Michigan Blue - Winter 2019

WINTER ISSUE

A season of wonder Breathtaking beauty

Nature Art: Kristin Hurlin coloring books Winter getaways | Snowshoeing Michigan | Lighted ski trails Gourmet sleigh ride | Winter reads | Spirited hot toddies

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WHERE SPIRITS ARE

E E CRAFTAND KINDRED

Spend your winter in Traverse City. It’s where friends gather inside and out, and where the landscape is treasured as much as its fruits. And when your spirits are li ed, you’ll know you’re in a pre y great place.

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CONTENTS

“I really enjoy just being able to go outside in the winter, no matter how deep the snow is, and take off from here. It’s really the best when you have fresh snow and it’s kind of powdery, because it’s really quiet.”

33 TERRY GRIFFIN

features

33 Timeless tradition, fresh tracks Snowshoes make life simpler in snow country and easier to explore forests, parks and favorite trails. One 65-year-old U.P. company carries on its long tradition of making them from wood.

By Marla R. Miller

38 Settle in, relax

44 Inspired by nature Suttons Bay artist Kristin Hurlin captures the essence of Michigan botanicals in her pen and ink drawings, watercolors and adult coloring books.

By Leslie Mertz ON THE COVER East Channel Ice: A snowshoer examines the massive ice columns of an ice cave found on Grand Island, off Munising on Lake Superior. Photo by Aaron Peterson

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON PETERSON

When deep cold comes to Michigan and landscapes are draped in snow, these lodges, resorts and inns are a great getaway choice for couples or families.

By Amy Eckert

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CONTENTS

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“The beauty of northern Michigan is on full display with a culinary and winter outdoors experience that is all around Christmascard worthy.”

38 in every issue:

columns:

departments:

08 Letters and Contributors

24 Vintage Views Out of the Battle Creek cereal boom of the early 1900s, Kellogg would survive to become the most successful, having started out as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company.

By M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson

12 Waterways

69 Excursions

Good winter reads, the power of white in decorating, lighted cross-country ski trails, a gourmet sleigh ride with elk viewing and an amazing car museum.

Thunder Bay International Film Festival, Christmas at Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Snowfest in Frankenmuth, West Michigan B&B Cookie Tour and UP North Music Festival: Music from the other end of 41.

Compiled by Marla R. Miller

10 Wavelengths To freeze or not to freeze, that is the question.

By Howard Meyerson

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28 Undercurrents A land conservancy and other nonprofits have joined established government efforts to remove barriers to the outdoors.

By Howard Meyerson

79 Michigan Top 5 Winter magic on ice skates always is enhanced under lights with music at these public outdoor rinks.

By Kim Schneider

22 At The Helm Landlocked boaters should consider visiting Michigan maritime museums to stave off the winter blues.

By Chuck Warren

26 State of Mine Convincing herself that she could survive winter in Michigan proved more difficult than expected despite her best efforts.

By Jessica Mesman

30 The Sporting Life 84 Reflections When the snowy owls come in winter.

By Jerry Dennis

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Winter is to be embraced — a recipe for finding hygge (coziness).

By Meagan Francis

80 Tasting Room No running indoors to quaff beer when temperatures plummet. Revelers at this Suttons Bay brewery simply hunker down in igloos.

By Greg Tasker

82 Holiday Cocktails Grandma knew what she was doing, as do Michigan distilleries. Three favorite hot toddy recipes to fight the winter chill.

By Meagan Francis

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY STAFFORD’S CROOKED RIVER LODGE & SUITES (LEFT); TREETOPS RESORT (RIGHT); ILLUSTRATION BY GARY ODMARK (BOTTOM)

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CONTRIBUTORS

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www.mibluemag.com PUBLISHER: John Balardo ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Jason

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EDITOR: Tim Gortsema MANAGING EDITOR: Howard Meyerson COPY EDITOR: Tom Mitsos DIGITAL EDITOR: Chris Ehrlich GENERAL INQUIRIES: editorial@mibluemag.com CONTRIBUTUNG WRITERS: Christine Byron, Jerry

Dennis, Amy Eckert, Meagan Francis, Jeanine Matlow, Leslie Mertz, Marla R. Miller, Kim Schneider, Dianna Stampfler, Greg Tasker, Chuck Warren, Julie Bonner Williams, Thomas R. Wilson

Glenn Wolff Northern Michigan artist, musician and regular BLUE Reflections contributor, Glenn has illustrated for the New York Times, the Village Voice, Boston Globe and other notable organizations. He has collaborated on several books and print projects with Michigan author Jerry Dennis. Glenn’s art is on display at Tamarack Gallery in Omena. Find him at glennwolff.com.

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ART DIRECTOR: Lindsay Emeigh DESIGNERS: Keagan Coop, Robin Vargo CONTRIBUTORS: Coreene Kreiser, Gary

Odmark, Aaron Peterson, Greg Tasker, Chuck Warren, Glenn Wolff

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IT

Amy Eckert An award-winning travel writer based in Holland, Amy has traveled the globe searching out great stories.

She has contributed to numerous popular travel guides, and she is the author of two travel books about Detroit, the most recent being “Easy Detroit Outdoors.” Amy is the past president of the Midwest Travel Journalists Association. Find her at amyeckert.com.

Greg Tasker A Traverse City-based freelance writer, Greg enjoys writing about Michigan’s growing wine, beer and spirits industry. A former arts and entertainment editor for the Detroit News, Greg is the author of two books. His stories have been published in newspapers around the country and magazines like Backpacker, Parade, Traverse Magazine and BBC Travel.

Find him on Twitter @gtasker_dn.

Leslie Mertz Ever curious, Leslie is a freelance science writer who has lived in eight Michigan counties, from Detroit’s famed Eight Mile Road to a rustic cabin on the state’s largest inland lake. Today, she lives Up North with her husband in a scenic spot near a branch of Au Sable River. Leslie packs a small tent and fly rod in her car in case she finds an interesting place to stop while traveling.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please send letters in care of: Editor, Michigan BLUE Magazine, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, or email to howardm@geminipub.com.

Letters may be edited for reasons of clarity and space.

Meagan Francis Born in the Upper Peninsula, Meagan moved downstate as a teenager and now lives with her family in St. Joseph. Her writing has been featured in Midwest Living, Good Housekeeping, Parents and other publications.

She’s the founder of Life, Listened, a podcast production and advertising agency, and co-host of “The Mom Hour” podcast. Find her at meaganfrancis.com.

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Michigan BLUE Magazine is published bi-monthly by Gemini Media. Publishing offices: 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331 Grand Rapids, MI 49503-144. Telephone (616) 459-4545; fax (616) 459-4800. General e-mail: info@geminipub.com. Copyright © 2019 by Gemini Media. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Michigan Blue Magazine, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331 Grand Rapids, MI 49503-144. Subscription rates: one year $18, two years $28, three years $38, U.S. only.

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WAV E L E N G T H S

BY HOWARD MEYERSON

W

To freeze or not to freeze, that is the question AND STRONG STORMS WILL BRING HEAVY RAIN AND SLEET, NOT TO MENTION PILES OF SNOW,” its website virtually shouts.

“For some parts of the country, frigid and frosty conditions will last well into spring, bringing little relief to the winter weary,” the website states. “This could feel like the never-ending winter, particularly in the Midwest and east to the Ohio Valley and Appalachians, where wintery weather will last well into March and even through the fi rst days of spring,” almanac editor Janice Stillman is reported as saying. “This snowverload will include storms pummeling Washington state and points eastward across the northern-tier states into Michigan,” the website reports. The almanac is predicting seven large snowstorms this winter from coast to coast.

A snowverload, by the way, according to the online Urban Dictionary, is what you might guess: “When a person, usually Canadian, .... goes absolutely nuts due to the overwhelming amounts of snow ...”

That brings me to this issue.

It is loaded with stories about great

things to do in Michigan during winter, from snowshoeing and sleigh rides with gourmet dinners to skiing at night, outdoor ice-skating rinks and delightful lodges and resorts to consider for that well sought-after winter getaway. Back page Reflections columnist Jerry Dennis writes an evocative piece about visiting snowy owls in winter.

Glenn Wolff, who illustrates Reflections, created a magical portrait of a snowy owl. It is not to be missed.

Then there are winter essays by two talented contributors who express very different sentiments about the cold season. Their essays are found in the State of Mine and Sporting Life departments. Each elaborates about Michigan winters and their personal coping strategies. Hint: One was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula; the other southern Louisiana. Their differing points of view are sure to strike a chord with readers.

Let us know who you identify with. Send an email to hmeyerson@geminipub.com And be sure to keep warm.

≈

Howard Meyerson Managing Editor, Michigan BLUE Magazine PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY iSTOCK

inter is fast approaching, and it is difficult to know what to expect.

Will this be the year to buy an all-wheel drive vehicle, a pair of pac boots and a snow blower? Or, a year where there is no need to mothball that favorite sports car for a season due to deep snow conditions?

As of this writing, the National Weather Service predicts a 40% probability of belowaverage precipitation in Michigan, and a 40%-50% probability of above-average temperatures during December, January and February. It predicts above-average temperatures for the entire United States.

But, that’s no surprise.

“However, this year it looks as though NOAA is at a loss as to how much precipitation will fall over most of the United States over the 2019-20 winter,” the weather service reports on its website.

Then, of course, there is the quite opposite prediction in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, that venerable source that has guided farmers since 1792 and which purports to be 80.5% accurate.

“GET READY FOR SHIVERS, SNOWFLAKES AND SLUSH! BIG CHILLS

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Making tracks Cross-country ski by the light of the silvery moon.

A

Michigan Tech’s Nordic Trail, Houghton: Seven kilometers of its 32.5-kilometer trail system is lighted. The lighted trail is groomed for classic and skate skiing, and winds mainly through hardwood forests.

It ranges from easy (flat) to intermediate (rolling hills) with a short, slightly more challenging section that is part of its Olympic-caliber racecourse.

Cost for trail use is $10/day or $100/year.

Two parking areas off Sharon Avenue (near the AE Seaman Mineral Museum, 1404 Sharon Ave.) provide access to the lighted trail. More information at michigantech recreation.com/trails.

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Luminarias light the way during a special night ski at Metamora-Hadley State Park.

“Definitely the biggest draw for me is the silence and peacefulness of the evening. It’s just quiet, you’re alone, you’re able to listen to the sounds of the night.” ISAAC STONE Muskegon Winter Sports Complex and Muskegon State Park, Muskegon: Cited as the longest lighted cross-country ski system in the Midwest, it includes three lighted loops totaling approximately 9 kilometers that pass through mixed forests that include 100-foot pines. Another 4K of groomed and unlighted trails also are available. The trailhead is off the parking lot of the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex, 462 N. Scenic Drive, Muskegon. The trail fee is $10 on weekends and $5 weekdays. Trails are groomed for skating and classic skiing.

More information at msports.org.

Al Quaal Recreation Area, Ishpeming: With its granite cliffs and lake overlooks, Ishpeming’s Al Quaal Recreation Area has 22 kilometers of beautiful, groomed crosscountry skiing. This includes the lighted 4-kilometer Teal Lake Trail, which has both easy and intermediate sections. Park-

ing for the Teal Lake trailhead is on Hickory Street north of Poplar Street. The trail fee is $7/day. Trails are groomed for skating and classic skiing. More information at bit. ly/AlQuaal.

Aspen Park and Michaywé, Gaylord: Two lighted options in the Gaylord area are Aspen Park and Michaywé. Aspen Park is close to downtown and has a lighted, classic-groomed 4-kilometer loop, sections of which may offer views of elk from the neighboring Elk Park. Michaywé is about 7 miles south of downtown and offers a 2-kilometer lighted trail hugging picturesque Michaywé Lake. It is part of Michaywé’s 18.5-kilometer trail system, all of which is groomed for skating and classic skiing.

Skiing at either is free, but donations are accepted. More information about Aspen Park at bit.ly/AspenParkGaylord.

— Leslie Mertz

≈

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MICHIGAN DNR (BOTH PAGES)

perfect way to appreciate the glories of winter is to slip on cross-country skis and glide into the night when even a thin crescent of moon is enough to overlay the glistening snow with soft shadows from the trees.

“Definitely the biggest draw for me is the silence and peacefulness of the evening,” said Isaac Stone, trails operation coordinator for Michigan Technological University’s Nordic trail system. “It’s just quiet, you’re alone, you’re able to listen to the sounds of the night and just kind of enjoy the outdoors in a way that’s very different from the day. I love skiing at night.”

Several Michigan cross-country ski trails are lit for night skiing and others may be lit on occasion with luminarias for a scheduled and intimate treat. Some of the notto-miss, lighted cross-country ski trails in Michigan include:

MORE LIGHTED CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING TRAILS IN MICHIGAN

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Unless otherwise noted, all are groomed for skating and classic styles of cross-country skiing and are open daily during the ski season, snow permitting.

• Swedetown Trails, Calumet. 35K overall; 5K lighted. swedetowntrails.org • Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. 30K overall; 4K lighted. crystalmountain.com • Pigeon Creek Park, West Olive. 16K overall; 4.8K lighted. miottawa.org/parks/ pigeoncreek.htm • Algonquin Ski Trails, Sault Ste. Marie.

12.8K overall; 3.2K lighted. bit.ly/ AlgonquinSki • Madeline Bertrand Park, Niles. 4.8K overall; 3.2K lighted. Groomed for classic only. Open for night skiing on Fridays and Saturdays and occasional special events. facebook.com/madelinebert randpark • Blueberry Ridge, Marquette. 21K overall; 2.7K lighted. Most, including the lighted trail, are groomed for skating and classic. bit.ly/BlueberryRidge • Fit Strip, Marquette. 2.7K overall; 2.7K lighted. bit.ly/FitStrip • Charlevoix Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe Trail, Charlevoix. 8K overall; 2K lighted. charlevoix.org/pages/winterfun • Cross Country Ski Headquarters, Roscommon. 18K overall; 1.8K lighted.

Open for night skiing during special events. cross-country-ski.com • Midland City Forest, Midland. 11K overall; 1.6K lighted. cityofmidlandmi.gov/267/ cross-country-skiing

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Car candy

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Across the 90-acre area, the Gilmore Car Museum has various vehicle displays for visitors to explore, including a recreated 1930s Shell gas station (above), an authentic 1941 diner (below) and more.

Visitors are able to see vehicles up close and note each one’s details, such as the 1957 Chevy’s chrome detailing and vibrant paint colors (right).

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY GILMORE CAR MUSEUM (BOTH PAGES)

M

uch more than a vintage car collection, Gilmore Car Museum celebrates America’s love affair with the automobile and car innovations that changed how people live, work and play.

A unique, year-round attraction for car connoisseurs and the entire family, the historic campus brings America’s motoring past to life through scene-setting vignettes, special exhibits, classic car displays and memorabilia, and recreated auto dealerships.

“We try to tell America’s story through the automobile,” said Jay Follis, director of marketing. Gilmore Car Museum (gilmorecar museum.org) encompasses 90 landscaped acres in southwest Michigan, showcasing 400 rare and restored cars from all eras.

What started as the private collection of Kalamazoo businessman Donald Gilmore opened to the public as a nonprofit museum in 1966. It has since grown into the largest automobile museum in North America.

Visitors can admire the shiny chrome and custom paint jobs, learn about the cars’ specs and engines, and stand close for pictures.

“We don’t have any ropes keeping you back, you can get up close and look into the interiors,” Follis said.

The museum draws 125,000 visitors annually and offers car buffs of all ages the chance to share stories of bygone eras and learn how the automobile changed the landscape of America.

“The story isn’t just about how fast a car would go or how it was made; it was why someone would have bought this car or what was going on in America at the time,” Follis said.

The cars are displayed in a recreated factory building from the turn of the century, which includes eight restored 19th-century barns and four car dealerships recreated from original blueprints. Come spring, visitors can explore the grounds and 3 miles of paved roadways on which antique cars and

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The Women Who Motor exhibit (above) depicts how women have been an integral part of the design of vehicles, specifically with interiors.

taxis often travel, eat in the authentic 1941 Blue Moon Diner, and tour a recreated 1930s Shell gas station and an 1890s train depot.

“Every exhibit takes on its own personality,” Follis said. “It’s not just rows and rows of cars.”

During the winter, visitors still have the chance to see 300 cars and unique exhibits, including the ongoing “Women Who Motor.” The exhibit tells the story of women’s contributions to the automobile industry, highlighting female race car drivers, the first woman to drive cross country, and designers of interiors and windshield wipers.

— Marla R. Miller

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IF YOU GO Gilmore Car Museum 6865 W. Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, off M-43 midway between Detroit and Chicago (269) 671-5089; gilmorecarmuseum.org Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Admission: $14 adults/seniors; $10 youth (7-17); free for ages 6 and under and active military Winter speaker series at 3 p.m. Sundays starting in January

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W

hen fresh snow covers the ground around Hillman, it’s not unusual to see a group of enthusiastic revelers in a carriage drawn by a team of Belgian draft horses on the grounds of Thunder Bay Resort. Their unique sojourn takes them 2½ miles through the wooded countryside to a cozy abode called the Elk Antler Cabin, where a roaring fire and a mouth-watering dinner await.

