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More Festivals…. and a Quiet Walk Along the River

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

A great blue heron fishes in the Boardman near Sabin Pond.

By MIKE NORTON
Well, once again there are big doings in Traverse City this week, as the Traverse City Summer Microbrew & Music Festival gets underway on the front lawn of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, and cyclists from around the Midwest converge for the grand finale of the Third Coast Bicycle Festival - the extremely cool Cherry Roubaix Bike Race through the cobbled streets of the Central Neighborhood and the hills of western Leelanau County.

I was mentioning this latest batch of festivals to my wife the other day. “Is there any weekend when there isn’t something going on around here?” she asked. “How can anybody be bored in this town?”

Good question. Some people will still complain that there’s nothing worth doing or seeing or eating or drinking in northern Michigan because that’s their story and they’re sticking to it. We all know people like that. (The other travel bores I love are the ones who always say things like, “Traverse City’s all right, I suppose. But it used to be much better before they ruined it.” Which means, of course, “before people like you started coming here.”) On the other hand, there are people who think there’s just too much going on around here these days - that there are just too many darned festivals.

Personally, I like this idea of having lots of small celebrations and parties spread around through the whole year. I think they’re a lot easier to deal with, and they help introduce people to Traverse City in ways and times that might not have occurred to them before. But the coolest thing about this place is that even on the busiest days of the summer season, you can find wide-open spaces of peace, quiet and beauty here - even close to the heart of town - where you can relax and recharge.

I was thinking about that last week when I took off to shoot some photographs of the Boardman River. Most of the time, I think of the Boardman as our “urban river,” since it flows under highway bridges and between concrete walls in its last half-mile run through downtown to the Bay. And sometimes I think of the pristine Boardman you find up above the Brown Bridge Pond, a Blue Ribbon trout stream that looks wild enough to be in the Upper Peninsula or even Ontario. But I’d forgotten how beautiful and fierce the river is just outside the city limits, in the splendid Grand Traverse Natural Education Reserve, just south of Airport Road.

As I walked those shady trails and gazed down at the newly-liberated rapids below me, watching woodpeckers and orioles, swans and herons, I was amazed at the natural richness and diversity of this tight little valley. But the truly amazing thing is that this is not some pristine wilderness that’s been protected by isolation from the plundering hordes - it’s a river that was thoroughly deforested, dammed and exploited in its day, that even now runs between two of the city’s busiest highways. And yet, there it is: a testament to the resilience of the natural order.

Staghorn sumac and evening primrose on the steeop Boardman banks.

Staghorn sumac and evening primrose on the steep Boardman banks.

Today you can hike the network of well-maintained trails on both sides of the valley, passing the crumbled ruins of an old dam and the quieted dynamos of others that are slated for future removal. You can kayak through some of the most exciting rapids in the Lower Peninsula, watch otters and muskrats at play in the water, or learn about native wildflower plantings at the fascinating new Boardman River Nature Center on Sabin Road. It’s a wonderful, restful place. And it’s what - a ten-minute drive from downtown?

The travel bores are wrong. Traverse City’s best days are ahead of her, not behind her — this place just keeps getting better.

Tags: Add new tag, Boardman River, Third Coast Bicycle Festival, Traverse City Microbrewery & Music Festival
Posted in Festivals, Hiking, Outdoor Sports, Parks, Uncategorized, Water, Wildlife | 2 Comments »

Few Bears — but Lots of Other Wildlife at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Monday, July 19th, 2010

First, I spotted this tiny piping plover near the mouth of the Platte...

By MIKE NORTON

I headed down to the Deadstream Swamp along the upper Platte River last week to check out stories about bears hanging around the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. And although I didn’t see the bears themselves, I talked with several people who’d been seeing them regularly.

In spite of its name, Sleeping Bear isn’t a place where you’re likely to encounter bears in the wild. They’re around - especially at the southern end of the park - but they’re normally shy creatures who tend to stay away from people.

On the other hand, Sleeping Bear is a wonderful place to spot lots of other animals, from white-tail deer and porcupines to bald eagles and coyotes. In fact, coming face to face with wildlife is one of the thrills of visiting this beautiful place.

