center at the north end of Baileys Harbor.  It's a a modern woodsy structure with rooms to explore, a store to shop, and information about the wild world just outside.

From the center a magical carpet of timber carries you over wetlands and the Hidden Brook.  Follow the path further into the sanctuary where a series of four walking paths loop around sandy swales and the plants and creatures who live within.

The upper range light (right) doubled as a light house and home for the keeper.  Ships coming into the harbor could use the two lights (the one on the house is slightly higher than the smaller range light) to avoid hidden reefs near the harbor entrance.

When built, four years after the end of the Civil War, the lamps burned lard or whale oil. Later, kerosene or acetylene gas powered the lights before electricity was wired in until the pair of lights were put out of business in 1969 by a new light.

The pair are reason themselves to visit.  Beyond the shore, dozens of shipwrecks speak to their function.

It's nearly impossible now to imagine the difficulty of finding a safe place to land a ship when the wind is blowing, the waves pounding, and the night darker than a bottomless hole.

During those impossibly black nights, small flowers - like the Marsh Marigold (below) provided sparks of light reflecting the dawn's early light.

The Marigolds are one of hundreds of native wildflowers throughout the sanctuary criss-crossed by five miles of rustic trails and bridges.

The first flower to bloom is the Trailing Arbutus from late April to early June.  The last, the Fringed Gentian which bids farewell at the end of September.

My brisk walk was in late May; I suggest those walking now and later this summer pack some bug spray or walk fast enough to keep the flying and biting insects off.  Walking in the evening probably means you are on the menu.

Just 62 species of birds have been seen here - Bald Eagles, Osprey, Northern Orioles (a lot of us still call refer to them as Baltimore), and eight types of Warblers.

Three salamanders; six non-poisonous snakes; and 17 mammals including Red and Gray Fox, Mink, Coyote, Beaver, Voles, and rare peaks of Otters, Fishers, and Black Bear.

Humans aren't on the list, but if you walk the twisting trail you can be part of this incredible habitat.

It's abounding with life and lit from within and above.

Some of the places on the peninsula take your breath away in sudden gasps.

The Ridges is subtle.  Inspiring awe and wonder around every turn.