Karen Wils photo A newly hatched snapping turtle — a bit bigger than a nickel. 

ESCANABA — Sort of cute, sort of creepy, turtles are a part of summer in Upper Michigan.

We like to be in the turtle’s watery wonderland as soon as the weather gets warm. Fishing along the river, canoeing or kayaking on the lake or plunging into “the old swimming hole” brings us into turtle territory.

Wetlands and woodlands are the haunts of the slow and steady turtles of Michigan. When the blue flags (wild irises) stand out among the green rushes by the riverside, and when lavender topped wild onions bloom, the turtle is sure to be nearby.

After spending the long, cold winter buried in mud, how awesome the summertime lakeshore must be.

Cattail plants, like tall green soldiers, marsh marigolds and water lilies so bright, and bugs, minnows and tadpoles so tasty, summer is a turtles paradise.

I think we all have fond memories of a summer spent at the lake or at a camp as a child. Chances are fire flies, frogs and turtles were fascinating parts of that summer long ago. Perhaps you discovered turtle eggs or rescued a turtle from a busy road or caught a turtle when you were fishing hoping to catch a perch.

When I was a kid, a small creek ran along the edge of town, just past where the ore docks used to be. All of the kids called it turtle creek because in the spring of the year, the little painted turtles thrived there. My brothers enjoyed catching them, but every year my Dad said “no pet turtles”.

“They need to be outside to eat all of the mosquitoes,” Dad would say. So back to the creek they’d go.

In my younger days, I was fortunate enough to lots of hours by the bay and by the mouth of the Escanaba River. The turtles of summer were interesting reptiles, a little too much like snakes though. When the June sunshine finally warmed the marsh up, the happy turtles would surface on logs or rocks and rejoice in the heat.

And just as quickly and as quietly as they appeared, they disappeared, back down into the murky water.

The painted turtles were fun, but his cousins the snapping turtles were a little creepy.

Except for laying their eggs in the mud, snapping turtles are very content to stay well hidden at the bottom of the pond, swamp or river.

But when you do get a chance to see a snapper, it’s like seeing some prehistoric leftover. Hatching out at a little bigger than a nickel, snapping turtles can grow bigger than a dinner plate. His head is pointed with strong jaws that can crush calms, shore birds and fish.

Snappers have a long tail and their shell is scalloped and ridged, like a dinosaurs. Sometime the algae from the water grows onto this turtle’s back. Snappers hatch out not much bigger than a nickel and can grow to reach up to 40 pounds as adults.

Healthy turtles mean a healthy environment. Put on your wading shoes and visit turtle territory. Listen to the red-winged black birds, feel the warm sunshine, Upper Michigan has so much to offer in its water wonderlands.