Michigan Blue Magazine - Summer 2021

Page 12

FIELD GUIDE Exploring Michigan: Tips, trends, and tidbits

CHERRY FEST RETURNS: The 95th National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, with in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, is July 3-10. The Arts & Crafts Fair and the Old Town Car Show will be held in a separate location. Due to COVID restrictions, the Bayside Music Stage and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds air show will not take place this year. cherryfestival.org GREAT LAKES CRUISING: Dreaming of exploring the Great Lakes? Victory Cruise Lines includes several Lake Michigan and Lake Superior cities as ports-of-call on its small-ship round-trip Chicago itineraries. See the variety at victorycruiselines.com. STATE PARK DIGITIZES: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has launched a Facebook page called Michigan State Parks, Trails and Waterways to focus on its 103 state parks, 13,000 miles of statemanaged trails, 1,300 state-sponsored boating access sites, 140 state forest campgrounds, and 83 public harbors. facebook.com/mistateparks WATERWAY WONDERS: Boaters and paddlers can experience all or part of the 40-mile scenic Inland Waterway connecting Crooked Lake near Petoskey, the Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River, Mullet Lake, the Cheboygan River, and Lake Huron at Cheboygan. Along the route are state parks, campgrounds, nature preserves, and paddle and pedal options. michiganwatertrails.org/northwest.asp – Compiled by Ron Garbinski

Have news that pertains to Michigan travel and exploration? Send a note to MSwoyer@Hour-Media.com. 10

Shoreline Preservation

Elk Lake property owners strive to maintain a healthy aquatic ecosystem

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By Jeff Nedwick | Photography by David Lewinski

ob Kingon vividly recalls the excitement of traveling north to his family’s cottage as a child. His pulse would quicken upon reaching that bend or rise in the road every southern Michigan resident recognizes — the one where row crops suddenly turn to hardwoods — because he knew they were getting close. His four-hour journey up U.S. 27 to Elk Lake near Traverse City seemed twice that

long until, finally, the bright blue waters of Elk Lake came into focus from between the pines. Over time, the family cottage was passed down to Kingon from his parents. In 2008, he razed the old cottage and built a new year-round home. As the decades passed, Kingon’s appreciation for the natural beauty that endeared the property to him as a child morphed into a passion for helping others preserve and protect

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