Bluegill Trail CWT-02
The Crosswinds Trails Geocache Series
Shortly after the first of the year the Crosswinds Cache Crew met with the park manager and naturalist to develop plans for 2020 events and geocache series. Shortly after that it became apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic was going to make group meetings and events impossible for most of 2020. One the Crosswinds Cache Crew's objectives is to archive their caches in about a year and launch new caches in new locations to reduce the impact on the area with "Geo-trails" This series is the first for 2020. There is no event associated with this series.
One of the popular features of Crosswinds Marsh is its trails. There are nine named trails. Crosswinds offers seven miles of hiking trails, and 4.5 miles of horseback riding trails
Blue Gill Trail
Blue Gill Trail The Blue Gill Trail consists of several different habitats and one of them delights us with milkweed plants through the summer. What do we associate with milkweed plants? Monarch butterflies of course! You’ve probably heard that monarch caterpillars are toxic to most animals, but do you know why that is? It’s actually the food they eat. Monarch caterpillars will only eat the leaves of plants in the milkweed family (common and swamp milkweed, butterfly weed). There is a toxin called cardiac glycosides or cardenolides in the sap of these plants that gets absorbed by the caterpillars as they munch on the leaves. The toxin does not harm the caterpillars, but instead stores up in their body so if they are eaten by an animal, it can make that animal sick. The bright coloring (yellow on caterpillars and orange on adults) warns potential predators to beware!
Crosswinds Marsh Rules
No fires
No bikes / ATVs / personal watercraft
No swimming or ice fishing
Dogs must be leashed
No alcohol or illegal substances
No camping
Fishing in designated areas only
Collecting of plants & animals prohibited
Park only at N 42 05.744 W 83 26.552
All Geocachers must follow the above rules.
Crosswinds Marsh is open from DAWN to DUSK. Admission is free.
This cache has been placed with the permission of Wayne County Parks. Permit 2020CT02 has been submitted and is on file at the park office.