The Snow Day

Do you remember what snow days were like when you were a kid?  I do.  Some of the best days.  I remember climbing onto the roof of my parents garage and sledding off into the big snow bank on the neighbor's side.  I remember building an ice skating rink in the back yard and putting on skates and skating on what felt like I imagine it would be like to roller skate on a hard packed gravel road.  I remember building a fort on my parents deck that started out as a big pile of snow that we would make even if we had to transfer every inch of snow from the yard.  My brother Steve and I would then dig out the inside of it and put what we dug out on top of the pile.  One year we made a fort, squared off the top and poured water over it and then made walls around the perimeter of the roof like a castle.  The only access to the roof was through a hole from the first level.  I remember one year, after an epic, wet snow fall building an 8 1/2 ft tall snow man in our back yard with the help of our neighbor friends.  We were in the Kalamazoo gazette for that one.  

We had snow ball fights that would last for hours.  I remember many trips to Timber Ridge or Bittersweet ski resorts.  Once I was in College, the snow days consisted of dune sledding and the occasional sled on a tow rope behind a truck.  Any vehicle would suffice, really.  One trip consisted of a mini van full of guys,  6-8 inches of new snow, my brother and I on separate sleds towed behind.  We were up to about 40 mph when we hit the snow bank recently left by a plow.  I wish GoPros were a thing back then.  It was awesome.

I see and hear people on social media and in person complain about the snow and how awful it is, daily.  Maybe they forgot how to play.  Maybe they never did.  Maybe they grew up...

I remember many a sledding adventure in Crane Park.  Sometimes at the tennis court and sometimes back in the woods where the trees are a hazard,... like the time I nearly missed my friend Carson Patchell on the way down a hill and smacked my head on a tree.  I had 5 hours of amnesia.  True story.  Ask Carson...  Or my mom.   Now my kids sled there, with me, and my GoPro.  

Don't grow all the way up.  It's not worth it.

Uploaded by Celebrate Our State on 2015-02-25.

4 Things you can't afford to miss in Michigan this Fall

4 - COLOR TOUR!

Michigan's Upper Peninsula at peak color.

The jury is out on the very best place to go to see the beauty of nature's canvas this fall.  You can hardly fail as long as you pick the right timing.  The further north you go the sooner the leaves change.   Anywhere there are rolling hills and plenty of open country should do just fine!      

3 - APPLE PICKING!

Picture taken at Gull Meadow Farms

While you are seeing the sights stop at an apple orchard and pick your own bushel of apples.  The steady winter and temperate summer has made it a great year for apples!  Gull Meadow Farms is a regional favorite in South West Michigan.  Check them out here and think about pumpkin picking too!

2 - HARVEST TIME - WINE TASTING

Picture taken at Bowers Harbor on Mission Peninsula.

Since we are talking about the harvest of fall lets talk about one of Michigan's fastest growing industries and products: grapes!  Finely crafted and fermented grapes!  Michigan is home to dozens of wineries and growing!  And if you are already near Gull Meadow farms, take your color tour 30 minutes west to Lawton Ridge Winery!  It's our favorite.

1 - SALMON AND STEEL HEAD FISHING!

Amazing Michigan Steel Head

Oh baby, the perfect specimen of Steel Head.  In the fall, the salmon and steel head run up the rivers to spawn.  The Steel head are looking to eat but the salmon are looking to spawn and die.  Both are a prize catch and an absolute blast to catch and reel in.  If you desire further instructions on how to do such a thing, (which you must at some point in your life)  email us and we will set you up for success.  Google is great, but talking to a local expert is priceless.

#celebr8mystate!!

Petoskey counting contest

Count the stones!  Guess on www.facebook.com/celebratemystate.  Share Share Share.  Winner gets a Petoskey Stone.  Good luck everybody!

5 things most people never do in their LIFETIME. (that you could do this weekend) WARNING: #5 may cause you to need a bathroom break.

1 -  Find a fist size or bigger Petoskey Stone

It is something simple and fun for the whole family to do.  A treasure hunt!  But it's only easy if you know how to find them. Luck has very little to do with it.  If you have never found one, I mean, a big one!...  Persevere.  And when you do you will feel like you just struck gold!  For much further instructions click here:  The Definitive Guide to finding Huge Petoskey Stones   

 

 

 

2 - Eat a Pastie 

A what?  I didn't spell it wrong.  Not a pastry, a Pastie.  It's a very popular scandinavian cuisine that can be found up north and particularly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  My wife is from the U.P. and she and her family are the only reason I know what they are.  There is an amazing pastie joint in Cadillac Michigan called Mr. Foisie's Pasties.  A Pastie is basically a baked meat pie with root vegetables with a flaky crust.  Eat with ketchup!  

3 - Clay pit mud bath

Oh yes.  I only know of one place in Michigan and it is glorious.  Not to mentions great for your skin.  Not stinky.  Usable for creating clay sculpture.  And a great spot to get good videos: Check out the clay!

4 - Find an undiscovered location

Yes, it is definitely possible.  Nearly nobody goes off the beaten path.  There is so much green space in the great state of Michigan and so much protected wilderness and public land that this is not hard to do.  HOWEVER, without the proper planning, equipment and knowhow.  You could get lost and that would be BAD.  

• So, find yourself a handheld gps.  I love mine.  It's a Garmin etrex20.
• take extra batteries!
• check the weather!
• bring bug spray
• tell someone where you are going.  

Depending on where you go and how far there is a good chance you will have found a spot that no other human being has ever seen before!  What could be there?!!!  Oh and while you are there you could:

5 - Poop in the woods!

If you just said EW!  You are a perfect candidate for this.  I'll get to the nitty gritty mechanics of it in a bit...  Some possible objections you may have:

• "But someone might see me!"   Okay, if you just did #4 no one will see you do a #2.
• "Its dirty and there are bugs!"   First of all, bug spray was on your list.  Second, dirty? Really?  I would be willing to bet many of you are reading this on the can right now.  And how many people do you think sat on that germ infested seat before you?  You are about to sit somewhere no one has ever been and no one will ever be again.
• "What about toilet paper?"  Leaves can work in a pinch;)  But the best thing to do is add that to your list from above.  And better yet, wet wipes!

If there are any other objections I would love to hear them!  Comments are open.   

So, if you intend to take this very primal pursuit here are some tips and options:

1. Find your spot.   The options are endless in the middle of the woods.  Some lean, some hang, some squat and some do a combination of any of these.  Me, I prefer to find a fallen tree that is not too big around(maybe a foot in diameter at most) that is still off the ground a foot or 2.  And hang off the back
2. Dig a hole.   Find a solid stick.  Use it to dig a hole where you intend to unload.  8 inches deep or so.
3. Do the deed.  Enjoy the breeze and the scenery.  Feel accomplished and proud of yourself.  Notice you don't need to light a match or worry about who is going to smell what you just did.
4. Fill in the hole.

Mission Accomplished.  Now go home. Tell your kids so they can tell your grandkids.  Everything makes a great story!!

Definitive Guide to Finding Huge Petoskey Stones - by Todd Haulenbeek

A few perfect specimens.  Native only to northern Michigan.

Fat ones, skinny ones, round ones, dark ones, huge ones, tiny ones, all around pretty ones!

This is Petoskey Todd.  There is nothing he enjoys more than the hunt!

 

"They're 'rare' only because hardly anyone really knows how to find them:)"  - Petoskey Todd

I can't remember the first time I found a petoskey stone on my own.  I have a few that either my mom or I or my brother Steve found on the beaches of northern Michigan when I was a kid.  The pass time was instilled in me by my mom who would occasionally and haphazardly hunt for them while on the beach up north in Michigan.  Later it was my uncle Johnny and then my mom followed suit in purchasing bigger ones to display in their homes.  Very cool to look at but that is an expensive paper weight!!! 

I decided I wanted to find them and "crack the code" on the locations of the elusive Petoskey Stone.  I wanted quantity, quality and most of all, size!  This was after I had stopped at a rock shop just to the east of Honor, MI and bought a little book that the owner of the rock shop wrote, all about petoskey stones. ("The Complete Guide to Petoskey Stones" by Bruce Mueller and William H. Wilde)  Millions of years old...  fossilized coral...  neat looking...  some people think they have mystical powers   .......  uh.  I just like the way they look but, COOL!    

The idea that they are just lying around and all you have to do is comb the beach for a couple hours to find a few quarter sized Petoskeys didn't really interest me.  I started with nothing but my current knowledge and a little intuition.  I was camping up north and our family was at the beach.  There was a rock bed in between the beach and the dunes.  There were people combing the rock bed and my first thought was that this area HAD to be picked over.  Dune to the left.  Dune to the right.  But the rock bed had to continue under the dunes... Right?  And no one was looking there!  So, my son and I started to dig.  2 hours later we had found exactly 111 petoskey stones! 

View fullsize

I was now hooked.  When I closed my eyes at night to go to sleep I would see Petoskey Stone patterns:)  One thing the book told me was that the coral that fossilized to form the stones covered all of the northern part of the lower peninsula.  The other things that the book told me was some specific locations to try!  So, I went to those spots.  However, much like digging for stones under the edge of the sand dune, I tended to improvise and found some proven ways to find petoskey stones almost anywhere!

The nitty gritty of the hunt:  ( mostly not found in the book )

• Misconception #1  They are only on the beach and only near the city of Petoskey. FALSE!
• Rocky beaches. Dig! Anywhere you see rocks in the northern half of the lower peninsula.
• Where there is one there is likely a thousand others near by.
• Always keep a sharp eye out while canoeing in the northern rivers of Michigan.   Yup, they are there too.  You don't have to be that far north.  I have found them in the Pine River.
• Improvise: I hiked along the Bordman river south of Traverse City.  I saw a fallen tree with rocks underneath the pulled up root system.  Yup! Bingo.
• AND FINALLY, My number 1 tip to finding the huge ones:  The steep banks along lake Michigan.  This can turn quite adventurous sometimes because we are sometimes talking about steep banks.  And a lot of time the bank or even cliff can be thick with cedar tree.  Petoskeys are constantly eroding out of the bank and you WILL find them if you look there:

When I found this I could only see about 20% of it.  It was under the root of a tree in the woods on a steep bank.

After you have been practicing for a few years you will create your own methods of hunting.   Think outside the box!  Happy hunting! 

P.S.  Please share this with all your petoskey stone hunting friends!  Join the Petoskey Stone Hunting group on Facebook.  And I would love to here if this has helped you find some nice ones.  And don't forget the pics!  

Stuck in the Muck

These videos were taken at one of my favorite spots in the entire state of Michigan.  I don't know of another place like it but would love to hear if anyone is aware of a similar phenomenon in another location around Michigan.   Amazing stuff to share with family!  

My mom knew of this substance from exploring around the state park when she was young.  My brother and I discovered, with some great friends: the Stieve boys,  that it could be worked into a fine slop!  We camped all over Michigan with the Stieves.  So, the clay pits were created by us about 25 years ago when I was around my son's age who you will see in the first video.

Great times!

Camping!!

Young State Park, MI

Another day in paradise!  Took a while to get here. But man, is it worth it. There is nothing like sitting in the complete silence of the woods with your family around you and the smell of the cedar trees. 

I've been coming here since I was one year old. My mom has been coming here since she was one years old. And my grandparents have been coming here since I don't know when. 

The combination of nostalgia and history make this absolute paradise for me.   I wish to share this feeling with everyone that I know and love. 

Here's to up north! 

-Todd Haulenbeek

Morel Hunting

Spending time in the woods will definitely bring some rare opportunities, not to mention the chance to just listen, and observe. Today I saw a small flock of indigo buntings in the middle of the woods, probably fresh from traveling thousands of miles from their winter residence. These little birds are BRIGHT BLUE, almost electric, and rarely seen more than a couple times per year. This brings me to the reason I was in the woods in the first place. I was searching for the rare delicacy - the MOREL MUSHROOM. I only started hunting them about four years ago, and got really excited the first time I came across my first cluster under an old apple tree on a hiking trail. Since then, I've learned a ton about how to help your search. I've read some books, watched some videos, and even became better at identifying trees. Timing is important. Weather with evenings in th 40's or so with days reaching at least 60ish. Look for may apples popping up, trillium blooming in the woods, and some good rain always helps mushrooms. I bring a good stick or machete to move or cut brush to look around on the forest floor. Often, you want to look up - at tree types around. Any hardwoods can be a candidate, but the best are old apple trees, dead elm trees, dead ash trees, and areas where trees were logged out and poplars are growing up. I usually look for the right types of trees before even searching an area. It really helps your chances! Also keep in mind, a moist forest floor is helpful, but swampy areas where skunk cabbage is growing is too wet. The season only lasts for a few weeks, so get out there!

For the love! - by Todd Haulenbeek

For the love of your state that is!

How many folks around the country identify Michigan with Detroit?  It's something that can really only be speculated but I think we may all be surprised.  It's similar to many people from places outside of the United States that think the U.S. IS New York City or Chicago.  Just think of what the rest of the world sees in the majority of our media and television shows.  

Michigan has so much to offer that even many people who live here have no idea of.  Here at Celebratemystate we intend on uncovering Michigan's hidden treasures and best kept secrets one by one.  And we don't know them all so we are open to suggestions!  Help us make Michigan world famous!