"Encouraging a child to go outside in all weather builds resilience, but more importantly, it saves them from spending their life merely tolerating the "bad" days in favor of a handful of "good" ones - a life of endless expectations and conditions where happiness hinges on sunshine,"
Nicolette Sowder of Wilder Child
It was cold and gray....so begins most stories involving a Michigan winter. Our local weatherman just reported that we have had 0% sunshine in the last seven days. Waiting on the sunshine to get outside wasn't an option but, we did have two choices. 1) Stay inside again and let the sibling fighting and cabin fever continue to escalate to epic proportions or 2) suit up and get out.
In this choose your own adventure story, we choose #2 for the sake of sanity. We headed out to Markin Glen in Kalamazoo County to explore the 160 acres and multi-use trails that wind around the lake and into gorgeous natural spaces. In the summer Markin Glen is home to campers, hikers, swimmers and a wide variety of spring flowers set against a mature beech maple forest. In the winter, Markin Glen is a quiet sanctuary with accessible paths for hiking, a frozen lake for ice fishing and an abundance of fresh air to revitalize the soul.
