The Terrified Traveling Turtles Traditional Cache

Medium sized plastic container painted camouflage.  Arrive by boat with walking shoes. Bug spray may be needed.

The trail head starts at the dock.

Beware of Muggles.  

Long Lake has a surface area of 4.5 square miles and includes 88,272 feet of shoreline. Maximum lake depth is 88 feet with an average depth of 26 feet. Among Long Lake’s unique aspects are its islands. Four of the islands (Long, Picnic, Fox and South) are dedicated to the public for use as parks and are open to the public with reasonable use restrictions.

South Island is a natural preserve open to the public and is maintained by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. South Island is 13.8 acres with a seasonal dock and has a one mile interpretive trail that encircles and bisects the island. Visit South island preserves by boat, kayak or canoe and enjoy nature surrounded by the waters of beautiful Long Lake.

Here is the story of The Terrified Traveling Turtles as told to me by my grandsons. Enjoy!

Every July in the Traverse City area is the National Cherry Festival. Kids from all over the world come to the cherry festival. They can be seen trying to capture turtles for the annual turtle races.

Hi, my name is Timmy Turtle. I lived on Picnic Island. One day we were near the beach in Long Lake. Someone picked up a friend of ours when we were swimming around. His name was Larry. They put a net on him and scooped him up. They caught him so they could enter him in the turtle races in Traverse City.

I swam quickly to my mom and told her, “Larry was captured in a net!"

"Let's swim to South Island and hide". Said Mama Turtle.

So Mama and I swam as fast as we could go toward South Island. We were terrified that we would get caught, too. We arrived in a short time and found a cool spot to stay. We sneak out of our hiding place from time to time to enjoy a swim in the lake and then we take a little hike to the high spot on the island to take in the beautiful view. When you come to find us look around and enjoy South Island. You will need to come by boat and pull up next to the dock. There is a really neat trail that goes around the island. You will find signs along the way that tell you about some of the plants near the trail. Have fun hunting for Mama and me.

The End

Please leave Mama and me where you find us so others can enjoy us, too.  There are other animals with us that you can trade for!