En route, the guests of Thunder Bay Resort (thunderbayresort.com) are given a rare opportunity to view one of the Midwest’s private elk herds with 35 head on the resort’s 160-acre enclosed preserve along the eastern edge of the Pigeon River Country State Forest.

“We usually have snow on the ground throughout the season,” said owner Jack Matthias, who has offered these unique tours for nearly 30 years. “But sometimes not enough to pack a base for sleigh runners. So, we may have to go back and forth between sleighs and carriages, but once you are seated, it is hard to tell which you are on.”

For more than 30 years, visitors have

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flocked to the region for this unique, awardwinning experience, the only place east of the Rocky Mountains to do so. During the four-hour event, guests are educated and entertained about local elk history and lore while dining on a gourmet five-course meal prepared on a 125-year-old wood cookstove

by Jack’s son, Spencer. Each course is paired with a wine hand-selected from one of the wineries that dot the nearby Sunrise Coast along the Lake Huron shoreline.

Offered daily the week of Christmas and weekends all winter long, the Gourmet Elk Viewing Wine Dinner is ideal for couples, families and large groups. Overnight accommodations in a variety of chalets, cabins and villas create a prolonged experience. Those looking for something more might enjoy the resort’s Murder Mystery Weekends (Jan. 3-5 and March 13-15), which also include the Elk Viewing Dinner Ride on Saturday night.

Nearby, Treetops Resort (treetops.com) in Gaylord also offers Wilderness Sleigh Ride Dinners during the winter season. Guests gather at the remote Project Nature property

Gourmet sleigh rides (top) are family-friendly events that lead to a cozy fire and 5-course dinner with wine at a rustic cabin in the woods (above).

for a bonfire and hot beverage before boarding a horse-drawn sleigh for a 25-minute ride through the snow-covered forest where a fourcourse meal, paired with local beer and wine, awaits at the Wilderness Cabin — offered Saturdays, Jan. 4-March 7 (excluding Feb. 1).

“The beauty of northern Michigan is on full display with a culinary and winter outdoors experience that is all around,” said Elliott Moore of Dallas, Texas. “Christmascard worthy.”

– Dianna Stampfler

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY TREETOPS RESORT (TOP); THUNDER BAY RESORT (RIGHT)

Dinner with a view

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WAT E R WAY S

The power of white

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY BENJAMIN MOORE

Create a peaceful palette with this classic shade.

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T

hough color trends may come and go, white remains a top contender.

The neutral hue is easy on the eyes and plays well with others wherever it lands, from your bedding to your kitchen countertops.

White transcends trend, said Susan Monroe, president of Three Chairs Co. in Ann Arbor and Holland (threechairs. com), which offers modern home furnishings and design services. It skips the annual color forecast and makes a classic statement that’s timeless.

“That’s why it has such staying power,” said Monroe, citing white furniture that isn’t limited to one style; you can have a traditional Louis XIV chair, a contemporary slipcovered sofa or a leather Eames lounge chair.

White also makes a space feel bigger and more open and airier. “In a condo or a second home, white can be expansive,” she said. “It also relates to our lake scene here. We like white with watery interiors. A white slipcover is fun to sit on in a bathing suit. You can throw them in the washer with a little bleach and welcome your next round of guests; it has real cottage appeal.”

While today’s performance fabrics make white upholstery a more practical option, when you choose white for your furniture, you should repeat it somewhere else. For instance, you might add white woodwork or window treatments. As Monroe explained, you should integrate white into a room.

White accents like lighting can impact a space. “We don’t have as much sun in Michigan, so we want that glow from a lampshade to get as much warmth and light as we can,” she added.

The soothing shade provides the perfect backdrop for entertaining. “If your interiors are quiet, it makes people more important,” Monroe said. “When you have white walls and a guest walks in wearing a pink sweater, she stays pretty important.”

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“If your interiors are quiet, it makes people more important.

When you have white walls and a guest walks in wearing a pink sweater, she stays pretty important.”

SUSAN MONROE

Getting it white According to Andrea Magno, director of color marketing and development at Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore.com), white might be the most versatile yet surprisingly complicated color to select.

Benjamin Moore offers more than 150 paint colors in its Off-White Collection.

Depending on the undertone, some may be more soothing or energizing. Layering one shade on top of another will help bring out their unique qualities.

When selecting a white, you should determine whether a warm or cool tone will work best. For instance, if most colors in the space are warm, a white with a warm cast may be a good fit.

If you have millwork or trim, white can highlight these architectural details.

While a crisp white such as Decorator’s White creates a classic look, an off-white can play off the wall color. For example, if the walls are painted in a warm gray such as Silver Fox, trim in Balboa Mist provides a soft contrast.

White can pop with dramatic shades like black, and it also can revive tired features from a brick fireplace to kitchen cabinets. “Adding white on trim such as molding and millwork can act as a detail or highlight, framing another white option or a stronger color,” Magno said. Even a vintage chair feels renewed with this restrained shade.

– Jeanine Matlow

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY HERMAN MILLER (TOP); THREE CHAIRS (LEFT); BENJAMIN MOORE (RIGHT)

Styling with white can be done in many ways, including white furniture, wall color, fabrics, flooring and more.

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ichigan winters: They’re epic, they’re beautiful and they can leave even the most seasoned native wishing to be somewhere else. When blizzard conditions and ice-slick roads have you feeling a touch of cabin fever, go somewhere — and let a good book take you there. Here are some great winter reads with Michigan roots to accompany you on your armchair travels:

1.

“Welcome to Replica Dodge”

By Natalie Ruth Joynton Publisher: Wayne State University Press This well-crafted memoir shares a heaping spoonful of what it’s like to live in northern Michigan, as told by a Texas transplant who moved to Mason County to get married and start a life there. Her adventures range from chuckle-worthy to heartwarming, warranting an “I’ve been there” thought or two in the spirit of true Michigander camaraderie.

Author Natalie Ruth Joynton’s introduction to her new home seems even more surreal to her when the house she and her husband purchase includes a miniature town with an Old West theme right in their own yard.

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While Michigan is known for award-winning wines and the craft beers that have earned Grand Rapids the honorific Brew City, USA, what may be lesser known are the cocktails with Michigan ties.

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“Cheers to Michigan: A Celebration of Cocktail Culture and Craft Distillers”

By Tammy Coxen and Lester Graham Publisher: University of Michigan Press While Michigan is known for award-winning wines and the craft beers that have earned Grand Rapids the honorific Brew City, USA, what may be lesser known are the cocktails with Michigan ties. Bearing names like The Last Word and The Michigander, the drinks featured here are shared with Michigan trivia as well as pages of history on Michigan’s part in development, distilleries and distribution, even in the prohibition years.

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“Saint Peter and the Goldfinch” Poems by Jack Ridl Publisher: Wayne State University Press West Michigan poet Jack Ridl’s latest collection of poems is a delight, filled with the evocative style for which Ridl is known. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins said of this latest collection, “These poems typically begin with a series of quiet, levelheaded observations and end in a wild, imaginative leap.” What more could we ask? Perhaps the best work yet by Ridl, readers will find the works engaging, enlightening and insightful.

4.

“Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction” Edited by Anne-Marie Oomen Publisher: Wayne State University Press The writing here is nothing less than brilliant.

The essays are expertly crafted and discerningly selected to complete this compilation, showcasing the Mitten State and all that is good — and sometimes challenging — here.

Writers share glimpses of life from Michigan’s “thumb” to Glen Arbor, from Traverse City to Meridian Township, detailing the realness of the climate, landscape and wildlife.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY BOOK PUBLISHERS

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Great reads by the fireplace

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“The Page Fence Giants: A History of Black Baseball’s Pioneering Champions”

By Mitch Lutzke Publisher: McFarland & Company Adrian is the setting for this painstakingly researched piece of baseball history. Author Mitch Lutzke reveals that while it’s widely thought the addition of Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball marked the first integrated baseball team, there were people of color playing professionally as early as the late 19th century. Yet, with few such opportunities, all-black teams were formed, one being the Page Fence Giants, named for an Adrian business. The team, unofficial league champions, has remained largely unknown, overshadowed by teams from nearby large cities like Detroit and Chicago — until now.

Lutzke’s book reveals an early power team in small-town Michigan while giving readers a look into baseball history.

– Julie Bonner Williams

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MICHIGAN BLUE

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AT T H E H E L M

U.S. Navy and Marine pilots trained over Lake Michigan during World War II, flying off passenger steamers converted to aircraft carriers.

BY CHUCK WARREN

or many boat owners, the day their vessel is hauled for winter storage is the worst day of the year. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways they can get a maritime fix during the winter months. With more than 3,200 miles of coastline and hundreds of years of commercial, passenger and pleasure boating heritage, Michigan maritime history is on display at several museums around the state. Here’s a look at a few: Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven The Michigan Maritime Museum is a standout when it comes to U.S. Coast Guard history, but its displays also provide visitors with a detailed look at commercial fishing, military and maritime history. For an interesting experience, stand behind the replica ship’s wheel and watch a big-screen display of real-life conditions Great Lakes rescue crews often encountered during stormy weather.

The museum’s main exhibit is called Lake Michigan’s Call to Duty. It features con-

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tributions made by Great Lakes civilians, commercial fishermen, shipbuilders and more during World War II. Lake Michigan, at that time, was home to one of the biggest pilot training resources, a period when passenger steamers were converted to aircraft carriers that were used to train Navy and Marine Corps fliers near Chicago.

The Michigan Maritime Museum (mich iganmaritimemuseum.org) also is home to a regionally renowned research library and a center for boat building and maritime skills.

Although open year-round, hours are reduced to weekends only from Nov. 1 to May 15.

In the summer, visitors can book passage on the museum’s tall ship Friends Good Will, the replica of a Great Lakes schooner that played an important role in the War of 1812.

The ship is 101 feet long and 56 feet, 5 inches long on deck. While unavailable for tours in the offseason, boaters looking for coldweather distractions can help with the tall ship’s repairs and maintenance by working in the museum’s heated shop.

USS Silversides Submarine Museum, Muskegon At first glance, it might be easy to see the USS Silversides Museum (silversidesmus eum.org) as just another collection of war memorabilia. However, museum guests also can tour the 311-foot Silversides submarine moored right outside. The museum hosts a wealth of information about the sub and its role in the war, and life underwater for its 80-man crew.

Although submarine duty was one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, more than 250,000 men volunteered during World War II, lured by the higher rate of pay after the Great Depression. Of the 25,000 men selected, more than 20% did not return home.

The Silversides’ storied war campaigns include less expected events, such as the need to do an emergency appendectomy while underwater, guided by book and carried out on the wardroom table, and the crew’s run-in with a kangaroo.

Museum visitors become familiar with

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHUCK WARREN (BOTH PAGES)

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A look at the controls of the USS Silversides submarine that can be toured in Muskegon.

the Pearl Harbor attack timeline. They can see the inner workings of real torpedoes and peer through a periscope among other fascinating exhibits.

The Silversides Museum and the submarine are open to the public year-round. The museum also offers the submarine and the nearby Coast Guard cutter USCGC McLane for overnight stays to groups of 20 or more.

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, Alpena Because of its location near major Great Lakes shipping lanes and the shelter provided by nearby islands, Thunder Bay has a rich history of American and European maritime trade. The area’s abundant fur, lumber, limestone and much more attracted trade ships to the protected harbor.

Nicknamed Shipwreck Alley, the area also is well-known for the naturally preserved shipwrecks scattered across Thunder Bay and Lake Huron. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary alone is home to more than 100 wrecks dating from 1849-1966, including a 296-foot-long steel-hull steamer and a 430-foot ocean-going freighter.

The Maritime Heritage Center (bit.ly/GL HeritageCenter) is the welcome center for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary where visitors can tour a full-size replica of a shipwrecked Great Lakes schooner inside the great hall. Admission is free to the public, and it is open year-round. The facility also houses a scientific research facility, shipwreck artifact gallery and boat-building workshop.

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Chuck Warren is a licensed captain and freelance boating writer who lives in Grandville.

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VINTAGE VIEWS

BY M. CHRISTINE BYRON AND THOMAS R. WILSON

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n the first five years of the 1900s, Battle Creek was in the grip of a “cereal boom.”

There were more than 40 companies manufacturing cereal products made from corn, wheat or oats. Kellogg became the most widely known and successful among these enterprises and still is headquartered in Battle Creek.

Kellogg offered public tours of its factory starting in 1912, and over 6 million visitors toured the facility in the 74 years the tours were offered.

Tour guides told the story of the Kellogg brothers. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was the chief medical officer of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in the late 1880s. His brother, Will Keith Kellogg, worked alongside him.

The brothers discovered, quite by accident, a process for making cereal flakes. In 1894,

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Boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes were packed in cartons by hand (top left).

Visitors were treated to paper hats and bowls of ice cream topped with cereal (top right). Snap, Crackle and Pop were the stars of the Rice Krispies marketing campaign (bottom).

the brothers were unexpectantly called away while cooking wheat. When they returned, the wheat was overcooked. The brothers then forced the grains through rollers, flattening the wheat into thin flakes, and the first convenient breakfast cereal was born.

The cereal was touted as easily digestible for the patients at the sanitarium. But Dr. John Harvey Kellogg did not approve of his brother’s ideas of adding malt to the cereal and selling it to the general public.

As such, the brothers had a falling out, and in 1906, W.K. Kellogg launched the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company with a sweetened version of the cereal, renaming it in 1909 as the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company. By 1922, the name was shortened to the Kellogg Company.

W.K. Kellogg proved to be a marketing ge-

nius. He actively promoted the cereal himself and came up with the slogan, “Beware of imitators. None genuine without this signature — W.K. Kellogg.” He created appealing advertisements in 1907 with his “Sweetheart of the Corn,” a “winsome woman” holding a shock of corn. Other advertising, promotions and free samples won a strong following for the company. Premium offers of blotters, postcards, booklets, paper dolls and other lures attracted customer loyalty.

When W.K. died in 1951, Kellogg’s was presumably the country’s most recognized cereal brand. Clever marketing continued with cartoon characters that appealed to children. Snap! Crackle! and Pop! for Rice Krispies quickly became icons for Rice Krispies. Tony the Tiger appeared in 1952 with his statement that Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY VINTAGE VIEWS

Visiting the Kellogg factory

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY VINTAGE VIEWS

Flakes were “Gr-r-r-eat!” Toucan Sam started touting the new Fruit Loops in 1963.

The tours were very popular with baby boomers in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, the tour ran about 60 minutes. Each visitor was given a “sanitary” paper hat to wear inside the factory. A Kellogg visitor’s brochure from the mid-1960s showed the story of, “This little kernel went to Kellogg’s … First, it was milled, – and then it was flavored, – and on to the cooker, – at the dryer, – next, to the flaker, – and finally, to the toaster.” At the end of the tour, visitors were given one or two postcards and several individual servings of a variety of Kellogg’s cereals. In the 1960s, the tour concluded with bowls of ice cream topped with Fruit Loops or Cocoa Crispies.

Visitors on a plant tour got to see all the steps involved with making cereals.

The last tours ended in 1986 with safety and espionage concerns. A substitute for the tours came later in 1998 when Cereal City, an exhibit/museum, opened.

Cereal City had a simulated cereal production line, but it wasn’t the same as seeing the genuine thing.

Cereal City closed in 2007. Although you can no longer see, smell and taste the cereal manufacturing process, Kellogg continues to bring “the best to you each morning.”

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BLUE Vintage Views columnists M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson reside in Grand Rapids. They are authors of the book “Historic Leelanau: Recognized Sites and Places of Historical Significance.”

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S TAT E O F M I N E

BY JESSICA MESMAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY G. ODMARK

A Winter Soul The essay “A Winter Soul” was published in “Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction” in 2018. This excerpt from that essay is reprinted here with permission from Jessica Mesman and Wayne State University Press.

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he fi rst time I saw snow I was twentysix years old. I’d moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school after a lifetime in southern Louisiana, where I’d never owned a coat, hat, scarf, or mittens. I remember I walked outside the coffee shop where I was studying there, turning circles in wonder like some alien fallen to earth, looking every bit the yokel I was, overpowered by the beauty of the fat, white flakes, by the sudden hushed silence that seemed to descend upon the city, by the way it actually sparkled. I remember thinking in complete earnestness, “This is magic.”

But Pittsburgh’s winters were mild and short compared to the winters in South Bend, Indiana, where I moved after my wedding. After three years of bone-crushing cold and life under the “permacloud,” which rolls in sometime in November and doesn’t budge until May, I threatened my husband that I would never again live above the Mason-Dixon Line. He got a job in Virginia, and I swore we’d never leave. I said, many times, he’d have to dig my bony fi ngers out of the red clay. He did.

