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Beach Weather and Christmas Concerts. What a Strange November!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Enjoying Some Unseasonable Warmth Along West Bay

Enjoying Some Unseasonable Warmth Along West Bay

 

By MIKE NORTON

 

Wow! What amazing weather we had this past weekend! After such a dismal October, November is coming in like a lamb, with unbelievably warm and sunny days, balmy moonlit nights and – strangely enough – excellent beach weather. You probably wouldn’t want to swim, but it was nice to see people out sitting on the shore and enjoying the breeze. . Even the cyclists who came for the annual Iceman Cometh Challenge mountain bike race didn’t seem unhappy about the lack of snow and ice. We “Up North” types know this respite can’t possibly last, but that’s all the more reason to get out and enjoy it while it’s here.

 

Which makes it so strange that the local business folk have already started preparations for Christmas. As early as last month, shoppers were drifting up to Traverse City to check out some of the holiday arts and crafts fairs for which our region is justly famous. Personally, I think it’s neat to buy handmade items for the family and friends, and it seems as though every weekend there’s at least one of these huge fairs going on. There were several good ones this past week, but the shopping opportunities are far from over.

 

In fact, there’s a particularly good one this coming Saturday: the Thistle and Thread artisan group’s 32nd annual Holiday Art Show and Sale at the Traverse City Civic Center,  which features  folk art, pottery, dried floral, stained glass, blown glass, porcelain painting, jewelry, hand sewn home décor, clothing and fiber arts, hand crafted baskets, soft sculpture, and many one of a kind pieces.

 

But the big guns come out Nov. 20-21 at the two-day show held by ArtCenter Traverse City under the dome at the Park Place Hotel. It’s a Friday and Saturday juried show that emphasizes quality, handcrafted gifts and holiday decorations.  Featured are paintings, ceramics, jewelry, glass, photography, fiber arts and more, alongside local food and beverage producers. Another fun show is the Dec. 6 Merry Marketplace at the Old Art Building in the village of Leland, which has holiday gift packages, fresh & dried holiday wreaths, jewelry, specialty foods, pottery, ornaments, cards and hand knit items.

 

I should also mention that Traverse City’s downtown businesses put on a huge array of holiday shopping opportunities in November and December. For a full schedule of these craft markets and open houses, you can check out the monthly calendar at www.visittraversecity.com. But I’ll try to add more about some of the other things that are coming up.

 

Oh, and before I forget, here’s another delightful getting-in-the-mood-for-Christmas idea:

 

Next Saturday and Sunday, the Dance Center Youth Ensemble will present its twelfth full-length ballet – Tschaikovsky’s  “Sleeping Beauty” — at Milliken Auditorium.  This original production will feature more than 50 local Dance Center students together with guest actors and dancers from around the region. There are two performances each day – Saturday  at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 5 p.m. (There’s  a free children’s reception after each of the 2 p.m. matinees, where young audience members can share cookies and punch with the cast members.  Tickets are a steal at $10 to $15.

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Posted in Arts and Culture, Fall, Music, Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City | No Comments »

Photo Highlights from the Fall of 2009

Friday, October 30th, 2009

 

 By MIKE NORTON 

 

Ah, it’s a blustery Friday here in Traverse City, and although it’s unseasonably warm I think we’re well past the peak of fall color now. The wind is stripping leaves off the trees and scattering them down the streets in whispery battalions of red and gold. Kids are gathering downtown for the annual Halloween Walk, and I’ll be heading home for some domestic trick-or-treating of my own.

 

Still, it was an awesome week for photography, with lots of good color and temps in the high 50s, so I thought I’d share some of the highlights with you. Here goes…

 

Cyclist Crossing the TART Trail Bridge Over Boardman Lake

Cyclist Crossing the TART Trail Bridge Over Boardman Lake

 

A Father-Daughter Stroll on West Bay

A Father-Daughter Stroll on West Bay

 

Two Young Ladies at the Boardman Natural Education Reserve

Two Young Ladies at the Boardman Natural Education Reserve

At Open Space Park, Looking West to Hickory Hills

At Open Space Park, Looking West to Hickory Hills

A Lone Salmon Fisherman in West Grand Traverse Bay

A Lone Salmon Fisherman in West Grand Traverse Bay

Looking north from the "Hog's Back" on Center Road, Old Mission Peninsula

Looking north from the "Hog's Back" on Center Road, Old Mission Peninsula

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Posted in Fall, Fishing, Parks, Traverse City, cycling | 2 Comments »

It’s Too Warm for Autumn, but the Colors Are Coming!

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Tamaracks and Horses in the Boardman Valley

Tamaracks and Horses in the Boardman Valley

By MIKE NORTON

 

 

 

Believe me, I’m NOT complaining. But I have to admit that autumn is certainly taking its time getting to Traverse City this year.

 

Maybe it’s Nature’s way of compensating us for the cool, damp summer we had. More likely, it’s just plain dumb luck. Whatever the reason, September has been the most delightful month of the year so far. This past weekend they’d been predicting rain, but it didn’t arrive until Sunday night and the temperatures were very pleasant. I took a long walk on Sunday at the Pyatt Lake Nature Reserve – a wonderful little woodland that’s tucked away near Bower’s Harbor on the Old Mission Peninsula. The forest there is mostly evergreen (hemlocks and cedars, with one amazingly  brilliant winterberry holly just bursting with bright red berries) but there’s a nearby meadow where the trees were draped with wild grapevines – all buttery yellow – and thick burgundy curtains of Virginia creeper. And the sumac, as always this time of year, was like a smoldering bed of red coals.

 

So although the trees themselves seem to be holding back, I’d say we’re somewhere around 15 to 20 percent of peak fall color. Later today I’ll try to get up to the high country south and east of the Bay, where things might be a bit further along. I can see by the calendar of events page on our website that hayrides and haunted houses are beginning to make an appearance – and personally I’m yearning for the smell of fresh doughnuts. (Deep-fried in grease, steaming in the morning air, and served with cold cider. It’s the ONLY way!)

 

But man, I still have my boat in the water, and I feel I ought to take it out at least one more time. Since the weather is being so obliging, I don’t want to appear ungracious!

 

Stay tuned – I’ll try to put up some new posts later in the week.

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Posted in Fall, Parks, Personal Stories, Travel Columns, Traverse City, hiking | No Comments »

Cherry Festival Two: A Day for Heritage

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

 

 

Youngsters at the Heritage Day Picnic Learn About a Mackinaw Boat

Youngsters at the Heritage Day Picnic Learn About a Mackinaw Boat

By MIKE NORTON

I couldn’t help myself. Today was Heritage Day at the National Cherry Festival, so I celebrated my heritage as a pot-bellied old white guy by ordering a large helping of Gibby’s fries. With extra cheese sauce. This will cost me an extra hour on the exercise bike, I think.

But the Heritage part of the Festival is really important. Air shows and big-name bands and huge fireworks displays sometimes obscure the small-town heart of a festival like this one — but it’s still there, strong and vital, if you’re willing to seek it out.  Today, as I was munching my grease-soaked fries, I discovered two really splendid examples in the space of an hour. One was down by the Boardman River, just a few blocks from the beachfront, where they were putting on an “old-fashioned picnic” under the big maples of Hannah Park, complete with historical re-enactors, hot dogs, and traditional kids’ games like sack races.

Young Sack Racers get Ready to Start Hopping

Young Sack Racers get Ready to Start Hopping

Meanwhile, up along the Bay at our Open Space Park, dancers and drummers from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians were holding a festival pow wow, with lots of beautiful regalia and solemn tribal dancing. It was very moving and very touching. Sometimes when I think my town is getting a little too slick and sophisticated for itself, I need to reconnect to things like these. They remind me that I still live in a place where you can know almost everybody, and where visitors are welcomed without question.

Splendid Tribal Regalia on Display at the Heritage Pow Wow

Splendid Tribal Regalia on Display at the Heritage Pow Wow

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Posted in Festivals, History, Parks, Summer, Travel Columns, Uncategorized | No Comments »

A New Hiking/Biking Trail from Traverse City to Points East!

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Riding the TART Trail Along West Grand Traverse Bay

Riding the TART Trail Along West Grand Traverse Bay

 

By MIKE NORTON

 

I’m not much of an event guy, and I absolutely loathe ribbon-cuttings, but there’s an event going on this Saturday that deserves some mention. As part of the nationwide celebration of National Trails Day, the Grand Traverse Hiking Club will be opening a new spur trail connecting the Vasa Trail just east of Traverse City with the Kalkaska Area Recreational Trail.

 

That may not seem like a big deal if you don’t know much about the geography of Traverse City or how devoted we are to our outdoor recreational trails. But next to our beaches and dunes, what we “Up Northers” enjoy more than anything else is being able to hike, bike and ski through our beautiful forests. Fortunately, we have hundreds of miles of trails to do it on — from old logging roads in the Pere Marquette State Forest to federally-groomed pathways in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

 

But one of the finest trails systems in the area is the 55-mile network operated by TART Trails, Inc. a group formed in 1998 by the merger of four individual trail groups in the Traverse City area.

Over the years they’ve built trails, negotiated easements, raised money and lobbied relentlessly for more and better recreational pathways, and today they maintain six multi-use trails in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties — as well as a cross-town bike route.

 

They include the 10.5-mile Traverse Area Recreational Trail, a paved pathway that crosses Traverse City from east to west and encompasses an amazing variety of landscapes — shaded woodlands, bird-filled marshes, residential neighborhoods, city streets and sun-drenched bayfront beaches. The TART attracts an estimated 200,000 walkers, bicyclists and in-line skaters every year. Some find it the perfect setting for an early-morning workout, an afternoon adventure or a gentle evening stroll. For others, it’s a route that leads deep into the “real Traverse City” – whose gentle rhythms and unspoiled charms are best experienced when you take the time and trouble to seek them out.

 

At its western end the TART connects to the 15-mile Leelanau Trail, which leads from Traverse City to the artsy village of Suttons Bay, and its east end is close to the rugged 18-mile Vasa Pathway, a cross-country ski route in winter and a mountain-biker’s paradise during the rest of the year. To the south is the gentle Boardman Lake Trail, which skirts the forested eastern shore of Traverse City’s long “urban lake.” Two other trails, about two miles each, lead south along Three Mile Road and the side of US 31.

It’s a big system for a small town, and it keeps getting bigger. That’s one reason why Traverse City was officially named a 2009 Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists for “efforts to welcome bicyclists and make bicycling safer and more enjoyable.” But the TART art system is enjoyed by all kinds of people – hikers, skiers, in-line skaters and moms with strollers.  

So congratulations to the folks who’ve made this latest extension possible. And although I probably won’t make the ribbon-cutting, I’m coming out to check the new trail as soon as I can!

Oh – and if you want to find out more about TART Trails or check out maps of their excellent trail system, just go to their website at  http://www.traversetrails.org/

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Posted in Parks, Skiing, Summer, cycling, hiking | No Comments »

Searching for Mr. Petoskey Stone: Ancient Corals on the Beach

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

copy-of-petoskeystonejewelry

By MIKE NORTON

 

This Saturday, while athletically-minded visitors are busily running up and down the Old Mission Peninsula, more placid adventurers might think about venturing up the east shore of Grand Traverse Bay to the village of Eastport. That’s where they’ll be holding the annual Antrim County Petoskey Stone Festival, a day of fun constructed around Michigan’s state stone.