Because of its rich interplay of natural habitat of vast dunes, lakes, streams, hardwood forests and cedar swamps, Sleeping Bear is home to many kinds of animals and birds — including a number of species that are threatened or endangered. It’s not at all uncommon to come face to face with them while driving, hiking or paddling through the park, or to be serenaded by frogs and coyotes at night. You may even catch a sight of the elusive cougar, a creature whose presence in this part of the country is still being hotly debated.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes take their name from a charming Native American legend about a mother bear and her two cubs who perished while swimming across the lake to escape a forest fire. Bears are not unknown in the park, but they’re rare and solitary animals who aren’t often seen. Much more common are forest creatures like deer, fox, porcupines, squirrels, bats, and raccoons, while the rivers and inland lakes are home to otter, beaver, muskrat and mink.

In all, 50 species of mammals can be found here. Most are small and numerous - like the eastern chipmunk, nicknamed the “timber tiger” because of its voracious appetite and fearlessness in stealing food from campsites and picnic tables. A much rarer predator that haunts the park’s more remote areas is the bobcat, a small wild cat whose effective camouflage make it hard to see.

Cougars, all but wiped out in Michigan early in the 20th century, may now be making a comeback. And although the presence of the big cats at Sleeping Bear has still not been officially recognized, people report seeing them every year — and park rangers now post warning signs to let hikers know what to do if they encounter one on the trail.

...then, moments later, this deer emerged from the woods only a few yards away.

Bird life is also plentiful at the park. So far 240 species of birds have been identified here, and birders flock to Sleeping Bear each year in hopes of catching sight of another rare specimen. The waters attract large numbers of loons, ducks, cormorants, herons and kingfishers, as well as rare trumpeter swans and sandhill cranes during migration season. The woodlands are home to warblers, thrushes, hawks and owls, while the open meadows provide welcome habitat for bald eagles and threatened sandpipers, bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows.

Two species in particular have found a special refuge at Sleeping Bear. The Prairie Warbler, one of Michigan’s most threatened birds, nests in the juniper scrublands just inshore from the park’s Lake Michigan beaches, while the beach itself is home to the Piping Plover - a charming little shorebird whose existence is threatened by coastal development. Each year, park rangers rope off sections of beach so the plucky little plovers can lay their eggs in the sand without fear that they’ll be stepped on by unwary sunbathers.

The plant life of the dunes is every bit as fascinating as the animals who live here, since the vegetation at Sleeping Bear is specially adapted to survive in the sandy dunes and beaches with their constant wind and blowing sand, their hot, dry summers and freezing winters. There are succulents like sea rocket, tough leathery shrubs like bearberry (a relative of the western Manzanita), and pitcher’s thistle, a rare deep-rooted thistle with silvery leaves and flowers. The dunes are also home to several “ghost forests” - eerie groves of trees that were buried long ago by blowing sand and uncovered years later by the same incessant winds.

In spite of the near-desert conditions, vegetation at Sleeping Bear is unusually lush because of the nearby waters of Lake Michigan, which keeps the air cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and moister throughout the year. The two Manitou Islands, in particular, are filled with unusually large plants, like the Grove of the Giants, a forest of massive 100-foot white cedars on South Manitou.

But it’s one thing to hear about all the diverse plants and animals that survive and thrive in the unique terrain of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and another thing entirely to experience it first-hand. Coming around a bend in the trail to see a mother deer standing in the forest with her fawns, or gazing down the 400-foot face of the dunes as a school of enormous lake trout glides through the blue water like a fleet of small submarines, is a truly unforgettable experience.

For more information about the wildlife of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the park headquarters at www.nps.gov/slbe/.

Tags: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Wildlife
Posted in Hiking, Parks, Uncategorized, Wildlife | No Comments »

The Grand Traverse Commons: An “Asylum” of Peace & Quiet

Monday, July 12th, 2010

A stroll across the front lawn at the Grand Traverse Commons

By MIKE NORTON

Whew! Another National Cherry Festival has passed into history. It was a great time, but what an intense week of activity! It’ll be good to have a few days to catch our collective breath.

