December 2015
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Wild game affair
In hunting for something charmingly different to do this holiday season — and inspired by the taste-good memory of the reindeer meatballs we devoured in Helsinki last year, I latched on to the idea of a wild game affair.
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Gifts for the glass
A dinner is only as good as what you pair with it, some may say. And while wine has traditionally been the beverage of choice, craft beer, cider and spirits now are finding a place at the table.
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Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count
Weather permitting, the Michigan Technological University professor and 20 to 30 friends plan to bundle up and hit the road with binoculars and bird field guides. The intrepid band is one of 77 groups, and more than 1,000 Michigan birders, planning to participate in this year’s 116th annual Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the National Audubon Society.
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Crafting cocoa
Growing in popularity at coffee shops, artisan markets and specialty stores across the state, specialty hot chocolate is warming up Michiganders with each unique recipe. Cafes and restaurants also are crafting their own cocoa beverages.
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“Incomer” by Gloria Whelan
The following excerpt from the short story “Incomer” by Gloria Whelan is from the newly released book “Here: Women Writing on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula” (2015, Michigan State University Press), edited by Ronald Riekki and presented with permission of Michigan State University Press and Wayne State University Press. All rights reserved.
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Quiet hours
Years ago, when my wife and young sons and I lived in the Old Town neighborhood of Traverse City, we often walked to the Carnegie Library on Sixth Street. On winter evenings we would bundle up in coats, boots, hats and mittens and set out through the snow.
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Winter camping: Stay warm at these hot spots
Most folks think of camping as a three-season activity in Michigan: It’s a fine excursion in spring, summer and fall, but crazy in winter. Who wants to pitch a tent when the thermometer reads below freezing or there’s a foot of snow on the ground?
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Leaving tracks
Winter affords no anonymity. Snow hides no secrets. Out on the ski trails, alone in the quiet of first light, my eyes read the snow like a gossip column. Tracks zigzagging along my route reveal where deer crossed and bunnies burrowed; once I even saw wing prints where an owl swooped down to snatch a mouse.
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December & January
People, places and events to explore in michigan during the months of December and January.
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Mid-century ski boom
Michigan saw a boom in vacation travel after World War II, but it wasn’t only in the summer months that Michiganders enjoyed the state’s recreational offerings. The ’50s and ’60s saw a number of ski lodges built in Michigan, many in the Mid-Century Modern style.
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The need for speed
Rushing wind and clattering skates are the only sounds as the wintery world races past on the frozen lake. The landscape becomes a blur of white as the drum-tight sail catapults the nimble vessel to dizzying speeds.
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Sustainable slopes
The 65-year-old president and CEO of Crystal Mountain, a Thompsonville golf, ski and spa resort, values development strategies that emphasize people and the environment as well as profit: “the triple bottom line,” in the parlance of sustainable business practice.
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Mushing in Michigan
In the quiet winter woods of the Manistee National Forest, where sounds are muffled by blankets of deep snow, Roger Starke’s voice commands cut through the silence as his sled dogs pull him briskly along the trail.
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Great Lake Story 2015: Lakemore Retreat – Final Chapter
Lakemore Retreat Great Lake Story 2015 Introduction | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five Designed in part to show potential clients what’s possible with Bay Area Contracting at the helm, two award-winning new homes on Arbutus Lake make great rental escapes, too. Since BAC’s inception in 2007, […]
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Celebrate a season of breathtaking scenery and sport
There are places where residents remain indoors, taking warm refuge from the winter cold, but Michigan is not one of them. Leaving the home hearth offers the reward of memorable new vistas; even the same old place is changed by winter’s unique landscape.
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Small town charms
From ice caves in the Upper Peninsula to rural scenes in Leelanau County, sprinkled with glowing streetscapes, lively winter activities and some of the state’s most scenic spots and unique natural formations, the following pages capture both the pristine, unbridled beauty and stark, cold landscape of Michigan in winter.
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Winter 2015: Contributors
Meet the authors, photographers, and additional contributors who help bring the Michigan BLUE magazine to life each month.
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‘Chasing shadows’
Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, winter sports enthusiasts fill the historic Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon for Warren Miller Entertainment’s latest exploration of some of the most spectacular scenery and toughest skiing terrain in the world.
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Merry and bright
Though local holiday decor may be more conventional than in some parts of the country, folks definitely get festive in the Midwest, and fireplace mantels set the stage for seasonal displays.
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Stocking stuffers from the Mitten State
Since the early 1800s, families have hung stockings from the mantel on Christmas Eve in anticipation of a visit from St. Nicholas. As you plan for this year’s holiday season, look to the Mitten State for unique and inexpensive stocking stuffers for everyone in the family.
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Escape the bustle
Step back in time to the sounds and sights of the past: the clip-clop of horses’ hooves, the voices of carolers and piping of bagpipers strolling the streets where downtown business owners are dressed in elegant Victorian attire — Dec. 3-6 is Manistee’s Victorian Sleighbell Parade & Old Christmas Weekend.
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Walk this way
Whether you’re looking for something different to do in a day trip or ways to entertain out-of-town relatives over the holidays, home tours offer a diversion from winter’s unpredictable weather and home decorating ideas.
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Dog days of winter
One of the only states in the continental U.S. to hold competitive sled-dog races, Michigan is host to a variety of events from the northern Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula.
