Hi there fellow Michigander.....

Just a note to you and a copy of your letterbox clues..this list doesn't support attachments =))))



Kazoo Dog's E-Z Letterboxes



Prairie View Park
Placed by Kazoo Dog with help from Joan & Ellen - and six dogs!

Placed on January 1, 2003

Vicksburg or Portage, Michigan

Kalamazoo County

Easy



This letterbox, the first I've placed, may be the first one to be placed in any of Kalamazoo's five county parks. Prairie View Park, although its postal address is at Vicksburg, is just as close to Portage. A 208+ acres with access to two lakes, Prairie View is a very popular park and has fishing and a boat ramp, swimming, soccer fields, picnic areas, sledding and hiking. Entry fee may be required, especially during the better weather; an Annual Pass that allows access to all Kalamazoo County Parks is $20.00 ($15.00 for seniors) or $5.00 per carload.



For more information, visit:: http://www.kalcounty.com/parks/



Directions:

Prairie View Park can be reached from I-94 by taking the Portage Rd. exit south to East U Ave. (East U Ave. is located between Portage Rd. and Oakland Dr.), turning right onto U Ave. from Portage Rd.; the park entrance is located on the right perhaps mile from Portage Rd. The park can also be reached from US-131 (check your road or city map). Once in the park, park your car at the first parking area, which is immediately left of the entry booth, and is the only accessible parking place during the "off season" period and - at all seasons - offers the letterbox hiker the nicest outing.



Clues:

Once you've parked your car, you will see a paved road that leads east-west; go west on this road (in winter, the road is closed to traffic, but is generally cleared of snow). Continue walking west on this roadway, passing picnic areas and a boat launch (in warm weather, if you have a water-loving dog with you, you may wish to take a side trip to the boat launch as dogs are allowed to swim in this area). Continuing west on this road, you will come to the Beach Pavilion (at some seasons, you can park in the large lot located there). Take time out at this spot to view Hogsett Lake or even take a bathroom break (in warm weather seasons). Exploring done, return to the roadway where the gate is located; there you will bear left, following the road in an easterly direction. Along the way, make sure to enjoy the forested and the wetland areas of the park. Once you've passed Area 5, you will encounter a fork in the road; take the fork that veers to the right.

Along this stretch, you will come to an area where you will see a flat wooded area on your right with a tree stump clearly visible about 35 paces away as well as a rising hill on your left with a stump chair. Go to the stump chair; from there walk north 21 paces up the small hill (I'm a short-legged walker) to the Oak tree. At the Oak tree, turn 90 degrees due east and walk another 16 paces to a portion of fallen, decaying tree. Look to the east side of the decaying tree to find the letterbox. Since this area could be quite busy at some seasons, you may choose to return to the stump chair or even proceed up the roadway to the picnic/play area to do your stamping in order to avoid the curiosity of other park users. Once you've located the letterbox, you may retrace your steps - or return to the roadway, turning left (east) to continue; if you choose this return route, you will pass by a picnic/play area (to your left) and, beyond that, Gourdeneck Lake (a good fishing spot summer or winter) on your right. You will again come to a fork in the road; take the fork that goes to the left and stay on that roadway, following it past the soccer fields, ultimately reaching full circle and finding your car just where you left it, but now to the east.







Al Sabo Land Preserve 1
Placed by Kazoo Dog with help from Golden Retrievers, Triscuit & Dewar

Placed on January 2, 2003

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo County

Easy to Moderate (depending on weather/trail conditions)



The 741 acres of the Al Sabo Land Preserve is a City of Kalamazoo Preserve, established in the early 1970's to protect the groundwater supply of the Atwater wellfield. A protected water resource, this preserve contains a diverse mix of woods, wetlands and open meadows. There are 25 miles of trails within the preserve, about 7 of which are open to bicyclists. There are no entry fees to this preserve, which is very popular with hikers, cross-country ski enthusiasts and bicyclists.



To learn more, visit: http://www.wmich.edu/environmental-studies/drew/alsabo.htm





Directions:

Al Sabo Land Preserve can be reached from Stadium Dr. in Kalamazoo, MI, by turning south onto Drake Rd. Take Drake Rd. to Parkview Ave., turning right onto Parkview. Drive over the overpass and then turn left onto 12th Ave. Continue on 12th Ave. to the 4-way stop at Texas Dr.; turn right onto Texas Dr. The Preserve is 1.25 miles on Texas Dr., on the right side. There is no sign for the preserve, so look for the orange gates on the right side of the road. If you pass the Camp Roti-Kiwan Scout Camp sign (the camp is immediately adjacent to the entry to the Preserve), you just missed the Preserve! There is ample free parking. Those from outside Kalamazoo can reach Stadium Dr. from US-131 (check your road or city map).