One of the best places I know to do a little relaxing in is the Grand Traverse Commons, our own little “Central Park” on the west end of town. And that’s appropriate, since the Commons was designed to be restful and relaxing - after all, it used to be our mental asylum! I put some photos of the Commons up on our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, and it sparked a lot of interest, so I thought I’d add a little bit more here.

Once known as the Northern Michigan Asylum, and later as the Traverse City State Hospital, this sprawling expanse of forest, meadows and cream-colored Victorian buildings 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.

Hikers on one of the many Grand Traverse Commons trails.

Few historic sites are so well-suited to such a second life. The buildings of the former 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. When the place was closed in 1989, local residents quickly banded together to preserve the expansive forested grounds and stately castle-like buildings. It was a daunting task. Many of the crumbling structures were in scary condition — in fact, several photographs of them taken by Traverse City artist Heidi Johnson ended up as props in the 2003 horror film “Gothika” — and for several years no one knew exactly what to do with the place.

That changed in 2000 when developer Ray Minervini approached the community with a plan to turn the sprawling complex into a “walkable, mixed-use village” that would include a broad variety of residential and commercial opportunities - retail stores, professional offices, restaurants, apartments and condominiums. After two years of negotiations, work on the project finally began in 2002. It’s been a slow process and it’s far from over, but the developers have had little difficulty finding tenants who are willing to reserve space in the restored buildings — sometimes years in advance.

One of the first tenants was Trattoria Stella, a “neighborhood bistro” started by Paul and Amanda Danielson that’s become Traverse City’s signature fine dining restaurant. If you were trying to come up with the perfect spot for a romantic dinner, the cellar of an abandoned asylum might not be your first choice — but romantic is precisely the word for Trattoria Stella. With its vaulted ceilings, deep-set windows and ancient brick walls whose gold patina glows in the flickering candlelight, it seems to be a place out of space and time. As you linger over your aperitif, it’s easy to imagine yourself in some Tuscan monastery or a castle in Calabria.

Nearby is the Mercato, a meandering subterranean shopping arcade packed with tiny shops, art galleries and boutiques. The upper floors, with their tall windows and high ceilings, are home to beauty salons and health clubs, posh office suites and luxury apartments. Even the outbuildings have been put to use - the former laundry is home to a coffee roaster and an “urban winery,” there’s a pastry shop and restaurant in the old potato-peeling shed, and a brick-oven bakery now operates out of the old fire station. And plans are in the works for an 84-room boutique hotel that will make use of two castle-like brick “cottages” and a connecting dining hall.

Lunch in the Mercato

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Meanwhile, the buildings and grounds are being used for a wide variety of events and celebrations - in summer there’s a Farmer’s Market on the lawns and this year there are several big “foodie” events:” the Aug. 14 Mario Batali food celebration, the Aug. 21 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, and the Aug. 27-28 Traverse City Microbrewery & Music Festival. There’s a spring dairy festival at the site of the gigantic barns where the asylum’s horses and cattle were once stabled, and a March snowshoe stroll where participants follow a candlelit trail through the forest at night. And when school is in session, children from the surrounding communities come on field trips in search of rare trees, wildflowers and migrating songbirds.

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The Commons is still very much a work in progress, and the job of reclaiming the once-empty buildings will take at least another decade. But Minervini is confident that the project has more than enough momentum to carry itself to completion.

“It’s been wonderful to see these places come alive again, one by one,” he says.

The red-tipped spires of Building 50 at the Commons

Grand Traverse Commons: Fun Facts

World Champion Cow
Of the thousands of inhabitants of the former Traverse City Asylum, only one is known to history - and she wasn’t even insane. She was Traverse Colantha Walker, a grand champion milk cow who belonged to the hospital’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.

Munson Arboretum
James Decker Munson, who served as director of the asylum from 1885 to 1924, was an inveterate collector of rare trees and shrubs, and regularly brought back specimens from his travels to plant on the grounds. Dozens of them still survive, and are now over a century old, including a grove of rare copper beeches and mature specimens of sweetgum, English oak and tulip tree that are almost unknown at this latitude.

