The Traveling Michigander

So let’s wrap up this Traverse City snowshoe trip, shall we? You can see the first two parts here and here.

I didn’t rise too early on Sunday morning, sleeping in until 7:00. (That’s about as late as I can sleep.) I was ready in plenty of time for the Fairfield Inn breakfast bar. There was a decent selection, and I went with a hard-boiled egg, breakfast sandwich, waffle, and orange juice. Quite a bit more than I normally eat, but I had some snowshoeing ahead.

Fairfield Inn, Traverse City

I left the hotel around 9:00 and went to Peninsula Park on the tip of Old Mission Peninsula. Traffic was incredibly light and the roads were clear of snow – I made excellent time to the park.
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Instead of heading north from the parking lot to the water like I normally do, I went south, across the road and into the woods. Though I had snowshoes, I really didn’t need them – between a relative lack of snow and a well-packed trail, it was easy going. I stomped off the trail now and then just because I could.

Peninsula Park, Old Mission Peninsula

I followed the trail east to the water, then back into the woods, exiting the forest a final time to walk on the ice-covered bay. Surprisingly, there was one other person out on the ice, so I wasn’t the only crazy one.

Peninsula Park, Old Mission Peninsula

I wasn’t done with Peninsula Park, but I wanted to examine a different side of the trails, one that would have taken me too long to reach on foot. So I checked my handy Trail Atlas of Michigan, a book no hiker / biker / snowshoer should be without, and found an entrance farther south. The terrain was more fields than forest, still an easy hike. There was no one around, though, and that was what I was looking for. And from the looks of the trail, only one person had been there within the last couple of days. I’ll be trying the “hidden” entrance again.

On my way back to Traverse City, I stopped at the Old Mission, a recreation of the original Christian mission on the peninsula.

Old Mission, Old Mission Peninsula

Lunchtime had arrived and I met a friend from my days at Babbage’s (Babbage’s is dead, long live Babbage’s) at The Blue Tractor. This was my second visit to TBT, and I was just as impressed the second time as I was the first. I had an excellent Black, Blue, and Bacon burger, the most important ‘B’ being Bacon. Not a quiet spot – both visits have involved small, loud children – but great food.

After my meal, I headed an hour or so south to Cadillac for my final trail of the trip, William Mitchell State Park. I was not impressed by the trails – it was just a simple loop around a marsh connected to the parking lots by spoke trails. And there was the constant noise of traffic on nearby M115. But, it was a new trail, my third new one of the year, and that was the reason for my stop.

Mitchell State Park, Cadillac

My trip over, I headed home to a freshly baked heart-shaped cookie with chocolate frosting.

My snowshoeing at Ludington State Park concluded, I departed south. After a brief stop in Ludington to take a few pictures of two more lighthouses, I departed for parts north – Traverse City. Like my trip from Lansing to Ludington, traffic was very light. US 10 and US 37 were nearly empty in parts, and I didn’t encounter any significant traffic until just south of TC.

Lighthouse, Ludington

My hotel for this trip was the Fairfield Inn on US 31, just south of South Airport Road. I was given a room with a king bed with a beautiful view of a Cracker Barrel. The room was simple, and also included a refrigerator and microwave for those who bring your own food or have leftovers from the many great restaurants in town.

Fairfield Inn, Traverse City

I made the short trip to the Traverse City Commons for a very short hike on the trails through the hills above Traverse City. There are several different well-marked trails that wind through the trees and hills behind the old Traverse City State Hospital. It was late in the afternoon, and I only saw one other person using the trails, so it was a thankfully quiet walk.

I had read good reviews on the House of Doggs, so that was my dinner spot. They serve many different kinds of two hot dogs, and the hard part was limiting it to two. I first tried the Jazz dog, which had banana peppers, jalapenos, hot sauce, chili, and other wonderful stuff. And, as you can guess, it had some bite. My second dog was the Honky Tonk, covered with cheese and bacon, beautiful in its simplicity. And it had bacon, so I couldn’t pass it up.

House of Doggs, Traverse City

What visit to Traverse City would be complete without seeing a giant viking head made out of snow?

Snow figure, Traverse City

After a short walk around town and by the bay, I stopped by Horizon’s on Front Street to buy a few children’s books – they have one of the best selections I’ve seen anywhere. And my daughter really enjoyed one of them I bought for her, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.

Time for my final stop of the evening, Right Brain Brewery. Located in the Warehouse District, this was a new bar for me. I’m a fan of microbrews, and this one had some unique offerings. For this trip, I had a ginger-flavored IPA and a chocolate-orange stout. No Budweiser or Miller Lite there. Their menu changes constantly, so the next time I visit, most of the beers on the menu will probably be gone.

Right Brain Brewery, Traverse City

Back to the hotel room for a little relaxation after a hard day on the trails, and to dry out my boots and gloves. I had a thankfully peaceful night with no noisy neighbors, and no idiots that can’t figure out how to close a door quietly. I was ready for the next day of snowshoeing…

Fairfield Inn, Traverse City

Last Saturday morning, I headed out for a weekend snowshoeing trip in northern Michigan. Light traffic was a welcome beginning to my weekend, and US 31 between Muskegon and Ludington was literally empty – at one point, I didn’t see a car on my side of the road for about 15 minutes. That is pretty darn sweet.

After a stop at McDonald’s for lunch – no time for fancy food, I had things to do – I made my way along M 116 to Ludington State Park.

Strapping on my Tubbs snowshoes, I headed up and down the dunes. Sure, the trail would have been easier, but what fun is that? I didn’t walk the dunes the whole way, though – that was pretty exhausting, so I cheated at times and followed the 1.5 mile path to the Big Sable Lighthouse.

One of my goals in life is to view all the lighthouses in Michigan. Big Sable was a new one for me. I was practically alone on the trail, and I spent a few minutes taking pictures and enjoying the winter wind blowing off of Lake Michigan before heading back to the trail.

The Lighthouse Trail runs east from the lighthouse, across the dunes, and into the woods. It was a tough hike in snowshoes, and I probably would have collapsed if not for the reenergizing candy I brought. (You can keep your power bars and energy drinks, I’ll take chocolate and peanut butter.)

The trails were not at all crowded, and I only saw four other people on the 2+ miles it took me to hike back. I was tempted to hike more in Ludington, but I had plans to be in Traverse City by late afternoon. So I left Ludington with some trails left un-hiked, but I’ll be back someday to complete the mission.

Out into the snow I went for a brief snowshoeing excursion at Sleepy Hollow State Park in beautiful, exotic Laingsburg, MI. It excites the soul just to think about it.

I hadn’t visited Sleepy Hollow since last fall, before hunting season. Too many stories of hunting accident make me leery of venturing into a state park where hunters lurk, and I just don’t look good in a bright orange hat, so I stuck to the Ingham county parks.

I had the park to myself and I followed the paths for half the time, and walked in the deeper snow beside the paths for the other half. Really, what’s the point of wearing snowshoes if you aren’t going to walk in deeper snow once in a while? But this was the first time I had worn them this winter – we haven’t had a lot of snow here in lower Michigan – and I didn’t want to wear myself out too much.

I have a pair of starter Tubbs snowshoes. They are among the cheaper ones I found. I didn’t want to invest much until I knew that I enjoyed snowshoeing. Which I do, I just don’t do it much yet. When I make more trips, then I’ll look at a better set. I hadn’t actually intended to ever buy snowshoes, but an incident the year before with an unpleasant wintertime walk in knee-deep snow changed my attitude.

I spent almost two hours walking around the quiet trails, enjoying the aversion most people have to hiking in the cold weather. Sometimes human nature works to my advantage. And as a bonus, if you’re looking for a peaceful campground, there are plenty of spaces available.