Fall Colors Day Trip

It is fall migration time, and a great place to view migrating waterfowl, as well as trumpeter swans and other permanent residents, is the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, part of MSU's Kellogg Biological Station near Battle Creek. If you are lucky, on an October backroads drive to and from, you will see sandhill "cranes in the air," circling by the hundreds to land on a harvested cornfield. Sign up for the KBS e-newsletter, or check the website and online calendar, to keep up with special events.

A visit to KBS is a good way of shaking off the winter in April, when there are often peacocks wandering the grounds, doing spring mating displays, and a wide variety of migrating ducks on Wintergreen Lake. But KBS makes an especially nice fall color day-trip. There are shorter routes (which will show up if you seek online directions), but our favorite (about 1.75 hours each way) is leisurely and pretty and allows for a stop at the Country Mill on the way back. Bring food and drink and hand-cleaner (there are picnic tables outside the bird sanctuary).

Here's how we go:

Take I-69 to Potterville, then go west from Potterville on the Vermontville Highway.The County Mill is about three miles west, on Otto Rd. At the intersection of M-50, there is often an Amish man selling baked goods on Saturdays; there are a few Amish farms, recognizable by absence of electric wires. Shortly past Vermontville, you'll cross Route 66 (you're most likely to get your kicks if you get too close to a horse). A little bit further, jaunt right then left - be careful on the way back. Continue west until the sign pointing left (south) for Charleton Park and/or for Charleton Park Rd. If you get to Hastings, you've gone too far.

Pass Charleton Park and the Thornapple River and cross the highway. Now the road twists a bit, but there isn't much choice if you stay on the paved road. At some point you turn left briefly onto Maple Grove then right onto North, but you can’t help doing that. North is important to remember for the way back. Eventually you will see some broadcast towers, and there will be a stop sign. Turn right onto Lacey Rd. There will be a short jaunt right and the name will change to Pifer Rd.

Then you'll cross M-79, after which the signs for Kellogg Biological Station start. There should be a sign directing you left onto Cobb and angling right onto Gilkey Lake Rd. Again a sign should point you leftish onto Kellogg School Road, which will lead to a stop sign at Hickory Corners, where the Hickory Timber Inn is the only restaurant option along the way (we think not worth time time and prefer to picnic). Go straight into Kalamazoo County (you've been in Barry). More signs tell you to take a brief right and a left to continue south on 40th St. Past the Kellogg School you will come to an intersection with signs pointing to various Kellogg Biological Station facilities, including the Experimental Forest and the Bird Sanctuary. Don't miss the turn into the Bird Sanctuary, which we often seem to do.

At the Bird Sanctuary, when you pay the nominal admissions fee ($3 adults, $2 seniors, $1 children), you can buy corn to feed the waterfowl, which helps support KBS, as does purchases of bird feeders, books, etc. at the gift shop. In addition to the migrating and permanent waterfowl, there are cages with (injured or disabled) birds of prey, including a bald eagle, great horned owl, and game birds.

Until a few years ago, The County Mill was the less popular alternative to Uncle John's Cider Mill north of St. Johns. It has now become a major "family fun" place, especially around Halloween, which means it can be very crowded for just stopping on the way back from KBS for cider and donuts and to pick up apples and goodies to take home, so allot plenty of time (you may need to wait for a fresh batch of donuts). The Country Mill also sells products at Lansing area farmers' markets, including East Lansing's, but there nothing like the donuts warm from the oven. Sadly, Michigan apple farmers lost about 90% of their crop this year, so prices are way up and availability way down. Still, a donut apple a day....