Clues:

Once past the Preserve's orange entry gates and parked, proceed to the inner orange gate and Preserve information sign, where you will find a trail that leads immediately right. Follow this trail, which goes through a pine grove that leads to a fork in the trail where there is marker post. Follow the orange arrow, which is off limits to bicycles. This trail, basically unmarked, meanders through a pine forest (take time to stop and enjoy the wonderful aroma!) and seems to be one that even a novice can follow naturally, even without signs or arrows. Follow this natural pathway, which - at one point - seems to break into a somewhat mixed group of trees; don't get worried, though! Continue to follow this unmarked path that will again become largely pine forest. Just when you get a bit worried about being on the right trail, you will see your second orange marker. After that marker, you will pass by many downed trees, most of them on your left. Soon you will spot a tree with a green metal marker and then a second tree with a green metal marker. After the second green marker, you will come to a cross-trail - a bicycle trail. On the other side of the marked bicycle trail, you will see another orange marker as well as a green marker. Keep going! At the 5th green metal marker (it will be on a tree at your right) from the crossing bike trail, you will see fallen trees on both sides of the trail. At this 5th marker, proceed right into the woods, climbing toward a natural ridge; about 30 paces* or so past the marked tree, you will surely spot a very large oak tree (not to be confused with an even larger oak that lies deeper in the woods and to the right of this first large oak tree). Near the top of the ridge and about 13 or so paces before you reach this first large oak tree, you will find some fallen trees that form a "Y" on the ground. Near the place where the fallen trees fork in forming the "Y' and just in front of an upright rotted stump, you will find the letterbox.



*Reminder: I'm short-legged; two of my paces may equal just one of anyone else's; In addition, there are many shrubs, small trees and brush, so you won't be able to make a bee line to the oak tree or to the alphabet tree.



After finding the letterbox, you may wish to proceed along the trail you've not yet traversed or to retrace your steps back to the parking lot.



Caution & Notes: In icy winter or in warmer weather wet conditions, this trail can become quite slippery with ice, mud or wet fallen leaves. The trail is a good one for cross-country skiers or snowshoe aficionados in the right winter snow conditions. Those with dogs will also enjoy these trails at all seasons - but are reminded to clean up their dogs' droppings.









Asylum Lake Preserve
Placed by Kazoo Dog with help from Golden Retrievers Triscuit and Dewar

Placed on January 3, 2003

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo County

Easy to Moderate



Asylum Lake Preserve, owned by Western Michigan University under an agreement between the University and the City of Kalamazoo, is a 274-acre parcel of land that contains the remnants of an oak savanna and is especially interesting in having been first owned by the first black residents of the Kalamazoo area, Enoch and Deborah Harris, who were known to have participated in the Underground Railroad. Because the land was eventually purchased by the Michigan Asylum for the insane in 1887, it is very likely that this is how the preserve came to be known by its current name. There are no entry fees to this preserve, which is within the urban area of Kalamazoo and popular with residents and college students.



To learn more, visit: http://www.wmich.edu/environmental-studies/drew/asylum.htm





Directions:

Asylum Lake Preserve can be reached from Stadium Drive by turning south onto Drake Rd. from Stadium Dr.; Drake Rd. is less than a mile east of US-131. There is a parking lot about 0.25 miles on the left as well as other entrances to the Preserve further south on Drake Rd. and along Parkview Ave. For this outing, park at the first parking area on Drake Rd.



Clues:

Once parked, go through the fence opening near the northern end of the parking lot. Although the trail is not marked, it is easily followed downhill, keeping Asylum Lake to the left. Near the bottom, take a moment to sit in the chair tree stump to listen for birds, the wind in the trees and even the sound of traffic that grows fainter each step of the trail. Continue along the trail a short distance until you come to the place where three large trees are leaning toward the lake and still others lie on the ground; follow the trail that keeps those leaners between you and the lake. As you begin to climb upward, you'll see a green post to the west of the trail. Just pass it by! Soon you'll reach a fork in the trail; you'll be right not to go left. Enjoy this relatively flat portion of the trail until you reach the point where you have three choices. Take the trail that goes left and follow it until it ends at an unpaved roadway. Follow the roadway left until you come to some rusty posts that make a fence along either side of the road. You'll see the lake again. Take the trail past the water, keeping the lake on your right. As you ascend this trail and get near the top, a portion of the lake will seem to form a bowl as two peninsulas nearly meet each other.