When I looked at the map to see where Traverse City, Michigan, was before he left for his job interview, I cried. It is Up North (they capitalize that here). Way Up North: fortyfi fth parallel north, three hundred inches of snow last winter north, subzero temperatures north, winter for nine months north.

I made the best of it last year. Really, I did. It pricked my pride to have so many people warn me about how awful the winters would be, and I adopted a mantra: “You won’t break me.” I’m a fast learner and a die-hard romantic. I would study northern-

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ness. I would write us into a winter story.

We would not just survive; we would thrive.

We would snowshoe.

I read Norse myths and Norwegian novels and got a (temporary) tattoo of Thor. I told myself I had a winter soul, made for sitting by the fi re and reading epic novels.

(When we couldn’t fi nd a rental with a fi replace, I bought a fi re pit and parked it outside the living room window so I could at least watch the sparks in the darkness.) I was determined to emerge from my fi rst Northern Michigan winter victorious, sporting Viking horns and braids and a breastplate of bones and feathers.

I learned a lot. I learned to stop washing my face and hands with soap and water to prevent my skin from cracking and bleeding. I learned to wear makeup every day, not for beautification but as an extra protective layer. I learned to avoid cotton and denim and to invest in a down coat and the most expensive boots I could afford. I learned the terms polar vortex and Alberta Clipper. I learned, sort of, to drive in snow (I’m the one crawling along, holding up traffic into Traverse City — sorry). I learned several different ways to tie a scarf.

I learned to make a hot toddy and to drink fish oil with breakfast.

When we lit our spring equinox bonfi re in snow up to our waists on March 21, I was a little discouraged. On Easter Sunday, we hunted eggs in the gloomy snow piles and walked in gale-force winds on Sleeping Bear Dunes. Admittedly, the temperature was starting to rise, and we were grateful to be outdoors at all, but the gloom was unrelenting.

All I could think of was the dogwoods in full bloom back in Virginia, the daffodils long since up and withered. We drove twenty minutes back to our gray ranch house in the gray Northwoods, and I crawled back into bed and cried.

By the time I woke up to snow on my son’s birthday in May, I was well beyond broken.

In hindsight, my naivete seems cute. Now that I’m a hardened northerner, I know that winter isn’t a time to thrive. It’s a time to buy a light therapy box, take massive amounts of Vitamin D, and get on antidepressants. In the worst months of January through April, anyone who can afford to leave for a while does. But most people just put their heads down, feed their fires, and press on. Or they ski. A lot. As my neighbor says, “There’s no way out but through.” And sometimes going through just isn’t pretty.

Sometimes you crawl to the finish.

Sometimes winter breaks us. And maybe that’s okay. … Fallow is too gentle a word for this kind of winter. This is not a season of quiet melancholy, a few weeks at a slower pace to be savored over a cup of tea. This is months trapped inside with small children. This is influenza and whooping cough. This is getting stuck halfway into the bank parking lot and blocking traffic. This is black ice and zero visibility. This is breaking bones in a fall. This is holes in the roof from the weight of the snow and the holes in the road that swallow your tires. This is what comes before the fallow time. This is harrowing.

A harrow is a horrible-looking farm tool with wheels and spikes and teeth. It breaks up the earth, crushes, pulverizes, plunders.

Sound too extreme?

Then I’ve captured it perfectly.

New year, new mantra: As this winter gets underway in earnest, I say, “Go ahead and break me. Plunder me, take me down, so I can be made new.”

Maybe that is exactly what I need — not merely a rest, but a reinvention.

If I can’t be a Viking, Lord, make me the Darkling Thrush of Thomas Hardy’s poem, who though “frail, gaunt, and small, in blast-beruffled plume” flings his soul upon the growing gloom and sings. … If I survive another polar vortex, it might not be by my own schemes and strengths and romantic fantasies but by grace (and a nice long hiatus in New Orleans). My soul might be the only thing that can grow in this weather.

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Jessica Mesman, MFA, is the author of four books, including co-author of the memoir, “Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship in Letters,” winner of the 2014 Christopher Award. She currently is working on a second memoir, Eden Isles, on growing up Catholic in southern Louisiana.

MICHIGAN BLUE

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UNDERCURRENTS

BY HOWARD MEYERSON

n inspiring story in the fall issue of BLUE focused on the good work being done by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (gtrlc.org), providing universally accessible boardwalks and overlooks at Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve and the Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve. Each makes beautiful natural features and views accessible to those who are physically challenged in one way or another.

The conservancy also is working to develop another accessible trail at the Timbers Recreation Area in Long Lake Township, a popular area to hike but one tough to negotiate in a wheelchair. The trail will guide visitors from the parking lot to Long Lake and on to Fern Lake where it will culminate with an overlook and fishing platform.

Kudos is due for GTRLC’s efforts to preserve special places and make Michigan’s natural features more universally accessible.

Meeting the need to provide better access to the outdoors has long rested on the shoulders of local, state and federal governments — agencies like the Michigan DNR, the National Park Service or National Forest Service, to name a few. All their work with limited budgets steadily has pushed back the barriers. It is admirable work that doesn’t always get fanfare — much of it is required by law under the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) — but it is important work that deserves recognition. And increasingly, it has become an integral part of the mission for these agencies.

Another group deserving a high-five is the nonprofit Joy 2 Ride, (joy2ridebenzie.org), founded in 2018. Its volunteers organized to provide elderly and disabled individuals with a chance to get outside, enjoy the fresh air and a scenic bike tour of the Betsie Valley Trail. Yes, a bike tour. They do that by pedal-

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ing them along on special electric-assist bicycle wheelchairs.

This summer, the Michigan DNR added electric-powered track chairs to its inventory of barrier busters. I was impressed to find these off-road track chairs are available for use at no charge at several state parks.

They give those with limited mobility the ability to navigate tough terrains like forest trails, sandy beaches, deep snow and even 8 inches of water. The chairs are available at Maybury, Muskegon and Tahquamenon Falls state parks, Belle Isle and Waterloo Recreation Area.

A remarkable young woman is behind the track chair additions; her name is Kali Pung.

She founded the Kali’s Cure for Paralysis Foundation (kaliscure.org) in 2008 after becoming paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. She has since raised more than $2 million for paralysis facilities, research, rehabilitation and mobility, among other things. Her foundation donated the track chairs to the state.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore also announced this year that it too has a track chair, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the nonprofit Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes (friendsofsleepingbear.org).

Its chair program is a first for the National Park Service. The chair is available for use at no charge by injured or disabled persons who can now sit back and enjoy a scenic trip along the lakeshore’s 1½-mile Bay View Trail. Lakeshore staffers have said they hope in time to have other chairs available on other trails.

The DNR, of course, which has worked to improve outdoor accessibility since the 1970s and ramped up its efforts in the 1990s to meet ADA requirements, continues to develop new and important accessible outdoor facilities. An online directory of those

facilities can be found at bit.ly/DNRADA. Those who go looking will find a plethora of accessible beaches, cabins, yurts, campgrounds, kayak launches, hunting blinds, fishing piers, wooded trails and much more.

The agency has come a long way since the early days when universal access was unheard of and when outdoor enthusiasts with limitations were not sure if Michigan campgrounds, vault toilets, picnic tables, campsites and trails could be negotiated.

It’s time for kudos all around.

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Howard Meyerson is the managing editor for Michigan BLUE Magazine.

The Michigan DNR is creating accessible paths across certain popular beaches so visitors can readily get down to the water.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MICHIGAN DNR

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Kudos for the barrier busters

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W I N T E R 2 019

THE SPORTING LIFE

BY MEAGAN FRANCIS

Finding hygge (coziness) in winter

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Cozy up by the fire with a favorite warm beverage (above) or enjoy a family outing in the snow (right).

mean a coziness or contentment and often includes warm touches like candles and comfort food, but it’s more than that. Hygge is the idea of being happy with what you have and finding the joy in simple things.

Sometimes, that’s the harsh beauty of the sun glinting off a fresh snowbank on a minus 20-degree morning or the cozy satisfaction of a warm pair of mittens.

When I think back to my childhood, the hygge-est moment I remember was the feeling of lying in a snowbank, bundled against the elements in the purple twilight of a January evening, knowing my mother would soon call me in for dinner. Coziness even in

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY iSTOCK (BOTH PAGES)

ike all children since the beginning of time, my kids roll their eyes when I tell them that back in my day, I walked 2 miles to school in hip-deep snow, uphill both ways. But since I grew up in the Upper Peninsula — Sault Ste. Marie, to be exact — only the last bit is a fabrication. Our school district’s superintendent, a stoic Finn, hardly ever called school off for weather. So, in the morning, my brother and I would bundle up in thick socks, long johns, snowsuits, scarves, mittens (with an extra pair tucked in our pockets, just in case), warm stocking hats or ski masks, and moon boots (my mother lined ours with bread bags for extra protection).

Off we’d trot to school, often with blinding snow whipping at our faces, sometimes making a path through a foot or more of fresh snowfall. And for many months at a time, it was nearly always cold: bitter cold, the kind of cold that as a now-fully adapted downstater, makes me grumpy and depressed and sometimes claim I hate my life four months of the year on the few days I actually experience it this far south.

Funny, though, how in those days I never hated the winter. It was just part of life, something you accepted for months on end.

Because there was no escape, folks didn’t really try to avoid reality or stay inside when it was bitter. They didn’t get disappointed when they poked their heads outside in the morning and realized: Man, it’s cold. Of course, it was cold! It was always cold, so we rarely experienced the disappointment that comes when reality doesn’t match expectations. Instead of staying inside complaining, we bundled up and got on with our lives.

There’s a kind of contentment in accepting a harsh climate, and it’s one of the things I think best sums up the Danish concept of hygge. Hygge can be loosely translated to

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Settle in with a good book and read a story aloud (left) or get ready to build a snowman (above).

cold, the love of family, comfort in food: all essential ingredients for a hygge life.

With several bestselling books dedicated to the idea now available, hygge is having a moment — just when we’ve needed it most (polar vortex, anyone?). But at the risk of overromanticizing my childhood, I know my grownup self has been somewhat spoiled by occasional 70-degree days in February and made discontented by a teasing spring that goes on for months but often fails to deliver on my overinflated hopes.

When I think about all the days I’ve left my gloves and hat at home because it’s almost warm enough to go without, I laugh at myself: 10-year-old me would have had the good sense to wear appropriate clothes so I’d be able to enjoy the beauty of a winter’s day.

As we enter another period of short days, long nights and ice-cold steering wheels, I ask myself: How can I make this winter a little more hygge? Certainly, the Danes don’t have a lock on miserable conditions, nor should they have to instruct us how to embrace the little beauties of life in the midst of a long, cold spell. So, here’s my own recipe for hygge — what I’m going to call Michigan hygge.

Dress for the weather. There’s no excuse for frozen fingers and toes when all I’m doing is driving across town. Warm gloves, warm boots, a warm coat, even snow pants — what do I care for fashion when I could have comfort?

Accept reality. I believe in the saying that “happiness is when expectations match outcomes,” and no time is that truer than winter in Michigan. This probably will not be the year that spring comes in February or that it’s 60-plus degrees and sunny by March 1, so why be grumpy and disappointed when the weather does what it’s always done? The less time we spend fixating on summer-related magical thinking, the more opportunity we have to enjoy the real magic of winter.

Get outside. There is so much to do during Michigan’s gorgeous frozen months.

Consider: the meditative calm of ice skating or snowshoeing, the thrill of snowboarding or downhill skiing. I’ve found the more I pack my winter months with outdoor activities, the happier I am. Snow is still water, after all, just in another state.

Hibernate mindfully. One of the nicest pleasures of winter is being bundled up inside while a squall rages just outside our front door. But the cozy factor diminishes considerably when we stress out over the news or grumpily covet tropical vacation photos on our social media feeds.

Keep the water in view. The boat may be in storage and the shoreline is iced over as far as the eye can see, but the lakes and rivers that keep us enamored in summer go on being beautiful all winter long. From the powerful crashing waves on a chilly November day to the spectacular shoreline ice formations in January, there’s unique beauty to be found in a frozen river or lake, and chances are, you’ll be one of the lucky few to witness it.

≈

Meagan Francis grew up in the U.P. where she learned how to dress for the cold. Today, she lives with her family in St. Joseph and makes occasional forays Up North.

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A welcoming front porch brings you into an open kitchen, living, and dining which open to a rear covered porch.

The private master suite is conveniently located on the main floor.

A two stall garage, mud room, laundry, half bath, and lake entrance are also located off the core of the home.

Upstairs are two additional bedrooms sharing a bath and an open loft area.

The bonus room could be mulit-use and currently configures well for a game room and bunk room for the kids.

WIDTH

61 F T .

DEPTH

43 FT.

CONDITIONED SQ FT BEDROOMS / BATHS

S K E T C H P A D H O U S E P L A N S .C O M

2 ,3 6 0 4 / 2 .5

Timeless tradition, fresh tracks S NOWS HOE I NG S HOWS OF F W I N T E R’ S WON DE R S F R OM R E M O T E B AC K WO O D S T O U R B A N PA R K S .

By Marla R. Miller Photography by Aaron Peterson

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When the powder falls, nature calls.

Where to snowshoe:

Several state parks offer snowshoe-making workshops, educational programs, and guided or lantern-lit snowshoe hikes throughout the winter, including Tahquamenon Falls, Ludington, Hartwick Pines, P.J. Hoffmaster, Fayette, Porcupine Mountains, Straits and Wilderness.

Parks also loan out snowshoes on a firstcome, first-served basis during the special events.

Visit michigan.gov/dnr for more information.

Opposite page: Snowshoes allow hikers to explore packed, snowy trails and to go off trail to explore the woods and create their own trail in deep snow.

And snowshoes make it easy to indulge in winter’s delights. This ancient form of transportation takes outdoor adventurers and nature lovers high atop bluffs and into dense forests, across deep snow and to places skis, fat-tire bicycles and snowmobiles cannot go.

In Michigan, state and local parks, state and national recreational areas, and multiuse paths offer thousands of miles of trails and pristine acres to traverse. In fact, the state permits snowshoeing anywhere on state land that is open to the public, and most of the large ski resorts rent snowshoes and have dedicated trails.

Snowshoe enthusiasts can trek along the shores of Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, through forests on Mackinac Island, urban trails in Belle Isle Park or around the tip of picturesque Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas.

Having lived years in downtown Chicago, Leelanau County resident Terry Griffin finds solace in the winter wonderland that surrounds her 12-acre property, nestled in the rolling hills of wine country. Nearly every winter day, Griffin straps on snowshoes and steps out to take in the scenery, inspect animal tracks in the snow and bask in winter’s tranquil beauty.

“I really enjoy just being able to go outside in the winter, no matter how deep the snow is, and take off from here,” she said. “It’s really the best when you have fresh snow and it’s kind of powdery, because it’s really quiet.”

Snowshoeing also keeps her active and social. Griffin explores the region on weekly outings with an organized group of women and informally with friends. “There’s no shortage of places to go,” she said. “There are so many gorgeous snowshoeing trails in this area.”

Whether people make snowshoeing an hour outing close to home or head north for a weekend camping adventure, the real fun lies in venturing out into fresh powder.

“I go off-trail because I explain to people right

away that is the whole idea of snowshoeing, to get off-trail and experience the fresh snow,” said Ludington State Park Interpreter Alan Wernette, who leads free, guided snowshoe hikes on Saturdays in January and February.

Wernette attended a snowshoe making workshop years ago and fell in love with taking snowshoe walks in the woods. He has led guided snowshoe and nature hikes for 25 years and often tells people, “If you can walk, you can snowshoe.” Plus, snowshoeing has many benefits.

“It’s less costly and easier and less hazardous, and it’s great exercise,” Wernette said. “You can do it in your backyard or a city park; it’s something you can do right next to your home.”

Guided snowshoe and lantern-lit hikes at Tahquamenon Falls State Park’s Upper Falls loop, held on Saturdays in February, are very popular, said Theresa Neal, park interpreter.

The 1-mile lantern-lit hikes regularly draw 200 and 300 people.

“I think people are looking to do something active in the winter that’s relatively inexpensive,” she said. “Once you buy your snowshoes, they can last a lifetime. You can explore areas you don’t get to see, and it gets you outside.”

Tahquamenon has dedicated trails at both the Upper and Lower Falls and an assortment of snowshoes for participants to borrow during the organized hikes. The Lower Falls is a quiet recreation area and a great place for people to explore on their own.

Neal encourages people to go rogue and experience what walking on 30 inches of snow feels like. “We have 8 miles of packed snowshoe trails, but we highly recommend people go off-trail,” Neal said. “The guided hikes we take in February are always off-trail, and we blaze a new trail each time.”

Both Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore permit snowshoeing throughout the parks but not on MICHIGAN BLUE

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Seek wilderness

Iverson Outdoors makes comeback with new owners, carries on with locally crafted product.

Hidden in attics, hanging as cabin décor and highly prized by outdoor workers in Yooper country, Iverson Outdoors’ traditional wood snowshoes have timeless appeal. Iverson, one of a few remaining wood snowshoe manufacturers in America, has handcrafted snowshoes in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for more than 60 years.

