Hold up your left hand to
make Michigan’s mitten. Now, extend your little finger just a tiny bit.
The first joint on your little finger is where ThreeOlBags recently
visited what seemed more like Hawaii than northwestern Michigan. More
like Hawaii because of it’s miles and miles of beaches, turquoise colored
water, art, art and more art, fishing, hang-gliding, sailing, swimming,
biking, shopping, and on and on.
About
five hours from Metro Detroit, we found fun, relaxation and inspiration.
So much of it, we couldn’t possibly fit it all into the one day we had
scheduled, so, we planned a return trip as we ooo-ed and ahhh-ed our way
around the area. Sandra Campbell, writer for ThreeOlBags, suggested the
trip because of a recommendation from a good friend of hers.
In particular she wanted to tour a little hide-away business that’s a
museum, a store, a nature walk, and an historical printing factory tour
all in one. Gwen Frostic Prints/Presscraft Papers was the absolutely-must
stop on our trip. Gwen Frostic (1906-2001) was the creator of the shop.
Located on River Road between Frankfort and Benzonia, the business
continues to print original block-print note paper, books, pictures,
greeting cards and more.
Lots of
little girls dream of being able to talk to animals like Cinderella did,
but some believe Gwen Frostic accomplished that dream. Don’t laugh, you
might too after you step thru the walkway adorned with hanging vines into
her camouflaged store (more like a partially underground secret doorway
into the cave-like building that houses the business). The experience is
like walking right in to a huge tree in one of Michigan’s dense, moss
scented forests. Then, once inside the tree turns into a hidden factory
and store.
Light
filters into the shop from out back, where visitors enjoy nature walks.
Inside the daydreamer’s heaven, colored glass blocks are placed here and
there in the natural stone-walled cavern, catching glints of sunlight.
Original artworks inspire, awe and educate onlookers. Most of the pieces
are for sale.
Antique
printing presses, including two Guttenberg Presses still click and clatter
out original Frostic prints. Frostic was as dedicated to Michigan’s
natural plant and wildlife as she was to expressing her passions through
simple art renderings. Post cards and letters addressed from all over the
world hang from the upper walls as a testimony to the popularity of her
art.
Her fame
came from the gift of being able to “express that indefinable something
that lies deep in the hearts of all”, said one admirer. The three of us
each took a little bit of silent satisfaction home with us in the form of
stationery, mugs, and coasters adorned with designs by Frostic and gift
wrapped, as are all purchases made there. Maybe we’ll write on the
stationery and send it to someone we care about, or set the coaster on our
desk to sit there like a friend saying, “Slow down. Look, there’s a
butterfly landing on a hollyhock just now.”
The
recipient of many honorary degrees, Frostic was honored by Governor
William Milliken in 1978 when he proclaimed May 23rd Gwen
Frostic Day in Michigan. It seems quiet, gentle Gwen Frostic left quite
an impression.
Another
interesting stop we planned was to Beedazelled Candleworks in Benzonia,
just down River Road from Frostic’s. The cottage industry grows, harvests
and produces handcrafted beeswax products, like soap, aromatherapy items
and of course honey. Tours through their elaborate gardens are also
conducted.
A little
further down River Road, then West on 22 a mile or so, we were pleased to
find Trick Dog’s Art Gallery & Café in Elberta, Here we peered at
shelves chocked full of imaginative artworks, admiring the unique designs. We
also enjoyed the grounds, where larger-than-life rustic lawn art made bold
artistic statements, and fish shaped patio blocks locked together to form
an inviting area out front. Ceramic tiles in original patterns, humorous
fence designs, driftwood naturally formed into things like a small
gorilla, and a wildly decorated station wagon drew our attention and
provided many photo opportunities. Linda Sparkman, editor for
ThreeOlBags, got to gong the one of a kind dinner-bell-kind-of-gonger-thingy
out front.
