North Michigan

North Michigan

Michigan has the states of Ohio and Indiana on its southern border and to the west has the huge freshwater expanse – Lake Michigan. Its eastern border is a narrow section of Lake Huron separating it from Ontario Canada which protrudes nearly the entire length of Michigan, and to the north its border is with mainland Canada. Michigan comprises a peninsular pushing north from the US mainland and another peninsular on the Canadian mainland pushing south and they join at the straits between Lakes Michigan and Lake Huron.

It became a state in 1837 and had been a federal territory before then. It was home to tribes of Indians and there are many reservations usually with casinos which are a primary and often exclusive sources of income for the Indians.

 

It has abundant wildlife and water and it is easy to see why it was home to native people. It is a farming state and logging has historically been a major part of its economy.

My interest in visiting was this natural beauty and I based myself in the north at Traverse City which is close to the 45^th parallel.

A major crop is cherries and the airport at Traverse is called Cherry Capital Airport! But citrus orchards and, in recent decades, wineries have also sprung up along with staple crops such as corn.

While in a similar weather zone to New England, it is the Midwest region of the US and people are different-a harsher accent and more direct and droll in their manner than their more genteel New England based cousins.

Storms

I was planning to drive up from Chicago on the Sunday morning having flown in late on Saturday night. On the TV news there were quite forceful warnings about a weather and storm front that was bearing down on Chicago and its environs around noon. So I set off earlier than originally planned on the five hour drive along the coast of Lake Michigan to Traverse City.

 

The weather started to become very windy and rainy about 1:00pm and I was surprised to hear a loud blasting alarm in the car-and even more surprised to see it was my mobile phone. I had never heard this strident alarm before and it included an SMS saying that a serious storm and possible tornado was approaching a county I had passed 30 minutes previously. It seems they have an alert system that obviously can access any mobile (even non US mobiles) in a given area. The radio also had warning transmissions overriding normal programs.

The message was to seek cover from the storms and to be aware of flying debris. I was well clear of the worst of it but subsequently learned that eight people had died in the storms in the Chicago area and officials credited the low toll to the effectiveness of the warning system.

 

Lake Michigan was whipped up by the storms and for following days I saw breakers like a coastal break in Australia rolling into its beaches. These are usually placid lapping ripples so the storms had obviously raged for some time across the Lake.

Navigation

Along the coast I found many disused lighthouses and also ports which had been very busy with passenger traffic to places like Chicago and with produce including timber for faraway markets. The ships were quite large and would have plied the Lakes long before the highway system was developed.

 

Much of the USA comprises treeless plains and it was therefore necessary for housing and related development to log these massive forests in the north and to shepherd the logs via lakes and waterways to the ports. Then they were shipped to railheads on the coast of Illinois and Wisconsin for transport by rail to the settlers. The railways themselves consumed enormous amounts of trees for rail sleepers.

Such was the demand that by the early 1900’s much of the northern forests were left a wasteland and there had been no planning for replenishment. The issue was finally addressed during the Great Depression when one of the major federal work programs was to replant these natural forests. With modern forest management techniques the situation has been recovered and forestry is now a very vibrant industry.

The whole northern area is dotted with freshwater lakes of various shapes and size. Nearly all of these will be frozen by December and the arctic winds have begun and the area will be snow covered until March/April. I was surprised to see how many businesses were already “closed for the season” and I learned that many employees work in ski resorts during these off months. However, in the summer there is great scope for water sports and many non-resident homeowners descend upon the area for the summer holidays.

Excursions

Each day I would head out for a drive with a specific destination in mind. On Tuesday I travelled north to the straits between the two Great lakes. There is a massive suspension bridge at Mackinac which joins the two land masses - the structure is 8km long and, before its construction in 1957, ferries were the only form of transport linking the two halves of Michigan. The bridge is very high and subject to very strong winds which cause it to be closed for safety reasons on about ten days each year.

On other high wind occasions vehicles with high loads are prevented from using it – even though it remains open for other traffic. Hunters are significant users of the bridge during the hunting season that runs between November and January. It is customary to strap the deer or other kill to the roof of your truck or car. However on these very windy days there are often situations where the hunters try and stuff the dead deer into the vehicle cabin so as to qualify to use the bridge!!

 

After crossing this magnificent bridge I called into the Visitor Centre. I had noticed a walking trail leaving the car park and thought it might be interesting. I inquired with the ranger and he asked how far I planned on walking. I had in mind about 3km and asked him how long the trail was. He replied it was over 1,400km! (Apparently it was a section of a walking trail that commences on the east coast of the US and continues across the northern states). I indicated I would probably only do a part of this that day and then he asked if I had anything orange to wear. He explained that the hunting season was now on and it would be very dangerous to be walking without the customary iridescent vest!

We agreed that my best option instead was a two mile coastal boardwalk in the next town St Ignace which was a sleepy fishing village a few miles further on where I would be out of harm’s way!

On another drive I noticed in the middle of nowhere a small shop and shed which advertised stationery. I went in and saw several printing presses in operation producing stationery using wood cuts that had been made by the now deceased founder, Gwen Frostic. She was a keen botanist who spent her life in the region and developed the woodcut business to the point that there is an international market for her products. See: http://www.gwenfrostic.com/

Potesky

About 80 km north of Traverse City was a very attractive little town of Potesky on the coast of Lake Michigan. It had a port and was prosperous, tidy, historic, and well-endowed with churches (I counted seven in three blocks!) and had beautiful decorations set up for Christmas. The light poles were like old fashioned gas lights and around each post they had woven fairy lights and at the top of each pole near the main light they put either red wreaths or red bunting. The effect was so pretty and when the streets are snow covered it will be spectacular.

 

Apparently Ernest Hemingway lived here for some years and in a saloon his usual place at the bar is highlighted.

Wineries

On another excursion I visited a winery district on a peninsular out from Traverse City. There were about a dozen wineries each with their own specialisation. One I visited was using Malbech grapes from Argentina in some of its blends.

Great Bear National Park and Sand Dunes were well worth a visit although I was constrained from trail walking due to the presence of hunters. While driving along the forest roads cars or utilities are randomly parked and these are apparently the hunters’ vehicles.

 

There are many streams on which canoes were being used although there would be more in summer. The current will take you from A to B and the paddle is used to steer. The canoe rental company then drives you back to your starting point after your three hour journey down stream.

Tomorrow I fly to Berlin and on to Rennes in Brittany.