 

Admission to the festival is free, and events will include an official Petoskey stone hunt with prizes awarded for both children and adults, the crowning of the Petoskey Stone Festival Queen, seminars on the history, culture, and geology of the stones, hunting tips and demonstrations of Petoskey stone cutting, polishing and jewelry-making, as well as suggestions for turning them into “sculptures, household ornaments, and other works of art.”

 

I love Eastport, anyway. It’s a cute little town wedged between East Grand Traverse Bay and Torch Lake, and it’s home to Barnes Park, a large county-run facility whose beaches attract scores of Petoskey stone hunters each season.

 

If you’re not from these parts, you may not understand the fascination these ugly-duckling rocks have over us. Long before the water is warm enough for swimming, intrepid souls will be walking the beaches, their eyes glued on the smooth wet sand left by the retreating surf. Every so often, one of them will dart forward with a cry of glee to scoop a glistening gray stone out of the water. Truth to tell, these bits of sand-buffed limestone don’t look like much – and they’re even less impressive when they’re dry. But when properly cut and polished, they take on an entirely different character.

 

Petoskey stones are ubiquitous, unusual, and instantly recognizable from their trademark pattern of sunburst hexagons. Whether gray, brown or honey-colored, they can be found in gift stores and jewelry shops throughout the state, cut and shaped into earrings, pendants, paperweights and other items.

 

But most people prefer to find their own Petoskey stones. For more than a century, hunting for these odd-looking fossils has been a favorite summer pastime hereabouts. (Although they’re named after the city of Petoskey, about 70 miles north of here, they can be found on most local beaches  – and spring is really the best time to find them. That’s because the winter storms and the ice roll new ones up onto the beach from deeper water each year.

 

But what is a Petoskey stone, anyway? And why are these oddly compelling rocks found nowhere else on earth? To answer those questions, you have to imagine a very different Michigan from the pine-scented hills and cool lakes of today – a Michigan that existed 350 million years ago, in the Devonian Period, when much of what is now North America was submerged beneath the warm waters of a shallow tropical sea.

 

One of the most successful components of this rich, soupy environment were corals. Vast reefs of them, stretching for hundreds of miles. Petoskey stones are the fossilized remains of one particular species of prehistoric coral, Hexagonia percarinata. Devonian rocks are exposed in only a few places on the continent, and Northern Michigan happens to be one of them. And thanks to the hard-working glaciers that passed by in the relatively recent Pleistocene Period (a mere 2 million years ago) there are plenty of Petoskey stones scattered around on Traverse City area beaches.


So, if rock-hunting is your thing, head over to Barnes Park on Saturday. You may find it’s an addictive pastime.

 

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Posted in Arts and Culture, Festivals, History, Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City, spring | No Comments »

The South Manitou Lighthouse Shines Again!

Monday, May 11th, 2009

The South Manitou Island Light: a Popular Stop for Hikers and Daytrippers

The South Manitou Island Light: a Popular Stop for Hikers and Daytrippers

 

By MIKE NORTON

 

A couple of weeks back, I mentioned that the South Manitou Lighthouse is going to be relit this spring after standing dark for more than 50 years. (Which I think is going to be extremely romantic!) Anyway, I just learned when they’ll be having the relighting – and guess what? We’re all invited to be there.

 

The official rededication of the light will be held on Saturday, May 30 at the Great Lakes Maritime Museum in Glen Haven, which faces the lighthouse across the narrow Manitou Passage. Staff interpreters from the National Park Service have prepared a special after-dark presentation that begins with a 9 p.m. interpretive talk about the history of the Manitou Passage and the shipwrecks that made the lighthouse necessary. As the sun sets and darkness falls over the water, the light will be officially “switched on.”

 

For more than a century the elegant lighthouse on South Manitou Island guided ships past the treacherous sandbars of Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes. Decommissioned in 1958, it spent the next 50 years as a mute and lightless memorial to the heyday of Great Lakes sailing ships.