To top
it off Trick Dog’s gallery is on a hill overlooking one of the most
breathtaking scenes of our trip. Just out front is over fifteen
square miles of deep turquoise-colored water, making up Crystal Lake.
We hear it’s famous for its fishing, but we doubt the fishing could
surpass the view.
However, Benzie County is home to Blue-Ribbon winning trout and
salmon streams. The well-attended Benzie Frenzy Fishing Tournament is
coming up August 22-24 on the West side of the county, in Frankfort.
The
city of Elberta, got its name from the Elberta peach which originated
there. Another historical tidbit is found at Elberta’s harbor where the
"S.S. City of Milwaukee", one of the old ships that hosted ferry service
to Wisconsin, still sits.
Somewhere on
the trip you’ll need to eat, and Brookside Inn comes highly recommended.
The fine dining restaurant is close by Trick Dog’s at 115 N. Michigan in
Beulah. Overnight accommodations are also offered here.
Historic
Lighthouses dot the shoreline as you drive along highway 22, into Leelanau
County. One of the more famous lighthouses and one worth visiting is the
Point Betsie Lighthouse, near Frankfort. Built in 1858, it’s the oldest
operating lighthouse in Michigan.
Ever wonder
where the top-of-the-world is? It’s in Empire Michigan, at the end of
seven and a-half mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, on the tip top of the
dune there. The view is “unparalleled”—in every direction!
The famous Sleeping Bear Dunes begin in Benzie County. Named after a
series of towering coastal sand dunes resembling a resting bear, the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park features rugged, four hundred-foot
bluffs, sandy beaches, and cool, dark forests.
True to the
spirit of ThreeOlBags, we hopped into a dune buggy with tour guide “Jim”
for a thrilling ride at Mac Wood’s Dune Rides in Mears, Michigan, south on
highway 31, near Pentwater. The entertaining guide pointed out places of
historic and geographical interest, and a few spots popular with the
locals, like a buried football player, supposed to be a Chicago Bear,
based on the tattered uniformed legs sticking out of one of the dunes.
Other noteworthy stops along the ride were naturally formed sites
resembling things like bears or wolf heads.
The whole trip
left us wondering why we’re just now discovering this part of Michigan,
the part our forefathers rightly called the “land of delight”.
End
[Sidebar:
- Gwen Frostic Prints/Presscraft Papaers: Open year round. On River
Road, between Frankfort & Benzonia. Phone: (231) 882-5505 Web site:
www.gwenfrostic.com
- BeeDazzled Candleworks: Open May 1 thru Dec. 6289 River Road,
Benzonia, MI. 49616 Phone: (231) 882-7765 Fax: (231) 882-7795
Email:Sharon@beedazzled.com
- Trick Dog, 1121 Furnace Ave. Elberta, MI. 49628 Phone: (231)
352-TDOG or (231) 352-4459 Web site: www.trickdoggallery.com
- Fishing Report and More area Information: www.benzie.org
- Mac Wood’s Dune Rides: (231) 873-2817
Web site: www.macwoodsdunerides.com
- Brookside Inn: 115 N. Michigan, Beulah. (231) 882-9688 Web site:
www.brooksideinn.com
UPCOMING AREA EVENTS:
- August 22-24: Benzie Frenzy Fishing Tournament, Frankfort. Phone
(231-352-7251
- September 5-7: Vistorian Port City Festival-Manistee (231) 723-2575
- September 12-14-POW WOW-Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa
Indians. Benzonia.
- October 4: Color Tour Juried Art Exhibit. Crystal Lake. Phone:
(231) 352-4151
- October 10-31: Ghost Ship Opens Friday and Saturday nights on board
the S.S. City of Milwaukee, Elberta. (231) 398-0328 Web site:
www.carferry.com
- December 4-7: Victorian Sleighbell Parade & Old Christmas Weekend,
Manistee Area. (800) 288-2286
- All through the year: Music and art performances in nearby
Interlochen at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, one of the area’s
greatest treasures. www.michiweb.com/interlochen ]
