Friday, June 24, 2016

M-22

My last couple of posts were written and posted while I was on a trip back to Michigan.  I got home a week ago, but things have been pretty busy.  This is an account of a drive I did on Monday, June 13….

From the Internet
It was a wet dreary morning as I leave Grand Rapids.  It’s six thirty and my sights are set north as I rush up US 131.  At this time of the morning, the traffic is all coming into the city, so I make good time.  This is all familiar country.  I cross over the Rouge River and recall a fall paddle down this river.  At Big Rapids, I cross over the Muskegon River, the longest river in the state.  Another fall, I’d done a solo trip on this river, with just my dog.  A little before eight, I’m in Cadillac.  I stop for gas and breakfast: coffee and a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin.   It begins to rain harder as I head further north, but the air feels good as the forest has now changed.  Birch intermingle with the hardwood forest.  I’m in the north woods!  Up here, summer is slower in arriving and the black locust are in full bloom, with many trees covered what appears to be popcorn balls.  I make my way, through the rain to Traverse City, where just blocks from the bay, I turn left on M-22.  I follow this beloved road up along the west side of Traverse Bay, to the town of Sutton’s Bay.  I stop at the Inland Seas Educational Association (ISEA), park my rental car, and go inside.
Saying Goodbye 

My last piece of business from my years in Michigan is to get rid of a sailboat.  I thought I had it sold twice, but it never worked out so I began to look for a place to donate it.  A friend suggested this place and they agreed to accept the boat as a donation.  He had a boat that was being worked in Sutton Bay, so he hauled my boat up when he picked his up.  Outside of the ISEA’s building, with a handful of other boats, sits mine.  I get to see it one last time.  They will sell these boats which helps them fund their work of teaching about the Great Lakes.  They maintain a classroom schooner, “The Inland Sea” which is used to give students a unique experience on the lakes.  I sign over the boat’s title and receive a tour of the facility.  They have science lavatories and wood working shop where they teach boat building.  Tied up in their docks is someone’s restored steam tug.  Although I prefer boats propelled by paddles or sails, if I was to go into a powerboat, this boat would be a joy to own.  The small upright boiler looked as if it could have come off the African Queen. 
The Schooner "Inland Seas"
"Steam powered tug"
Leaving Sutton Bay, I drive across the Lelanaeu Peninsula to “Fish Town” in Leland.  The place has become a tourist hub.  I was first here back in the summer of 2003, where I took a ferry out to the Manitou Islands where I spent the fourth of July weekend camping.  The center of “Fish Town” is Carlson’s, a fish market that’s been in business since 1904.  I purchase a couple of smoked whitefish fillets as a gift for Jack, whom I am staying with in Grand Rapids.  Leaving Leland, I head south on scenic M-22, as it hugs the lakeshore.  After having rushed up to Sutton’s Bay, I plan to take my time traveling back to Grand Rapids.   Mostly I will take M-22, but I plan a detour that will cause me to miss the beautiful town of Glen Arbor on the shores of Lake Glen, but will take me through Maple City where I plan to stop at Gabes, to pick up some sausage for Jack.  The drive through these familiar woods is relaxing.  After Maple City, I get a bit lost (my only map is my iPad) and head too far south, but this allows me a chance to drive through the village Benzonia, which is where Bruce Catton’s memoir, Waiting for the Morning Train, is set.  Catton, who is mostly known for his Civil War studies, grew up in Northern Michigan early in the 20th Century and is a freshman at the University of Michigan when World War I began. 
North from Inspiration Point

I pick M-22 back up at Frankfort, another beautiful little lakeside town.  I stop at a diner on the edge of town for lunch, but they’ve closed their kitchen early for cleaning so I keep traveling. The road snakes around and up and down large sand dunes that line the lakeshore.  I stop at Inspiration Point, where stairs lead to the top of a sand dune where I feast on beautiful views north and south along the lakeshore.  I continue on driving south, enjoying the view of the City of Milwaukee, an old steam ferry that could haul passengers and a train across the lakes.  This ship was built in the early 30s and was operated by the Grand Trunk Railroad and later the Ann Arbor Railroad.  The ship was retired in 1982.  Today, on the weekend, the ship sits just north of Manistee and serves as a museum and bed and breakfast, allowing the guest to stay in the old staterooms.  Sadly, it was only open on weekends so I’m not able to tour it.


South from Inspiration Point
The City of Milwaukee 
I’m hungry and it is way after lunchtime, so I head into downtown Manistee to find a restaurant.  I pick out “The Boathouse,” which is located right on the Manistee River.  When I lived in Michigan, I did a three day canoe trip on the upper Manistee.  Of all the great rivers I’ve paddled in this state (Pere Marquette, Au Sable, Two-Hearted, Fox, etc), the Manistee was my favorite.  I had considered doing a longer trip that would end at the river’s mouth into Lake Michigan, but I was never able to come up with the ten days to make the paddle.  Alyssa is my waitress and seats me by the window where I watch the boats while enjoying a tasty blacken chicken salad.

Town of Manistee
The Spartan
(shouldn't it be painted the colors of MSU: green and white)
M-22 officially ends at Manistee.   This is a beautiful drive and on this trip, I missed two of the highways more beautiful parts (the section through Glen Arbor and Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes and the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, both which I have travelled before).  I continue driving south and stop and walk around in Ludington, before driving back to Grand Rapids. I had been here a number of times when living in Michigan, staying in B&Bs and camping at the state park.  In Ludington, one can still take a ferry, The Badger, across Lake Michigan.  The ship is out on the lake, but mothballed at the harbor is another old ferry, the Spartan.   Back in the fifties, there were ferries that ran all over the lakes, hauling people, cars and trains.  But with faster highways and airplanes, most of those ships have become scrap metal.   


I’m back in Grand Rapids by 9 PM. 

27 comments:

  1. How great that you were able to donate your boat in a way that will do good. Take care and have a terrific weekend.

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  2. That is a nice post Sage , have a nice week end !!

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  3. I like that boat, although it makes me think of the line from jaws. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

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  4. You are a very generous person, my friend. Wishing you a terrific weekend.

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  5. Good trip, great photo's of a MI many who live here will never see.

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  6. Good for you for donating the boat. I've never been to the upper part of Michigan. When I lived in Houston 2 guys lived downstairs from me who were from the U.P. They were the funniest people I ever met! When they started talking they always sounded like Bob and Doug MacKenzie.

    @Kathleen01930 Blog

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  7. I'd love to visit Michigan one day. The closest I've ever been was Illinois. Great pictures.

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  8. My friend Ken Runnels lived in Grand Rapids. We served together in the Army. After I married, my wife and I drove up a few times to visit him. We love that area. We spent one weekend at a house at Benton Harbor. A beautiful experience.

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  9. Lovely. My wife grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. It's been a few years since we've been back. It's a beautiful part of the world, especially this time of year.

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  10. You've been busy and a fun, satisfying kind of busy from the looks of your photos. How nice that your sailboat has a new adventure ahead of it.

    I don't think I've been to Michigan at all, but my BIL is from there and speaks fondly of the UP.

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  11. I've often been worried about returning after a time but it can rekindle a grá that tend to have gone in the time before the move.

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  12. Neat photos and interesting narrative. It's good that you were able to donate your boat to a good cause.

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  13. Michigan would be a great place to sail. I can only imagine the sights. :) Good for you for donating your boat!

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  14. The trip sounds like it was a good one. Road trips are always such adventures. You never know what will happen or who you might meet along the way. I'm glad you found a good place to donate your boat. I like donating to organizations that are involved in educating people about their environment.

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  15. You shared bits and pieces of Michigan that I'd like to see someday. Our younger son's first wedding was in East Lansing, but our whirlwind weekend visit up there didn't give us much of an opportunity to really see and appreciate the state.

    Aw, you're killing me with the mention of smoked whitefish. We used to buy it frequently when we lived in Baltimore, but the stuff we can get here in the Atlanta area is way too greasy and unappealing.

    Very cool that you donated your boat.

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  16. So good to hear that you donated your boat.
    Loved your post and the photo's you've shared too.

    Have a good week

    All the best Jan

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  17. Yes! The Sleeping Bear Dunes area is gorgeous. I enjoyed all your photos. You captured "Pure Michigan"!

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  18. looks like a nice drive and it's great that you were able to donate your boat to a good cause.

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  19. Great idea to donate your boat!
    I always love your pics!
    xo Paola
    Expressyourself
    My Facebook

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  20. That's really nice that you donated your boat. I loved all the pictures.

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  21. Thanks for taking us on the tour with you! Great idea, to donate the sailboat. I'd like to visit that 1930s boat museum someday! Sad about all the ferries -- sometimes it's nice to travel more slowly. If I ever cross from England to France without flying, I'd like to take the ferry rather than the Chunnel...

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  22. What a beautiful area! I love the moodiness of the water photos. Lovely that you donated your boat!

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  23. That was a very kind gesture to donate your boat. Your photos are lovely, and so is your header.

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  24. The skies in the photos remind me of Cleveland skies. Always lots of clouds generating from the lake. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

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  25. Another great post, Sage. I'm in awe of how your words just flow. I am such a slow writer! How gratifying it must be to know your sailboat is helping education! That photo of the schooner "Inland Sea" is hauntingly beautiful. I have a special place in my heart for schooners, having grown up Nova Scotian with the Bluenose ever in my heart and mind. Enjoy your long weekend!

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  26. Sounds like your boat will go to a good home. I always hate not being able to get any money back for something I cherished but knowing that it is going to a good home/cause is reward enough.

    Although I haven't done any recently, I love meandering drives especially along bodies of water. I find it very relaxing.

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  27. Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy your stories? Well I do, and especially when they bring me to my old home state of Michigan. And tug boats, I have such a fondness for them, probably like your love of sailboats! That is such a cutie in your photo too!

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