Kids’ hike and colors at Sturgeon River Preserve

Posted on September 20th, 2017

Out See Go
By Chris Engle, contributor I’ve written about the Sturgeon River Preserve before but it’s always worth revisiting this time of year, when fall colors stretch all the way from the dense canopy to the musty forest floor there. It’s the vividly colored fungi that get mos…

Finding the Pigeon Forest’s emerald gem

Posted on September 6th, 2017

Out See Go
By Chris Engle, contributor I had doubts last week whether Paige would make it all the way to our destination within the Pigeon River Country State Forest without me carrying her at some point. I also wondered if she should be wearing her new shoes for kindergarten, but they were the only ones…

A Selection Of Great Dining Options, That Just Keeps Growing

Posted on August 11th, 2017

Pictured is Main St. Market pan seared Alaskan halibut w/ citrus chive butter, au gratin potatoes, and asparagus.
It was a recent summer Thursday evening and Main Street in Gaylord offered sensory overload in sounds of live music, the smell of a great variety of food and people watching. In the past g…

Paddling Otsego’s chain lakes

Posted on June 29th, 2017

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By Chris Engle, contributor to GaylordMichigan.net There’s a body of water in southern Otsego County where a long-running commercial comes to mind when exploring its far corners. You know the one, with a battery-powered bunny cruising around beating a drum? The pink rabbit with black…

Where the (maple) magic happens

Posted on April 8th, 2017

Out See Go By Chris Engle, contributor Two weeks ago I wrote about tapping maple trees for their crystal-clear sap that Ivan Witt turns into prized, golden maple syrup. The time for Ivan’s alchemy has arrived. He invited me out last weekend to the “sugar shack,” his backwoods l…

Tapping into springtime

Posted on March 16th, 2017

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By Chris Engle, contributor Songbirds whistled in the crowns of maple trees yesterday to the tune of cordless drills cutting holes into the trunks below. The morning’s labor marked the beginning of spring for Ivan Witt (pictured above), a maple-syrup maker who draws his raw material �…

‘Tie One On’ to beat winter blues

Posted on March 1st, 2017

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By Chris Engle, contributor ***Please note: Due to poor road conditions, the ‘Tie One On’ event scheduled for the evening of March 2, has been canceled. The next event is still on for March 16. Any indication that spring is near has literally gone out the window – I’m lookin…

An Afternoon To Myself

Posted on February 28th, 2017

By: SocialJM My group had plans to hit the trails, so I decided to slip away to Downtown Gaylord in search of an outfit for a friend’s wedding. First stop was to fuel up at Seams Like New, an eclectic coffee shop and consignment store. I ordered a Berry White Latte and relaxed, swaying gently in th…

A fine day for an ice fishing derby

Posted on February 21st, 2017

Out See Go by Chris Engle, contributor Historically held on one of the worst weather weekends of the year, Saturday’s Youth Ice Fishing Derby instead came with sunshine and a sweet southerly breeze that carried with it 70 young anglers and their families ready to fish Otsego Lake. Feb. 18, 2…

Take time Feb. 18 to fish with your kids

Posted on January 29th, 2017

Out, See, Go by Chris Engle, contributor Darkness fell across Otsego Lake and the wind picked up, pounding on the fabric walls of my shanty like the cold breath of the big, bad wolf. I unzipped the door and stepped out to shovel more snow against the walls to secure the shelter in its place on the ice. By th…