 

One of the most scenic lighthouses in the country, the 104-foot lighthouse was established in 1839 to mark the crescent-shaped bay at South Manitou, the only natural harbor along the eastern coast of Lake Michigan. It was strategically located on the heavily trafficked Manitou Passage, which was used by cost-conscious skippers on the 300-mile eastern route from Chicago to Mackinac Island. Schooners took refuge here during storms, and steamers stopped to take on wood for their boilers. The current tower dates from 1871.

 

Abandoned after its decommissioning, the lighthouse became a favorite attraction for day hikers and campers after the 1972 creation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which includes the two Manitou Islands. Today, almost 9,000 people take the ferryboat ride to South Manitou each summer, where they climb to the top of the tower, explore the small village around the docks with its old post office (now a historical museum). Some hike to the rusting hulk of the freighter Francisco Morazan, which ran aground on the island in 1960, or snorkel around the wooden wreck of the lumber ship Three Brothers, which sank in 1911 – and hard-core island fans can stay as long as they like if they’re willing to camp.

 

But the idea of relighting the beacon remained a popular dream for local residents and members of the National Park Service, and was finally realized in late 2008 thanks to a partnership with the Manitou Island Memorial Society (a group that includes the descendents of former island residents) and Manitou Island Transit (which operates the ferry service from the mainland).

 

During the 2008 summer season, Park Service maintenance workers restored the tower’s lantern room and spiral stairway of the tower. A replica of the light’s original third-order Fresnel lens was created by Artworks Florida and powered by a special low-wattage bulb designed by Electro-Optics Technology of nearby Traverse City. The lens and light were installed in late fall (at a cost of $93,000) but the installation came too late in the year for a formal dedication ceremony.

 

The Maritime Museum (a former U.S. Lifesaving Service station) is located at Sleeping Bear Point on Glen Haven Road one half mile west of the Cannery in Glen Haven, a historic village located three miles west of Glen Arbor. For more information on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/slbe or call 231-326-5134.

 

Just in case you missed the news, there are several other maritime events coming up this year. The village of Northport will hold its first “Lighthouse & Maritime Festival” on June 20. Set near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, Northport enjoyed a long and prosperous career as a maritime port during the 19th century, and is best known today as the home of the splendidly restored Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum. This year, residents of the town have decided to celebrate that heritage by holding the first-ever Northport Lighthouse & Maritime Festival, with a traditional Lake Michigan whitefish boil, live musical entertainment, a boat-building demonstration, an arts and craft show, and other activities.

 

And on Sept. 11-13, the waters of Grand Traverse Bay will swarm with schooners, cutters, sloops and other tall ships during the first-ever Michigan Schooner Festival. The three-day festival will feature a wide array of sailing vessels, from sleek two-masted cargo schooners and classic yachts to tidy little Mackinaw boats and even a replica British armed sloop from the War of 1812, as well as food, music, tours, rides, cannon-shooting and a Sunday morning “Pancakes with Pirates” event.

 

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Posted in Arts and Culture, Festivals, History, Lighthouses, Parks, Summer, Traverse City, Water, spring | 3 Comments »

Suddenly, the Wildflowers are Everywhere…

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Trilliums! They carpet the Forest by the Thousands!

Trilliums! They carpet the Forest by the Thousands!

 

 

By MIKE NORTON

 

Today is that day, Evie…

 

There’s one morning every spring when you walk out the door and realize that something has changed. There’s a moistness in the air, and a strong tang of growing things: pine and jonquil and the spicy perfume of balsam poplar. The grove of near-wild apricots near our house has burst into blossom, and so have a great many of the sweet cherry orchards on the Old Mission Peninsula, giving a hint of the big floral display that will take place over the next few weeks as millions of tart cherry trees come into bloom.

 

It’s exciting, I admit. But there are times when I prefer to head for the woods and enjoy a more subtle flower show. The forests around Traverse City are one of the great places to look for what are called “spring ephemerals” – shy plants that grow, bloom and disappear for a few brief weeks between the end of winter and the start of summer.