The iconic brand encourages people to seek wilderness, and each pair of Iverson’s

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opens the door to a world of snowy adventure. Built to last, and built to float, a pair of Iverson’s can take wearers to uncharted territory, through deep snow and hold up under extreme conditions.

“There is a lot of nostalgia with the brand,” said Jim Baker, one of Iverson’s owners. “I got my fi rst pair at 12 years old, and I still have that pair.”

The company’s founder, Clarence Iverson, opened shop in 1954, selling snowshoes to the state of Michigan. He designed a traditional wood snowshoe, made of Michigan white ash, full-grain rawhides

and pure copper hardware that maximized weight distribution, optimized flotation and made walking easier.

“The reason people buy our snowshoes is the additional flotation,” Baker said. “They are much quieter than an aluminum snowshoe, and the aesthetic of the snowshoe, it’s a piece of art.”

Iverson’s has changed owners through the decades and weathered its share of financial and production challenges. Six men from the Upper Peninsula bought the struggling business a few years ago and remain dedicated to carrying on Iverson’s lo-

A snowshoe hiker visits a scenic overlook at Sugarloaf Mountain in Marquette.

cally sourced, locally crafted tradition.

“That is critically important to us, that it remains a handmade product made by people in the Upper Peninsula with materials in the Upper Peninsula,” Baker said.

Husband-and-wife duo Ken and Julie Holmes are skilled artisans and the heart of the business. They joined Iverson’s in 1990 and carry out day-to-day operations at the Wetmore shop, working side by side to make each pair of Iverson’s and fulfi ll orders sold under the L.L.Bean name.

Ken handles all the cutting, bending and processing of the wood, while Julie focuses

groomed ski trails. Pictured Rocks does not rent or loan snowshoes, but people can rent them in Munising, said Susan Reece, chief of interpretation.

“With over 200 inches of snow falling in the area, snowshoes are a great way to get around,” she said.

Besides Pictured Rocks, people can snowshoe at nearby Valley Spur in Hiawatha National Forest and Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Pictured Rocks also hosts winter education programs for grades K-5, exposing over 1,000 schoolchildren to the sport using traditional wood snowshoes.

“The kids do get a kick out of them,” she said. “If they have snowshoed before, it’s usually not on traditional snowshoes.”

Snowshoes can be traced to the Mongolia region and date back thousands of years, Wernette said. Invented out of necessity, they were first used by Native Americans throughout the upper Midwest to collect food and wood and introduced to early European settlers.

“It’s fun and recreation today, but it was like having a car,” he said. “You had to get out to get your food and wood to keep your house warm.”

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and other snowy regions, snowshoes still serve utilitarian purposes to check traps, fi ll bird feeders and get around in the deep woods.

Wetmore-based Iverson Outdoors handcrafts traditional wood snowshoes and has many customers who are loggers, trappers

and utility workers, said Jim Baker, one of the company’s owners.

“If you work in the woods, whether you are a surveyor, electrical worker or forester, you like our shoes,” he said.

Brothers Tony and Gildo Tori bought their fi rst pair of Iverson’s snowshoes in the early 1970s to hunt snowshoe hares on swampy land in Kalkaska County. Iverson’s snowshoes have great flotation, Gildo said, and they still use them when they need to cut wood or cross deep or wet snow. When the Toris aren’t at their cabin, they hang the snowshoes on the wall as decoration.

“The snowshoes afford you another opportunity to enjoy the north woods in deep snow,” Gildo said. “One of our special activities is midnight snowshoe walks through the woods with a full moon, and Iverson’s are a key part of that whole experience.”

Wernette sees this silent sport growing in popularity among all ages, but especially older people who may have previously skied.

He eventually sold his downhill and crosscountry skis to exclusively snowshoe.

“Those sports are great, but it takes a long time to recover if you have an injury,” he said.

“Snowshoeing is so easy to do. It’s a lot safer than skiing because you are just walking at a slow pace, and you can go up hills easier.”

on lacing, fi nishing touches and shipping out orders. “We have a system,” Julie said.

“We just know what to do and when to do it and how long to do it. … It’s a labor of love for us.”

In all, the company sells 17 models of snowshoes in different sizes, laced with traditional rawhide or neoprene and four binding options. They are available online (iversonssnowshoes.com) or at the Wetmore retail store, which also is open for tours. Iverson’s main customers come from the Upper Great Lakes region, but Baker monitors the website and has re-

ceived orders from Transylvania, Central and Northern Europe, Alaska and beyond.

In a market where aluminum and plastic now dominate, Iverson’s stays focused on the craftsmanship, quality and durability that loyal customers expect from the brand. “For Michiganders and anybody in the northern Midwest, Iverson is a north woods icon,” longtime customer Gildo Tori said. “They produce a great, quality product, and it’s a great part of the northern Michigan winter tradition.”

— Marla R. Miller

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Marla Miller is an award-winning journalist who lives in Norton Shores.

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Gabriel Currie (below) in his Detroit guitar workshop.

BY AMY S. ECKERT

Opposite page: Currie's old-growth prototype is displayed.

Excellence and comfort at winter getaways for those on the go.

A fieldstone fireplace and comfortable lobby seating are among the luxury amenities that allowed the Hotel Walloon to win the 2019 USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards for best Wine Country Hotel in the United States.

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S

kiing beneath fir trees heavy with snow. Speeding through the backcountry on a snowmobile or simply relaxing before a roaring fireplace with a stack of books. Michigan’s lakeside getaways attract plenty of attention in the summer. But winter in the Great Lakes State offers its own beauty, whether visitors long for fun in the snow or some cozy time indoors.

In Suttons Bay, The Inn at Black Star Farms often draws overnight guests familiar with — and deeply enamored with — the property’s winery. Founded in 1998, Black Star Farms winery built a reputation for producing quality wines from chardonnay, riesling, cabernet franc and pinot noir grapes.

Some 20 years later, Black Star Farms boasts an array of silver and gold medals acquired at the Michigan Wine, Finger Lakes International, American Fine Wine and International Fine Wine competitions. Most impressive was the winery’s award for Best Wine at the 2018 Canberra International Riesling Challenge.

Black Star’s accommodations include a bottle of wine, an evening wine and hors d’oeuvres hospitality hour, and an expanded VIP tasting in the winery’s Barrel

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Room. But the inn’s 10 guestrooms promise a getaway that even a teetotaler could love.

Private spa tubs, fireplaces and thick duvets tempt visitors to sleep in, and a hot gourmet breakfast awaits downstairs in the morning.

“We offer snowshoes free of charge,” said Sherri Fenton, proprietor of Black Star Farms, “and some guests choose to use them.” The inn’s 160 hilly, vineyard-covered acres include trails perfect for snowshoeing.

“But actually, most of our guests want to do a whole lot of nothing!” she said, laughing.

“They’re generally looking for peace and quiet, and they know they’ll get that here.”

Once visitors venture out, they find themselves in the heart of the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail, surrounded by the tasting rooms of a dozen other award-winning wineries. Suttons Bay promises a good selection of independent restaurants, including the European bistro-style Martha’s Leelanau Table, Wren, with its house-made charcuterie, and Boone’s Prime Time Pub, a casual spot known for monster bloody marys and a warm fireplace.

Fridays and Saturdays, guests of Black Star Farms Inn can opt for weekend dinners

at the Inn. The prix fixe, three-course meal includes an opportunity to chat with a local chef and, naturally, wine pairings with Black Star varietals.

If relaxing with a glass of wine draws guests to Black Star Farms, it is outdoor recreation that stars at Stafford’s Crooked River Lodge & Suites in Alanson.

“In winter, our parking lot is full of snowmobile trailers,” said David Marvin, vice president for Stafford’s Hospitality. “Visitors often come specifically to ride the trails that lead from here in every direction.” In summer, the 38-mile chain of inland lakes called the Inland Waterway dominates, offering boaters, paddlers and anglers great outdoor recreation in all directions.

Black Star Farms patrons snowshoe through the vineyard (opposite page) and stylish rooms (top) look out on the grounds; a swimming pool, outdoor firepit and open rustic lobby (middle and bottom) greet adventurers at Stafford’s Crooked River Lodge & Suites.

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The Sundance dining room at the Double JJ Resort (left) and winter cabins on the property (right). Plush comfort is a mainstay at the historic Hotel Walloon (bottom).

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“Whatever the season, we really are at a crossroads,” Marvin said.

Guests hop aboard snowmobiles for day trips to Harbor Springs or Cross Village.

Following a snowy network of groomed trails, they speed across the equivalent of two-lane backcountry roads, a hardpacked, foot-deep ribbon of white that carves its way through the “tip of the Mitt.”

The trails curve around tiny frozen lakes and over the hilly landscape, wending their way through a forest sparkling with freshly fallen snow.

Ice fishers try their luck at nearby Crooked and Burt lakes, while snowshoers and cross-country skiers spend their days exploring the region’s trails, some of which crisscross the 30-acre grounds of the Crooked River Lodge. Nub’s Nob and Boyne Highlands Resort offer downhill skiing and snowboarding just 10 miles away. And the lodge’s backyard becomes a sledding hill in winter, exploiting a visible descent toward the frozen Crooked River.

When the cold becomes too much, an outdoor fire pit takes off the chill, and inside, a stone fireplace towers over the lodge’s fourstory lobby. A massive chandelier of deer antlers adds a nice Northwoods touch. The cozy great room is easily surveyed from the hotel’s second-story loft, a common area furnished with a pool table, board games, books and comfortable easy chairs.

“When guests settle in up here,” Marvin said, “the stresses of the everyday begin to melt away. We can see it in their faces.”

Family fun rules at Double JJ Resort, a Western ranch-themed getaway with the rough-hewn timber Sundance Saloon & Grill, a Wild West village called the Back Forty and even a mechanical bull.

Spread across more than 1,200 acres in Rothbury, Double JJ began as a family farm turned summer camp, the Jack and Jill Ranch, in the 1930s. After serving as a children’s camp, the resort shifted its focus to a young adult clientele, eventually becoming the expansive Double JJ Resort in 2009.

Double JJ offers a wide variety of lodging

“But actually, most of our guests want to do a whole lot of nothing! They’re generally looking for peace and quiet, and they know they’ll get that here.”

choices, including log homes, cabins and hotel-style options. Rooms in the Thoroughbred Suites unit feature a fireplace, full kitchen, in-room Jacuzzi and private balconies with as many as four bedrooms to sleep up to 14 guests. The Thoroughbred Suites are especially popular for their proximity to the resort’s Gold Rush Indoor Waterpark. The 60,000-square-foot water park includes several waterslides and thrill rides, a lazy river, wave pool and water toys for toddlers.

“Families come to us looking for a way to unplug and make lasting memories,” said Nichole Steel, marketing manager for Double JJ. “Double JJ Resort’s rich history as a ranch gives the feeling of a rustic getaway that you won't find at other resorts.”

Outdoors, Double JJ’s horses continue the Western theme. Guests join horse-drawn sleigh rides or guided horseback rides to explore quiet, forested grounds with little sound but the wind in the trees and the crunch of horses’ hooves in the snow.

More traditional snow fun includes fat tire bicycle, Nordic ski and snowmobile trails and rentals. But the most exhilarating fun may lie just beneath Double JJ’s Sundance Saloon & Grill. Beneath the steakhouse’s two-story windows, the steeply angled, 660-foot Sundance Slopes is open to tobogganers and snow tubers on winter weekends. A tow-line transports sledders back to the hilltop.

The Hotel Walloon has hosted relaxing northern Michigan getaways for more than a century. Originally constructed in the 1890s, the original Hotel Walloon promised fresh air and natural beauty to travelers from Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

The crystal-clear waters of adjacent Wal-

loon Lake and the area’s pristine fishing streams were nothing short of blissful to residents of America’s grimy 19th-century urban centers. Hotel Walloon displays historic photos and century-old fishing gear and snowshoes to remind modern guests of the area’s enduring appeal to anglers and nature lovers, not least of whom was Ernest Hemingway.

A 2019 win as the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice award for Best Wine Country Hotel proves that the Hotel Walloon continues to impress today’s visitors.

Comprised of a panel of wine and travel experts, as well as editors from USA Today and its sister outlet, 10Best.com, Hotel Walloon bested wine competitors in such prestigious wine regions as California’s Napa Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Wine takes its place as a modern draw for visitors to the Hotel Walloon. The inn sits near the Petoskey Wine Region, a relative newcomer to Michigan’s wine trails.

Other winter pastimes include a network of meandering snowmobile trails, downhill and Nordic skiing at nearby Boyne Mountain Resort, and snowshoeing the thick pine woods that rim the edges of Walloon Lake.

But like so many of northern Michigan’s winter resorts, the Hotel Walloon offers such a cozy retreat that guests occasionally find themselves reluctant to leave. A large fieldstone fireplace crackles in the inn’s lobby, surrounded by deep leather sofas perfect for an afternoon read and a glass of wine from the bar. Nearby, a richly paneled room allows guests to play billiards and browse framed black-and-white images of lake life a century ago. And upstairs, guestrooms overlook frozen Walloon Lake, strikingly beautiful from this warm retreat.

It’s a view so lovely, visitors might actually yearn for a long winter.

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Amy Eckert is an award-winning travel writer and author based in Holland.

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Inspired

by nature

Glen Arbor artist captures all that grows in paintings, drawings and coloring books.

By Leslie Mertz Photography by Coreene Kreiser

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“Poppies,” a plein air acrylic painting from Kristin Hurlin’s garden.

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One look

Colored pages and art supplies are spread out in Kristin Hurlin’s studio.

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at Kristin Hurlin’s Michigan-centered pen-and-ink compositions, and you are transported to not just a place but an experience. Her works whisper of springtime hikes through wildflower meadows, strolls in an earthy-scented, autumn forest or lazy summer afternoons gazing over Lake Michigan dunes.

Hurlin accomplishes this by blending an artist’s interpretive eye with precision drawing skills and infusing it all with highly accurate details from the curve of every leaf to the subtle color variations in each flower petal. As a finishing touch, she borders her drawings with exquisite designs that serve to balance and ground the piece while inviting the viewer to step inside.

Hurlin’s work decorates a white, fairy talecottage studio, called Glen Arbor Artisans (glen arborartisans.com), that she and her husband (and furniture maker) Paul May opened in 2015 alongside their home in the small town of Glen Arbor, just beyond Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It is filled with her enchanting penand-watercolor botanical landscapes, as well as her meticulously rendered maps of the Great Lakes waterways and an assortment of vividly hued pastels.

“Kristin’s work is totally engaging and charming,” said Sarah Bearup-Neal, gallery manager and communications manager for the Glen Arbor Arts Center just a few blocks away. “On the surface, the obvious technical skill and gift she has just shines through, (but) she doesn’t take dictation from the natural world,” Bearup-Neal said. “Rather, she looks at it and communicates it in her own original voice, which is completely informed by the fact that she knows the native plants, she’s a friend to the trees and I think it’s her natural habitat to be in the woodland and the dunes.” She added, “It’s a full-body, totally cellular experience for her.”

Painter Beth Bricker agreed, describing Hurlin as “very, very popular.” Bricker runs Lake Street Studios’ Forest Gallery in Glen Arbor. “I happen

to be super fond of her maps, which I think are just amazing and quite definitely art, as well as her pastels that she’s been doing for the last 10 years or so — they are such beautiful colors,” she said. “Kristin is very clearly a presence here.”

Life with plants For Hurlin, the journey to become a northern Michigan artist began as a 2-year-old living in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills. That’s when she first remembers drawing, and she has never stopped. “As a little kid, I found drawing to be a way to inform me about the world, because when you draw something, you have to see how that subject occupies three-dimensional space in order to draft it in two dimensions.

And with plants, the way they are constructed is so interesting, so beautiful,” she said.

Her captivation with plants grew stronger when she and her future husband, both 19 at the time, ventured to the Pacific Northwest — he to be a mountaineer and she to study architecture at the University of Idaho. “I went to school in the winter, and we’d spend the summer together backpacking and doing some nontechnical mountain climbing,” she said. During her months in the wilderness, she became intrigued with edible wild plants. “I was and am still fascinated by the way that we as animals are totally dependent on plants for our lives. We have to eat plants — or eat animals that eat plants — to live.

They’re the foundation of life on Earth.”

While out West, Hurlin also decided to switch from architecture to art and landed a full-time job in San Francisco drawing designs for T-shirts — but not just any T-shirts. “If you bought a T-shirt from a rock concert from 197983, it probably had my art on it. I did stuff for bands like AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult and Grateful Dead. It was a lot of bloody hands with axes, skeletons and things like that,” she laughed.

In 1983, Hurlin and May made a permanent move from San Francisco to Glen Arbor, and her art and her love of plants took flight. “Because of

the location at the 45th parallel combined with the lake-effect climate, we have plants both from the northern boreal forest and the southern mesic forest, so we have a lot of diversity.

Plus, we’re surrounded by the national park, so the plants were right in front of me, and I need them to be close so I can study them for my drawings,” she said.

