The Great Circle Route

It's that time of year; just after the holidays when we take the opportunity to return to old stomping grounds. I was born and raised in Michigan, and it's trips like these that make me miss it. Michigan is truly a winter wonderland for those with the proper mindset, determination, and extra gloves. The circle tour took us from Cincinnati to Traverse City to Muskegon and back, with two obligatory stops in Kalamazoo for the greatest mexican food I've ever had. Here is a quick look at the adventure, in pictures.

The ride to Big Burrito was uneventful; our meal was exquisite as usual!

TC had +40" of snowpack, but the roads were clear.

While in town, we took the opportunity to visit the former Traverse City State Hospital, opened in 1885 as the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane.  Since the last living patients vacated in 1989, (ghost stories are abound)  the sprawling complex has been developed into commercial property.  The grounds now house art galleries, boutique jewelry shops, wineries, a brick oven bakery, and high end dining.

One of the many buildings in the complex.

The wood fired brick oven bakery!  They were happy to let me behind the counter to shoot some pics. They also gave us a loaf of rye bread for nothing but a smile.  Note the baker's XC skis in the front and rear.  

Speaking of baking, we were hungry after wandering around the grounds. I'd heard good things from family about Crusted Creations Pizza in Traverse City. We were not disappointed!

Large hand tossed with sausage, red peppers, and feta cheese.  Delicious.

Full of pizza, we headed south for Muskegon. The trip follows rural two-lane highways for most of the route, and gives a great view of rolling hills, farms, and small towns along the way.

Plenty of snow in Muskegon.  This lady is tough.

We had a few things to accomplish in Muskegon. Among them was a visit to the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. The MWSC has something to offer for everyone including lighted and groomed XC ski trails, sledding hills, several ice rinks, and one of the very few ice luge tracks in the USA. That's right. For a modest fee and a waiver, any able bodied person can learn to luge! I shot some video, enjoy.

There was a big pond hockey tournament going at the MWSC, and lots of folks were cheering on their teams.  Those guys were taking the finals with the seriousness you'd expect.  Plenty of folks were also sledding and enjoying the ice skating trail through the woods.  We came to cross-country ski, and the conditions were perfect!  We skied the 5k advanced trail, as did many others.  The trail includes a relatively taxing uphill section, followed by a gnarly downhill chute.  We stopped at the bottom of the chute to watch some others negotiate the hill and provide us with some chuckles.  Again we were not disappointed. 

The author, off the beaten path, Lost Lake, Muskegon

There was more pizza in Muskegon. This time, in the classic white paper wrap from Mr. Scrib's. I grew up on Scrib's pizza, and with rare exception it's always ordered the same way: large deluxe with bacon, and "burn it." Not asking for the well done treatment will get you a soggy crust.  So common is the "burn it" request, I can't help but wonder why Mr. Scrib's doesn't just... cook them longer?

Sorry, no pic of the pizza.  We ate it all before I got my camera out.

In the end, there was food, family time, driving, skiing, cheesecake, beer, more driving, a few trips to the spray-n-wash, snow and ice, mexican food, more driving, and some grand strolls down memory lane.  Soon we'll get back to the rest of shooting 101 and sweet treats.