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Taking a truck loaded with people tearing around the Sleeping Bear Dunes would land you in jail. But long before the days of endangered pitcher thistle plants and piping plovers, back when most people thought that a fragile ecosystem was something you better pack with extra styrofoam, there were the Dune Rides.

It all began, according to the brochure:

"In 1935 Louis C. Warnes equipped a car with special motor and giant tires for personal pleasure trips into the vast sand lands near his home. Friends begged him to take passengers. Soon he added other cars and trained drivers...."

The website Oh Ranger! adds more detail, noting that Marion Warnes (D.H. Day's youngest daughter) was a gig part as well of Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile Rides out of Glen Haven.

They started the rides with a used 1934 Ford that took four people at a time to the crest of the dunes and back for 25 cents each. By the time the rides ended in 1978, there were 13 dunes wagons each carrying 14 passengers on a 12 mile, 35 minute excursion.

I haven't been able to find anything specifically on the "Dunesmobiles" themselves, but to the left is a photo of a Travelalls made by International Harvester. The book A Nationalized Lakeshore by Theodore J. Karamanski notes that Warnes, backed by his new ten-year concession agreement, purchased ten brand-new Oldsmobile 88 in 1956. They used balloon tires and the two that I've seen around Leelanau are both Olds 88s.

For over 40 years the Dunesmobiles rode over one of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world, bringing those to young, old or lazy to walk closer to the beauty that dwells in the heart of the Sleeping Bear. With the coming of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the days of the dune rides were numbered and in 1978 the dune rides ceased altogether.

Today, the trucks have been pressed into service by Manitou Island Transit and far fewer people get back into the "real" dunes. The result is certainly best for the health of the dunes, but it also means that for folks who won't journey more than a few hundred feet from their cars, memories of the Sleeping Bear Dunes will consist of a few runs up and down the dune climb.

There's a couple of photos from the brochure below and you can see some more (with a few from the dune rides at Silver Lake Dunes thrown in) from Don Harrison's postcards of the dunesmobiles. The photo above is Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile by Seeking Michigan (click to see it bigger!)

Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile Headquarters by UpNorth Memories

The Bear -- which has since disappeared

A "Dunesmobile" on the specially constructed gravel road

 

The Glen Arbor Art Association offers several residencies each year for practicing artists who would like the opportunity for creative exploration in an idyllic setting in northern Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula. The purpose of the residency program is to provide visiting artists with a respite from daily responsibilities to enable them to concentrate on their work.

Participants use studio space provided at Thoreson Farm, a farmstead in the historic Port Oneida district of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. A small apartment is provided in the Art Association building in Glen Arbor at no charge for the residency period. Residencies are considered in writing, visual arts, photography, sculpture, fiber arts, ceramics, music, philosophy and creative research.

Applications may be submitted until March 1 for the 2012 season. For more details and how to apply, see their web site!

photo credit: The Road to Pyramid Point by Matt Callow> (produced during a GAAA residency!)

Along with many sites on the Web, Leelanau.com went dark on January 18th to protest a pair of truly awful bills that are on a fast-track for passage, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Neither of these new laws would stop piracy, which we at Leelanau.com are opposed to. Both, however, would put control of online content in the hands of large entertainment corporations and the government, placing a giant burden on web media outlets like Wikipedia, WordPress, YouTube ... and even little old Leelanau.com.

With our Leelanau.com, Absolute Michigan and Michigan in Pictures websites all down yesterday, there was some time to think about the issue, and we'd like to share one thought: We live in a world very different from the early 1700s when Parliament enacted the Statute of Anne to address the concerns of English booksellers and printers (you can look it up ... for now, on Wikipedia).

We are encouraged at every turn and by every consumer device to sing along to commercials, dance to the latest music and in general, swim in a sea of ever-present media. You can debate the pros and cons of doing that but it seems that expecting our candid videos, blogged observations or Facebooked^TM thoughts won't incorporate background music or samples, brand names is flat-out silly. We need intelligent and well thought out laws that recognize the modern world, and SOPA and PIPA definitely aren't either of those things.

Click here to watch a short video or read more about this issue and please take a moment to contact your elected officials through the links we provide!

Also check out Martin Luther King's last visit to Detroit on Absolute Michigan.

Building Bridges with Music presents a unique opportunity to hear one of Michigan’s great musicians perform in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, free for the community. Jeff Haas and his colleagues will be joined by international students from Northwestern Michigan College who will read brief excerpts from MLK speeches as part of the musical presentation.

The community remembrance starts at 5:30 pm with a proclamation from Traverse City mayor Michael Estes and an invocation from Rabbi Chava Bahle, followed by Haas’ presentation of original music including selections from his 2002 jazz suite, “The MLK Suite: Then & Now,” and excerpts from MLK speeches and writings. Haas will be joined by Laurie Sears on saxes & flute, Chris Lawrence on trumpet, bassist Jack Dryden and drummer Jordan Huggett.

“Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches and writings on civil rights were a regular topic at our dinner table growing up in Detroit in the late 50s and 60s with immigrant parents”, explains Haas. “Dr. King’s belief that all of our thoughts and actions are either based in love or fear really made a lot of sense to me as a youngster. And I have always tried to convey that in my music.” He goes on to say, “There’s still a lot of work to be done and I am grateful for this opportunity to come together with my community and recommit to doing the work to see Martin Luther King, Jr’s dream become a reality.”

The performance is free to all, and the State is also showing two movies for free: To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help. Visit the State Theatre website for complete details.

A pair of fun winter events are on tap for next Sunday...

The annual Cedar Winterfest happens from 1-3 PM at the Snowmobile Club 2 miles north of Cedar on Schomberg Rd.

You're invited to bring your winter sleds, tobaggans, saucers, cross country skis and snowshoes for a Sunday afternoon of fun. They'll have a bonfire to warm you on the outside and hot chocolate and snacks to warm your tummy. Free and open to the public!

The fifth annual Roy Taghon Memorial Snowmobile Ride begins at 1 p.m., Sun., Jan. 22, at the Empire Airport and continues to the Maple City Fitness Center, behind Kerby’s Bar and Grill, 172 W. Burdickville Road, Maple City. Whether riding on a sled or driving, all are welcome to participate in the fun-filled afternoon. Hot dogs and chili will be served at 2:30. Suggested donation is $7 per adult, $4 per child.

All proceeds benefit the Roy Taghon Music Scholarship Fund which provides an annual music scholarship for Glen Lake High School students. Roy lived in Empire and was an avid snowmobiler and church organist for more than 30 years. For information, call (231) 326-5519.

Great art, wine and food are the main events of a special evening, Art from Michigan’s Wine Country which kicks off the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association’s Taste the Passion weekend (Feb 4 & 5, 2012). For a fourth year, this fun winter event will be held on Friday, February 3rd at the Homestead's Mountain Flowers Lodge and features wine from Leelanau wineries, original art by local artists and a fabulous small plates menu designed by The Homestead’s Chef Piombo.

The price is $20 per person advance reservation by February 2 and includes one glass of wine and food stations with delectable small plates and coffee. Additional wine available for $4/glass or three glasses for $10. Call The Homestead at 334-5100, to make a reservation with will call ticket at the door for pre-paid reservations. $25 per person admission at the door.

The invitational art exhibit and sale offers recent original works by nine Leelanau artists. The artists will be on hand to discuss their work. This is a great opportunity to meet local artists and celebrate a perfect pairing of wine and art. A portion of the art sales will benefit Glen Arbor Art Association's summer programs.

Five dollars of each ticket goes to support the Glen Arbor Art Association class scholarships and a free after-school art program for Glen Lake students. Scholarship assistance and the after-school art program provide arts opportunities for those who could not otherwise afford art classes.

For more information go to www.glenarborart.org or call the GAAA office at 334-6112.

Photo credit: Victoria Creek Winter-Looking West by Mary Fuscaldo

"One lifetime isn't enough to learn a county, a town, even a backyard"
~Jerry Dennis

Local author Jerry Dennis has a new book out. Titled The Windward Shore, it explores winter in Great Lakes country and the issues facing our beloved lakes, complete with illustrations from artist Glenn Wolff.

