this week’s
top ten Gear Up for Running Season in Gaylord
Coming soon, Northern Express will be sharing the 2022 race calendar full of running, biking, and paddling races across northern Michigan. (Reminder: If you’re a race organizer, be sure to drop us a line about your race at events@traverseticker. com.) If you’re prepping for the summer running season, stretch your legs in Gaylord’s 4.5 on the 45th race on Saturday, May 21. The 4.5-mile run ($25 registration; $30 after May 19) is a perfect warm-up. The course starts in downtown Gaylord, heads north on the Iron Belle trail, then returns to town where local businesses like Snowbelt Brewery will help you celebrate the finish. There’s also a 2-mile run for those who want a shorter distance ($20 registration; $25 after May 19). The races start at 9am and 9:10am respectively, so you can get your workout in early and then enjoy the day in Gaylord. Get all the details and register at runsignup.com/Race/MI/Gaylord/45onthe45th.
Get Your Tires Dirty Get outside for the Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association Trail Day on Saturday, May 21, from 10am-2pm at the Vasa Singletrack Supply Road Trailhead. Learn about land management, trail access and permission, erosion prevention and repair, and more. Bring your little ones to the same location at 9:30am for a kid-friendly trail building lesson—Junior Trail Gnome Day with Norte—but only if they love dirt! nmmba.net/nmmba-trail-day
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Hey, Read It! Everything Is Illuminated
It’s an oldie but a goodie, folks. Welcome to the year 1997, wherein a tourist named Jonathan Safran Foer (yes, the same name as the author himself) is searching for the woman who saved his grandfather from Nazi forces. With only the woman’s photo in hand and towing a rag-tag team of misfits—the unforgetable, though fumbling, Ukrainian translator Alex; Alex’s curmudgeon of a grandfather; and one very smelly dog—Foer sets out across the former Soviet Bloc to locate the woman, Augustine, and unearth his family’s Holocaust history. Told in alternating stages of whimsy and wit, Jonathan Safran Foer’s (that’s the author, this time) Everything Is Illuminated binds a breath of fresh air in its pages. As for that promised moment of illumination? You’ll just have to decide for yourself.
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tastemaker Don’s Drive-In Big D Burger
Opened in 1958, Don’s Drive-In is a Traverse City staple. Specializing in hand-dipped shakes and hearty sandwiches, Don’s menu is old-school carhop fare served with a heaping side of nostalgia. It doesn’t get much more Americana than Don’s classic Big D Burger. Served on a warmed white-bread bun (they’ll toast it for you if you ask), this half-pound behemoth begins with two locally sourced ground-beef patties, perfectly seasoned and prepared to temperature. From there, the add-on options are endless ($9.99+ with extra toppings). Guests can build their burger with the standards for free—this includes lettuce and tomato as well as spreads, onions, and pickles—or choose from cheeses and other extras for an upcharge. Sate your burger craving on Friday, May 20 for Don’s “Fight the Fight Within” fundraiser. Hosted in conjunction with 22 2 NONE and HOPE Lives in Northern Michigan, the event will put 10 percent of all Don’s Drive-in sales toward preventing veteran suicide. 2030 US-31 N, Traverse City, (231) 938-1860, donsdriveinmi.com
4 • may 16, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly
