Flashback Friday: A look at my 2005 trip to Isle Royale

Looking out toward Canada on Isle Royale in July 2005.

I'm launching a new segment on this blog, since I'm guessing I won't be doing much traveling the rest of the year (starting a new job and planning a wedding can do that). I'll be unique in calling it "Flashback Friday," a name no one (yep, no one) uses. It'll be a highlight of a trip I've taken in the past, and I took some crazy trips around Michigan when I was younger.

My dad and I on the Minong Ridge.
I love this photo, it hangs in my
bedroom framed.

I think I'd start with a bang, and share some images from Isle Royale National Park, located in Lake Superior and the only national Park in the United States that completely shuts down in the winter.

I ventured to Isle Royale in July 2005 with the St. David's Christian Service Brigade. My father, who hiked the island in the 1980s by himself, also came to come back and "finish the job" he left. He hiked off the island last time after falling and breaking his arm; he now cannot extend his arm completely because of the accident.

The trip was one of the greatest I had ever taken; it was a weeklong excursion, which started at Moskey Basin, the only location I've ever swam in Lake Superior where it's warm. Taking a charter boat across the island, we drove by the old lighthouse on the south side of the island. We moved from Moskey Basin to Lake Richie, where we camped for several days to use up some of our food and get acclimated.

We started at places such as McCargoe Cove, Chicken Bone lake and Daisy Farm. Some were better than others; typically, the inland campsites were less shaded and less comfortable then those on the lakeshore.

The wildlife was spectacular as well. In addition to your typical chipmunks and squirrels, Isle Royale is special in terms of its ecosystem. It has wild packs of wolves, as well as moose. It's ecosystem is so special, it's featured in the New York Times, as well as Michigan Radio, which recently did a big series on the island and its fragile ecosystem (it also was the inspiration for a biology paper I wrote in college, although I only got a C+ in the course. Carry on). We never saw any wolves, although we could hear some howling one night while we got ready for bed.

Moose, on the other hand, were plentiful. We saw a handful of moose, starting with one taking a bath in Lake Richie early on the trip. We saw a cow and her calf near Rock Harbor, although we stayed away from her. The gem was a pair of bull moose that came running out in front of us while we hiked along the Greenstone Ridge. Two full-racked moose came strolling from the brush, no more than 20 feet from us before they headed down the trail.

It's a trip every major outdoor enthusiast should take. It has everything: wilderness, quiet and challenge. The island is only accessible by boat or seaplane, and is the ultimate trip for many of us outdoorsmen downstate.

Hiking along the Greenstone Ridge trail, the main system across the island.

The view of Lake Superior. 

Have you been the island since 2005? I'd love to know if anything's changed from what I remember last.

Dow Gardens in Midland provides for a quiet place for a day walk

A bridge across a stream in Dow Gardens near the back of the park. 

With some spare time in between a wedding last weekend, my fiancé and I, along with her parents, wandered into Midland's Dow Gardens. The gardens, which house the home of Alden Dow, the founder of Dow Chemical, are a stunning visual during the summertime when the plants have bloomed.

One of several flowerbeds in Dow Gardens.

One of the many sculptures
in the gardens this summer.

The gardens are not what you'd expect with the name Dow, which is typically associated with chemicals manufacturing. The gardens sit on 110 acres on Midland's Eastman Avenue, the main road through town. It's not exactly camping, but its a great day walk through some of the scenery.

Areas such as the herb garden and the rose garden are stunning when in full bloom, which a myriad of colors. Other areas, such as the secret garden, which lay off the main trail, have a range of different ferns, shrubs and other wild plants.

Several sculptures from Michigan artists are scattered all over the garden, including several this summer featuring Great Lakes Bay Region artists.

For a day trip, it's a great one if you're looking for something different. The flowers, trees and vegetation are all labeled, so it is easy to determine the species of plant.

Several pieces of architecture also dot the park, including the bridge in the photo above. The Red Bridge allows for visitors to stroll across the streams and waterfalls constructed throughout.

Views like this are common walking through the park.

The paths were light with foot traffic the Saturday afternoon, which made it easy to navigate the area of the park we meandered through. My fiancé and I went to the gardens several years ago when were were students at Central Michigan University. Cost for students is $1, and general admission is $5, so the price is right to spend the afternoon if your looking to kill some time before a Great Lakes Loons game.

Grand Haven: one of the most beautiful cities in Michigan

Looking toward the shore on the Grand Haven pier.

First and foremost, it appears I lied in my last post with the map of Michigan in it. I did get a chance to get away just days after publishing it when I said I wasn't going anywhere this summer. Oops.

In any case, my fiance and I traveled to Grand Rapids and Grand Haven this past weekend to have some photos taken for our wedding invitations. We have a friend who lives out there and thought it would be a great idea to have her take some shots for us in a town we enjoyed visiting when I lived in Grand Rapids for a short time in 2010.

It's a beautiful view down the pier. Too bad it was cloudy; the sunset over
Lake Michigan is stunning.

Going back to Grand Haven for the first time in two years really sparked something. I remembered how beautiful the lakeshore and pier was, and it really spoke to me. Between the sunset, the lakeshore, the pier and the lighthouses, I felt very at home and relaxes walking into Lake Michigan Saturday night.

The memorial to the USCGC Escanaba along the Grand River.

If you haven't gone to the town dubbed "Coast Guard City, USA," it's worth the trip if you're on the west side of Michigan. Grand Haven State Park sits on the edge of the beach, and is typically full of RVs. The walk along the Grand River as it empties into Lake Michigan is enjoyable in the summer, with food and trinket stands along the way. There's a memorial to the USCGC Escanaba, the Coast Guard ship that called Grand Haven home before it was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean in World War II. Each late July/early August, the annual Coast Guard Festival takes place. I didn't get the chance to go two years ago, and wish I had.

In town, there always seems to be something happening. Every time I've been there, downtown's streets have been closed because of some event. This time, an art fair took over the main stretch in town, with tents and people everywhere. A BMX tournament was happening across the street from the river. US-31 is always packed on the north side of town. It's a town that knows how to have a good time.

I'm still eating these, and will for
at least a week.

My fiance and I loved spending our day on the west side of the state. In addition to the lake, we spent the afternoon with my sister, her boyfriend and one of her friends picking blueberries at a farm west of Allendale in Ottawa County. It's the first time I've ever done something like that for blueberries, and the 2.60 pounds of blueberries we gathered is going to good use so far.

The berries look like lighter on the vine, but after a few hours, they turned a deeper blue, looking like blueberries everyone knows and loves.It's an area I decided I need to return to. Living in Metro Detroit is convenient with family and friends, but I could picture myself somewhere near the lake.

Summer is here; feel inspired to travel via the Pure Michigan ad campaign

Summer is finally here.

For those looking to travel around the state, they are many opportunities for a vacation location. Of course, the Pure Michigan campaign has some suggestions as well.

Because it's likely I won't be traveling too much this summer (booooo), I've gone ahead and done the dreaming for it. I've created a map with all the local Pure Michigan ads, both radio and television, to help inspire readers. Each ad presents a certain area, including those that people may not think of for a vacation, such as Flint.

What's your favorite ad?

View Pure Michigan ad locations in a larger map UPDATE: Thanks to the Pure Michigan Twitter account for sharing this post!

Check out this fun, interactive map of #PureMichigan travel destinations from Michigan blogger @DavidVeselenak: bit.ly/Mi1XBU

— Pure Michigan (@PureMichigan) June 20, 2012

New outsdoors ads show for the Pure Michigan campaign released

The national Pure Michigan campaign has released its new television ads, and a pair of them focus on Michigan's outdoors.

Four communities/attractions were featured: Ann Arbor, The Henry Ford museum, Mackinac Island and Traverse City. The Ann Arbor ad focuses on the cultural aspect of the city, which its known for. The Henry Ford, obviously for its historical artifacts and Greenfield village.

But the two that focus on Michigan's outdoors feature Mackinac Island and Traverse City. The Traverse City ad uses the phrase "True North," and describes Sleeping Bear Dunes and sunsets over Lake Michigan.

The Mackinac Island ad showcases the natural beauty of the island, as well as the tourist-y aspect.

Take a watch of both of the below, and see the other two on the Pure Michigan blog:


Mackinac Island


Traverse City

The Rec Passport is now needed for state forests and non-motorized pathway parking

It's been a different scene since the launch of the Recreation Passport in Michigan in 2010.

It replaced the annual window sticker and daily pass. It became available to the motorist when they renewed their license plate tabs every year for the price of $10. This decreased the cost of admission for a year in the state parks in Michigan more than half.

It's been a great tool in enlisting people to come to Michigan's state parks, and now, it's now needed for those who want to have access to store forest and non-motorized pathways owned by the Department of Natural Resources.

It's a move that was coming, since the Rec Passport had been heralded as the savior of the state park system. I loved the idea when it first came out, and I snagged it as soon as my tabs were expired. Since purchasing it, I've used it at at least two state parks, and will use it at several more this year.

State forest and non-motorized pathways will draw a new crop of users into the park system, and making the Recreation Passport a crucial part of streamlining a service that has struggled over the last decade can only improve the state's natural resources.

What's best for moose hunting, a rifle or a digital SLR?

(Flickr photo courtesy of als pictures)

I asked that very question Friday morning on Twitter after seeing a tweet regarding the possible opening of hunting moose for sport in Michigan.

Moose were reintroduced onto the mainland of Michigan back in the late 1980s after being mostly found on Isle Royale, which lies closer to Canada than the United States. Now, with the population growing, officials have debated on whether or not to allow hunters the ability to track and hunt them for sport.

But the article I spotted proposed a less violent alternative: instead of hunting and harvesting the moose, why not promote photographers go out and and shoot them with their camera?

I've not been lucky enough to capture an image of one of these animals. My buddy shot the very back end of two bull moose wandering down the Greenstone Trail on Isle Royale, but that's it. I've seen about 6 moose, but never had a camera on me. I'd love to see more beautiful shots.

With such a low number of moose still, I'm afraid it could hurt the grown of the moose back in its native Michigan. Even scientists are saying the growth is slower than what it should be.

With moose still being the elusive beasts they are, I think I'd rather see more photos of them rather than antlers on a wall, at least for the time being.

Which would you rather see: moose being hunted with rifles, or "hunted" with cameras?