The flora took on an even more meaningful role when she began to study ethnobotany, or the medicinal, spiritual and other traditional uses of wild plants, a topic that still captivates her today. The plant diversity and her growing appreciation for the plant-human connection became fodder for her pen-and-watercolor landscapes, which she describes as composites rather than real-life scenes.

“If I’m doing a drawing of a dunes habitat on a mid-summer day, for instance, I’ll construct the foreground from the flowers that bloom on the sand dunes at that time of year, so perhaps the wood lily, hairy puccoon, dune lily and harebells, and then I’ll put in a background that you might recognize, such as the Manitou Islands,” she said. The results are authentic Up North ecological ensembles that blend a welcomehome sense of comfort with the excitement of new discovery.

“As a little kid, I found drawing to be a way to inform me about the world, because when you draw something, you have to see how that subject occupies threedimensional space in order to draft it in two dimensions.”

Kristin Hurlin

Expanding focus Hurlin still spends much of her time on penand-watercolor botanical landscapes but has added to her fine-art repertoire since the studio opened in 2015.

One project that has drawn considerable attention is her adult coloring book titled “A Beautiful Place: Michigan Wildflowers at the Sleeping Bear Dunes.” The idea for the coloring book arose when Hurlin realized she had a drawer full of penciled wildflower sketches that she had made over the past 35 years. She thought it was time to put together something to help others learn about the botanical treasures of the region.

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The entrance to Kristin Hurlin’s gallery and studio (top left) is a gateway to a creative space filled with her colorful and graphic works, from maps to cups, prints and coloring books. The artist greets with a smile (opposite page).

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After carefully inking the drawings, she had it published as a coloring book. But she wasn’t done with it yet. “I had never actually colored them in myself, so I spent a couple of months coloring in all the pages with colored pencils,” she said. “It took me six to eight hours for each page because I put in undercoats and overcoats, shading and darkening, and they turned out so beautiful that I decided to make a whole line of notecards literally printed from coloring book pages that I tore out and colored in.”

Another big draw is her ink-on-wood creations — ink drawings on boards milled from old-growth white pine trees in her backyard.

The trees fell during the severe August 2015 storm that struck the area one day after her studio officially opened. “I had always wanted to do a life-size, stylized, ink drawing of a sturgeon because they’re such a weird-looking fish, and weird is more interesting to draw. So, I used a 6-foot-by-2-foot board milled from one of the trees and put a sturgeon on it,” she said. It quickly sold, so she began to ink other stylized fish species onto the boards, but she didn’t veer from botanical subjects for long. “I had taken photographs of all of the old-growth trees in my yard over the years,” she said, “so I have been able to draw and ink silhouettes of the trees on boards made from their own bodies. People really seem to like them.”

Thinking back over her decision to be an artist in northwestern Michigan, Hurlin said she knows she made the right choice. “It’s not easy to make a full-time living as a self-employed artist in Glen Arbor, but Paul and I are still here,” she said. And that’s enough. “Where else could I hop in my car and, in five minutes, be in an absolutely drop-dead beautiful spot where I can just start drawing or pull out the pastels?” she asked. Then with a smile, she added, “In fact, I think I might just head out to do some pastels today.”

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Leslie Mertz is a freelance writer and environmental educator. She lives Up North near a branch of the Au Sable River.

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Walloon Lake

Great Lake Story 2019 Turquoise Tranquility: Chapter Six

The Pulicks chose Walloon Lake as the setting for their home because of its special character, from its amazing color, to the clarity, to the sheer size of it. It’s also quiet and uncrowded, making it ideal for a long meandering boat ride.

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T

he final chapter of the 2019 Great Lake Story fully unveils “Turquoise Tranquility,” the custom Petoskey home of Liz and Mike Pulick, located on Walloon Lake. Earning its name from both the striking blue waters near which it resides, as well as the serene elements of the home itself, “Turquoise Tranquility” is a paragon of craftsmanship and collaboration.

Visit northern Michigan and you’ll immediately feel transported to a different world. The lakes sparkle a little brighter; the terrain is more diverse, with sweeping dunes and lush, green valleys; the people are hardier, thanks to heavy snows and long winters; and life is, in a word, simpler.

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There’s truly something distinctive about Michigan’s Up North and its residents, and when the Pulicks decided to build their summer vacation home on Walloon Lake, they encountered that firsthand.

While some wondered if they’d get the same level of quality workmanship as they would if they built in a big, metropolitan area, the Pulicks believe the final result is superior. Having worked on their home in Florida and other remodeling projects over the years, the couple are no strangers to the process.

“The people here cared more and had a higher standard of dedication. It’s their work ethic, the pride they have in what

they’re doing, and a love for the service they’re providing,” Liz says. “They went beyond for us and made it really special.”

“Special” is a word that has echoed through many conversations with the Pulicks about their new home. It’s in the in the setting, the layout, the details, the relationships, and the overall experience.

If there’s a secondary theme — and there absolutely is — it would be functionality. When the Pulicks set out to build their home, one of their objectives was to be able to live almost entirely on the first floor —keeping in mind not just their needs today, but how those would change as they age, especially with regard to mobility.

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Top: The breakfast nook was designed as a pop of interest and also a cozy, inviting spot that’s an alternative to sitting at the larger dining room table. More custom built-ins surround the area, including a concealed coffee station in the hallway.

Left: The fireplace is a testament to the collaborative effort of all involved, requiring a blend of ingenuity, physical labor, and tactical use of hardware to support the weight of the marble-slab mantel created by Cadillac Cut Stone.

One of Mike Pulick’s favorite spaces, the screened porch combines indoor comfort with outdoor ambiance, and offers a quiet place to read a book or look at the lake. With wood paneling and columns that match the adjoining rooms, when the doors are wide open it feels as though it’s part of the house.

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The doors and windows, provided and fine-tuned by Old Mission Windows, help satisfy the goal of bringing the outdoors in and capitalizing on lake views.

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“There was a lot of thought put into making the house pretty easy for living,” Mike says.

Liz adds, “As a mechanical engineer, I find space-planning and functionality important, so I designed little features throughout to maximize the space and allow for everything to be easily and readily accessible.”

And, finally, there’s comfort. “We really wanted a warm, relaxed feeling in the home, and I’m not able to tell you exactly what it is, whether it’s the colors or textures or furnishings, but people who come to our house always comment about how comfortable it is,” Mike says. “We wanted a place where we could have family and friends spend time with us, enjoy the lake, and just enjoy spending time together.”

This special, functional, comfortable home came to life through the remarkable teamwork between Liz Pulick, Nick Liebler of White and Liebler Architects, Eric Render, Jason Sheffler, and the many craftsmen of Render Construction, Thomas and Milliken Millworks, Bulmann Dock & Lift, Old Mission Windows, Wolverine Cabinet Co., Buist Sheet Metal, and the Pulicks’ interior designer, Kelli Sultan of KVS Interior Design in Fort Myers, Fla., who was integral in creating the home’s signature ambiance.

The project began with choosing an architect and builder — a process that was smoother than expected. “We only interviewed one architect because when we met with White and Liebler, we had an instant connection,” Mike says. “You just know sometimes when someone really gets what you’re looking for, and you’re going to enjoy working with this person — and that’s the way it was with Nick Liebler.”

Although Render Construction wasn’t the only builder they interviewed, the Pulicks were struck by a couple of qualities they saw in Eric that were unique, making him their obvious choice.

Left: Though it appears effortless, hours and hours were spent poring over drawings to address how the beams interacted with the opening, the trim, and the cabinets so the doorway would be uniform with others throughout the house.

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“For one, he seemed to have a really good handle on the numbers and the business side,” Mike says. “Our experience has been that there are people who are really good carpenters or they really understand what it takes to put a house together, but the financial piece of it just kind of happens.”

Render was able to provide both the business savvy and the skilledbuilder aspects they wanted. In the end, he completed the project on time and within the couple’s budget.

In addition, he was willing to begin construction within the Pulicks’ desired timetable. “We were trying to make sure we got into this house (last) summer, and the only way to do that was to dig the foundation before the final drawings were done,” Liz says. “Not many builders would be comfortable doing that, but Eric said he’d figure out a way to work with us and Nick to make that happen.”

The stairs were built by hand using stair parts and newell posts from Thomas and Milliken Millwork. One of Eric Render’s master carpenters was tasked with seamlessly fitting all the pieces and creating an edge profile that matches other columns in the home. The three windows in the upper flight were the vision of Nick Liebler, and, though a simple feature, are unexpectedly essential.

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By the summer of 2019, the finished home sat effortlessly amid the trees and upon the shoreline, as if it were always meant to be.

But, of course, it didn’t happen without the devotion of the many players who came in and out over an 18-month span, putting their marks on the property and transforming a challenging lot into a fluid domain.

“A lot of people take for granted how easy it is to just come in the driveway and get to our house, and how easy it is to walk down to the lake, but if you were to see how the lot was filled and how all those rocks were placed one by one by people and machines, it’s really incredible,” Liz says.

As visitors approach the home, they’re taken down a gently sloping drive that opens to a view of the lake — not just on either side, but directly through the front entry — a design detail Nick Liebler hatched and nurtured until the home’s completion.

The finished home rests effortlessly amid the trees and upon the shoreline, as if it were always meant to be. But not without the devotion of the many players who came in and out over an 18-month span to put their marks on the property, transforming a challenging lot into a fluid domain.

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“Mike and I knew we wanted this to be a lake house, and we were excited about this lot being up on the hill. While it created access issues, it provides views that are amazing,” Liz says. “Nick was thinking about the views every step of the way, and I didn’t realize how much of an impact that was going to have on the final product.”

Once inside, the open floor plan the Pulicks desired presents itself, flowing smoothly from living to dining to kitchen to patio. “We really wanted this whole space, including the outside, to function as one and be a comfortable family area,” Liz says. “We’ve had multiple occasions where somebody’s watching a football game, people are playing cards at the table, and somebody’s working in the kitchen, but we’re all together and that’s the really nice part of it.”

Both the breakfast nook and porch serve as seamless extensions of the main area, from the coordinating chairs and upholstery to the matching paneling and columns. And what can’t be seen further expands the space. There’s storage in obvious features such as cabinets, closets, and built-ins, as well as surprise drawers and doors, making use of every corner and every fixture.

Top: It was important to the Pulicks to have their kids’ input on the house. The lower level was designed with their son’s interests in mind, and features a comfortable entertainment area with convenient built-ins. The color scheme continues into this open, spacious area and complements the blue lake and sky hues.

Middle: To achieve the open floor plan, structurally, it required placement of several large steel beams.

While some offer needed support, others are simply decorative. Hours of architectural planning were required to cover the beams and make them aesthetically pleasing.

Bottom: Form meets multiple functions with the kitchen island. Not only a showpiece, but also a gathering place, work area, and storage space, it contains an array of hidden drawers and cabinets with touch latch doors that hold baking supplies, appliances, cutting boards, and more, custom made by Wolverine Cabinet Company.

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Wood walls from the master bedroom carry into the master bath, as do views of the lake. Built-in cabinetry offers the same uncluttered feel that is present throughout the entire house. KVS Interior Design worked with Liz Pulick to pick out the fixtures, paint colors, and furniture.

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Designed with the dream that this would one day be a space for grandchildren, this room features a custom built-in twin bed crafted by Eric Render and his team.

The Pulicks’ daughter’s personal request was a bedroom with a sleeping porch. Working with Nick Liebler, the Pulicks designed this upstairs room with a beautiful porch that is large enough to fit a bed. It’s also the ideal vantage point for sweeping lake views.

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While the master bedroom and bath are located on the main level, guest rooms upstairs and an office and secondary family and entertainment room downstairs make use of the home’s three floors — and provide additional spaces from which to take in Walloon Lake’s glory.

Standing in any room, it’s impossible to imagine the design and building challenges that certain elements of the home and terrain presented.

That’s thanks to the willingness of every team member to persevere and tap in to their own ingenuity.

“It was great to walk into a meeting and see people that engaged and excited about figuring out how to solve a problem,” Mike says. “Nick, Eric, Liz, and Jason, the site supervisor, worked together so well, and I think the tradespeople saw that cooperation and so they worked together, too.”

Beyond determination, there was

obvious joy that each craftsperson conveyed while working on the home.

“They don’t often get to work on a project like this,” Liz says. “It was exciting for us to witness this rare opportunity for them to fully use their skills to showcase their talents.”

Today, “Turquoise Tranquility” stands as a testament to the power of highly capable, enthusiastic people coming together to create a vision, and bringing to fruition a first-generation summer vacation home the Pulick family will enjoy for decades to come.

“Most people won’t say they would want to build a house again. We feel like we’ve built our perfect home, and there’s nothing we would change or do differently,” the Pulicks say. “But, if we had to do it again, we would choose the same team. We love the fact that it was designed by us and for us, and we’d do it all over and work with them again in a heartbeat.”

The Pulicks wanted the craftmanship of all the woodwork to feel special, so, in the master bedroom, they chose nickel gap paneling as an accent rather than using it all over. Throughout the home there’s a turquoise-blue scheme that accentuates the color of the lake and a minimal theme that allows the lake to be the home’s artwork.

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The home epitomizes pride in craftsmanship, from the stone placement, to the trim work, to the custom-made details, to the landscaping, and more.

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Special Advertising Section

CASINO SHOWCASE

Find True North at Turtle Creek Casino

Special Advertising Section

CASINO SHOWCASE

Turtle Creek Casino

When winter wanderlust hits, many of us hop on a plane seeking warmer climates and chairs by the pool. But what if you pointed your compass north? What if you could experience the wineries of Napa, the thrill of Vegas, and the outdoor adventures of Denver all in one place, just on a smaller scale?

Welcome to Traverse City.

Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel is your home base for a getaway where you can explore northern Michigan by day and then play the night away. Views of Grand Traverse Bay and modern guest rooms await in the hotel, while table games and the latest slot machines beckon from the casino floor. Try your luck on more than 1,200 slots, or put your skill to the test with blackjack and video poker. An everevolving choice of special events and promotions add to the excitement, so you can keep your winning streak going.

Nestled among it all is Bourbons 72, Traverse City’s premier steakhouse and bourbon bar. With all prime cuts, bourboninfused sauces, and local ingredients, Bourbons 72 is the perfect introduction

to Traverse City’s foodie scene. Also on the mustvisit restaurant list: Aerie Restaurant & Lounge at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Turtle Creek’s sister property. A complimentary shuttle takes guests from door to door, and then only an elevator ride to the 16th floor separates you from 360-degree views and an acclaimed American-fusion menu.

With lodging, dining, and gaming at your fingertips, it’s time to see what else northern Michigan has to offer. Just a short drive away, you’ll find ski slopes, cross-country trails, and snow-capped forests to explore. Take a guided snowshoe excursion through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore or go ice skating under the stars in Elk Rapids.

Northern Michigan’s winter wonderland is your playground, and cozy fireplaces and mugs of

cocoa take the chill out of even the coldest days.

After time spent in the great outdoors, visit Traverse City’s awardwinning wineries for custom tastings and stunning winter vistas.

Contrary to popular belief, most wineries don’t close for the winter, and now is the perfect time to get a behind-the-scenes tour or face time with the vintners.

You’ll always find a wide array of reds, whites, and sparklings, but don’t miss sampling the elusive ice wine celebrated during the colder months.

At the end of every adventure, Turtle Creek will be waiting for you. Wrap up your day with a cocktail in hand on the gaming floor, or schedule a treatment at Spa Grand Traverse for a rejuvenating massage or a stress-relief wrap. No matter how you plan your trip, your winter getaway is here in Traverse City.

THE ULTIMATE GIFT ABOUT DETROIT’S HISTORY

N

eed the perfect gift for your clients, colleagues, family, or friends? Explore the latest book from award-winning journalist and DBusiness magazine editor R.J. King.

“Detroit: Engine of America” is the real life story of how the city grew, step by step, from a French fort on the riverfront in 1701 to become the world’s largest manufacturing economy in 1900.

To purchase copies of “Detroit: Engine of America” personally signed by the author, or to order custom-branded books with your company logo, email Gifts@MomentumBooks.com.

BEST GIFT EVER!

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Make a date with the state

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY iSTOCK

Enjoy the season and the fun, from outdoor celebrations to dramatic and stirring performances indoors.

FA M I LY F U N PA G E 71 H O M E & G A R D E N PA G E 74 A R T & M U S I C PA G E 7 5 B Y L A N D , A I R & S E A PA G E G R E AT TA S T E S PA G E 77

Wildly Winter! Ice-carving festivals, candlelight walks, holiday 76

gatherings, all are fun. Rent a pair of snowshoes. Go for a lantern-lit winter hike or ski.

There are concerts and theater performances all over the state. It’s a great time to make snow angels and toboggan with the kids. Go cross-country skiing. Try ice fishing at TipUp Town if you dare.