Outdoor writer Dave Richey says:

Jerry Dennis is a natural treasure, and he keeps writing new and more wonderful books. Fitting him into a specific category can be a bit difficult because he is at once, an outdoor writer, a conservationist, a nature lover, a dreamer, who develops words of magic that capture the soul and spirit of those of us lucky enough to live near the Great Lakes.

Winter around Lake Michigan may hardly seem a great topic for a book, but once Dennis sank his teeth into this tasty morsel that he and I both call home, and the result is the magic of this book about the area, the lives of nearby inhabitants, and stories painted by word pictures about this snow and ice-bound area. He teaches us about living in a log cabin along Lake Superior, more about desolate and wind-swept beaches, the power and the magnetic pull a winter storm has on those of us who stay here all winter rather than heading south with other snowbirds.

Dennis gracefully takes us along with him as we plod along frozen shorelines, listen as the surf pounds at shelves of ice, and we hear and feel the moan of an angry wind as it lashes the North County. We see, feel, hear, taste and touch winter along the Great Lakes, and we rejoice with the author as he examines everything about winter in this area.

Definitely check this book out - Jerry is one of the best! FYI, the book trailer was produced by Jerry's son Aaron of Stone Hut Studios - definitely a good idea to encourage your kids to be creative!

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore invites you to join them at the Visitor Center Auditorium in Empire this Saturday, December 17 at 1 PM for a shipwreck program presented by diver/historian Ross Richardson.

The shipwrecks of the Manitou Passage have attracted underwater explorers for decades. Today, the underwater photography of these explorers allows landsmen to visit the shipwrecks from the comfort of a warm, dry chair. Ross Richardson has spent the last decade searching for and documenting shipwrecks off the coast of west Michigan. He is credited with discovering the location of the legendary steamer Westmoreland, which sank south of Sleeping Bear Point in 1854.

Offshore of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore lies the Manitou Passage. Although this 36-mile long waterway offers some protection from the open waters of Lake Michigan, even the waters of the passage can be treacherous. Many ships seeking shelter sank in this passage, hitting shoals and sandbars and running aground before being destroyed by the waves of Lake Michigan. There are 16 known shipwrecks in the passage and around the Manitou Islands, but there may be as many as 45 wrecks still undiscovered on the bottom. Many wrecks are well-preserved and offer clues on how they surrendered to the strength of the big lake in the days before advanced navigation when ships relied on basic tools like a compass, clock, and chart.

For more information, please call the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at 231-326-5134 or visit their website at www.nps.gov/slbe. Also, check out their Facebook page!

Our feature today is an interview from Michigan Magazine TV with the authors of Vintage Views of Leelanau County, one of the neatest books on Leelanau history out there. See information about the book and ordering it below the video!

Click to order Vintage Views of Leelanau County from Huron Press (or one of Leelanau's great bookstores).

Authors M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson share images from their collection of 1,400 postcards collected over the past 15 years. Vacation sentiments accompany the cards, imparting an original voice to each respective era, from the 1890s to 1960s. It's a historic travel guide from a traveler's perspective. Visit Glen Arbor, Glen Lake, Leland, Northport, exclusive Northport Point, Omena, Suttons Bay and the Manitou Islands. Each page offers a masterful blend of vintage scenes and contemporaneous comments from newspaper articles, ads, and travel brochures. Includes never-before-seen photographs of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, pictures of what was to be the permanent summer residence for the President of the United States, and golf courses that have since disappeared. A marvelous mix of vintage fun and facts of a time you'll cherish.

In February 2012, a group of inspired people will be running 129 miles in five days across Palestine to raise funds to plant olive trees and also to raise awareness about the challenges of fair trade olive farmers of Palestine in the latest project from On the Ground.

This Friday (December 9th), Michigan's own Breathe Owl Breathe will play a very special benefit concert for the Run Across Palestine at Higher Grounds Roastery at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City. They are joined by Little Wings and it's also the release tour for their new project The Listeners.

Tickets are $12 advance / $15 door and available at Higher Grounds and Oryana. Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8. For advance tickets, project information or to simply make a donation please call 877 825 2262. On the Ground supports sustainable community development in farming regions across the world.

Here's a video from Breathe Owl Breathe - click here for more!