Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve - My Actifit Report Card: January 17 2026

Hey Actifitters,

With a little sun in the forecast, I thought yesterday was the perfect day to visit Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve and get some reflections photos. But we started with a quick walk to the forest first.

It wasn't very sunny yet but we could see some blue in the sky.

One of the reasons I wanted to start in the forest is so Kaia can get her off-leash time, run around freely, chase deer and just burn lots of energy.

When we walked back home, big clouds were rolling in but I decided to stay optimistic for our second walk later in the afternoon.

And I was right, when we got to Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve, all the clouds were gone and the sky was perfectly blue. I believe it's the first time we go to that park in winter, or at least when there's snow. Just to make sure we wouldn't miss it before it got dark, we started at the rock garden, the main attraction at that park.

But with the sun already in its descent, we followed it inside the forest.

We checked out their teepees, they're not so different from the ones in our forest, but Kaia needed to double check anyways.

The sun seemed to hide quickly behind the trees.

So we went down to the water. Not easy on the steep snowy slopes but we made it.

Unfortunately no reflections! It was all frozen and covered with snow! Beautiful too, but just not what I expected.

We made our usual stop behind the platform, so Kaia could pose for a few photos again.

And then followed the sun again for better views of the frozen lake.

We followed the advice and stayed off the ice, but we did get closer so Kaia could give yet another one of her poses.

I was pretty sure but we checked out if it was frozen after the dam, and indeed it wasn't.

That led us to the spot where all the ducks were hanging out, maybe twenty of them. But we scared them off and they all flew away. You can see a few of them on the photo.

We got back on the trail and finished the short loop before the sun disappeared completely.

But we did stop for a group of deer. They didn't seem scared, I guess they somehow realized Kaia was on leash.

And finally the sunset at the rock garden (officially it's called the Boulder Garden), just in time!

And yes, another photoshoot with Kaia, she was a great model!

I know I've already used the rock garden for #AroundTheWorld contest, but I think it's different enough with the snow and sunset for another entry:

Just a few more sunset photos and we were on our way back home. With the temperature dropping below 20F (-7C) and lots of wind, I risked a few fingers for these photos! Took me a while warming up in the car before I could drive back.

And that was it for the day's activities. Like I said, even though it was one of the main reasons for visiting this park, we didn't catch any reflections, but the sunset itself was well worth it anyways. And with this park less than 15 minutes away from home, it's always nice to make a stop there. Bonus, it also brought a good amount of steps. In short, it was a good day!
As always, thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.

[//]:# (!pinmapple 42.47009 lat -83.31496 long d3scr)
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

17/01/2026

24523

Daily Activity, Walking