Ten Cheap Michigan Travel Ideas

With gas prices going back up and the economy in Michigan still suffering I thought it would be beneficial to point out Ten Cheap Michigan Travel Ideas. They're light on your wallet and lots of fun. 1. Buy an Annual State Park Vehicle pass - $24 resident $29 non-resident.

There are over 90 state parks and recreation areas on Michigan. You are never more than a half hour from a state park, recreation area, State Forest Campground, or State trail system. For $24 you can have a ton of cheap fun in Michigan this summer. Beaches, hiking, waterfalls, historic sites such as the Fayette ghost town in the U.P., and for a little extra - camping in Michigan's beautiful outdoors.

2. Museums – There are hundreds of museums across Michigan. Museums covering topics ranging from art, history, Yoopers (Da Yoopers Tourist Trap in Ishpeming), Michigan's mining history (Michigan Iron Mining Museum in Negaunee is a good one), and tons of cool free museum's such as the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

3. Free concerts in the park. Numerous towns, both big and small, across Michigan offer weekly “Concerts in the Park.” Bring a lawn chair and some snacks for a fun evening of family friendly entertainment. Since I'm on the west side of the state I highly recommend the Riverfront Concerts in South Haven. They are every Thursday at 7pm and typically last about an hour.

4. Visit one of Michigan's more than 120 historic lighthouses. A large number of these historic lighthouses allow you to climb up to the tower and visit their museum for a small fee. Find a lighthouse near you.

5. Every weekend there are hundreds of festivals of various themes all across Michigan. Some highlights are the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Bavarian Festival in Frankenmuth, Belleville National Strawberry Festival, and the Straits Area Car Show in St. Ignace. Find more Michigan festivals and events at www.mfea.org.

6. Farm markets & U-pick farms. You just never know what treasures or goodies you will find at one of Michigan's many farm markets. Enjoy Michigan's fruits and vegetables even more by visiting a U-Pick Farm and picking your own produce – it's a great way to show your kids the work involved in getting food beyond the grocery store, plus you're supporting local farmers. Search for Farm Markets and U-pick Farms near you at www.MichiganFarmFun.com.

7. The Kalamazoo Air Zoo is free from now until September 30, 2009. Normally it is $19.50 for adults and $15.50 for kids. You will have to pay for the various rides and simulators ($2 to $4), but there is a whole lot to see for free. I love talking to the Veterans who are there to help give more information on the exhibits. It makes the experience that much more incredible to speak with a man who actually flew in some of the aircraft exhibited.

8. State Fish Hatcheries are free and have numerous exhibits and activities that both kids and adults will enjoy. There are two hatcheries in the Upper Peninsula (Marquette and Thompson State Fish Hatcheries) and four hatcheries in the Lower Peninsula - Oden, Platte River, Thompson, and Wolf Lake. My favorite is the Oden Fish Hatchery which has a neat exhibit of how fish were transported via train as well as an underwater trout viewing area.

9. Michigan National Parks - Michigan is home to four National Parks with three of them in the Upper Peninsula - Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Keewenaw National Historic Park, and in the Lower Peninsula there is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There are no entrance fees for Pictured Rocks and Keewenaw National Historic Park. Isle Royale has a $4 daily use fee plus the cost of getting a boat to the island. Sleeping Bear Dunes charges $10 per vehicle for a seven day pass.

10. Cascades Falls in Jackson - They are open nightly from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Memorial Day through Labor Day. $3.00 per person. $5.00 per person on a fireworks Night. Children 10 and under get inside free. Group rates are available by advanced notice. The falls are lit with colors and are controlled by computer to "play" with the music. You'll hear classics from the swing era to modern hits. I have fond memories of attending shows at the Cascades when I was a kid and look forward to taking our kids there (perhaps this summer) some day.

