Top Ten

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.

2 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

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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6 Ride in Silence

At 7pm Wednesday, May 18, groups of bicyclists in hundreds of locations around the world will go for a slow-paced ride together—without uttering a single word. A way to commemorate cyclists killed and support those who were injured while riding on public roads, the international Ride of Silence traces its roots to May 2003, after more than 1,000 cyclists gathered for a silent ride following the death of a Dallas, Texas, cyclist named Larry Schwartz who had been hit by the mirror of a passing school bus while out riding. Up North, you can join an organized Ride of Silence by arriving by 6:45pm with your bike (and required helmet) at one of three locations: in Cadillac, at the Cadillac Memorial Fountain; in Harbor Springs, at the city parking lot at 250 E. Bay St.; or in Traverse City, at The Filling Station Microbrewery, 642 Railroad Pl. Each ride will be a loop of 7 to 9 miles. Learn more at rideofsilence.org.

Could Camp Grayling Grow?

The Michigan National Guard military training complex at Camp Grayling could be getting bigger. Twice as big, in fact. The 148,000-acre camp is looking to make the move to 320,000 acres by requesting access to land managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Camp Grayling is already the largest national guard training facility in the country, so why the bigger footprint? A top reason is that training for 21st century problems— think electronic crimes and wars in space— requires more breathing room so nearby radio and cyber signals aren’t jammed. Proponents see opportunity for job creation and positive economic impacts from trainees who stay and dine in the area. But concerns have also arisen around the proposal, namely as it relates to the environmental impact on key waterways like the AuSable and Manistee rivers, especially as Camp Grayling already has had issues with a toxic chemical plume stemming from their airfield. A 2014 expansion of the camp was scuttled, so will the second time be the charm? We’ll have to wait and see.

Stuff We Love: fishtown preservation

Among the seven recipients of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation in 2022 is one big fish—or, more accurately, one mighty Fishtown Preservation Society. With three winters of hard work and help from Biggs Construction, Kasson Contracting, Hopkins Burns Design Studio, Laurie Sommers, and Team Elmer’s, the Fishtown Preservation Society has so far saved three shanties and all of the aging docks from the threat of the Leland River’s rising waters. The award recognizes the group’s efforts to save the historic commercial fishing district as a “standout historic preservation achievement.” But more work is ahead. Yet to come are repairs to the Ice House, FPS’s Welcome Center, the West River Street drainage system and retaining wall, and landscaping. Award or not, “We’re still in the midst of the work of saving Fishtown,” says Amanda Holmes, executive Director of Fishtown Preservation. Of the projected $5.29 million comprehensive campaign, only $241,000—and a lot more hardy volunteers—are still needed. To see how you can help, call (231) 256-8878 or visit fishtownmi.org.

bottoms up Streetside Grille’s The Streetside

Doesn’t matter if Streetside Grille’s glass garage doors are rolled up or down: Sipping the Suttons Bay bar and eatery’s signature cocktail makes you feel like you’re on a spring picnic. Bubbly club soda and sweet Chambord mingle with a generous shot of our favorite botanically bodacious gin, Hendrick’s, in the Streetside ($10). Hendrick's floral, juniper, and citrus notes always strike right on the tongue but seem to come to the forefront here when sitting pretty with Chambord’s sweet and a squeeze of tart lemon. We paired ours with the day’s special, a triple-play plate of very generously filled and flavorful fish tacos. If you’re not lucky enough to show up on a day they do, go for the also-picnic-perfect BLT, which holds a heap of bacon stacked so high that not one in our group managed more than half in one sitting. Find Streetside Grille at 111 N. St. Joseph St. in Suttons Bay. (231) 866-4199, streetsidegrillesb.com