 

That’s when our woods are at their loveliest, at least at ground level. There are places where the whole forest is just flowers, and in a few weeks they’re completely gone. You’d never know they’d ever been there. 

 

Some spring flowers don’t seem so shy – like the huge white blossoms of the large-flowered trillium, the signature wildflower of these northern woodlands. Trilliums (so called because each plant bears only three leaves and a single three-petaled flower) can be an impressive sight when they carpet the spring forest. Their sheer numbers can sometimes conceal smaller, more delicate neighbors like the trailing arbutus, bloodroot and starflower.

 

Other spring ephemerals are hard to hide, even among the showy trilliums. Blue hepaticas and violets, red columbines, yellow trout lilies and bellworts, purple gaywings, delicate pink spring beauties are easily recognized by their bright colors. (And in the case of the latter, by their sweet scent, which fills the woods on warm spring days.)

 

Even some of the smaller white flowers can make an impression by the sheer whimsicality of their shape. Dutchman’s Breeches, for instance, really do look like nothing so much as pairs of upside-down puffy white bloomers.

 

And there’s no hiding the superstars of the spring forest. Northern Michigan’s native orchids — the pink, yellow and showy lady’s slippers — are rare standouts in any setting and easily draw attention to themselves.

 

May and June are the best months for viewing spring ephemerals in the forests around Traverse City. Usually, upland woodlands break into bloom first because they’re farther from the cooling influence of the cold Lake Michigan waters, while coastal forests can still be in flower for a week or two later. Here are several prime spots for spring wildlflower viewing:

 

Grand Traverse Natural Education Reserve. Located just outside the city on the banks of the Boardman River, this preserve encompasses several miles of mixed forest, wetlands and meadows and is particularly rich in plant, animal and bird specials. The Grand Traverse Conservation District conducts regular spring wildflower walks and publishes a self-guiding brochure for those who would rather explore on their own. For information, call 231-941-0960 or on line at www.gtcd.org

 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Coastal Living Magazine just named Sleeping Bear one of America’s top 10 places for wildflower hikes. This 71,000-acre national park includes 35 miles of Lake Michigan coastline and a wide variety of plant and animal habitats. The hardwood forests near the dunes are particularly rich in spring flower displays, and the park conducts spring “ranger walks” to them. For information call (231) 326-5134 or on line at www.nps.gov/slbe/

 

Grass River Natural Area. Just minutes from the bustling Shanty Creek Resort, this 1,143-acre preserve features several different forest ecosystems and includes a well-developed network of trails, boardwalks and observation platforms where visitors can observe rare orchids and other wetland species without getting their feet wet. For information about guided walks, call 231-533-8314 or on line at www.grassriver.org

 

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. This five-county volunteer organization supervises a network of 28 nature preserves, and conducts guided walks, hikes and other expeditions throughout the year – including several spring wildflower walks. For information, call 231-929-7911 or on line at www.gtrlc.org

 

 

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Posted in Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City, spring | No Comments »

Happy Birthday, Traverse Colantha Walker!

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Is Nine Lactations a Lot?

Is Nine Lactations a Lot?

By MIKE NORTON

 

OK, I had other plans for today’s post, but I just couldn’t resist this one. As my wife will tell you, I’m one of those guys who’s always forgetting birthdays and other significant events. But when I logged on this morning, I saw this wonderful post on the “Michigan in Pictures” blog headlined “Happy Birthday to you, Traverse Colantha Walker.” Here’s the link – it’s a great blog, too:

http://michpics.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/happy-birthday-to-you-traverse-colantha-walker/

 

Not everybody knows about TCW, but as an inveterate (lower-case) walker and a snoop, I’ve made it my business to know about this famous Traverse City resident ever since I stumbled across her gravestone on the grounds of the Grand Traverse Commons, which used to be the old Northern Michigan Asylum. So far as I know, she’s the only asylum resident who’s actually buried there – and that’s because she’s a cow.