The Crimson Spires
The red-tipped spires that give the old asylum buildings their distinctly feudal appearance are not simply for decoration. They’re the vestiges of an ingenious 19th century air circulation system that used natural convection to draw cool air up into hollow spaces between the hospital’s two-foot-thick walls of the hospital; stale, hot air was expelled through the rooftop spires.

Tags: Grand Traverse Commons, Traverse City
Posted in Food & Drink, Hiking, History, Parks, Traverse City, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Values abound in TC’s “Between the Bays” District

Monday, May 17th, 2010

The 92-room Cambria Suites hotel opened in 2009 to widespread acclaim

By MIKE NORTON
Wow! What an amazingly beautiful weekend - and it looks like we’re shaping up for another great week! And as people start thinking about outdoor things to do, I notice that Shanty Creek Resorts is starting up a new series of weekly and twilight golf specials - on Tuesdays, you can play Cedar River for $50 a round; on Wednesdays Schuss Mountain is as low as $30 a round, and on Thursdays, The Legend can be played for a mere $50 a round. (All you have to do is start after 1 p.m.) For a full list of their golf specials check our their web site at www.shantycreek.com

Speaking of great deals, many of them can be found in Traverse City’s “Between the Bays” district, which is a part of town that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. Located in a modest residential neighborhood at the base of the Old Mission Peninsula, the district’s lodging properties used to be dominated by small mom-and-pop motels and budget chains whose quality ranged from surprisingly good to “take it or leave it.” But that situation has changed dramatically over the past few years, and today the Between the Bays area is increasingly known as giving good value for money.

“This is an area that’s distinct in itself,” says hotelier Jack Burns, who started the movement more than 30 years ago when he built what’s now the Days Inn & Suites on the site of a dilapidated trailer park on Munson Avenue. Burns’ insistence on marketing the property as a family-style resort hotel, instead of the cheap “side-of-the-highway” motels that were typical of the Days Inn product in those days, made the 179-room Traverse City hotel one of the company’s leading lights. (It has won the Days Inn Chairman’s Award every year since the award’s inception — the only property in the chain to do so.)

Even more important, its presence in the neighborhood encouraged nearby hoteliers to raise their own standards. (Just this year, in fact, the hotel spent $1 million renovating 112 of its regular guestrooms, a significant investment in a difficult economy.) Of course, it didn’t hurt that the surrounding neighborhood has become a destination in its own right, thanks to the construction of the nearby Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College (one of the finest small art museums in the country) and the development of the Grand Traverse Civic Center as a major venue for athletic events and social gatherings.

Also, the steady diversification of Traverse City’s attractions and its emergence as a four-season culinary and shopping destination means that many visitors are now at least as interested in being near the town’s restaurants and galleries as in finding a spot on the beach. And from that perspective, the Between the Bays area has some distinct advantages.

In 1997, the district saw its next major addition with construction of the 68-room Traverse Victorian Inn. Shortly afterward, in 2001, another significant Between the Bays player emerged when hotelier Alex Mowczan bought the 50-room Best Western Four Seasons motel and its surrounding properties and set to work restoring their lackluster reputation — implementing such guest-pleasing extras as free room service, specialty pillows from their unique “pillow bar” and complimentary hot soup in the evenings. It’s a concept they call “heroic hospitality,” and it has worked well for them; for the last five years, the property has received the Best Western Chairman’s Award, the hotel chain’s highest honor.

In 2008, Mowczan bought the nearby Traverse Bay Lodge, renovated it extensively, and reopened it as a smoke-free 62-room Comfort Inn. This year the property received a prestigious 2010 Gold Hospitality Award from its franchiser, Choice Hotels International. But his biggest accomplishment was in 2009 when he opened another Choice Hotels franchise, the three-story Cambria Suites, which immediately became one of the town’s most swooned-over properties, thanks to its stylish décor, large guestrooms and amenities. Those three properties, in fact, currently hold the top three Traverse City spots on TripAdvisor.com.

