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About a week ago now I came across this photo by Mark Lindsay. I asked former Park Ranger Bill Herd, and he told me what has since come out in the media. From 140-year-old shipwreck piece washes ashore on remote stretch of Sleeping Bear Dunes beach in mLive:

Sleeping Bear Dunes historians believe the schooner fragment, estimated to be about 40-feet long and peppered with twisted metals spikes, is part of the ship’s bilge keelsons, which the Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archeology says were long timbers running most of the ship’s length, strengthening the keel.
It’s one of several fragments of the wreck to wash ashore over the years, said Laura Quackenbush, museum technician with park service. In fact, wreck fragments from the Jennie and Annie, as well as other ships which foundered off the dunes coastline, wash ashore once or twice a year.
“It’s a very dynamic shoreline,” she said. “It’s a common occurrence around there.”

Over the weekend photographer Ken Scott made the hike and posted the video below of the Jennie and Annie and also of the other (as yet nameless) wreck that we reported on last year.

Photo credit: Sleeping Bear Point Wreck by Mark Lindsay

Hey everyone, we're super sorry that we've been away so much. To try and make it up to you, we're going to give someone on our email list* a pair of tickets to the Traverse City Winter Microbrew and Music Festival tomorrow morning!! This year is the 3rd annual, and it takes place this Saturday February 11th at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

The annual festival is produced by Porterhouse Productions and features over 40 breweries, wineries, cideries, and meaderies - most from Michigan - along with local food vendors and beer & food pairings. A highlight of the festival is a wide range of entertainment featuring Funktion, Heatbox, The Crane Wives, Whitney Morgan and the 78s, Dragon Wagon and Rootstand. There's also fire dancers, live polka music and a silent disco. Click the poster to the right for all the details, and as it's an outdoor festival (with tents) you know that fashion = warm! (ie: Carhart over Calvin Klein!)

*If you're not on our list sign up at the top right. If you don't want to get our weekly email, just post a comment on the Leelanau.com Facebook or send an email to andy@leelanau.com saying you want to win and we'll add you to the list we draw from!

Speaking of polka, here's one of the polka bands that will be at the Microbrew festival, Squeezebox. There's a little dancing, but nothing like what you'll probably see closer to the polka capital of the USA, Cedar Michigan.

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!)

Ken caught the sunrise - click to see it bigger and check out Ken's snow slideshow!

You're invited to share the love of Leelanau and Leelanau wine at the Taste the Passion wine tour, held February 4 & 5, 2012. This special weekend celebrates wine, chocolate and love at the wineries of the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail.

Your ticket allows you to chart your own course, enjoying food and wine pairings at 17 wineries along with a optional winter and Valentine-themed activities at many of the wineries.

"Taste the Passion is definitely our most intimate event," says winemaker Larry Mawby. "Our tasting rooms are cozy places in wintertime, and with less people on the trail, it's a great opportunity to talk directly with winemakers and vineyard owners. To top it all off, Leelanau County is a winter paradise, offering everything from cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, to enjoying great meals at our restaurants, and evenings by the fireplace. This is a perfect chance to score a Valentine's Day touchdown!"

Tickets are just $30, and quantities are limited. Secure yours as soon as possible, as most of LPVA trail events do sell out. There are also lodging packages that include tickets! Get all the details right here.

If you want to add a little more fun to your weekend, on Friday night (Feb 3) at Mountain Flowers Lodge from 6-8pm, the The Homestead and Glen Arbor Artists will be hosting “Art from Michigan’s Wine Country.” Art will be on display and for sale from local artists. To purchase tickets in advance call The Homestead 231-334-5100.

Photo credit: 2010 Taste the Passion by KatSwinehart

This week's photo was taken by Mark Miller at Empire Beach. Last week we featured another of his photos from this spot - what a difference a few days and a Lake Effect storm can make!

Check it out big as the beach and compare it with last week's photo in Mark's slideshow.

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

Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
~Old Farmer’s Almanac

Speaking of wolves and January, last month the US Fish & Wildlife Service removed wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal endangered species list. Wolves are now managed by states in the region and the ruling takes effect on Friday, January, 2012. Read the release from the Michigan DNR about wolf de-listing.

Photo credit: Moon over Lake Leelanau by Missy Luick (a February full moon...)