Mike Norton's Blog (41)

What to do When the Weather Turns Ugly: Birds of Paradise at the Dennos Museum Center

: Blooming Cherry Trees on the Old Mission Peninsula

By MIKE NORTON

The sun is shining, the Bay is a beautiful blue, and the flowers are…

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Added by Mike Norton on May 14, 2013 at 9:55am — No Comments

A New "Virtual Birding Trail," Just in Time for This Year's Leelanau Birding Festival

: The loons are back in the harbor at Old Mission!

Every year we Up-Northers wait for that One Day: the day when we know spring has finally and irrevocably arrived, when we can finally open the windows and let the warm, moist air…

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Added by Mike Norton on April 29, 2013 at 10:10am — 1 Comment

Leelanau Wineries Introduce a Loopy New Wine-Touring System

Winemakers Cristin Hosner and Charlie Edson explain what goes on at Bel Lago Vineyards.

By MIKE NORTON

Over the past couple of days, spring seems to have made its definitive…

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Added by Mike Norton on April 23, 2013 at 9:55am — No Comments

An Outdoor Adventure Phone App for Traverse City

Hiking at Sleeping Bear Point

By MIKE NORTON

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Suppose you want to take a hike in the woods, but you’ve only got an hour of free time and you’re traveling with your elderly mom. Or maybe you’re looking for a beach where you can take your dog, but you don’t want to drive too far to get there.

If you’re visiting Traverse City, help is just a click away. Thanks to a free smart phone app called “Experience…

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Added by Mike Norton on April 15, 2013 at 8:48am — No Comments

Change may be Inevitable, but it's also Pretty Inscrutable

: A spring sky over West Grand Traverse Bay.

By MIKE NORTON

“April is the cruellest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot in The Waste Land -- but he was talking about the way spring stirs us up and makes us feel…

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Added by Mike Norton on April 8, 2013 at 10:27am — No Comments

Just a Walker, in a Runner's Town....

By MIKE NORTON

First, a word of confession. I’m a walker, not a runner.

I could dress this all up with some talk about why mine is a less obsessive-compulsive approach to fitness, one that allows me to slow down and enjoy the world around me, but the truth is that running just doesn’t fit my personality. On the road of life, I’ve always been in the slow lane.

On…

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Added by Mike Norton on April 1, 2013 at 10:59am — No Comments

Still Searching for Sugar Man? He'll be at This Year's Traverse City Wine & Arts Festival June 22

: In the Wine Tent at the TC Wine & Arts Festival

By MIKE NORTON

I know June is a long way off, but I this really can't wait any longer.

Folk musician Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, whose life story was…

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Added by Mike Norton on March 25, 2013 at 8:13am — No Comments

My Two Favorite Winter Sports -- Snowshoeing and Beer Drinking -- in One Great Event!

Enjoying good times during Suds & Snow

Every winter, we Traverse City beer aficionados face the same problem.

Thanks to our large German, Bohemian and Polish population, we've always had a healthy appreciation for the brewer’s art. In recent years almost a dozen microbreweries and brewpubs have sprouted up around the region, and as soon as the snow…

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Added by Mike Norton on February 25, 2013 at 11:52am — No Comments

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Woodpecker

: The intruder outside my bedroom window.

By MIKE NORTON

I barely noticed the hammering at first. Saturday morning is fix-it time, and I figured one of the neighbors was nailing a loose shingle or…

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Added by Mike Norton on February 18, 2013 at 9:52am — No Comments

A Rattlesnake-Free Winter Hike on the Skegemog Pathway

From the viewing platform at the Skegemog Swamp

By MIKE NORTON

One of the things I love most about winter is its transformative power – the way it can turn a familiar, easily ignored landscape into something surreal and otherworldly in a matter of hours.

Sometimes the…

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Added by Mike Norton on February 11, 2013 at 12:45pm — No Comments

Snocross: The Craziest Way to Ride a Snowmobile. Ever.

: Racers in the AMSOIL Championship Series

By MIKE NORTON

I was thinking of titling this post, "Kids, Don't Try This at Home. Not Ever."

Thanks to its climate, Northern Michigan gets…

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Added by Mike Norton on February 4, 2013 at 8:57am — No Comments

Snow Tubing: Lots of Fun, No Training Required

: A wild tube ride at Shanty Creek.

By MIKE NORTON

Some winter sports require skill. A lot of skill.

Others require impressive reservoirs of strength and endurance.

But let’s face it: there are…

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Added by Mike Norton on January 28, 2013 at 10:40am — 1 Comment

Lake-Effect Weather: Good News for Two Great Local Ski Races!

: Traverse City on a Lake-Effect Day!

By MIKE NORTON

It looks as though an extended period of cold weather has finally arrived here in Traverse City. We woke up this morning to a fine mistlike snow, the kind that comes…

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Added by Mike Norton on January 21, 2013 at 10:50am — No Comments

Traverse City's Winter Microbrew & Music Festival -- and Craft Beer Week!

: Strangely springlike weekend weather along Boardman Lake.

By MIKE NORTON

All right – that was without a doubt the strangest January weekend I’ve ever experienced! On Friday morning we had snow on the ground and…

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Added by Mike Norton on January 14, 2013 at 9:34am — No Comments

Snowshoes and Chili: A Two-Pronged Strategy for Winter Survival

: Saturday sightseeing at the Mission Point Lighthouse on Old Mission Peninsula.

By MIKE NORTON

Everybody loves the first Christmas-card-pretty snowfall of winter. Maybe even the entire first month of winter. But…

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Added by Mike Norton on January 7, 2013 at 10:44am — No Comments

Nordic Nostalgia: A Return to the Sand Lakes Quiet Area

: A skier and her canine companion enjoy the trail at Sand Lakes.

By MIKE NORTON

New Year’s is all about looking ahead, but sometimes it…

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Added by Mike Norton on January 2, 2013 at 12:42pm — No Comments

Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer....

: Near Mapleton, a group of deer on Christmas Eve

By MIKE NORTON

Whitetail deer are no rarity in Traverse City. We see them often: at the edge of the forest, down along the lakeshore, or…

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Added by Mike Norton on December 24, 2012 at 10:10am — No Comments

Chocolate-Fueled "Women's Winter Tour" Returns to Traverse City Feb. 3

By MIKE NORTON

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The event that helped thousands of American women stop worrying about how they look in ski pants is returning this winter to its birthplace: the resort community of Traverse City.

The Women’s Winter Tour, a good-humored “celebration of women, winter and chocolate,” will be held Feb. 3 on the scenic Leelanau Trail, between Traverse City and the neighboring village of Suttons Bay.

Unlike other…

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Added by Mike Norton on December 17, 2012 at 8:32am — No Comments

Midwesterners and Weather, Free Skiing on Christmas, and a Chance to Do Something Good

: Snow falling on hemlocks at Old Mission this weekend.

By MIKE NORTON

Finally, some real snow! I took a long…

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Added by Mike Norton on December 10, 2012 at 9:55am — No Comments

Tree-Lightings, Lighthouses and Winter Golf

The 2012 Traverse City Christmas Tree — all lit up.

By MIKE NORTON

Maybe it was the warm weather, or maybe everybody was overdosing on Christmas spirit — but Friday night’s tree-lighting ceremony in downtown Traverse City was packed with people. Everybody seemed to be out having a good time, from strolling…

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Added by Mike Norton on December 3, 2012 at 11:04am — No Comments