We will be closed the week of June 14-21, 2009

Just a quick programming note - we're taking our first summer vacation in a few years the week of June 14-21, 2009. Any orders placed during that week will not ship until June 22nd. I think it has been four years since we shut down for a week in the summer to get away and we are looking forward to traveling in our beautiful state for a week. I'll be taking tons of photos and doing some investigating (okay, sampling and snacking) for new products to fill our Michigan gift baskets. Good thing we plan on lots of hiking or I might come back ten pounds heavier due to all of my sampling "work." I should have some great Michigan travel ideas and lesser known destinations upon our return.

Thank you for your business & have a Great Day!

Andrew Norton, Owner

Detroit's role in winning World War II

With the approach of the 65th anniversary of D-Day and the trouble the auto industry has been facing as of late I was interested in learning more about Detroit's role in producing the products of war. This post was also inspired by this snippet in the Detroit Free Press. Quotes about Detroit's WWII role - "The hottest town in America" - 1943 article in Variety "The wonder city of America" - novelist Erskine Caldwell talking about how much Japan and Germany wanted to bomb Detroit. "A miraculous city, a city forging thunderbolts" - New York Times shortly after U.S. entered WWII. "Detroit is winning the war" - Josef Stalin reportedly told this to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about three months before Germany surrendered.

Detroit was known as the "arsenal of democracy" after this quote below -

Roosevelt referred to Detroit, Michigan as "the great arsenal of democracy" because of the rapid conversion of much of the Detroit-area automotive industry to produce armaments during World War II.

The Big Three Detroit automakers (and other smaller auto companies) GM, Chrysler, and Ford converted their assembly lines to build the tanks, planes, trucks, and weapons necessary for the war. In February of 1942 domestic auto production was halted in order to concentrate on the war effort. Even Michigan's Upper Peninsula got in on the action by harvesting timber for over 4,000 gliders built in Kingsford.

Read all about Detroit's role in producing the weapons and machines necessary for war in this Michigan History Magazine article - "Autos to Armaments."

Monday Morning Michigan Musings

I thought it would be nice to get a new week off to a start by reviewing the past weekend here in Michigan. In the world of sports we saw the Tigers come back to split a four game series with the Orioles and the Red Wings take the first two games in the Stanley Cup Finals. Pittsburgh columnist, Gene Collier, has dubbed Michigan (namely Muskegon) native, Justin Abdelkader, The Magical Michigander after he scored a goal in both games. Speaking of the Stanley Cup playoffs - it was great to see a couple of the Pure Michigan advertisements during the game. What a great idea to showcase Michigan with the home-state Red Wings playing - I hope it was a commercial for the national broadcast and not just our local station (based out of northern Indiana).

Meanwhile, the price of gas has magically jumped in Michigan to around $2.75 over the weekend. While it has backed off a few cents as of this morning, I wouldn't be surprised to see it hover over $3 a gallon before too long and stay that way through the Labor Day weekend. It's still cheaper than what we were paying last summer, but there are more folks without jobs or with reduced wages than at this time last year which makes it just as difficult or more so than last summer.

GM is perched on the precipice of bankruptcy and will in all likelihood announce their bankruptcy at some point today. The rest of Michigan awaits the announcement with baited breath as this will have a huge trickle down affect.

On a better note, it was a beautiful weekend across much of the state and a number of summer concerts and festivals were held. There was the 2nd Annual Ribfest and Krusin' Klassics Fun Run in Escanaba, our local town of Constantine held a concert in the park along with a downtown art hop, and most schools across the state held their graduations over the weekend.

Good luck to the graduates and to the rest of you - have a Great Week!

Lost Detroit - footage from the Belle Isle Children's Zoo circa 1968

I was reading this article in the Chicago Reader about Detroit being the "Wild Wild Midwest" and there was a link to a blog, Sweet Juniper! I am SO going back to this blog to read more of the posts as this post led me to the video below of the Belle Isle Children's Zoo from 1968. The zoo was later redone in 1980 to create a more natural environmental habitat for the animals. For those who don't know, the Belle Isle Zoo was closed back in 2002 courtesy of disgraced former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick.