A Bear to Climb

I once dated this guy named Marc. Okay, maybe I went out with him twice. Three times tops. In any event, I was first attracted to him for his seemingly adventurous attitude. He had been scuba diving, swam with sharks, toured the country via motorcycle, and even had way more stamps in his National Parks Passport than I did. When comparing notes, however, I became disenchanted. His method was to roll up to a park, obtain its stamp and go.  It seems he was much more interested in collecting ink than experiences. Kindred spirits? I think not!

Most national parks have a 20-minute or less orientation film that describes the site and the events surrounding its importance. This gives a quick history lesson on what makes the park unique. If the site isn’t your thing, at least you can say you understand the park and you’re not just running in and out. Honestly!

Enter Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Another great place to visit in Michigan and one I’ve been to many times. This site actually has more than one passport cancellation location: the main Visitor Center in Empire, the D.H. Day Store in Glen Haven, South Manitou Island and the Dune Center. To date, however, I only had stamps from Empire because, as you are well aware by now, I had not yet experienced the other locales. Today was the day, however, that I was going to literally forge ahead, uphill no less!

I’ve wanted to do the Dune Climb for as long as I can remember, but never had a willing partner in crime. Gotta love my niece. That girl will try just about anything once. After she agreed to tackle it with me, we were off.

Um, yeah. Did I happen to mention that Faith is nearly 40 years younger than I am? She sprinted right up that hill.

I call her Super Girl.

Me? Wonder Wimp. I thought … I was going … to die. Medic! Trust me; it’s a lot harder than it looks, and hell on the legs and lungs. And did I happen to mention that all the foul weather we had earlier in the weekend had finally dissipated? Today’s temps were more akin to a typical Memorial Day as it was sunny and they soared near the mid 80s. It was hot, hot, hot on that dune. Bless my sister for insisting we wear sunscreen (and deodorant).

Climbing to the top was indeed strenuous (for me, at least), but very rewarding. We were afforded a stunning view of Glen Lake.

This photo, taken from the parking lot, gives a bit more perspective and shows how far we got.

At the top of the dune is a marked trail which leads to Lake Michigan. The whole trip is about 3.5 miles and can take hours. If we didn’t have people waiting on us and a bit more time (and lung endurance), we would have done it.

After 45 minutes we were ready to head back down. At least gravity was on my side for the return trip!

Cool experience and one which I believe deserved the Dune Center passport stamp!

Mission (Point) Accomplished: A Visit to Grand Traverse County

Like its neighbor Leelanau County, Grand Traverse County is also located in the northwestern section of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. It features the East and West Bays, which are separated by Old Mission Peninsula. The peninsula is, in fact, from where the county name was derived. This area was traveled by French explorers in the late 1830s, who dubbed the walk across the peninsula La Grande Traverse, “a long distance.” At 16 miles in length, the finger-like projection into Grand Traverse Bay may be only half as long as the Leelanau peninsula, but it is just as unique and scenic.

Old Mission Peninsula is another of my favorite Michigan locales and I make it a point to visit the point every time I’m in the area. With wineries, B&Bs, farm markets and restaurants, there is never a shortage of things to see and do. This time around we were on a mission (pun intended!) to check out its antique stores and unearthed some great treasures at Walt & Susan’s Antique Shop. It was here that I discovered the peninsula also is home to a quilt barn trail. I grabbed a brochure and headed out to explore.

Quilts, of course, have been made for centuries. Pioneer woman of the day were very creative recyclers and crafted their coverlets from anything that could be sewn together. They concocted patterns with names like Flying Geese, Bear Paw and Trip Around the World. Quilting bees became a community project where they gathered to piece together their quilts … and gossip, I’ll bet!

The quilts of the Old Mission Peninsula are on barns.  The designs are chosen and funded by the barn owners, and have historical and personal significance. I, of course, wanted to find all 14 of them, but Mark wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. This was not going to be another covered bridge undertaking! In the end, we comprised and located four.

The 1910 Feiger barn (pictured above), where the three-story antique shop is located, displays a tulip pattern. Civil War era quilts were typically crafted with dark red, green and white fabric.

The Chown barn was built in 1870 and is a landmark farm. Its design is a modified Bear Paw pattern, which was taken from a quilt made by the owner’s great-grandmother and her sister-in-law.

The quilt square on the Johnson salt-style barn has a windmill pattern displaying cherries in the middle, which is the farm’s prime crop. This barn was built in 1880.

Finally, the Myer’s barn was built in 1910 and has been restored. Its owner designed the quilt square for their “Bewitched Farm” since her birthday is on Halloween.

