Winter at Hickory Meadows
- At January 11, 2013
- By Kim
- In Kim's posts, Places
1
We love Hickory Meadows. Where else, excluding use of a Star Trek transporter, can you get from the city to 112 acres of wilderness in less than 5 minutes? That’s speedy fast folks!
We might even love winter at Hickory Meadows more than any other season (no offense to the peepers in spring, sun-drenched meadow in summer, and fall colors of course). When the snow falls, several miles of trails provide a great beginner cross-country ski track as well as some sledding hills back in the wooded area for when the kiddos get tired of walking and would rather slide.
On our trek back we were rewarded with the colors of an amazing Northern Michigan sunset against the snowy white fields and the cozy smell of bonfires up the road at Hickory Hills (the city-operated downhill ski spot).
Cora loved the ice designs that the creek had made as it gradually froze over. I imagine it has melted with these warm temperatures, but we will be anxious to see the new shapes that form when winter returns in a few days. The eyes of a 7-year old saw some shoes, a rug, some ghosts, some waves, some leaves, and a face! What do you see in the ice?
For the trail map, click here.
Twigs and Swigs No. 3 – Alligator Hill
- At December 13, 2012
- By Nate
- In Places
- 0
Due to grumbling stomachs and prolonged decision-making at the Totem Shop our group actually swigged, then twigged. The swigging went down at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor. After dozens of visits to Art’s, this place will not disappoint. It is, as their website suggests, a Glen Arbor institution. I’d go so far as to call it a Northern Michigan institution and classic experience. I’m no connoisseur but have never been disappointed by the beer selection and in fact, was happily surprised to learn they are now serving New Belgium beers, a personal favorite. The food is also solid. I’d put it in the better-than-bar-food category for sure, with offerings for vegetarians. The menu doesn’t seem to change much, which is appreciated in the “you can always depend on Art’s” sort of way. Good food and drink go a long way in creating a classic tavern and then Art’s knocks it out of the park with ambiance. Plenty of booths, bar seating, outdoor patio, the game always on the TVs flickering away amidst the yellowing pennants, and other kitsch completely covering the walls and ceiling. The decoration is incredible. It looks somewhat haphazard but it’s incredibly interesting and I, at least, always find something new (like the giant two-headed swordfish I had somehow missed for 10 years?!). The memories of families stopping in after a day at the beach, couples on dates, snowmobilers warming up, and folks fueling up before a hike, like we did, are almost palpable in Art’s and it’s always a pleasure to add one more.
While I’ve been to Art’s many times, I’d never been to Sleeping Bear Dunes’ Alligator Hill Trails just under 1.5 miles west of Glen Arbor off Rt 109. I don’t know this for sure, but I believe Alligator Hill is named that way because from the water it looks like a giant alligator floating in Glen Lake (depending on how active your imagination is it can be a little scary… for the record, I have an active imagination). The trail system includes over nine miles of looped trail. Our group walked from marker 1-2 indicated on the National Park Map. The trailhead features charcoal kilns that were used to create charcoal from mill waste back in the day. The first thing the kids in the group did was run up and down these intriguing structures and inspect them inside and out. They are definitely a cool remnant of a previous era. The piece of trail we walked was on an old road bed, presumably an old logging road. The grade was consistently uphill but pretty easy (add difficulty by hiking with a 50-lb child on your shoulders) and definitely an enjoyable walk through mostly maple-beech hardwood forest. The high canopy and open understory create long views through the woods and out to the water in places. This would be an amazing place to ski and apparently people do when there is actually snow on the ground. At the top of the hill there is a stunning view of Sleeping Bear Bay, both Manitou Islands, and Big Blue beyond. There’s also a bench there to rest and take it all in (or do fun “jump for joy” pictures off of). It’s a fun little hike that families can do together. I’ll definitely be back to Alligator Hill, oh and Art’s too, if that needs to be said. Enjoy!
Twigs and Swigs No. 2 – Old Mission
- At December 03, 2012
- By Brian
- In Brian's posts, Places
- 0
I grew up on Old Mission peninsula, but sadly have only been out to the lighthouse a dozen or so times. It’s on that note that I thought it would be good to get my family and friends out there on the trails so we could all become familiar with the area and make it more of a routine destination. Plus, there’s been a lot of love on this site lately for our “other” peninsula (not mentioning names…<cough> Kim <cough>), and so I thought maybe I’d guide you east.