Burns and Mowczan are hardly alone; in fact, many of the smaller properties in the neighborhood seem to be taking on new life. In 2007, the aging Fox Haus Motel was closed, painstakingly renovated and reopened as the Travelodge of Traverse City. A year later, Pat and Sara Doud purchased the former Heritage Inn, gave it a major facelift and reopened it as a new property of the venerable Howard Johnson group. And the 35-room Pinecrest Motel, which had been closed for over a year, underwent a major renovation of its own and is now a Knight’s Inn.

Nor are all the improvements taking place at large chain-owned properties. Even the little 20-room Sierra Motel, which once struggled with its reputation, has been painstakingly renovated since it was sold last year. Owners Slim and Cony Duimstra say they’re working hard to convince customers that there have been real changes at the property.

“I think it’s working,” says Slim. “We’ve been getting a lot of repeat business, and that’s what we like to see.”

Tags: Traverse City
Posted in History, Museums, Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Lighthouse Experts Gather in TC This Summer

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

The cozy little lighthouse at Old Mission Point

TRAVERSE CITY, MI - This summer hundreds of lighthouse fans will gather here to discuss ways to restore and preserve historic lighthouses.

The Great Lakes Lighthouse Preservation Conference will be held June 14-17 at NMC’s Hagerty Center on West Grand Traverse Bay. It will feature tours, panel discussions, workshops and lectures for lighthouse aficionados of every stripe - including those who want to buy and own a lighthouse of their own. (And since 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, federal officials will be at the conference to announce which lighthouses will become available for transfer to private ownership in the coming year.)

Visitors from other regions are often startled to learn that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state in the U.S. Though it’s hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, it has over 3,000 miles of coastline (only Alaska has more) and during the 19th century its “inland seas” were among the most heavily traveled waterways in the world. More than 130 lighthouses were built to warn mariners away from their numerous beaches, shoals and headlands.

That busy time of sloops and schooners is only a distant memory today, and most of Michigan’s lighthouses have been rendered obsolete as navigational aids, but they still exert a powerful attraction. Each year, growing numbers of lighthouse enthusiasts make their way to the Great Lakes State - and particularly to the region around Traverse City.

“Michigan’s love affair with lighthouses is immediately evident,” says Terry Pepper, executive director of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. “Perhaps nowhere is this love demonstrated more than by those dedicated volunteer groups who step up to literally save these icons of our maritime heritage from being lost to weather, ice or just plain neglect.”

Many lighthouses around the country have been taken over by nonprofit historic or community groups; others serve as private homes, inns and restaurants. The Traverse City conference includes a number of “technical discussions” to help new owners cope with the unique challenges of owning and caring for them. To learn more, contact the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance at www.michiganlighthousealliance.org

The Lighthouses of Traverse City
For those who’d rather skip the lectures and do some exploring on their own, Traverse City is a convenient base for exploring five historic lighthouses, all located in a relatively compact area. Best of all, four of the five can be easily visited and are open for tours, and two even allow visitors to spend a week or two in residence as volunteer lighthouse keepers.

The most easily accessible of the Traverse City area’s lighthouses is the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Located at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, near the village of Northport, it is one of the oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes, guiding ships through the northern entrance to the Manitou Passage for 150 years.

Today it is a museum surrounded by a picturesque state park where visitors can envision the once-isolated life of lighthouse keepers and their families, with extensive exhibits and period furnishings from the 1920s and 1930s. Its popular “volunteer lighthouse keeper” program also provides opportunities for enthusiasts to spend several weeks living in the lighthouse, carrying on routine maintenance and answering the questions of its frequent visitors.

Some 45 miles to the south near the town of Frankfort, the Point Betsie Lighthouse - “the second most photographed lighthouse in the U.S.” after Maine’s Portland Head Light — marks the lower entrance of the Passage. Built in 1858, its brightly-colored buildings are clustered in a scenic dune area at the very edge of the surf. Point Betsie was the last lighthouse on the eastern Lake Michigan shore to be staffed by the Coast Guard; it was automated in 1983 and is still in operation.

Like its neighbor to the north, the lighthouse now belongs to a nonprofit group, the Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse, which recently completed a $1 million exterior restoration and is raising money to restore the interior as well. It, too, is open for regular tours.