I loved finding these barns and learning of their histories. I think a return trip (perhaps when the peninsula is ablaze in autumn?) to see the remaining ten is definitely in order. But for now, there was one additional stop to be made on Old Mission Peninsula. Three guesses as to what we’ll see; first two don’t count!

The last time I was at Old Mission Point was in July 2009. This time I was surprised to see how much the shoreline had receded. It was just as rocky, but had a lot less water. And tons of mud! I lost my shoe several times while trying to photograph the Mission Point Lighthouse. The sacrifices I make for the sake of a good picture!

When the lighthouse was built in 1870, it was an exact replica of the Mama Juda Lighthouse (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866. Though this building is only 1.5 stories tall, it is perched on a sand bank and towers 14 feet above the lake.

The structure was decommissioned in 1933 and opened to the public in 2008. Self-guided tours, including access to the tower, are available for $4; we opted out this time around. The Hessler Log Cabin, a turn-of-the-century log cabin, is also located on the lighthouse grounds.

The lighthouse’s other claim to fame is that it stands at the 45th parallel north, which marks the halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator. Someday I’m going to have to dig out all the photos I have of this sign; there are many!

I learned, however, that this is just one of 29 places in the United States (six of which are in Michigan) where such signs are known to exist. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm … Okay, you’re right. It WOULD be fun to track them all down, but Lord knows I’ve got enough going on these days.

With my second county successfully visited, it’s on to discover other Michigan treasures.

Seeing the Light: A Visit to Leelanau County

Leelanau County encompasses the entire 30-mile peninsula between Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. “Leelanau” is an Indian word meaning “Delight of Life.” The name was suggested by Michigan Indian agent Henry Schoolcraft during the mid 1800s and perfectly describes what you experience when traveling this little finger of our mitten state. In addition to dual coastlines are sweeping dunes, uninhabited islands, inland lakes and cherry orchards. And lighthouses!

As I previously mentioned, I’ve traversed Leelanau County many times, but I’ve never been to its northernmost point. What was I thinking? Who knew there was a lighthouse there? The more important question, however, is did you really expect this Michigan county tour to begin with something other than a lighthouse?

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse is located inside Leelanau State Park, eight miles north of Northport. Its website indicated it didn’t open until noon, so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the restored structure, now a museum, was indeed available to tour when we arrived that morning. For $4 a pop, we were transported back in time to learn of its history and its keepers.

Sometimes called the Cat’s Head Point Light, or the Northport Light in honor of the nearby town, the present lighthouse was constructed in 1858 to guide freighters through the Manitou Passage. Built in a more visible location than its predecessor, it replaced the original 1852 Grand Traverse Light Station constructed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The fog signal building was added in 1899, and a year later the lighthouse converted to a two-family dwelling. The building was closed in 1972 when an automatic light tower was erected, but reopened to the public in 1986.

The lighthouse has been restored to resemble a keeper’s home of the 1920s and 1930s, and also houses exhibits on area lighthouses, foghorns, shipwrecks and local history.

Interestingly, if you’ve ever wanted to stay in a lighthouse, this is the place for you. The Keepers Program affords lighthouse lovers an opportunity to spend a week in the structure as its keeper! You get to live in the northern apartment of the lighthouse, greet visitors and provided them with historical information. How cool is that?

We also were able to climb the tower

and enjoy a bird’s eye view of the fog signal building and neighboring islands.

With my fear of heights I usually only manage to do this after freaking out for a good ten minutes, but this one had just a short staircase and ladder. Piece of cake!

There’s much, much more of Leelanau to experience, but I’d say this is a pretty good start to the county and the State of Michigan. One down, 82 to go!

Hello Summer; Hello Michigan!

Even though summer, according to the calendar, doesn’t begin until June 21, I’ve always considered it to be whatever you can manage to sandwich between Memorial and Labor Days. I’m 25 days too early to be official, but I’m kickin’ ‘er off this weekend.

Mark and I originally made plans to tour the Thumb Area, but then got another offer. One of the attorneys for whom I do work has a family house on Grand Traverse Bay. They were headed to Denver and said we should use the place in their absence. Are we voting on this?!?!? He assured me there was plenty of room for lots o’ peeps, so we invited my sister and her family to join us.

Mark’s father hails from the Leelanau Peninsula and we’ve been there a gazillion times. In fact, it’s one of my favorite places in Michigan. Love the wineries, the lakeshore, the cute little harbor towns. There’s just something about being on the water, and Lake Michigan in particular, that gets to my core.

I don’t recall, however, ever poking around the northernmost tip on the bay side of the county. This would be new territory to explore.

Michigan may have some beautiful scenery, but it also has THE most unpredictable weather. During a weekend that was supposed to initiate summer, we actually had to turn up the thermostat and pop open an umbrella because of the storms rollin’ through.

But that’s okay. We aren’t really plop-your-butt-in-a-lawn-chair-and-sit-on-the-beach-for-a-weekend kind of folks. There are always places to go, things to do, and people to see.

Yummy eats in non-chain establishments were a must. Pancakes at the FlapJack Shack,

lake perch at Fischer’s Happy Hour Tavern (it’s not a trip to northern Michigan unless you indulge in the local catch), Boone’s Prime Time Pub for a juicy steak and celebratory glass of Michigan wine in honor of Karen’s 29th (again!) birthday, and breakfast (twice!) at the North End Eatery all fit the bill. The latter had just opened for biz in Northport. While they still have a few kinks to work out, we loved the hospitality and food that Pauli and Kristie provide.

There were fragrant blossoms everywhere and …

Oh look! A crumbly, old building!

But I found even cooler architecture. Can’t you just see me living here?  Maybe in my next life …

We stopped to visit a few relatives, too.

And, despite the inclement weather, managed to catch a Lake Michigan sunset!

Isn’t it funny how you can tour your own backyard time and time again, yet never fully realize all that is there? This got me to thinkin’ … (yes, I know, that can be dangerous) so I did a Google search and formulated a plan. In addition to Leelanau, Michigan is comprised of 82 more counties, each with its own nooks and crannies.  Now I know I already have wayyyyyyyyyyy more on my bucket list than I’ll probably ever have time for, but what’s another goal? No. 202 has been added and reads, “Visit all 83 counties in Michigan.” It will be fun to discover the treasures that our state, and each of its counties in particular, has to offer and should keep me out of (too much) trouble this summer and for years to come.

But what exactly constitutes a visit?  I’ve crossed many states lines and spent many hours laying over in airports around the world. I’m of the opinion that simply “passing through” does not count.  To get a feel for what's really going on, you’ve got to invest a bit more time and effort than a mere gas station potty break or souvie purchase in Terminal 1.  Simply put, I want to explore, to discover, to do.

So do I shall. Stay tuned … the water may not be warm, but I’m jumping in!

White Haven

I gave up all of the property owned by General Grant: some in Chicago … in Philadelphia, and last, though not least, the dear old homestead in Missouri, White Haven. When I signed this last deed, it well-nigh broke my heart.

~Julia Dent Grant

With fam and festivities in our rearview mirror, the car was pointed north and headed for home. We were only an hour south of St. Louis and had tossed around the idea of stopping at the Gateway to the West. “Ride the tram to the top of the Gateway Arch” is No. 168 on my life list, a task which I officially completed in 1999 during a prior trip to St. Louis and again while there in 2008. The Arch is like no other attraction and, to truly appreciate it, a ride to the top is definitely in order. From that vantage point, the panoramic view of the St. Louis area is stunning … though the journey to get there is rather harrowing. Prone to a fear of heights, I opted out this time and instead suggested a site I had previously missed.

White Haven was originally acquired by Colonel Frederick Dent as a summer home in 1820 and eventually became his family’s primary residence. Invited by his former West Point roommate Fred Dent, it was here Ulysses S. Grant first met his future wife Julia. When he asked her father for permission to marry her, he was instead offered her younger sister Ellen! He proposed to Julia in 1844, but their marriage was delayed until 1848 due to his service in the war with Mexico.

The White Haven property was a focal point in the Grants’ lives for four decades. They lived here off and on during the 1850s. Although the family moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1860, they continued to think of White Haven as their home. By the time Grant became President, he owned nearly 650 acres of the White Haven farm and began readying the property for a relaxing retirement. Although he had to abandon those plans when his life detoured to Washington, he retained ownership of the property until a few months before his death in 1885. White Haven was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Our first stop was at the Visitor Center’s theater to view a 16-minute introductory film, A Place Called White Haven. Over the years and through my visits to various national parks, I’ve learned many things about Ulysses S. Grant and the mark he made on our nation. What I discovered this time around, and something I found most fascinating given his renowned reputation as the savior of the Union and a two-term president, was that he never wanted to run for public office, but did so because he believed it to be his civic duty!