The end of Old Mission Peninsula is about 18 miles north of TC. Just head out M-37 until it ends, right at the parking lot where the lighthouse is located. The trailhead is well marked by a sign on the south side of the road. There are two other trailheads with parking, both at the south end of the park.
We were lucky enough to enjoy a fresh dusting of snow for our late afternoon hike. There were a few people at the lighthouse when we parked, but we only saw one other person on the trail during our 1.5 hour outing (a hunter – dress brightly!). We stuck to the northern end of the trails, which were heavily wooded, mostly with pines. For the last portion of the trek we actually strolled along the east side of the peninsula, on the beach, until we arrived back at the lighthouse.
There are a handful of places, including wineries, where you could head to post-hike, but we decided on Jolly Pumpkin this time. They have a solid selection of food, some of which features local ingredients, and they also brew some mighty fine beer. My personal favorite is Bam Biere, a spicy tasting, effervescent farmhouse ale.
I’ve never been to Jolly Pumpkin when it wasn’t busy. They don’t take reservations, but they will do call ahead seating. My tip: give them a call right before you head out on your hike with an estimate of when you’ll be arriving (it’s about 10 minutes from the lighthouse). Then you can walk through the thick crowd waiting to be seated right to your table. Better yet, pre-order a pitcher of beer to have waiting for you! Their number is (231) 223-4333.
Cheers!
Twigs and Swigs No. 1 – The Commons
- At November 21, 2012
- By Kim
- In Kim's posts, Places
- 1
As residents of Northern Michigan, there’s not much we love more than our outdoors and our local eateries. So we are starting a series of posts providing a suggested combination of the two. It’s called..wait for it…”Twigs and Swigs,” (trust me, that took a lot of collaborative creative brain power to come up with that one!).
The trail system at The Commons, a personal favorite, is number one in the series. For those of us with kids, or those of us who are kids at heart, this spot provides an outdoor playground. Downed branches are balance beams, willow trees are jungle gyms, the rocks in the creek beg a game of hopscotch, but watch out for the dude in the photo below! Art afficianados, don’t feel left out, enjoy the juxtaposition of the work of our local Banksys and nature’s own art displays long the trails.
Once you’ve worked up a sweat, fallen out of a tree, slipped into the creek, and decided you should try your hand at graffiti; perhaps it’s time to move on to the swigs! At The Village, you can’t really go wrong. But with the chill of fall upon us, may I suggest warming up with a hot chocolate with gobs of whipped cream on top at Cuppa Joe. Delish…
Footnotes:
The photos in this post were taken along the trail to the left of the Underground Cheesecake Company (not marked on the map) and the trails behind the TBAISD building and Greenspire Montessori (yellow into green and then purple).
We at Northern Swag are not suggesting you actually try your hand at graffiti (at least not publicly).
Tweddle Farm, Sleeping Bear Dunes
- At November 12, 2012
- By Nate
- In Places
- 2
Why are we drawn to historical farmsteads? Perhaps its nostalgia for a by-gone era. Maybe its
the physical beauty of those simple, purposeful buildings or the intrigue of their disparate shapes and apparently haphazard arrangements.
On the other hand, you think, maybe there is some order… there has to be… but what is it exactly? Why is one building so very different from the others… why are the materials and scale so varied? Maybe its the mystery of all these “unknowns” that draws you in. We will never know know exactly what occurred on those farms 100 years ago. You think, “What was on the farmers mind when he bolted that steel together? Where did the chickens run off to when a Sunday afternoon visitor rolled in the driveway back in the day? What did it sound like in that farm house when a november gale ripped over the dune 100 years ago?” We can only speculate and imagine. Personally I do enjoy learning history and facts, but I also enjoy not knowing right away…in a way prescribing ignorance for myself.
A little prescribed ignorance can help us see what is truly there instead of what we read about and fill in the gaps with an imaginary world truly unique to us. Entire worlds have been built on the solid foundation of imagination ( think Muppets ). As adults we find it helpful to share accepted facts and make decisions based on a studied reality but, consider keeping a bit of ignorance in your world. Its a way to access our imaginations and allow us to see things in new ways. Obviously knowledge is important but a pretty smart guy once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge” (Albert Einstein).
There are written histories for the farms in Sleeping Bear Dunes and they are neat to read and important from a historical standpoint but maybe just go out there and see what you find for yourself.