The picturesque Old Mission Point Lighthouse was built in 1870 to warn ships away from the dangerous shoals at the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, but was replaced by an offshore beacon in 1933. The lighthouse is open for tours daily during spring, summer and fall, and it is the centerpiece of an attractive park with popular beaches, historical exhibits and extensive hiking and skiing trails. Like the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, it has a popular volunteer lighthouse keeper program.

Even more picturesque, but somewhat less accessible, the South Manitou Island Lighthouse can only be reached in summer, after a 1.5-hour ferryboat ride from the Lake Michigan port of Leland. A classic 100-foot tower, the light rises abruptly from the shore of the island - and visitors are free to climb its 117 steps for a thrilling view of water, sky, forests and dunes. Established in 1840 to beckon vessels to what was then the last deepwater harbor north of Chicago, the original wooden light was replaced in 1871 with the current building. Today it is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and administered by the National Park Service.

Just a few miles away, the North Manitou Island Shoal Lighthouse – known to locals as “the crib” - is not open to visitors. Built in 1935 to mark an unusual and dangerous shoal, it stands by itself in the middle of the water. For 42 years this artificial island was home to a three-man Coast Guard crew who rotated on a three-week schedule (two weeks on and one week off) during the navigational season. Since 1980 it has been operated as an automated navigational light and has been taken over by a large population of cormorants. Although visitors are not encouraged to climb onto the large structure, it can be viewed up-close from the ferry that takes visitors to South Manitou.

Tags: Old Mission Peninsula, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City
Posted in Arts and Culture, History, Lighthouses, Museums, Parks, Spring, Summer, Travel Columns, Traverse City | No Comments »

Spring brings birds (and birders) back to Traverse City!

Monday, April 5th, 2010

A Common Loon Makes its Return to Traverse City (Love That Laugh!)

By MIKE NORTON

It’s spring. There’s no getting around it. And what a spring it is! Such beautiful weather!

I’ve already seen the return of some of our snowbirds - the hundreds of part-time residents who spend several weeks or months of the year wintering farther south. But they’re not the only birds who’ve started arriving with the spring. Geese are honking in the sky - flying north - and on Sunday there was a warbler in my back yard, singing a new song that I’d never heard before.

Thanks to our coastal location and our many inland lakes, marshes and ponds, Traverse City is a favorite destination for thousands of migratory birds. Like their human counterparts, some of these visitors are only stopping for a few days of relaxation and refreshment while others settle down for the whole summer - but their arrival is cause for excitement among birdwatchers.

Although we’re not one of the traditional “hot spots” of the birding universe, we have enough variety of avian species to satisfy a steady stream of birders - particularly in the spring and early summer. A lot of neat stuff comes rolling through here each year; you never really know what you’re going to see from one season to the next. Maybe it’s the trumpeter swans that suddenly began showing up in 2007 or the Eurasian collared doves and Bohemian waxwings that were the talk of the local birding community in early 2008.

Fortunately, the same natural features that attract avian migrants to our beaches, lakes and forests also make us a favorite destination for the humans who follow them. As a result, our area gets more attention from birders than we would if we had to rely exclusively on out reputation as a birdwatching mecca. People get to enjoy a great vacation and do some great birding too.

Our tourism industry is belatedly taking notice of the phenomenon — and rightly so, since birding is now the country’s number-one outdoor sport. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are currently 51.3 million birders, and the number is still growing. Several local resorts and lodges list nearby birding areas in their promotional literature, and a few even arrange guided outings on request.

Those outings may be to locations like the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, where birders can usually find a large variety of songbirds: prairie warblers, pine warblers, Nashville warblers, American redstarts, black-throated blues and even a Blackburnian warbler or two. Thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service, the lakeshore is also home to a recovering population of piping plovers - tiny shorebirds whose habitat has been wiped out most other parts of their range.

Another rare bird can be found an hour’s drive to the east, in the jackpine plains near Grayling and Mio. This is the home of the Kirtland’s warbler, a reclusive songbird that requires frequent wildfires to germinate the gnarled pines on which its survival depends. Visitors are only admitted to the warbler’s nesting grounds on an official guided tour.

