Midland, Michigan's Best Kept Secret: The Old Pine Tree in Barstow Woods Park

Honestly, I'm little nervous about giving away this little secret about my little town. I'm worried that if I tell everyone about this secret place that I could lose it forever. Not that I'd lose it exactly, but that somehow talking about this place could change it. Like maybe whenever I finally go back to Midland there will be a big line of people waiting to visit this place. And it won't be a secret at all anymore. And it won't be mine. Or maybe there will be no line at all. Maybe by that point someone will have chopped it down and sold it for firewood.

The best kept secret in my home town of Midland, Michigan is the old pine tree you can climb in the northeast corner of Barstow Woods.

Now this might sound like just a tree, but let me explain. This tree is a part of my childhood. Somewhere I would go whenever life became too concentrated. It's the place where a kid can go and not have to answer any questions. Somewhere you can clear your head and maybe answer some questions of your own. Every kid should have a place like this. Hell, I wish I had a place like this now. But since I moved away from Midland a long time ago, I think it's about time that I relinquish the tree to another misguided youth. I'll always have the memory and I bet someone else could use the real thing. Just an old tree you can climb and a secret place where you can breathe.

And the cash offer from Associated Content is good too. Finally the incentive that got me to write about this old tree instead of just telling my girlfriend the same old stories again. She's from Aspen and thinks her trees are way better than anything you can find in Michigan. I tell her that she's crazy. I know this because she's never climbed the old pine tree in Barstow Woods. It is definitely Midland, Michigan's best kept secret and one of my favorite trees.

I haven't been back to Midland in over five years, but Google Maps makes it feel like it was yesterday. I think the last time I went back was when Wally's sister Emily died. I think Wally and I climbed the tree sometime after the funeral. Just to get above the haze for a while. On Google Map Hybrid, the tree is pretty visible, but it's hard to get a good idea of the branches. The tree is in the northeast corner of Barstow Woods, near the parking lot off of N. Saginaw. It's right where Barstow Woods Park buts up to the intersection of W. St. Andrews Rd. and N. Saginaw. You can't miss the tree. It's big and old and looks like it would be fun to climb.

Midland, Michigan's Best Kept Secret: The Old Pine Tree in Barstow Woods

If you climb all the way up and get to the very top, you'll find that there are two natural pine bough seats in the top of this old tree. And the seats are both perfectly shaped and sturdy so that you can sit without holding on. Each seat has around 5-6 branches that extend to form the base, while the smaller branches curve upward to create the seat back. Even for first-time visitors, it's obvious where to put your butt down so that you don't go tumbling over backward.

There's even another branch that can support a small cooler full of beer. I know because Wally and I tried it on a few occasions. It definitely made the climb down more exciting. On those trips I would always try to hold on a little tighter and move a little slower. Like a chameleon. The climb down is certainly part of the experience, but definitely not what you go for. You go for fun and maybe the chance to hide for a while. You go to breathe air and get sap on your hands.

Most of the time we wouldn't bring beer or anything. We'd just sit there and talk about life and girls and nothing. Sometimes we wouldn't talk at all. And sometimes Wally wouldn't be there and I'd climb the tree to be by myself. But whatever the reason, I always felt good when I climbed the old tree and sat in its pine bough seats. It was a place to stop and to breathe. It seems there are never enough of these places.

And if you can still climb a tree, you should go and see it for yourself. Whether you live in Midland, or are just passing through, I can't think of a better way to clear your head than sitting in the top branches of the old pine in Barstow Woods.