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December/January PEOPLE, PL ACES AND EVENTS TO EXPLORE IN MICHIGAN Jan. 17-19 Billed the UP North Music Festival: Music from the other end of 41, this special weekend of concerts features works by the Upper Peninsula Composers Collective at Rozsa Center’s McArdle Theatre in Houghton. On Jan. 18-19, Pulse New Music Ensemble from Miami, Florida, heads way north to present a concert of music by living composers. Enjoy a weekend of new music, featuring concerts, workshops and master classes. mtu.edu/rozsa

Dec. 6-8, 13-14 Escape from the hustle of the holiday season and indulge in homemade cookies during the West Michigan B&B Cookie Tour. Stretching from Whitehall to Bear Lake, nine inns host private tours for those in search of delectable holiday treats, recipes and respite. Get a peek inside each bed-and-breakfast and see them all decked out for the holidays, plus sample or take home each innkeeper’s tastefully decorated creations. A limited number of tour-only tickets are available Dec. 1 or guarantee a spot by reserving an overnight stay at a participating B&B. ludingtonbedandbreakfast.com

Nov 30-Dec. 7 Ever wonder what Christmas was like for a lighthouse keeper? Christmas at the Lighthouse in Northport highlights the Grand Traverse Lighthouse keepers from 1858-80 and their traditions. Each room in the lighthouse at Leelanau State Park features decorations in the traditional time period and showcases the keepers’ heritages. On Dec. 7, come out for a modern-day Santa’s Workshop open 3-6 p.m. and enjoy cookie decorating, crafting an ornament, games, campfire, hot cocoa bar and more. Learn about the lighthouse’s only female keeper and the history of the Christmas tree ship Rouse Simmons that sank in Lake Michigan in 1912. michigan.gov/dnr

Jan. 22-26

Celebrating 29 years of winter fun, Zehnder’s Snowfest in Frankenmuth hosts one of the top snow-sculpting events in North America. Admire an impressive display of larger-than-life snow and ice sculptures created by professional ice and snow carvers from around the globe. Other festivities include the National Collegiate Ice Carving Championship and the High School Snow Sculpting Competition, warming tent, entertainment, children’s activities and fireworks. zehnders.com

D O YO U H AV E A N E V E N T F O R O U R C A L E N D A R ?

Calendar items may be submitted to excursions@geminipub.com two months prior to publication of the intended issue. Michigan BLUE is a bi-monthly magazine.

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY iSTOCK

Jan. 22-27

For five days in January, northeast Michigan is treated to some of the most impressive Great Lakes and oceanic films from around the world.

The Thunder Bay International Film Festival in Alpena is an annual fundraiser for Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It’s worth the drive for inspiring and educational film screenings, social events, educational activities and opportunities to meet filmmakers. thunderbayfriends.org

COMPILED BY MARLA R. MILLER

FA M I LY F U N Through Dec. 21 — ZooLights, Battle Creek Held Friday and Saturday nights, ZooLights sets Binder Park Zoo aglow with light displays and festive décor, winter-hardy animal displays and special featured events. binderparkzoo.org Through Dec. 22 — Santa Train, Coopersville This festive family affair includes a train ride with Santa, special treats and a toy, and a storytelling princess who leads carols and reads “The Polar Express.” coopersvilleandmarne.org Through Dec. 29 — Christmas at Crossroads Holiday Magic, Flint Take a ride on the Huckleberry Railroad and tour the decorated Crossroads Village. Shopping, costumed villagers, live entertainment, model trains and craft demonstrations, holiday music and visits with Santa make this one of mid-Michigan’s most beloved traditions. Open 4-9 p.m. select nights. geneseecountyparks.org Through Dec. 31 — Battle Creek Winter Festival of Lights, Battle Creek Colorful displays sparkle and shimmer along the Battle Creek River and light the way along State Street every night throughout this free, family event. Concerts, carolers, crafts, wagon rides, visits with Santa and other special events. bcfestivals.com Through Dec. 31 — Wayne County Lightfest, Westland Lightfest’s magical 4-mile stretch of Hines Park displays nearly 50 animated themed displays and more than 100,000 lights. Run, walk, bike or drive through this holiday wonderland. waynecounty.com

Trees, Jingle Bell Jog, craft show, home tours, kids activities, plus carolers, sleighbell parade, tree lighting and fireworks. manisteesleighbellparade.com

ment making, the annual Soup Cook-Off and a visit with Santa after the Parade of Lights. bellairechamber.org

Dec. 5-28 — Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village, Dearborn Experience 80 acres of living traditions and heartwarming holiday fun on select nights at Greenfield Village. Ice skating, bonfires, carriage rides, historic home tours, carolers, costumed presenters and a fireworks every night finale. thehenryford.org

Dec. 7 — Christmas in the Village, Harrisville Kids activities and crafts, cookie walk, visit with Santa and hayrides in downtown, and holiday bazaar with at least 40 vendors at Maria Hall. alconacountychamberofcommerce.com

Dec. 6 — Light up the Bluff and Tree Lighting, St. Joseph This annual light display kicks off with the community tree lighting and caroling. Over 1 million lights and holiday displays come alive along Lake Bluff Park and stay on through Valentine’s Day. stjoetoday.com Dec. 6 — Holiday Open House, Petoskey The most festive night of the year with live music, nibbles and treats, and a visit from Santa, who officially lights the tree. petoskeydowntown.com Dec. 7 — Merchant’s Open House, Harbor Springs This lakeside resort town is even more beautiful during the holiday season, which kicks off the festivities with food, music and fun. harborspringschamber.com Dec. 7 — Holiday Open House, Charlevoix Downtown merchants offer entertainment, refreshments, special sales and other holiday festivities, including a free children’s movie and hot cocoa contest. visitcharlevoix.com Dec. 7 — 47th annual Noel Night, Detroit Visit Detroit for this holiday open house with free activities and tours of area arts institutions, horsedrawn carriage rides, family craft activities and live performances. noelnight.org

Dec. 1, 7-8 and 14-15 — Holly Dickens Festival Experience the season through Charles Dickens’ characters and old-English traditions, plus a lighted parade, caroling and dancing chimney sweeps, carriage rides, live performances and more. hollydickensfestival.org

Dec. 7 — Grand Haven Jingle Bell Parade Lighted floats, music, costumes and good cheer make this fun for the whole family, followed by the lighting of the community tree and caroling in Central Park. grandhavenchamber.org

Dec. 1 — Holiday in the Village, Suttons Bay Stroll down the luminaria-lined streets, take part in cookie and craft making, holiday decorating, caroling, Santa’s arrival and community tree lighting. suttonsbayarea.com

Dec. 7 — Merrytime Christmas, Marine City Experience the magic of an old-fashioned river town Christmas and join in the citywide celebration with carolers, wagon rides and meet-and-greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus. merrytimechristmas.com

Dec. 5-8 — Victorian Sleighbell Parade & Old Christmas Weekend, Manistee This festive weekend is a local tradition filled with holiday merriment on historic River Street. Festival of

Dec. 7 — 10th annual Light Up the Night and Soup Cook-Off, Bellaire Celebrate with family and friends with a day full of holiday events, including a free kid’s movie, orna-

Dec. 7 — Christmas at the Lighthouse, Presque Isle Bring the kids out to see Santa, ride in a horsedrawn sleigh, children’s activities, refreshments and holiday festivities at the New Presque Isle Lighthouse. presqueisletownship.info Dec. 7 — 67th annual White Lake Christmas Parade, Whitehall Floats from area civic organizations and businesses, cartoon characters, clowns, parading fire trucks and animals offer a slice of small-town America and usher Santa into town. whitelake.org Dec. 7 — Manor House Family Holiday Portraits, Hickory Corners Don your best holiday attire and head to the Kellogg Manor House for a festive family picture.

Session includes 15 minutes with a professional photographer. conference.kbs.msu.edu Dec. 7 — Holiday Festival at Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton Holiday lights, candle-lit luminaries, conservatory displays, make-and-take activities for children, music and a visit from Santa make this a day of family fun. canr.msu.edu/events/holiday-festival-1 Dec. 7 — Harbor Beach Lighted Christmas Parade Lighted floats, vehicles, bands and walking entries parade through downtown to kick off the holiday season and welcome Santa Claus. harborbeachchristmasparade.com Dec. 7 — Paradise Lighting of the Christmas Tree Paradise celebrates the holiday season with a community tree lighting, caroling and other festivities. paradisemichigan.org Dec. 7 — Santa’s House and Reindog Holiday Parade, St. Joseph Now in its 21st year, this furry family event welcomes participants to dress up their pets, and themselves, for the 4 p.m. holiday parade. Santa brings up the rear and will visit with children until 7 p.m. Santa’s House will be open ThursdaysSundays select hours through Dec. 23. stjoetoday.com

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Dec. 7-8 — Train Wonderland, Charlevoix This holiday display of model and interactive trains, including the Polar Express and riding trains for children, warms the heart of all ages at Castle Farms. castlefarms.com Dec. 7-8 and 14-15 — Story Time with Santa at Castle Farms, Charlevoix Watch your child’s eyes light up during story time with Ol’ St. Nick. Includes a craft activity, cocoa and cookies, plus a special gift and professional photo with Santa. castlefarms.com Dec. 7, 14 & 21 — Breakfast with Santa at Fernwood, Niles Visit Santa while you enjoy a holiday breakfast by Chef Tim. Make a craft with one of Santa’s helpers and enjoy interactive holiday music at Fernwood Botanical Garden. fernwoodbotanical.org Dec. 7-8, 14-15 & 21-22 — Holiday Train Rides, Benton Harbor Bring the family to enjoy a ride on our miniature trains and see the wonderful display of lights this holiday season Eden Springs Park & Campground. edenspringspark.org Dec. 8 — Mrs. Claus Tea, Hickory Corners Mrs. Claus takes a day out of her busy schedule to have high tea, lunch, share stories and snap pictures with the children at the Kellogg Manor House. conference.kbs.msu.edu Dec. 11 — Holiday at the Homestead, Midland Learn all about the history of Christmas traditions, warm up by the woodstove, help decorate the log cabin and make a holiday ornament at Chippewa Nature Center. chippewanaturecenter.org Dec. 13 — 6-for-1 Day at Boyne Mountain Plan now to play hooky and take advantage of Boyne Mountain’s crazy cool deal — six lift tickets for the price of one! boynemountain.com Dec. 13-14 — White Pine Christmas, Ludington Explore the historic White Pine village decorated with lights and trees, meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, enjoy music, make-and-take crafts, hot mulled cider and other treats. historicwhitepinevillage.org Dec. 14 — Lexington Old Fashioned Christmas Horse Parade This unique parade highlights decorated horses and their buggies, carriages and trolleys and other old-fashioned festivities. lexingtonmichigan.org

“The Old Mission Promise” ~ Let our 35 years of experience, serve you for a lifetime....

Please visit our showroom at 395 Hughes Drive, contact one of our salesmen directly, or visit us at: oldmissionwindows.com

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Dec. 14 — Christmas Magic, Beulah Dress Up your pets, kids and yourselves and be in the lighted parade. Enjoy wagon rides, carols, pup-

pet show, cooking decorating and Santa’s arrival for a quaint holiday celebration. clcba.org Dec. 21-Jan. 5 — Snowflake Break, Grand Rapids Visitors to Grand Rapids Public Museum can make their own themed snowflakes and takehome crafts, see the historic LEGO display, go on the Santa and Elf Hunt, and experience the special holiday planetarium show. grpm.org

street party that includes music and a ball drop from the Savings Bank building. downtown marquette.org Through Jan. 5 — Big, Bright Light Show, Rochester The storefronts of downtown Rochester try to outshine one another, blanketing their facades with more than 1 million points of glimmering

holiday lights. downtownrochestermi.com Through Jan. 5 — Wild Lights at the Zoo, Detroit Experience the magic of the Detroit Zoo in winter! For 29 nights, more than 5 million LED lights illuminate trees, buildings and 280 sculptures, plus holiday entertainment and special activities. detroitzoo.org

Dec. 31 — Balloon Drop at Sandcastles, Ludington This is a great way for children to celebrate the New Year’s holiday. Food and festivities start at 5 p.m. and culminate with a countdown to 2020 at 8 p.m. Conga music, treats, crafts and more. sandcastleschildrensmuseum.com Dec. 31 — Charlevoix Bridge Drop Join in the snowman making contest, horse-drawn carriage rides, s’mores and hot cocoa, and a free kid’s movie at Charlevoix Cinema III. Firework shows at 9 p.m. and midnight, capped off by the bridge drop. bridgedrop.com Dec. 31 — Traverse City’s Cherry T Ball Drop Ring in the New Year at this festive street party featuring a massive illuminated cherry that is lowered to signify the coming year! Live music and entertainment leading up to midnight. cherrytballdrop.org Dec. 31 — Grand Haven Ball Drop Come in your pajamas or festive attire for this New Year’s gathering a few minutes before midnight. Watch a lighted ball drop and fireworks on Washington Avenue. visitgrandhaven.com Dec. 31— Pure Ludington New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Ring in 2020 with revelry and a quintessential lighted ball drop and fireworks display. A beer garden begins at 9 p.m. with live music to entertain until midnight. downtownludington.org Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve in the Haven, South Haven Bring in 2020 in the heart of downtown with a street party, arts and crafts, dancing, ice skating and a beach ball drop at midnight. southhaven.org Dec. 31 — New Year’s Fest, Kalamazoo This all-ages showcase of performing arts includes music, magic, comedy, children’s activities and food, plus a ball drop and fireworks in Bronson Park. newyearsfest.com Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, Marquette Welcome the winter fun and 2020 at this festive

T hought-provoking design from every point of view.

Grand R apids •

visionbyvisbeen.com •

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Jan. 10-12 — Plymouth Ice Festival Exciting and fun for the whole family, this ice festival allows spectators to watch pro carvers in action, experience a dueling chainsaws competition, plus other winter festivities. plymouthicefestival.com Jan. 17-19 — Fire & Ice Festival, Rochester Enjoy the ice sculptures along Main Street, tube sledding hill, ice skating rink, dog sled rides, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, fireworks, food trucks and more. downtownrochestermi.com Jan. 18-19, 25-26 — Tip-Up Town USA, Houghton Lake Head to Houghton Lake for two fun-filled ice fishing weekends. 2020 marks the festival’s 70th anniversary. Festivities include ice fishing contest, carnival, entertainment, snowmobile races, fireworks, polar bear dip and more! houghtonlakechamber.net/tip-up-town-usa Jan. 18-19, 25-26 — Winter Blast Weekends, Detroit Downtown Detroit celebrates the snowy season with these winter blast weekends into February. Campus Martius Park hosts ice skating, live bands, food trucks, ice sculptures, zip lining and a giant snow slide. winterblast.com

Through Dec. 23 — Edsel & Eleanor Ford House Holiday Tours, Grosse Pointe Shores Hear stories and see photos of the Ford family’s Christmas traditions and other grand receptions.

Other festivities include Winter Wonderland holiday light nights with carolers, hot chocolate, toasty fires and Santa’s workshop held on select dates. fordhouse.org Dec. 1 — Holiday Greens Workshop at Fernwood, Niles Learn how to create natural holiday decorations during this all-day workshop at Fernwood Botanical Garden. A two-hour Holiday Mini-Greens Workshop offered Dec. 7. fernwoodbotanical.org Dec. 1 — Holiday Home Tour, South Haven Enjoy a tour of uniquely decorated homes and visit the shelter open house to support animals at AlVan Humane Society. al-van.org; southhaven.org Dec. 4 — Meet the Artists at the Kellogg Manor House, Hickory Corners Stroll through the decorated Manor House and meet many of the local artists and vendors selling gifts this holiday season, plus complimentary samples of MSU wine and cheese. conference.kbs.msu.edu

Jan. 24-26 — Grand Haven Winterfest Enjoy the best of winter with cardboard sled races, snow volleyball, art exhibits, kids activities, bonfire bash, sleepwalker run and other family fun. winterfestmi.org

Dec. 4, 6 & 13 — Wine and Wreaths at Fernwood, Niles Bring gal pals or come solo for this festive workshop where you create a custom holiday wreath.

Wine and appetizers are included at Fernwood Botanical Garden. fernwoodbotanical.org

Jan. 31 — Groundhog’s Day Party, Midland Throw off the winter blahs with nature crafts, games, shadow play and a puppet show starring the groundhog at Chippewa Nature Center. chippewanaturecenter.org

Dec. 6-7 — 46th annual Christmas Craft Show, Grand Haven Shop for locally crafted holiday gifts and fresh holiday greenery at the Grand Haven Community Center. visitgrandhaven.com

Jan. 31-Feb. 2 — Ice Breaker Festival, South Haven Admire amazing ice sculptures, warm up with chili and drinks, plus cardboard sled races, ice skating, curling, flinging frozen fish and more! southhavenmi.com

Dec. 6-7 — Holiday Gifts and Greens, Kalamazoo Find everything you need to spruce up your home!