For birders with less exotic tastes, there are plenty of great spots within a few minutes of any Traverse City resort or hotel. The best winter birding in the area, for instance, is probably Medalie Park, at the south end of Boardman Lake. The park is a year-round gathering spot for waterfowl - both migrants and year-round residents, including the area’s large population of mute swans.

Spring brings many more choices, from the extensive trail system of the Grand Traverse Commons (a former mental asylum surrounded by 300 acres of forest, wetlands and meadow) to the Grand Traverse Education Reserve, which skirts both banks of the Boardman River just south of the city.

Southwest of the city, near the village of Interlochen, is Lake Dubonnet, where loons, osprey and trumpeter swans have nested in recent years. (The nearby woodlands are prime warbler habitat.) To the north, at the tip of the scenic Old Mission Peninsula, there are deep coastal woods where pileated woodpecker and black-throated green warblers can be spotted. In spring, this peninsula is a favorite resting spot for birds of prey, which rest and feed here while preparing to cross Lake Michigan on their spring migration to Canada.

An even larger migration takes place just to the west at the end of the larger Leelanau Peninsula, where the woods and wetlands of the Leelanau State Park provide cover for hundreds of migrating songbirds, raptors and waterfowl. Nearby is the 44-acre Charter Sanctuary, established by veteran birders Jim and Kay Charter as a safe haven for over 130 species of migrating, nesting and resident birds - including black-billed cuckoos, grasshopper sparrows and bobolinks. Next door to the sanctuary is the Charters’ educational center, Saving Birds through Habitat, which shows private landowners how to adapt backyards, woodlots and vacant property as bird habitat.

To the northeast, the Yuba Creek Natural Area provides an easily accessible overlook from which viewers with scopes or binoculars can keep tabs on a nesting site for bald eagles. A few miles to the north is the Petobego Pond flooding, an excellent site for watching waders and waterbirds, while the nearby Sand Lakes Quiet Area, Skegemog Swamp Pathway, and Grass River Natural Area provide even more opportunities to spot waterfowl and woodland birds.

Specific information about sightings and viewing spots, as well as a schedule of birding outings, can be obtained through the Grand Traverse Audubon Club at www.grandtraverseaudubon.org/

Tags: Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City
Posted in Parks, Spring, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Water, Wildlife | No Comments »

At Loose Ends? Try a Spring Hike with Some New Friends!

Monday, March 29th, 2010

By MIKE NORTON

It was T.S. Eliot who called April “the cruellest month,” but spring is a tricky vixen under the best of circumstances - and never more so than when she comes unseasonably early. Here we are now, under beautiful blue skies, the hills showing sweet and rounded under the brown fur of their still-bare forests. But the water’s too cold for swimming, mushroom-picking season is still a month off, and we tourism folks have been caught flat-footed. We’re so accustomed to unpleasantness in March that we failed to anticipate any of this nice weather.

So what’s a person to do in Traverse City this week?

Well, I know what Sara Cockrell is doing. This indefatigable hiker/cyclist is leading a whole series of excellent FREE outdoor excursions to some of the region’s most beautiful spots on behalf of the Grand Traverse Hiking Club. And if you’ve never hiked in early spring, you don’t know what you’re missing: no heat, no bugs, no crowds, plus the added thrill of seeing early wildflowers, migrating birds and other hidden treasures that will have disappeared by midsummer. Karen and I were out poking around near Old Mission Point over the weekend, and it was gorgeous - you can see so much more of the water now than you can when the trees have all leafed out, and it’s been that vibrating Caribbean blue-green that’s so unbelievable when you see it in print.

Anyway, here’s what Sara and the Hiking Club are up to, in case to want to join the fun:

On Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m., they’re holding a “Ransom Lake Rendezvous” at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s nature preserve near the village of Lake Ann, southwest of Traverse City. On Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., they’re holding a special hike along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the drive is still closed to motor vehicles for the season). The club plans to climb all the way up to the North Bar Lake & Lake Michigan overlooks for a picnic lunch, about three miles; hardy souls can stay around for an additional walk back up to the Dunes and Glen Lakes overlooks.