 

 

Nope, I’m not being rude. She was a cow. A lovely, hard-working, world-champion cow who belonged to the asylum’s extensive herd. When she died in 1932, staff and patients held a banquet in her honor and erected a large granite tombstone over her grave. In the course of her long and impressive career – from 1916 to 1932 – she produced 200,114 lbs. of milk and 7,525 lbs. of butterfat.

 

Today, the old asylum with its creamy brick buildings and barns is being transformed into an entire town of shops, restaurants, galleries, apartments and condominiums. And its 500-acre campus serves as a vast urban park where the spires of the old hospital buildings soar like the turrets of romantic castles above its miles of walking paths and trails.

Few historic sites are so well-suited to such a second life. The buildings of the former mental asylum were purposely designed to be brighter and more spacious than other 19th century structures – thanks to a Victorian visionary named James Kirkbride, who believed that the sufferings of the mentally ill could be eased by fresh air, hard work, abundant natural lighting and beautifully landscaped surroundings. The Traverse City facility, established in 1885, became a huge park, filled with Victorian-Italianate buildings of golden brick and planted with exotic trees collected from around the world.

 

It was also a small, self-sufficient city in its own right, with its own farms, gardens, fire department and power plant. At one point it boasted 3,500 residents — which was more than Traverse City’s population at the time. And of all its extensive herds of farm animals, Traverse Colantha Walker was the queen.

 

It’s nice to know they haven’t forgotten her. In fact, “Michigan in Pictures” says that there’s going to be a Traverse Colantha Walker Dairy Festival held in her honor on Saturday, Sept. 12. I’m going to see if I can’t find out more!

 

The Commons Today (As Traverse the Cow Would See It)

The Commons Today (As Traverse Colantha Walker Would See It)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Food & Drink, History, Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Wildlife | 2 Comments »

A True Classic: The South Manitou Island Light

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
Worth the Ferryboat Trip!

Worth the Ferryboat Trip!

By MIKE NORTON

 

My favorite local lighthouse — strictly because of its beauty – is the tall, shapely light at the tip of South Manitou Island. It’s part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and is open for regular guided tours during the summer. The only drawback is that to get there you have to take a 90-minute ferryboat ride from Leland. But that can be fun, too – there’s a lot to see on the Manitou Islands, and I’ll write about them one of these days.

 

Back when my son Jake was just a little guy, he and I would always head out to one of the Manitous to spend a couple of days camping before the start of the school year – and when we camped on South Manitou we always made a point of climbing to the top of the lighthouse to have a look around. (He was always much braver about venturing out on the platform than me; I can never quite get over that strange constriction of the groin one experiences in high places.)

 

One of the most scenic lighthouses in the country, the 104-foot South Manitou light was established in 1839 to mark the crescent-shaped bay at South Manitou, which is the only natural harbor between northern Michigan and Chicago. It’s strategically located on the heavily trafficked Manitou Passage, which was used by cost-conscious skippers on the 300-mile eastern route from Chicago to Mackinac Island. Schooners took refuge here during storms, and steamers stopped to take on wood for their boilers. The current tower dates from 1871 and was decommissioned in 1958.

 

One really neat thing about the South Manitou Light is that it’s recently been relit after more than 50 years of darkness. Late last year, the National Park Service and a group of dedicated volunteers installed a replica third-order Fresnel lens in the lighthouse’s completely refurbished lantern room. (The new lens was created  by a Florida company, and is illuminated by a special low-wattage bulb designed by Electro-Optics Technology here in Traverse City.)

The light was turned off again for the winter, but will be relit again after a formal dedication ceremony sometime this spring – so we’ll be able to see it shining again on summer nights from the dunes, beaming across the Manitou Passage. Which I think is pretty cool!

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Posted in History, Lighthouses, Parks, Personal Stories, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Uncategorized, Water | No Comments »

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