I’ve fielded the “Whaddaya do up there all winter?” question. A lot. I’m a seasonal employee at a retail establishment in Glen Arbor. My place of employment is visited during the summer and fall months by out-of-towners, many of whom express a reasonable curiosity about life UpNorth after summer’s omnipresent sunny-ness fades. One such inquisitor was completely sold on Glen Arbor in the summer. But the winter? Not so much, she said.
A “Bay to Bay” hiking, paddling and camping trail proposed for the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has generated excitement among local business owners and recreation enthusiasts but also attracted significant opposition from private property landowners who live near the trail’s potential route. Staff at the National Lakeshore have subsequently slowed planning for the Bay to Bay Trail initiative. They extended the public comment period by an extra month this fall, and have drawn out the project’s scoping phase until next summer.
Author Anne-Marie Oomen offers the third in three lessons about how to write about your summer vacation in Leelanau. Use sensory language to describe your best summer moments; use strong, action verbs to keep memories locked in place. Now she explores the “so what” factor.
Taking a stroll down Western Avenue in the village of Glen Arbor, you’ll come to a lawn that is beautifully landscaped in Michigan native plants. This is 6391 Western Avenue, the headquarters of Sleeping Bear Birding Trail (SBBT). What, you wonder, is a birding trail? That’s the most frequently asked question by both tourists and locals coming through the door, said operations director Mick Seymour. “What the heck is a birding trail?”
Our default perspective is from our own place and time. This is natural. It cannot be otherwise. Yet it’s sometimes fun to engineer a shift in the way we see and experience things, and by so doing create more awareness. You can put on the 3-D glasses for another time period by trying out earlier modes of transportation. Some of these are a little hard to find but walking, our original mode of locomotion, is always available. Travel by canoe, ox-cart, stage coach, sleigh, schooner, steamer and train will take a little more effort in the way of arrangement-making, but all are still possible.
By Linda Beaty Sun contributor At least 15 minutes before Pegtown Station restaurant in Maple City opens for breakfast, cars are already pulling into the small parking lot in front. In large part, that’s because Pegtown, owned by Maple City residents Dave and Mary MacDonald for almost 10 years now, serves up some of the […]
Here’s a quick timeline of events surrounding Sugar Loaf since the resort reemerged in the headlines last September. Below that you’ll also find a list of major questions that remain about Sugar Loaf and its ownership.
Maybe it’s true—the third time is a charm. Though my first two M22 Challenges—the first in 2011, my second in ’13—were fantastic experiences, this year’s event proved especially rewarding. Not just because I made it to the podium—a first in my seven years of racing!—but because I felt so strong throughout this 22-mile run-bike-paddle race. Is there anything better than a race where everything just clicks?
Jeff Smoke, 35 of Buchanan, Mich., is not a newcomer to the M-22 Challenge, the podium or paddle triathlons. Smoke kayaked on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team and took first place at the 2011 and 2013 M-22 Challenge. In past years Smoke has dominated the paddle portion of the race and this is where he would win the event. However, in 2014 he picked up his cycling pace, which proved to make the ultimate difference for him, as Denny Paull was only one second off Smoke’s paddle time. Paull, the 2010 and 2012 winner, came into the transition area from the run well ahead of Smoke, but lost valuable time to Smoke on the bike portion of the race. Paull finished second overall.
Genuine Leelanau, a nonprofit charitable organization serving children and families of Leelanau County for over 30 years, hosts their annual “Laundry Party” gala on Wednesday, June 18, at the Empire home of Bill and Cherrie Stege. The recipient of this annual fundraiser, The Laundry Project, provides funds and laundry supplies for families in need. As a result of this fundraising party, financially stressed local families may use the facilities at the Suttons Bay Laundromat at Hansen’s Plaza for free.