If that’s not enough notice, there are several other hikes scheduled for the following week. On Tuesday, April 6, Sara is leading the hikers on an evening walk (6 to 7:30 p.m.) through the Brown Bridge Quiet Area, one of my favorite spots out along the edge of the Boardman Valley. Then, on Sunday, April 11, they’re doing an afternoon jaunt along the Lake Ann Pathway, a great trail that’s relatively underused. If you’tre interested in any of these events - and it’s a GREAT way to learn about outdoor adventures in the TC area and make lots of new friends - call Sara at (231) 620-3543.

A Quiet Moment in the Boardman Valley

Tags: Hiking, Michigan, Traverse City
Posted in Hiking, Outdoor Sports, Parks, Spring, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Uncategorized, Wildlife | No Comments »

Blue Skies, Cold Snow and Hot Chili

Monday, January 18th, 2010

A Morning Snowshoe Climb at the Grand Traverse Commons

By MIKE NORTON

What a beautiful morning in Traverse City! I got to town early this morning and was able to take a walk before work in the hills above the Grand Traverse Commons, one of our most beautiful trail systems. It was perfect hiking weather - crisp and clear, with just a small breeze out of the west. All weekend long, snowshoers and hikers had been flattening out the snow on the pathways, so the hike to the top of the hill was easy to do in my workaday L.L. Beans. I got to the top just in time to see the sun clear the horizon and send its golden light over the bay and the steaming chimneys of the city below.

The Commons is sort of Traverse City’s own Central Park - a semi-wild preserve of more than 500 right on the edge of downtown - and it’s obvious that more and more people are finding out about the trails there.

This past weekend was lots of fun, indoors and out. Over at the Park Place Hotel, 1,800 people turned out on Saturday for the 16^th annual Downtown Chili Challenge, one of Traverse City’s most popular January activities. (Who doesn’t like chili in midwinter?) Fifteen local restaurants competed against each other with 20 different chilis, and participants got to vote for their favorites in eight different categories. Money raised at the cook-off goes to fund downtown community events like our popular summer “block party” program, Friday Night Live. As always, Minerva’s had the home court advantage and won the People’s Choice award for its White Chili.

This coming weekend promises to be another beauty, if the folks at The Weather Channel can be believed - which means it’ll be perfect weather for the Bigfoot Snowshoe Race up at Timber Ridge Resort. The Bigfoot includes 5K and 10K events, and although you don’t have to be an experience snowshoer to compete (in fact, they’ll rent shoes to you if you didn’t bring your own) you’d better be prepared for some exercise, because this is the Midwest qualifier for the National Snowshoe Race in March!

Although I love snowshoeing, the idea of running in snowshoes doesn’t excite me in the least. (Watching somebody else run in them sounds like lots more fun!) But if you’re the kind of person who loves competing in ungainly winter footwear, check out the Bigfoot program at www.TimberRidgeResort.net or call them at (231) 932-5401.

If you’re in the mood for a more leisurely stroll in your snowshoes, you’ll be glad to know that the Traverse City area is a paradise for us big-footed hikers. Lots of people are discovering that its’ an inexpensive and convenient way to get out into our region’s famous winter scenery. And because they can be mastered in a few minutes, they’re popular with people who don’t want to bother with lessons before setting out on the trail.

If you’re a first-timer, one popular way to try snowshoes is to head over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Saturday afternoons for one of their free ranger-led snowshoe hikes. (They’ll even distribute free snowshoes to those who need them and give you some basic instructions - which is all you’ll really need.) If you’re interested contact them at (231) 326-5134, extension 328, for details and to make reservations.

Snowshoeing the Empire Bluff Trail at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Tags: Grand Traverse, Park Place Hotel, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City, winter fun
Posted in Food & Drink, Hiking, Outdoor Sports, Parks, Travel Columns, Traverse City, Winter, Winter Sports | No Comments »

Beach Weather and Christmas Concerts. What a Strange November!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

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 32^nd 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.

Tags: Beaches, fall color, Grand Traverse, Leland, Michigan, shopping, Traverse City
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…