Vacation: Baldwin/NCT/Traverse City

This past weekend Mary, Penelope and I packed ourselves into the Official Winston’s Mobile, and headed Up North.  Up north happens to be to our cabin in Baldwin, MI.  It has been a family place for a very long time, and is devoid of internet, cell service, tv channels, basically any connections to work.

This is where I learned to ride off-road, and a place that just calms and soothes me.  It is the kind of life I want to lead, where you’re surrounded by a National Forest, that is your playground to ride, hike, and paddle.  Mary has been a couple times with me now, and I think loves the place nearly as much as me.  Baldwin as a town is pretty tiny, but has a few features that really seal the deal for me.  First, it’s completely surrounded by forest, second, there is a little trail called the North Country Trail that runs through said forest.  The NCT is a very long trail that can be very fast and flowing, to tight, technical rocky areas, as well as some loamy, Canadian-style trails.  It’s not necessarily the most amazing trail, but for sheer quantity, it’s pretty hard to beat in the Midwest.

The next feature that really does it, is the Pere Marquette River.  It’s a great river to float a kayak down, cast a fly in to catch a salmon or brown trout, and gorgeous to boot.  Because of those traits, fishermen come from all over the world to hit the river.  It feeds directly into Lake Michigan, and when it comes time for salmon to come up river, there are fishermen in droves.

Now, the list wouldn’t be complete without mention of Jones Ice Cream.  The ice cream is all made in house, and is just incredibly good, and a perfect post-ride treat.  My favourite, as it has been for years, is Mackinaw Fudge.  You walk in and are treated to a classic ice-cream parlor, and you can count on fresh made waffle cones, as well as homemade candy.  You may need some food before you get ice cream, so you better start across the street at The Village Restaurant.  It’s home to what they call Dickies.  It’s basically an unclosed calzone, but the dough, and the guts are just perfect.  There are always good choices, and it has been a restaurant tradition for a couple decades.

So, follow me here, ride, eat at Village Restaurant, cross street, eat Jones Ice Cream, put feet up, love life.

Another big plus to Baldwin is it’s proximity to Ludington and Traverse City.  They are each a relatively short drive away and offer up some lakeside fun.  Ludington still has a smaller town feel, where Traverse City is fairly large and has everything you’d expect.  Mary and I traveled up to Traverse City to hit a few of our favourite stops.  We’ll detail those on the next entry.