Shop fresh green centerpieces, live wreaths, and a wide selection of unique handcrafted gifts in Expo North. kalamazoogardencouncil.org

HOME & GARDEN

Dec. 6-7 — Kris Kringle Market, Rochester Inspired by the 700-year-old tradition of the openair Christmas markets in Europe, find one-of-akind shopping, specialty foods, fresh greens and wreaths, and more. downtownrochestermi.com

Through Dec. 23 — Meadow Brook Hall Holiday Walk, Rochester Continuing in its 48th year, the Holiday Walk offers self-guided touring through the elegant rooms. Take in over 50 dazzling trees on display, including a 10-foot tall poinsettia tree created by 150 live plants in the Sun Porch! meadowbrookhall.org

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Dec. 6-8 — Christmas Craft Show, Marquette Mark off your gift list early at this unique show, featuring a wide variety of handcrafted items presented by TV6 at the Superior Dome. uppermichiganssource.com

Dec. 7 — Frankenmuth Holiday Home Tour, Frankenmuth Frankenmuth Women’s Club hosts its 17th annual home tour that shows off unique architectural and decorating styles and homes all decked out for the holidays. frankenmuthwomensclub.com Dec. 7 — Holiday Home Tour, Cadillac Cadillac Garden Club presents the 19th annual Holiday Home Tour, featuring four homes decorated in the season’s finest and free refreshments. cadillacmichigan.com Dec. 7-8 — Promenade Candlelight Home Tour, Tecumseh Transport yourself to another era on this holiday tour of two homes, a barn and the Tecumseh Historical Museum. Docents guide the way as familiar holiday carols add to the festive mood. downtowntecumseh.com Dec. 7-8 — Holiday Traditions Tour, Grand Ledge This unique tour of homes, businesses and public buildings delights visitors with its variety and touches of Christmas cheer. Homes, tables, trees and trims are on display, showcasing holiday traditions and Victorian homes around the area. glhistoricalsociety.org Dec. 7-8 — Marshall Candlelight Walk A holiday tradition for 40 years, this intimate, guided walking tour visits four historic houses and a museum trimmed in red and green and supports Marshall Historical Society’s three museums. marshallhistoricalsociety.org Dec. 7-8 — Holiday Walk Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park, Traverse City Handcrafted art tiles, ceramics, metal garden sculptures, wooden bowls, nature photography and more will be on sale for your holiday shopping pleasure. thebotanicgarden.org Dec. 7-Jan. 1 — Holiday Tours at the Felt Mansion, Saugatuck Take in the wonder and beauty of another era by exploring the Felt Mansion all decorated for the holidays on a guided or self-guided tour. Visit on Dec. 7 for Winterfest, a family fun day featuring horse-drawn wagon rides, a free lunch and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus! feltmansion.org Dec. 8, 14 & 15 — Evening of Lights, Tipton Put your family in the holiday spirit with a drive through Hidden Lake Gardens to see candlelit luminaries and lighted trees. Walk through the conservatory for holiday lights, plants and decorations. canr.msu.edu

Dec. 14 — Marine City Holiday Home Tour Head to Marine City for a magical night touring six featured area stops decked out for the holidays.

Discover how local residents decorate for the holidays and other home improvement ideas. facebook.com/mccivicwomensclub Dec. 14 — Christmas Open House, Sault Ste. Marie Take a horse-drawn wagon ride to and from shopping destinations and enjoy hot drinks, treats and other holiday festivities. Stroll through the Festival of Trees at the Soo Theatre and visit with Santa in the Christmas Tree Forest at Avery Square. downtownsault.org

ART & MUSIC Through Dec. 8 — Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Kalamazoo Reflecting nearly 100 years of art history in America, this exhibit reflects the breadth of The Studio Museum’s collection and fills the main floor galleries at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. kiarts.org Through Dec. 8 — Resilience: African American Artists As Agents of Change, Kalamazoo This exhibit honors aspects of African American history and culture, and presents artists who have enlightened and uplifted America in myriad ways at KIA. kiarts.org

Dec. 14, 21 & 27-28 — Hackley & Hume Holiday Tours, Downtown Muskegon Experience the Hackley & Hume homes trimmed in greenery and other Victorian décor, artifacts, ornaments and more. lakeshoremuseum.org

Dec. 1 — Dennos Concert Series: Irish Christmas in America, Traverse City This family-friendly performance features evocative Irish ballads, lively instrumental tunes and thrilling Irish dancing. dennosmuseum.org

Dec. 19 — Winter Solstice Celebration, Midland Honor the longest night of the year with a peaceful walk along the lighted Arbury Trail and warm up by the fire. Learn to roll a beeswax candle, create a miniature Yule log and make a small evergreen wreath to take home at Chippewa Nature Center. chippewanaturecenter.org

Dec. 1–30 — Northeast Michigan Juried Art Exhibit, Alpena Besser Museum hosts this juried art exhibit featuring a variety of media, themes and talents by artists in northeast Michigan. bessermuseum.org/art

Through Jan. 5 — Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World, Grand Rapids Over 300,000 lights, strolling carolers, rooftop reindeer and 46 international trees and displays are a highlight of this annual celebration at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The companion Railway Garden incorporates garden design and model trolleys and trains. meijergardens.org Jan. 17-19 — Grand Rapids Remodeling & New Homes Show Whether you’re thinking of remodeling your current home or starting fresh with a brand-new home, the diverse exhibitors at this show have you covered. Find designer showcase rooms, seminar stage and endless inspiration at DeVos Place. buildremodelgr.com Jan. 19 — Live Birds of Prey, Midland Hawks, owls, falcons, vultures, Michigan has a wide variety of birds of prey, and you will get to meet some of them up close! The Wildlife Recovery Association will explain its natural history and the importance of its conservation. chippewanaturecenter.org

Dec. 2 — Mitch Albom Economic Club Series, Benton Harbor Author of “Tuesdays With Morrie,” philanthropist, columnist and sports reporter Mitch Albom is an inspiration around the world. See him live at The Mendel Center. themendelcenter.com Dec. 4 — Holiday Cabaret at Forest Roberts Theatre, Marquette Enjoy a holly jolly collaboration between FRT Theatre and Dance and NMU Music! Scenes and songs from all of your holiday favorites come together in this one-night showcase. nmu.edu Dec. 5-7 — Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, Muskegon Featured on both the Travel Channel and the Learning Channel, America’s tallest singing Christmas tree features 25,000 colored lights, 15 tiers of singers and a 50-piece band at Frauenthal Center. monashoressingingchristmastree.com Dec. 6-Jan. 20 — Resiliency, St. Joseph Krasl Art Center presents the theme of Resiliency in the 2019 members exhibition. All media, styles and skill sets are accepted in this show that encourages creativity and community bonding. krasl.org Dec. 7 — Laith Al-Saadi, Manistee “The Voice” 2016 finalist, Laith Al-Saadi, will be bringing his authentic blend of blues, soul and

classic rock to Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts. ramsdelltheatre.org Dec. 7 — Nature Art Show & Sale, Midland Artists at the Nature Art Show & Sale offer some of the best photography, wood carvings, copper sculpture, pottery, baskets and more at Chippewa Nature Center. Fill your holiday list and find inspiration to protect the natural world. chippewanaturecenter.org Dec. 7 — Broadway Bound! Disney’s Aladdin, Traverse City Join City Opera House for a road trip to Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Disney’s “Aladdin” and an evening of unforgettable beauty, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. cityoperahouse.org Dec. 7-8 — MSU Winter Arts & Crafts Show, East Lansing This year’s show includes many returning favorites, as well as brand new artists offering handmade items, including candles, furniture, jewelry, aromatherapy, paintings, photography and more. uabevents.com Dec. 11-15 — A Christmas Story, Marquette This festive adaptation of the original 1983 film brings Ralphie Parker’s quest for the ultimate Christmas gift — a Red Ryder BB gun — to life on the Forest Roberts Theatre stage. nmu.edu Dec. 12–March 15 — Excellence in Fibers V, Muskegon Muskegon Museum of Art plays host to this international juried fiber arts competition organized by the Fiber Art Network, featuring striking examples of textile and fiber-based artworks. muskegonartmuseum.org Dec. 13-14 — Sounds of the Season, Muskegon A cast of young choristers from ages 8-18, along with the full West Michigan Symphony, will warm hearts with seasonal favorites and beloved carols at Frauenthal Center. westmichigansymphony.org Dec. 13-14 — The Bergamot: A South Shore Christmas, Three Oaks The Bergamot’s high-energy performances and uplifting original songs have taken them overseas and to perform in all 50 states. Join this Indie-FolkRock duo for a holiday show at Acorn Theater. acornlive.org Dec. 13-15 — Cirque Dreams Holidaze, Detroit Cirque Dreams Holidaze brings its latest electrifying and reimagined live holiday family stage spectacular to the Fox Theatre. 313presents.com

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EXCURSIONS

Dec. 14 — The Nutcracker, Bay Harbor Enchant your holiday season with Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet’s presentation of The Nutcracker, featuring all original choreography at Great Lakes Center for the Arts. greatlakescfa.org Dec. 14 — Acoustic Christmas, Muskegon Steven Curtis Chapman, the most-awarded artist in Christian music history, and Jillian Edwards perform a Christmas show at L.C. Walker Arena. stevencurtischapman.com/tour Dec. 14-Aug. 30 — Bruegel’s “The Wedding Dance” Revealed, Detroit This exhibition celebrates one of the Detroit Institute of Art’s most iconic paintings, Pieter Bruegel’s “The Wedding Dance” (1566) on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the artist’s death. dia.org Dec. 17 — Sounds of the Season, Interlochen Get into the holiday spirit with an evening of festive tunes by the Interlochen Arts Academy Band and Choir, classic stories and a singalong led by Santa himself. interlochen.org Dec. 18 — The Elf on the Shelf, Benton Harbor This all-new musical and premiere stage production includes an exclusive invitation to Santa’s North Pole and the magical lives of Scout Elves at The Mendel Center. themendelcenter.com Dec. 21 — Edgar Struble Presents: A Nashville Family Christmas, Ludington Bring the family for a country musical extravaganza, including traditional and contemporary holiday favorites, guest appearances, holiday treats and pictures with Santa at Ludington High School. westshore.edu Dec. 21 — Mannheim Steamroller Christmas

by Chip Davis, Detroit Celebrating the 35th anniversary of this annual holiday tour, this concert features original classic Christmas hits from the first Mannheim Steamroller along with multimedia effects at Fox Theatre.

313presents.com Dec. 27 — Rock Baby Rock!, Bay Harbor In an unforgettable live concert, Lance Lipinsky and the Lovers deliver an explosive performance showcasing the 1950s and ’60s in their original music at Great Lakes Center for the Arts. greatlakescfa.org Dec. 29 — Dablon Vineyards Hosts Joe Jason, Baroda A veteran radio host and TV sportscaster, Joe Jason gives an acoustic performance covering ’70s

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icons James Taylor, The Eagles, Neil Young, Jim Croce and more. Dablon hosts other performers every Sunday in December. dablon.com Through Jan. 5 — Undying Traditions: Memento Mori, Muskegon This exhibition, organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art, brings together artists from across the United States currently exploring themes of death and earthly pleasure. muskegonartmuseum.org Through Jan. 12 — David Wiesner & The Art of Wordless Storytelling, Grand Rapids A colorful survey of the career of one of the most highly acclaimed book illustrators in the world, this exhibition features 70 original watercolors from some of David Wiesner’s most beloved books at Grand Rapids Art Museum. artmuseumgr.org Jan. 11 — MET Opera Live in HD: Wozzeck, Manistee Berg’s 20th-century shocker stars baritone Peter Mattei in the title role, with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium and soprano Elza van den Heever as the long-suffering Marie. ramsdelltheatre.org Jan. 18 — Broadway’s Next Hit Musical, Bay Harbor In an evening of plot twists galore, master improvisers gather hit song suggestions from the audience and create a spontaneous evening of music, humor and laughter. greatlakescfa.org Jan. 18 — CSNY Tribute Marrakesh Express, Three Oaks Marrakesh Express is a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute band with their own distinct personalities and harmonies that shine through performing live at The Acorn. acornlive.org Jan. 25-April 26 — A New State of Matter: Contemporary Glass, Grand Rapids This exhibition features work by 19 contemporary artists who are using glass in innovative ways while presenting its metaphorical possibilities at Grand Rapids Art Museum. artmuseumgr.org Through May 3 — Michigan’s Great Lakes: Photographs by Jeff Gaydash, Detroit Large-scale photographs of lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior are the subject of this exhibition by Detroit-area photographer Jeff Gaydash at Detroit Institute of Arts. dia.org

LAND, AIR & SEA Dec. 6-7 — Candlelight Tours of the Fort Gratiot Light Station, Port Huron See the fresh greens, Christmas décor, winter on

the beach and the lighthouse tower all decked out for the holidays by candlelight. Candlelight tours offered 5-8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday until Dec. 22, weather permitting. phmuseum.org Dec. 7 — Bald Mountain Recreation Area Owl Prowl, Lake Orion Come learn about Michigan’s owls and take a guided night hike in hopes to hear or see owls in the park, plus enjoy a bonfire and s’mores. michigandnr.com Dec. 7 — Farmland 5K & Free for all Bike, Traverse City Traverse over grass or snow and ice, wooded dirt trails and farmland running terrain. Held on private farmland, event includes 5K run, free for all bike, and farmland run and bike combo. runsignup.com/race/mi/traversecity/farmland Jan. 1 — Yankee Springs Recreation First Day Hike, Middleville Ring in 2020 with a hike on the North Country Trail. Choose a shorter 2-mile and a longer 4-mile option and earn miles for the North Country Trail 2020 Hike 100 Challenge. northcountrytrail.org/cnd Jan. 1 — New Year’s Resolution Run, Ludington Start 2020 out with a bang by participating in this 5K run through Ludington, part of the #RunLudington race series. Finishers receive a commemorative medal and race swag. downtownludington.org/runludington Jan. 1 — Polar Rhino Ride and Chili Cook-off, Clarkston This family-friendly bike tour on the back roads of North Oakland County offers two routes to choose from, 7 or 16 miles, plus a post-ride chili cook-off. lmb.org/ride-calendar Jan. 2, 4 & 26 — Family Snowshoe Hike and Snowshoe Sampler, Midland It’s time to play outside! Explore the outdoors on snowshoes, search for signs of animals, do a winter scavenger hunt or warm up by the campfire at Chippewa Nature Center. Evening snowshoe treks offered Jan. 14, 21 and 29. chippewanaturecenter.org Jan. 2-7 — 2020 U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championship, Houghton Houghton plays host to the top collegiate performers in the country during the Nordic skiing championship at the Michigan Tech Nordic Skiing Center. michigantechhuskies.com Jan. 4 — Shoe Year’s Hike, Presque Isle Join the Friends of Rockport/Besser Natural Area

to hike the beautiful trails at Besser Natural Area.

Bring snowshoes, cross-country skis or, if there’s no snow, hiking shoes. Includes snacks and a bonfire. bit.ly/FriendsOfRockport.

Jan. 4-25 — Lantern-lit Skiing/Snowshoeing, Ludington On Saturdays in January, Ludington State Park hosts guided snowshoe hikes highlighting the park’s nature, history and dune features, and selfguided lantern-lit hikes. michigan.gov/ludington

G R E AT TA S T E S

dishes, cooking with craft beer and more. fustinis.com

Dec. 1-31 — Fustini’s Holiday Dinner Classes, Petoskey Fustini’s shows you how to perfect holiday cooking while enjoying your time in Petoskey.

