October 2014
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Great Lake Story 2014: On Manchester Pond: The Team – Chapter Four
Great lake story Fall 2014, on Manchester Pond: the team – chapter four
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Beyond the Open Fire
Boasting about half the calories and lowest fat content of all other main edible nuts, chestnuts create a state of delectable opportunity.
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A Riot of Colors, with Violins
One day last fall we were paddling across a small lake in northern Michigan when my vocabulary failed me. It was a bright October afternoon and the woods were in full display. To say they were “ablaze” with a “riot” of colors would be inadequate. Pathetic, really. I plucked a brown leaf from the water and asked Gail what color she saw. “Burnt sienna,” she said. It was a new idea for me: That every place on earth has a visual fingerprint.
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Great trails: Shared traits
From expansive vistas to historic discoveries, the best extend something special. The first edition of my book, “50 Hikes In Michigan” (The Countryman Press) appeared in 1991. The latest edition — which is also Michigan’s first full-color trail guidebook, is digitally intergraded with the internet and features 10 extra walks — was released this June. That’s almost a quarter century of searching for good trails.
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Making a date with the state
From archaeology and astronomy to harvest fare and haunted fun, autumn in Michigan brims with things to do and places to go.
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Re-raising the barn
Ranked 13th in America as state with most barns (21,368 according to a 2007 USDA census of farmers and ranchers cited by the National Barn Alliance), Michigan is a trove of traditional wooden barns.
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Restoring Frank
Built in 1945, the brick-and-stone cottage we bought as newlyweds was the first of two fixer-uppers we owned before our only child was born. Six years later, we moved with our son to a brooding 1920s’ English Tudor with drafty leaded-glass windows. Staying rooted in suburban-Detroit, we happily renovated or repaired vintage kitchens, crumbling plaster, haunted basements and antique toilets.
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New designs on old wood: the patina, the texture, the history
Situated on a cove of Hudsonville’s Georgetown Shores Lake in West Michigan, a Parade home crafted by Grand Rapids-based Celebrity Builders, LLC exudes a unique eclectic style that blends contemporary appeal with vintage ingenuity.
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Becoming an outdoor woman
From quiet nights spent under the stars to climbing the highest mountains, the great outdoors is attracting more women than ever before – and the Great Lakes States offers plenty of ways to learn the ropes.
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Getaway to yesterday
Founded for different reasons in different eras of Michigan’s history, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and Fuller’s North Branch Outing Club are storied spots to escape.
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Fall into a park
Autumn is a special season to find time in Michigan’s forests, where leaf canopies are blazing red, purple and gold and hundreds of activities, workshops and festivals take place throughout the state.
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A Paddler’s Path
By Jon Osborn Photography By Johnny Quirin It’s early September off the rugged coast of Isle Royale. Lake Superior, often fierce and hard to predict as a rabid dog, is more kitten-like today. As dawn breaks, gentle waves lap the rocky shoreline with a rhythmic fizz. Wispy clouds give chase across the brightening, blushing sky. […]
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Into the woods
Enjoy many rustic cabins and lodges varying in size and amenities in forested places throughout the entire state of Michigan.
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Fall 2014: Contributors
Michigan BLUE Magazine Fall 2014 issue authors, photographers, and additional contributors who bring the magazine to life.
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Leaves to be desired
High-end, custom-built treehouses tailored to suit each customer’s needs and where dreams are now among the many construction offerings of home and business remodeling companies.
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Plight of the Monarch
Butterflies are a common sight for Pat Ruta McGhan, the botanist for the Loda Lake National Wildflower Sanctuary, a 72-acre flowering plant haven in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. In addition to colorful blooms along its trails, the refuge harbors a “pollinator garden” full of prairie smoke, lupine, hoary puccoon and an abundance of milkweed which is cultivated to attract and nourish one of Michigan’s most dramatic butterflies — the monarch.
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Men of Steel
It would be easy to assume there’s an inherent appreciation for the nomadic rainbow’s acrobatic fight when hooked, as well as a deep respect for this renowned species’ mysterious here-today, gone-tomorrow nature. Then again, perhaps stalwart steelheaders are simply obsessed with big fish, like Santiago in Hemingway’s classic tale, “The Old Man and the Sea.”
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Ingrained beauty
Embellished with custom designs, signature stripes and rich woods rooted in the Great Lakes State, Michigan-made boats are floating works of art.
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Savoring the Harvest
What do you get when you couple the knowledgeable and creative talents of area chefs with the deliciously fresh and bountiful Michigan autumnal harvest? Quite possibly the top spot to consummate one of the state’s most perfect pairings is your local farmers market, where enthusiastic, harvest-savvy chefs are more frequently sharing their skills for creating inspired seasonal fare. Following are a few inviting places to find seasonal inspiration
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Into the Woods: Leaves to be Desired
Ablaze in natural splendor, autumn is prime time to see the forest for the trees, and the Great Lakes State offers a rich tapestry of opportunities including four national parks, three national forests, 102 state parks and (excluding Alaska) the nation’s largest state forest system, encompassing 3.9 million acres — along with lands and lakes owned by counties, cities and townships.
