Small-town bookstores and bestselling authors, teensy tiny log cabins, the fantastical “Orehenge” sunrise in Marquette. Here’s what our editors are loving this month.
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Twice a year—around Nov. 20 and Jan. 20—the U.P. sunrise perfectly aligns with the center of the iconic Lower Harbor Ore Dock that stands tall over Marquette Bay. The result? An impressive display of golden rays shining brilliantly through beams of concrete and steel.
Bugsy Sailor, a local photographer, sunrise aficionado and shop owner of U.P. Supply Co., has been capturing this winter solstice phenomenon for years (and has a fantastic blog post on the subject). He says it’s been fun to see “Orehenge” (as it’s known by some locals) develop into a biannual gathering, with dozens of people showing up to witness the event (so long as the clouds have parted).
“The community aspect has been cool to see over the last several years,” Sailor says. “My advice is to just be patient for your turn to get your photo. And know that during any given Orehenge week, you have about a 20 percent chance of seeing the phenomenon due to cloudy conditions.”
If social media is any indication, Orehenge has already started, and Sailor says folks typically have a few days on either end of these dates to check out the spectacle. If you miss it this time around, be sure to keep your eyes peeled in January!
Cook, forager, restaurateur and writer Erin French runs famed The Lost Kitchen in a historic mill high above the 45th parallel in Freedom, Maine, population 719. In fewer words: She is our people.
I was fortunate to interview her this month for the National Writer Series in Traverse City, and I left our convo re-energized to host the people I love and nurture them with food. Her newest cookbook, Big Heart, Little Stove (which just hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list), is packed with signature recipes from the restaurant as well tips and inspiration that make hosting a meal a little more magical. Favorite tips? Make a playlist for the night to set a mood. Heat your plates in the oven before serving. Surprise guests with a second dessert. When in doubt, add more butter.
Tucked inside you’ll find recipes vibrating with the soul of the North—like the perfect fish-fry basket, an old-fashioned apple cake or heavenly dried-cherry, almond and rose-petal granola—but nothing too fussy; as Erin says, the “best ingredient is love.”
Growing up, family vacations meant hopping in the car and heading north to spend a few days in a yellow cottage in Elberta, or a retro A-frame in Cross Village or a tent on South Manitou Island. Today, even though I live “Up North” in Traverse City, I still love packing a bag for a long weekend staycation. My latest destination: The Hawks Nest. Set on the quiet southern shore of Six Mile Lake, this 380-square-foot, 1940s log cabin is a cutie patootie. The back porch overlooks the water, the stargazing is phenomenal and the electric fireplace is the cherry on top of a chilly day.
Round out your stay: A 20-minute drive in any direction lands you in a sweet small town. In Charlevoix, order a croffle (croissant dough cooked in a waffle iron with toppings like melted dark chocolate or savory whipped feta) at Café Meria. In Bellaire, you can’t miss a hike at Grass River Natural Area. Outside of Central Lake, Providence Farm has Mexican food pop-ups on Saturdays.
Up until recently my husband and I have never had a reason to explore the kids’ section at a bookstore. Now, we’ve got one small very good reason and it’s opened up a whole new world of wonder and whimsy. From a very large selection of children’s books (and stuffed animals to pair some with!) to a comfy chair where you can read to your little one, Bay Books in Suttons Bay is now one of our favorite spots to take our boy.
The two books we picked up during our latest visit? The local favorite Goodnight Leelanau by Maggie and Ryan Hudspeth and a book that had me holding back sweet tears during the last few pages, Perfectly Pegasus by Jessie Sima.
Find Bay Books at 220 N St Joseph St. in Suttons Bay.
