I’ve been back Stateside for a week now and I’m still getting used to life here. (There’s so much space everywhere! Tap water is OK to drink! Toilet paper exists and is so thick!) But, in addition to getting my bearings here (I’m constantly reminding myself to stay to the right when I’m driving), I’ve also been answering the question, “So what’s next?” about once an hour. There are a lot of things that are next but this is a list of things that I know I will do next.
Michigan is a beautiful state, with the most coastline of any state in the continental U.S., wonderful National Forests, great engineering feats, a booming food and beer scene and a lot more. I’ve been away from my home state for just shy of a decade and I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with the bounties that are here, and these are the things that are at the top of my list.
End-to-End Traverse of Isle Royale
This is a trip that I was thinking about back before I left for the Peace Corps. When I went on my road trip across the U.S., I stopped at quite a few National Parks. Michigan has one National Park, and it is arguably the most difficult National Park to reach in the lower 48. Isle Royale sits in Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, and you have to book a ferry ride well in advance to arrive. The average visitor spends three and a half days there, compared with an average four hour visit at other national parks.
There are a couple trails options to hike from one end to the other, and a total of 165 miles of trails all over the island. There’s also lots of options for canoeing, with a number of campsites that are only accessible by boat.
Watch the Perseids Meteor Shower at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park
The Perseids meteor shower happens every year around the end of July to the beginning of August. After gazing at the stars in Bhutan and on the Sinai Peninsula, I wanted to find a place in Michigan where I could go and watch the annual meteor shower. Turns out the the International Dark-Sky Association certified a protected piece of the Lake Michigan shoreline as the sixth Dark Sky Park in the United States and the ninth in the world.
Explore the museums of Detroit
When the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy, one of the things that came up in the negotiations for settling the debts was the collection at the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). I grew up going to many of the traveling exhibits there and exploring the permanent collection and was pleased when I found out that the art was all bought and placed in a trust and then loaned back to the city; the collection is one of the great treasures of the city.
The weekend I got back was the last weekend for the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo exhibit, highlighting the Detroit Industry murals Rivera did at the museum. I’m so glad that I got to see that as well and it reminded me of the various museums that the city has to offer.
I’m looking forward to making trips to the African American History Museum, the Michigan Science Center, Motown, exploring more of the DIA and popping into some of the historical societies.
Brewery tour of Grand Rapids
The year that I left for Thailand with the Peace Corps, Grand Rapids was voted Beer City USA. Living in Portland, Ore., I learned a lot about and tasted a lot of delicious beers. But then, once overseas, my choices and options were significantly reduced to mass produced, often state-owned, pale lagers. I would dream of the IPAs, Belgian wheats, ambers, stouts and porters that were blowing up the craft brewing market in the United States. Now that I’m back, I need to make a pilgrimage to Michigan’s own beer-vana.
Canoe the Au Sable River
Years ago, I went with a large group of friends and spend the day canoeing and kayaking on the Au Sable River and the evening car camping near Grayling. Michigan has some wonderful river systems, but the Au Sable is definitely one of the best, cutting through the Huron National Forest and emptying into Lake Huron. There’s even a canoe marathon that takes place annually on the river. A canoe marathon might be a bit much for me, but a two-day, source to mouth trip is entirely doable.
Complete the Shore-to-Shore trail
With the recent success of “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and its adaptation into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon, long distance trails are kind of having a moment right now. Now, not every long distance hike needs to be a couple thousand miles, stretching from international border to international border.
Michigan has its own long trail that was pioneered by equestrians looking to expand trail riding in the state, the Shore-to-Shore trail. The route cuts across the Mitten and connects Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. I don’t own a horse and am not a particularly experienced rider, but I think that this would be an awesome experience. Hiking the trail is also an option for me.
Culinary tour of Metro Detroit
It’s not uncommon to hear of Peace Corps volunteers dreaming of food; I had dreams of pizza fries, myself. And as Detroit lives up to her motto (“We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes”), there has been an explosion of new restaurants and food sources taking hold.
That is in addition to the long tradition of Detroit style foods that are drawing the attention of food critics from across the country and around the world. There are so many new things here that I don’t know where to start, other than just stopping when something catches my eye while I’m on all these other adventures.
Anything to do in Michigan that I shouldn’t miss?