When I was living in Utah, Presidents Day was always a holiday so I didn’t go to work. I thought it would be the same in Chicago so I was planning to go explore Minneapolis, but I realized I have to be at work. What’s more depressing was I had to work normal hours. I had to change my itinerary and made up my mind to spend some time in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is closer to Chicago, and go hiking. As soon as I got off work on Friday, I headed straight to the Union Station to take Amtrak. It was a 2-hour 40-minute train ride to Kalamazoo (one way) and it was great to catch up on sleep. Once I arrived in Michigan around 9:30 pm, I took Lyft (all the buses were not operating at that time) to Red Roof Inn, located on the Westside of Kalamazoo so that I could hit the trails first thing in the morning on Saturday.
Asylum Lake Preserve, Kalamazoo
It was about a 30-minute walk from Red Roof Inn to Asylum Lake Preserve. It was 8 am when I started hiking so no one was there on the trail. It felt great to be by myself (I felt pretty safe, although it was my very first time visiting Michigan) and see the beautiful sunrise! It was not too cold, and the air seemed clean & crisp! Missed good quality air ever since I’ve started living in Chicago. As I hiked through the woods, it felt like I was back in Utah but without any mountains. Everything was flat, but nature was gorgeous and it felt amazing to surround myself in nature.
Anderson Lillian Arboretum, Kalamazoo
There is a trail at the arboretum called “Magnificent Pines,” which was eye-catching when I was navigating through Instagram to find places to visit in Kalamazoo. I love pine trees so I wanted to do some hiking on this trail. When I got to the trail, I was really fascinated by the beauty(see below). The pine trees were covered in snow and everything was white. I also got a tulip bouquet from a lady I met during the trip, and gave me a bundle of pink bouquet. I took a lot of pictures with the bouquet in my hands, and I love how the color pink stands out in the white background.
Downtown Kalamazoo & Portage Shopping Center
After all the hikes, I went shopping in the downtown area! I wanted to get postcards (I collect postcards and have bought so many along my travels!) so I was asking the locals where I could buy them. They all suggested dropping by one of the local shops in the downtown area. There weren't a lot of postcard options for me to choose from, but still I was able to find one. Yay! I also took a bus to get to a city called, Portage (located south of Kalamzoo) because I wanted to spend time shopping until I catch late night amtrak.
I loved Michigan and hope to explore other cities too. Michigan is a great place to go hiking and spend time outside!
Create Your Own Website With Webador