Two States, Two Trees
In honor of my departure to Colorado for a while I wanted to explore a phenomenon that has been seen in both states, BENT TREES! Oh boy!
In both Petoskey, MI and Black Forest, CO there are bent trees that have been the subject of much debate through the years. Both sites have lore of Native American tribes and their influence on the strange tree growth and also scientists who believe that these bent trees were the product of a meteorological or astronomical event. So let’s dive in and see what we can learn.
Let’s start with the bent trees near Petoskey, MI. The region between Harbor Springs and Petoskey was named by the French as L’Arbre Croche. The Odawa people had an extremely large, twisted pine in the center of their village. It was visible from Lake Michigan, and a landmark for folks traveling from the lake. This magnificent tree was the site of many council meetings. The tree is no longer there but there is a road through some lovely trees, or the Tunnel of Trees, that can still be enjoyed in the area.
The Colorado trees are along a path called the Old Spanish Trail and were thought to be bent by the Ute nation to signify paths and sacred sites. However this was mostly by amateur detectives and has recently been refuted by the Ute nation as not being among their traditions. Are they caused by humans or nature, we may never know. But thank goodness there are so many mysteries still left in our beautiful world.
**Special thanks to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Ute Nation, the Odawa Nation, and Getty images!