A free guided tour of the house was offered following the film, but we instead did our own exploration of the site. In addition to the main house, exhibits on the grounds tell about the property and its people in the 19th century. Several outbuildings have been restored to their 1875 appearance, including an ice house and a chicken house. An interpretive museum is also located in the historic stable, which places the Grants within the context of 19th century American history and details the important role Ulysses Grant played in our nation’s past.

We could have spent much more time than we did at this site, but antique stores were calling our name. I did, however, score another stamp in my National Parks Passport (well, actually two since there was a special stamp for the Passport’s 25th anniversary!) and learned a bit more about one of America’s most iconic Presidents and his family. White Haven was more than just a house; it was a home.  Well worth the visit!

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Okay. I lied ... which, I suppose in the context of this post, is not a good thing.  But there IS something really amazing to see in the thriving metropolis of Perryville, Missouri and we had a chance to check it out during that “what in the heck are we going to do between the wedding ceremony and the reception?” window of time.

When we were wondering how we were going to kill a couple of hours, Mark’s sisters (who had been in town for the entire weekend) told us about a shrine that they were told was worth visiting. I love churches the way I love barns … and lighthouses … and covered bridges. Must be an architectural thing, huh? We’re game; count us in! The five of us headed just a few blocks north.

Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Church is modeled after the chapel at Monte Citorio, the Vincentian motherhouse in Rome. Construction of St. Mary’s began in 1827. The original architecture of the church was Tuscan Renaissance, but renovations altered it to the Romanesque style. The freestanding Angeles bell tower dates to 1980 and matches the 1913 refurbished façade.

When we walked inside, it literally took our breath away. We poked around for several minutes before one of the parishioners offered us a guided tour. I really wish I had written down her name; she was so lovely and her tour informative. Like the churches I saw in Italy, this too was like a mini museum and has its own story to tell.

Above the back wall altar in the large sanctuary is an exact copy of Murillo’s Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was imported from Germany.

The sanctuary’s dome painting features the Ascension. This is the spot where hundreds of priests were ordained, many of whom have influenced the early history of the church in America.

On the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the nave is a painting of Saint Vincent de Paul.

He is pictured with angels in heaven and with the men and women of the two communities he founded in the 1600’s: the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentian priests and brothers) and the Daughters of Charity (the sisters community).

In the back of the church is the Rose Window, Raphael’s Madonna of the Chair, which was added in the 1913-1920 renovations. The present organ was bought used, rebuilt, and placed in 1972. It has 11.5 ranks and over 700 hundred pipes, 122 of which are from the original tracker organ formerly located in the sanctuary choir loft.

The church also has eight side chapels with amazing sculptures and paintings which commemorate various Catholic devotions and saints. The Little Flower Chapel,

the Saint Louise de Marillac Chapel, the Saint Joseph Chapel, the Sacred Heart Chapel, the Passion Chapel, the Saint Vincent de Paul Chapel, and the Saint John Gabriel Perboyre Chapel.

The most breathtaking chapel, however, is the National Shrine to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. For those of you not up to speed on your Catholicism, a Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. The vision of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is said to have appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 in the convent of Rue du Bac, Paris. She reported that one night in the chapel, Mary appeared to her and asked that a medallion be made to a design that she dictated. She added that, “All who wear this medal will receive great graces.” After spending two years examining St. Catherine’s claims, her priest eventually took the information to his archbishop. The medal eventually produced became known as the Miraculous Medal.

The shrine was added to the church in 1929-1930 by promoters of the Association of the Miraculous Medal and replaced an older shrine of Mary which had originally been built. The chapel ceiling has a copy of a painting found at the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. The top of the painting shows Mary as she appears on the medal and below Saint Catherine distributing medals to the people of Paris.

Stained glass windows above the altar depict the first and second apparitions of Mary and Saint Catherine, and the third is portrayed in a painting where Mary reveals the design of the medal.

The statue above the altar and the words in the archway, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee,” detail the front of the medal. The back of the medal is depicted in the base of the altar with the large “M” surmounted by a cross, the twelve stars symbolizing the apostles, who are the foundation stones of the Church, and the stars of heaven (Mary is Queen of Heaven). We each were offered a Miraculous Medal and I readily accepted. It is said to provide extraordinary graces for those who wear it and I need all the help I can get!

The remaining sites of the Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Historic District, including a grotto and the Vincentian Community Cemetery, were located outside. Unfortunately, it had started to rain and we were out of time. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever be back in Perryville, Missouri, but this unexpected pleasure during our stay there was absolutely stunning and a most welcomed discovery. If you ever find yourself in the area, it definitely is well worth the visit!

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

1811 West Saint Joseph Street

Perryville, Missouri