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Leelanau.com is committed to developing a truly comprehensive guide to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Guide will have basic information for first-time visitors, as well as in-depth features about park resources for folks who are already familiar with the National Lakeshore but want to be even better informed. I have enthusiastically agreed to edit this Guide. For the last 35 years I have had what many folks would consider to be one of the best jobs in America. As a National Park Ranger/Interpreter at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, it was my job to learn as much as possible about the park and to share this knowledge with visitors in an interesting and understandable way. Four decades of leading hikes, giving tours, and presenting campfire talks have provided me with a wealth of knowledge about the park. Equally important, years of answering questions at the information desk has given me understanding about what visitors want and need to know. While I am no longer a National Park Ranger, I will be providing the same types of services to park visitors at Leelanau.com.

Leelanau.com is an ideal place to host such a Lakeshore guide. For years folks interested in Leelanau County have gone to Leelanau.com to get the information they need about lodging, dining, activities, and special events. The staff at Leelanau.com have been long-time supporters of the National Lakeshore, helping to promote its programs and special events. Equally important, Leelanau.com has donated valuable services to many of the nonprofit groups working to preserve the natural and historic features on the Leelanau Peninsula. They are an important partner in protecting the environment that makes the area such a wonderful place to live and visit.

When I began as a seasonal ranger in 1973, the National Park Service only owned about 500 acres of land. As the park developed over the years, I took part in most of the meetings, planning sessions, and project reviews. I not only know the park facilities and activities, I helped develop most of them: from ski trails to historic villages. Frequently, during my ranger career, I would get a call from a travel writer who was seeking information about Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sometimes they had been visited the park once or twice but were still a bit fuzzy about what was where. Many times they had never even been to the National Lakeshore. You will not find any articles by these “instant” experts in this Guide, because this guide will not only be comprehensive, it will be accurate. I will personally write most of the weekly feature articles and I will review all of the information put up on the site to be certain it is correct and up to date. As the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is too diverse for any one person to know everything about it, I will be inviting guest writers who I know are experts on specific park topics.

During the first weeks the site is up, we will be addressing the basics—the most important things to see and do, campground choices, dunes, and beaches. The things folks need to know to plan their visit. However, just as basic is knowing why the National Lakeshore is important is the knowledge of what physical features are nationally significant and why. I begin the site with a quick overview of the park’s significant features and where you can see and experience them. In the following weeks I will explore many of these significant features in greater detail. There is a fair about of information about Sleeping Bear Dunes on the web, some of it quite good, some questionable, and much of it is difficult to locate. We will provide links to the sites with good information such as the park’s official website and the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes website.

Guiding hikes and tours at the Lakeshore gave me an opportunity to communicate directly with park visitors. It was a joint experience as they added their comments and questions. I would like to continue this two-way dialog, so the site will also provide a way for readers to easily provide comments and questions. I look forward to this new venture and hearing your questions and suggestions. We all love this area and together we can help others understand, appreciate, and protect it.

Bill Herd
Editor

Photos: Bill Herd at Snowshoe Hike (NPS)
~~Follow Me ~~ by KT of Lake Orion

Speaking of Photos...

We'd love it if you would share your photos of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the Leelanau (dot com) pool on Flickr!

Larry is retired public broadcasting engineer who lives full time in a Cardinal 5th wheel RV. He and his wife have a blog called On the Road with Larry & Teddy.

This photo is part of his Leelanau County set (slideshow) and Eitzen Road looks a lot like this today.

The Grand Vision, a long term land use and planning project created by the citizens of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford Counties will hold the first preview of “The Roadmap to Regional Prosperity” on May 19th at the State Theater in Traverse City from 6:30-8:30 PM. At the event leaders of the effort walk through the past, present and focus on future implementation strategies

This final Grand Vision document offers specific ways that folks can get more actively involved in helping to make positive change in the region.

In late February the Grand Vision Coordinating Group approved in concept a new structure for taking action on the principles of the Vision. The proposal recognizes “working groups” comprised of representatives from public, private and non-profit organizations that commit to actively develop new policies or funding proposals that will advance the Grand Vision. The working groups will roughly follow the issue areas identified within the draft Grand Vision document.

A common theme among each of the working groups is jobs and the economy. Doug Luciani, President and CEO of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce emphasized this point. “There is no better time than right now to take a serious look at integrating the concepts of the Grand Vision with job growth. It is a top priority across the board, and these new working groups will form an alliance that will drive the job growth and economic stability our region needs for a healthy future.”

Click here for more information from The Grand Vision.

Tilling the soil, photo by John Levanen

News from the Week

Stories from the week included a pair of features from our newest writer, Cherie Spaulding. One was on cherry blossoms and the other was about morels! We also had an essay from James D. Sprattmoran and a feature on the Northport Omena Summit II scheduled for next week and a cool photo from Sleeping Bear Dunes.

The Week's Weather

We had an amazing weekend - lots of sun and 70s that popped the sweet cherry blossoms. Some rain yesterday and overnight probably did the same for the morels.

May 7, 2009: Mostly cloudy, light rain & 70s (74/48)
May 8, 2009: Mostly sunny & 60s (68/43)
May 9, 2009: Partly sunny, light rain & upper 40s (68/43)
May 10, 2009: Early clouds, then sun & upper 40s (49/32)
May 11, 2009: Sunny & 50s (57/27)
May 12, 2009: Sunny & upper 60s (70/34)
May 13, 2009: Cloudy, misty rain & 60s (65/52)

Check out the Leelanau Almanac for the Week of April 30 - May 6, 2009 and the Leelanau Almanac for the Week of May 14-20, 2009.

Driving today on the Leelanau Peninsula, I noticed the cherry trees beginning to bloom. Apparently, the south side of the farms have warmed and are ready to begin the growing season, while the trees planted in the north appeared a little less eager to wake from winter's slumber. Within days, the orchards will be adorned in pinkish white petals.

Across cultures, the bloom of the cherry tree is revered. In both China and Japan, annual celebrations mark this special time in the growing season. The delicate, short-lived blossom symbolizes the temporariness of human life. In the span of a growing season, an orchard in bloom lasts the equivalent length of a sunrise; you glance momentarily at the sun peeking over the horizon, while sipping morning coffee. Before long, this fiery orb fills the sky and you return to your oatmeal as if nothing miraculous happened at all.

As breathtaking as a sunrise, the blossoming cherry trees have this same potential for being overlooked. Without fanfare the blossoms emerge, signaling the start of the annual growing season and fortelling the fruits to come. High off the ground, this delicate flower begins growing as the unpredictable north leaves them susceptible to devastating frosts. At the end of their short lives, the blossoms sprinkle to the ground and cover the ground as snow and then return again to the earth.

The Leelanau Peninsula is known for its cherries, and the opportunity to witness the gorgeous spring bouquets of blossoms bursting in the orchards is here and now. Check out the 2009 Cherry Blossom Tour this weekend or make a date to tour the area. No reservations are required, but this show runs for a limited time only and will not be back again until 2010!

Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dried Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

* 1 cup butter
* 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
* 2 eggs
* 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups oats
* 1 cup dried cherries
* 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture just until combined. Do not overmix. Stir in oats, cherries, and chocolate.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lined or lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until bottom edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

These may also be made into bar cookies. Press the dough into a lightly greased 13?x 9? baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Photos: Blossom, Barn & Blue Sky and Blue Sky & Blossoms by Andrew McFarlane. You can click both of them for background-big pictures!

Much has changed in Northport during the two years since the first Northport - Omena Summit in 2007. The sewer project is complete and functioning. The 2nd round of Northport graduates will be accepting their tuition funds from the Northport Promise this spring. Work is underway on the Northport Highlands. Many new businesses have opened in Northport and Omena. These changes and their current effect on Northport, Omena and Gill's Pier will be the focus at the 2nd Northport - Omena Summit.

The Northport - Omena Summit II will be held on Wed, May 20 at 7:00pm in the auditorium at Northport Public School. The program will start with speakers reporting on their specific business or interest in the Northport area communities. The presentations will take just over an hour, then they speakers will adjourn to the lobby where they will be available to audience members for questions and continued discussion.

The topics and speaker are as follows:

Natural Environment and Renewable Energy -- Phil vonVoightlander
Agriculture: Cherries, Grapes, Wine and Alternative Crops -- Nikki Rothwell and Rick Cross
Light Industrial, Construction Trades and Consulting -- Dick Solon
Local Government Challenges and Initiatives -- Jim Neve and Greg King
Northport-Omena Commercial Development -- Lisa Drummond
Economic Development Corporation -- Marsha Buehler
Future by Design -- Ann Marie Mitchell
Northport Promise -- Ruth Steele Walker
Leelanau Children's Center -- Maggie Sprattmoran
Northport Public School -- Jeff Tropf

Refreshments will be served after the presentation and during the discussions in the lobby. For more information, please contact Summit organizer Andy Thomas at andyt@charterinternet.com.

photo: Northport by photoshoparama

Here's an essay from James D. Sprattmoran to shake things up a little...
This evening after work I walked on the hillside among poplars and basswood looking in the leaf-fall for morels. In an hour I filled a mesh bag with thirty and came home and sautéed them in butter and olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt and parsley with a splash of chardonnay and savored these first flavors of spring. As I walked I thought of how avaricious I become searching among deadwood. I always want more and more, and must remind myself the handful I gather is enough for one meal; any more will simply turn my taste and ruin my appetite.

The first cherries blossomed today, a muted white against the freshets of green upwelling from the warming earth. The orchards, hazed with bloom, undulate over drumlins, this brief ecstatic explosion that will be gone in a week. I see the farmers have the hives on the hills hoping the bees will be warm enough this year to do their work.

With these first warm days, temperatures over seventy, we turn out into the world in our spring colors and pale skins, seeking the celebration of others. Lingering on the stoop or the office steps, we chat about whatever comes to mind, our spirits coursing with the season. Like snakes, we slough our winter selves---sometime soon it will happen to you, your eyes will go opaque and your skin will feel too tight and you’ll have to rub against something abrasive to get it to split and then you’ll writhe and wriggle to extricate yourself from what garbed and girded you all winter. Sudden, we look around and everyone fills radiant new skins—dazzling, spectacular.

With May I suffer a strange melancholy—not that I want the dark days back, but I understand why most suicides occur once the weather warms. There is something oppressive about so much sun and light—the desperate desire to fill every moment with activity. The manic impulse to live as rampantly as the frogs and songbirds, tulips and plum blossoms. I think of the irony of Emily Dickinson’s “heavenly hurt.” Hell, when all the world is breaking open before our eyes, it seems antithetical to continue in such staid conditioning. Better to throw off fetters and frolic. Perhaps the Celts knew the power of such jubilation when they celebrated Beltane, lighting the bonfires and dancing and swooning all night into summer.

With the changing season gas prices rise and the pressure of economic uncertainty abates a bit. Soon the gardens will be fruiting: asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb; then greens and snow peas; suddenly the gardens will blaze with poppies. Maybe it is easier to withstand hunger when the world is green than when no leaves grace the trees. Or maybe the news has changed, or the timbre in the newscasters’ voices. Maybe the end of the world is still a ways away and we can all keep on keeping on. After all, the swine flue turned out to be less swinish than anticipated. Instead of annihilation, we wake and go to work and have to pay the bills.

The other day my friend and I spoke about how time is conditional: sometimes compressed, sometimes telescoped, depending on light and love and the many arbitrary exigencies we encounter on waking. This May, the light fills the lakes past dusk and I feel I can linger as evening falls; after all I know at fifty I have an finite number of evenings left to me.

Photo: Into the Woods by jimflix

ETCphoto (Terry Clark) has some cool sets of photos from our region including Michigan lighthouses, Buckley Old Engine Show and Grand Traverse Commons / Building 50.

Check out the photo above bigger and see more of his Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore photos.

Spring Beauties in Empire by Jim Sorbie

News from the Week

Stories from the week included news that the King's Challenge at Sugar Loaf has been purchased by a group led by Homestead owner Bob Kuras, news of another major wine award from a Leelanau County winery and a cool photo of Leelanau's vintners by John Robert Williams.

The Week's Weather

We were down 3/4 of an inch from the normal rainfall for April (2.12" as compared to 2.72" normally), something that's easy to see as you wander through the woods searching for morels.

April 30, 2009: Mostly cloudy, heavy rain & 50s  (60/48)
May 1, 2009: Light rain & 50s (58/44)
May 2, 2009: Mostly sunny & upper 50s  (60/39)
May 3, 2009: Sunny & 60 (62/36)
May 4, 2009: Sunny & 70 - a gorgeous day! (70/33)
May 5, 2009: Mostly sunny & low 70s (72/40)
May 6, 2009: Mostly cloudy with light rain & 70s (75/45)

Get more events (and add your own) at the Leelanau Calendar. Check out today's weather and the Leelanau News Archive from April 2008.

Check out the Leelanau Almanac for the Week of April 23-29, 2009 and the Leelanau Almanac for the Week of May 7-13, 2009.

The Leelanau County Cherry Blossom Tour has been scheduled for Saturday, May 16 from 9:30 AM - 2 PM. The Tour is sponsored by the Leelanau Conservation District, Leelanau Conservancy and the Leelanau Enterprise, with several other organizations presenting a tour of orchards with a leisurely FREE bus ride for folks of all ages (wheelchair lifts are on every bus as well!).

Horticulturalists within the cherry industry have helped select this year’s optimum blossom-viewing date, which is some six days later than the 2008 tour.

Organizers have mapped out a new one-hour route for the 2009 tour that will again include two stops and begins and ends at the Eagles Ridge Conference Center in Peshawbestown.. Participants will be encouraged to exit buses for a first-hand experience at working cherry farms in the Omena area and in northern Suttons Bay Township. Cherry growers will be on hand to explain their work, and tour guides will offer explanations along the route of the history and importance of cherry farming for Leelanau County.

The one-hour route passes by stops at two working cherry farms in Suttons Bay and Leelanau townships.  Guest appearances have been lined up for Patrick Niemsto and Chris Skellenger, original members of a Leelanau favorite, the Third Coast band.

An opening ceremony will kick off the day at 9:30 a.m., with the National Cherry Festival queen in attendance. A blossom blessing prayer will be offered. Also expected to be in attendance is the famed Dried Cherry Queen, always a crowd favorite in the Leland Fourth of July Parade.  Buses will begin running at 10 a.m., with the last bus departing at 2 p.m.

Photo: Spring Will Come by Andy McFarlane (check out this Cherry Blossom Slideshow too!)