Fustini’s offers a variety of cooking classes, including holiday dinners from basic to advanced, gingerbread workshop, cold weather comfort

Dec. 7 — Eastern Market Come Hungry, Leave Happy Tour, Detroit Experience the culinary delights of Eastern Market in December! Stroll from shed to shed to learn about unique products and history of the area, while eating your way through the market. enjoythed.com

Jan. 9-12 — Ultimate Fishing Show, Detroit Filled with hundreds of booths of fishing tackle, including specialty baits, anglers won’t want to miss this epic show. Plus, every kind of fishing boat and engine sold in Michigan and more outfitters, lodges, fishing resorts, charters and guides than ever at Suburban Collection Showplace. ultimatefishingshow.com Jan. 9-12 — Grand Rapids Camper, Travel & RV Show Get an early start on your next camper or camping adventure at the biggest RV show in the state. Along with new RV’s, find accessories, campgrounds and travel destinations at DeVos Place. grandrapidsrvshow.com Jan. 18 — 55th annual Moose Jaw Safari, Harbor Springs Ride your vintage sled on some of the finest trails to Larks Lake. Enjoy the scenic ride, bean soup, outdoor fires and some great camaraderie at Moose Jaw Junction. teamhssc.com Jan. 18-19 — Wilderness Journal Outdoor Expo, Cadillac This outdoor expo features campers and boats, hunting and fishing equipment, clothing, excursions, seminars and more at Wexford Civic Center. wildernessjournal.com Jan 26, Noquamenon Ski Marathon, Marquette Described by some as “the most beautiful trail I have ever skied on,” by others as “never dull,” and by a few as “deceptively tough,” the event hosts a number of races including a 50K ski classic and freestyle, 50K classic touring, 50K relay (classic/ freestyle) and 24K races and a 15-mile snowshoe. noquemanon.com Jan. 30-Feb. 2 — Michigan International Auto Show, Grand Rapids View your next new car and see the latest technology from car manufacturers from around the world, plus the Million Dollar Motorway and vendors at DeVos Place. grautoshow.com

UPTRAVEL.COM

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EXCURSIONS

Dec. 7 and 14 — Victorian Dinners at the Loop Mansion, Port Sanilac Share the season with friends and enjoy Victorian traditions during this five-course dinner that starts with Champagne and hors d’oeuvres, Christmas music and caroling at Loop Mansion. sanilaccountymuseum.org

Dec. 31 — Black Star Farms New Year’s Eve Dinner, Suttons Bay New Year’s Eve 2019 promises to be one to remember at Black Star Farms. This formal affair features a special multicourse, wine-paired dining experience hosted in the winery’s romantic inn. blackstarfarms.com

Dec. 8 — Capitol Park Strolling Brunch Tour, Detroit Explore Capitol Park on foot while enjoying a progressive brunch, learn fun and historical facts, and visit unique eateries to enjoy small plates and goodies. enjoythed.com

Jan. 11-12 — Sips and Soups, Leelanau Peninsula Enjoy the wineries in winter white while sipping savory soups and hearty chilis paired with delicious pinot noirs, rieslings, chardonnays and more. lpwines.com

Dec. 31 — Midnight in the Mitten, Traverse City Ring in 2020 with an eight-course dinner event featuring Michigan wine, beer and spirit pairings alongside live music and New Year’s Eve fun at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. aerierestaurant.com

Jan. 18 — Winter Warm Up, Old Mission Peninsula Shake off the chill of January by sampling delectable comfort food creations paired with Old Mission wines. ompwinetrail.com

Jan. 25 — Pure Ludington Brrrewfest, Ludington Beer, ciders and meads from 25 Michigan crafters will be on hand for an afternoon of tasting in a heated tent, complete with live music, in Rotary Park. pureludington.com/beer

EXCURSIONS LEGEND Explore these collective Michigan area websites for more regional events and details.

Blue Water Area bluewater.org Detroit Metro CVB visitdetroit.com Great Lakes Bay Region gogreat.com Harbor Country harborcountry.org Pure Michigan michigan.org Southwest Michigan Tourist Council swmichigan.org Upper Peninsula Tourism & Recreation Association uptravel.com West Michigan Tourist Association wmta.org

Whenever you’re in and around St. Joseph,

{ BITE ME }

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you ll nd a table waiting for you.

Come taste how our local chefs warm a winter day.

W I N T E R 2 019

MICHIGAN TOP 5

BY KIM SCHNEIDER

E

Glide to the music and lights

veryone likely can agree on this: little sounds more romantic than lacing up ice skates and — as soft flakes fall — gliding around a skating pond illuminated against the night. Even if the reality can be a bit, well, clunkier, the scenes still rival a Hallmark Christmas special in the best possible way.

I can’t really skate at all, and yet in smalltown rinks like the Petoskey Winter Sports Park, helpers are on hand to loan one of those chairs to skate behind like a toddler just learning to balance (if needed, and it was). There are huts with hot cocoa and warming fires.

And skaters at each enjoy the exhilaration that comes from getting out and moving when the world is otherwise still, especially when I’m on the rink — more than a few laughs!

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MATT SCHWEDT

Winter Sports Park, Petoskey On one trip here, unprepared for winter outdoor fun, a friend and I hit a local thrift shop for hats and gloves, and then headed to this city-owned park that features a sledding and ski hill, rental skates, a warming hut and — at roughly football field size — one of the state’s largest ice rinks. The size is perfect both for those who can spin or jump and those who don’t want their tumbles to make others stumble. (petoskeyarea.com) Catherine Bonifas Civic Center, Escanaba The city of Escanaba has consolidated its two former skating rinks into a new one, conveniently located behind its civic center and historic skating rink location. There are lights for evening skating here, a true small-town feel. You can’t rent skates there, for example, but that’s because their “rental” skates are free for the borrowing. You’ll feel like a local, too, when you warm up with sustenance after by the fireplace at the Stone Cup Coffee House and Stones Deli. (escanaba.org)

Rosa Parks Circle, Grand Rapids This skating circle within the plaza found downtown has a Charlie Brown Christmas special-style magic. Surrounding trees are lit at night and the space was designed by internationally known artist Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Rosa Parks Circle was honored as one of 5 Great Public Spaces in America by the American Planning Association in 2017. A handy warming hut sits adjacent to the rink, the modest admission fee covers skate rentals, and many après-skate options are a short stroll away. (experiencegr.com) Campus Martius Park, Detroit The energy of Detroit’s renaissance is palpable here in this center of it all, surrounded by the city’s liveliest, friendliest downtown restaurants and festivals. On Winter Blast weekends (through December), entrance is free, but the people-watching fun is worth the $10 (adults, $5 for skate rental) cost of admission. During the holiday season, the city hangs thousands of tiny lights on the park’s trees, lending a romance factor. (downtowndetroitparks.com)

Greenfield Village, Dearborn Victorian scene or holiday TV special?

You’ll be hard-pressed to decide when you hit Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village.

On December weekends, you can put on skates and glide to the sound of carolers and sleigh bells. Mingle around bonfires later or take a tour that really takes you back. (thehenryford.org)

≈

Kim Schneider is an award-winning travel writer who shares her travel savvy in every issue of BLUE. MICHIGAN BLUE

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TA S T I N G R O O M

BY GREG TASKER

Brews in an igloo Suttons Bay’s Hop Lot Brewing Co. offers unique ‘Up North experience’ for winter guests.

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Situated south of Suttons Bay on Route 22, Hop Lot has been a success almost from the get-go. On any given summer (and frequently fall) weekend, the parking lot overflows with cars and SUVs loaded with bicycles, kayaks and camping gear.

Originally from Holland, the Lutkes made the move north after spending years in Chicago pursuing far different careers.

Drew managed a used hotel furniture store.

Steve was a personal trainer with his own business; Sarah worked for an investment management firm.

The pull north grew as the family fre-

quently visited Sarah’s hometown, Suttons Bay. They often brainstormed about how to shift their lives and raise a family in a small town. A microbrewery seemed a logical choice; Steve was a passionate homebrewer and had earned a certificate of brewing process and technology from the World Brewing Academy in Chicago.

“There was this explosive growth in the craft beer industry, and it just made sense,” Steve recalled. “But it was a big risk.”

Hop Lot focuses on traditional-style ales, including IPAs, blondes, browns, ambers, Scotch ales and stouts. Belgians and season-

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG TASKER

B

y the time the first serious snow blankets northwestern Michigan, a village of igloos has been firmly planted in the barren woods behind the taproom at Hop Lot Brewing Co., an idyllic winter landscape illuminated by strings of glimmering white lights and blazing campfires.

Inside the plastic igloos, small electric heaters warm the air, inviting drinkers to discard gloves, scarves and hats as they sip from a beer selection that includes winter-hardy suds like Woad Warrior, a Scotch ale, and The Great Outdoorsman, an oatmeal stout.

While it’s fun to grab a brew anytime at Hop Lot, the igloos have added a new dimension to winter imbibing — an apres-ski destination for snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and curious tourists. Not only are the geometric domes comfortable but the transparent plastic covering immerses guests in the woods — and the snow.

That Up North ambiance is exactly what brothers Steve and Drew Lutke had in mind when they opened Hop Lot Brewing Co. in spring 2015.

“When people come up here, they want to be outside,” said Steve Lutke, who is Hop Lot’s head brewmaster. “They want to sit by the fire, listen to music and have that Up North experience. Beer tastes better, the food tastes better when you’re enjoying them outdoors.”

The Lutke brothers, aided by Steve’s wife Sarah, have created a microbrewery destination amid the nearly three dozen wineries and distilleries on the Leelanau Peninsula.

als also are part of the menu. The food menu varies with the seasons; smoked meats are a summer staple. With a recent expansion, including creating a full-fledged kitchen, the menu will undergo some changes.

The expansion also included enlarging the taproom bathrooms and reconfiguring the beer garden. Small campsite-like pads were added in the back to accommodate private parties. A second fire pit and benches

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORENNE KREISER

Heated igloos at Hop Lot Brewing allow people to enjoy imbibing outdoors even in the coldest of winters (left). Smoked meat, fries and a good beer make a perfect meal (above). A rustic-style tasting room at Hop Lot greets customers (bottom).

were added, as well as more room for kids to play.

The portable igloos, first unveiled in November 2017, weren’t part of the original business plan; they were discovered by happenstance.

“The igloos were an alternative to building something permanent,” said Steve Lutke, noting the tasting room could only accommodate about 50 people. “We found ourselves at capacity in the tasting room.

Igloos were the perfect solution.”

On weekends, the eight igloos are in high demand. Each is outfitted with wicker chairs and a glass-covered wicker table and can seat up to eight people. Available by reservation or walk-in for one hour, the igloos include full menu and bar service. No deposits are required. Six to eight more igloos will be added in the back of the lot this winter, available weekends only.

Igloos are a hot commodity in the late fall and winter at restaurants, bars and breweries across Michigan and other cold climate states.

“It’s a fascinating idea and a great way to generate more business,” said Carl Borchgrevink, director of the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. ”It’s especially great in Michigan where we don’t get enough sun in the winter — it gets people outside. It’s good for your well-being. It’s fun and different.”

Hop Lot’s friendly, cool ambiance — not to mention well-regarded beer — has secured a loyal following that includes regulars like Bill and Lynn Perkins, who live in Suttons Bay. “This is a pretty nice place to be,” said Bill Perkins, as he nurses a pint of an IPA called Uncle Green Guy, sitting with friends in an igloo. “You still have to dress like you’re outside, but it’s not uncomfortable. If you get eight friends in here, it warms up pretty quickly.”

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Greg Tasker is a Traverse City-based freelance writer. He enjoys writing about Michigan’s growing wine, beer and spirits scene.

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H O L I D AY C O C K TA I L S

BY MEAGAN FRANCIS

Chasin’ away the chill

W

hether you’re coming in from the slopes chilled or just want something to warm you from the inside out as you watch the snowflakes fall outside your window, consider grandma’s favorite answer to winter’s cold: the hot toddy. Luckily, Michigan’s distillers know how to tastefully chase away the chill. Here are three warming cocktail recipes, crafted with made-in-Michigan spirits:

BUCKINGHAM BEAUTY

By Coppercraft Distillery

HOT GIN TODDY

By Kalamazoo Stillhouse

IRISH COFFEE

By Journeyman Distillery

Founded in 2012 in Holland, Coppercraft Distillery prides itself on using the traditional method to distill on-site a premium line of spirits including bourbon, rum, vodka and gin. The Buckingham Beauty begins with an elegant base of Earl Grey tea and incorporates Coppercraft Gin, winner of the 2019 Denver International Spirits Gold Award.

Shaken with egg white and featuring citrus, honey and juniper, this cocktail creates a foamy, warming backdrop for Coppercraft Gin’s blend of 13 botanicals.

Kalamazoo’s first federally licensed artisan distillery since Prohibition, the Kalamazoo Stillhouse makes its spirits “honestly.” To the husband-and-wife team that owns it, that means starting with Michigan-grown grain — almost exclusively wheat — and completing each step of the process on-site using time-honored processes. Local has special meaning to this downtown landmark: not only were the owners born and raised in Kalamazoo, but they source from other local businesses whenever possible.

Ingredients • 4 ounces Earl Grey tea • 2 ounces Coppercraft Gin • 1 ounce honey • ¾ ounce lemon juice • 1 egg white • 5 juniper berries

Similar to a gin gimlet but with a warming twist, this Hot Gin Toddy is a bracing, sweetand-sour beverage accented by hints of citrus, fennel, juniper and coriander in the 100% wheat Stillhouse Gin.

Tucked away in the village of Three Oaks in a long-retired corset factory, Journeyman Distillery enjoys the coveted distinction of being one of a handful of certified organic and kosher distilleries in the country. With an approach it describes as “truly grain to glass,” Journeyman offers a selection of handcrafted spirits including whiskey, rye, bourbon, brandy, vodka, gin and more. This Irish Coffee takes a twist on the traditional by augmenting the usual plain coffee with Journeyman’s vanilla- and cinnamon-infused Snaggle Tooth Organic Coffee Liqueur.

Directions Dry shake (shake in a cocktail mixer with no ice) egg white, Coppercraft Gin, lemon juice, juniper berries and honey. Double strain into a glass containing 4 ounces hot Earl Grey tea.

Ingredients • 1½ ounces Stillhouse Gin • 1 ounce honey ginger simple syrup • ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice Directions Dry shake ingredients and top off with 3 ounces boiling water.

Ingredients • 1 ounce Journeyman Buggy Whip Wheat Organic Whiskey • 1 ounce Journeyman Snaggle Tooth Coffee Liqueur • ½ ounce cream Directions Blend whiskey, coffee liqueur and cream.

Top with hot coffee and add cream and sweetener to taste. Garnish with fresh whipped cream.

Meagan Francis is a freelance writer living in St. Joseph.

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need to know “Everything you g.” about condo livin — GLENN HAEGE,

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This expanded second edition includes new information about FHA certification, legal issues for co-owners and tenants, condo rules and restrictions, assessment collection, and more!

If you’ve ever thought about developing, buying or selling a condo, or joining a condo board, read this book first!

From a long walk in the woods to dinner at a charming restaurant, you’ll fall in love with winter in Benzie County.

For information about lodging, activities or upcoming events, go to visitbenzie.com.

A BOOK BY BINGHAM FARMS, MI ATTORNEY ROBERT M. MEISNER, ESQ. AVAILABLE AT MOMENTUMBOOKS.COM

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LIFT YOUR WATERFRONT EXPECTATIONS 175 MAGNET DR BOYNE CITY, MI 49712

231-582-5020 WWW.BULMANNDOCK.COM

W I N T E R 2 019

REFLECTIONS

BY JERRY DENNIS | ILLUSTRATION BY GLENN WOLFF

Winter visitors

I

n the morning, we woke to a new world.

The storm had filled the driveway with waist-high drifts, and the road beyond was unplowed and impassable. Schools were closed, of course. It appeared that nobody was going to work, either.

Later, after I had cleared the driveway and the county plow opened Blue Water Road, we drove to Mapleton to stock up on the groceries we should have purchased days ago.

Half a mile from home, we saw a snowy owl perched at the top of a telephone pole. It was the seventh day in a row we had seen her on that same pole. We pulled over and shut off the engine and watched through binoculars.

She was pristine white and huge — that was how we knew she was female; males are noticeably smaller. She turned her head nearly all the way around to look at us and blinked one yellow eye, then the other. Then she launched into flight, dropping from the pole and soaring low across the meadow without once flapping her wings. Her wingspan was immense; it looked to be 5 feet, at least.

And in flight, her coloring became even more brilliant, brighter even than the snow — so bright she seemed to be a source of light. I’ve never seen a more magnificent bird.

The summer people went home long ago, but we still get visitors. Snowy owls are among those we look forward to most every year. They arrive in January or February, driven from the Arctic tundra when lemmings and other prey are scarce. Some years, we see none. Other years, so many show up that they constitute what wildlife biologists call an “irruption.” During an irruption a few years ago, a dozen or more took up residence in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties where they had apparently found enough snowshoe hares, meadow voles and mice to support living there. Locally, one big female chose to roost on a rooftop a block

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And in flight, her coloring became even more brilliant, brighter even than the snow — so bright she seemed to be a source of light.

I’ve never seen a more magnificent bird. from downtown Traverse City and stayed for many days. She became a celebrity of sorts and had a strong presence on social media.

On a Saturday night during that same winter, a few friends and I had dinner at my favorite downtown restaurant, amical. We lingered over the meal, talking and drinking wine, and ended up closing the place. The owner, Dave Denison, joined us for a final glass of wine, and we got talking about the weather, which in this case was not idle talk.

The night was bitterly cold, well below zero, and the streets and sidewalks were deserted.

Homeless people who usually came to the back door of the restaurant to receive packages of leftovers that Dave’s staff prepared for them had not shown up. We hoped they all found warm rooms at the shelter.

Dave had a sudden inspiration and filled a coffee mug with boiling water from the kitchen. We followed him outside into the lung-searing cold and stepped to the center of Front Street. He counted to three and tossed the hot water into the air, where it vaporized instantly and, just as quickly, transformed into a fine dust of snow that settled around us.

We all wanted to get our own cups of boiling water and make snow, but before we could go inside, we sensed something ghostlike and absolutely silent passing overhead. It was there for a moment, just above the streetlights, then it disappeared into the night.

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Reflections columnist Jerry Dennis lives and works on Old Mission Peninsula, near Traverse City. Visit him at jerrydennis.net

WINTER ADVENTURES AWAIT YOU.

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WHAT 20/20 VISION LOOKS LIKE

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