Adventures around Traverse City

Category: Beer

Bellaire Hiking and Other Up North Fun

My day started with high hopes. Adam, whom Andrea and I talked to over beer, nachos and cheesy bread at Short’s in Bellaire the night before, had suggested the Jordan Valley Pathway about 30 minutes north of Bellaire. Andrea was going to be at her medical conference all day, and his suggestion sounded better than the one I had planned. I considered this a fortuitous conversation.

I do recommend Short’s if you are looking for some good food and excellent beer around Bellaire. The nachos were good (not as good as mine, if I do say so myself, and I do) and the cheesy bread was excellent. The highlight of the evening was the Cone Thugz stout, an outstanding dark beer made with, among other things, waffle cones. This is right up there El Mexigander at Loco Boys as my favorite beer of the moment. The enjoyment was not derailed by the fact that we were sitting next to the door which opened and closed all night, a night where the temperature dropped to -7.

Back to hiking. Things went off the rails before I reached the trail. Turning off US-131 onto Deadman’s Hill Road, all went well until I reached the intersection of Edward’s Road a quarter mile before the parking area. At this point, a sign on Deadman’s Hill Road said that beyond that point, there would be no more plowing. Well, I thought, I have an all-wheel drive SUV, and the snow looked flat ahead. No problem.

Problem.

The road looked as solid as the part I had just driven over, but was actually 9″ of partially hardened snow that my tires easily sunk in to. So in less than 100 feet, my SUV stopped dead. After several minutes of back and forth, I was able to rock my way out and back onto the plowed section of road. Had I remembered to pack my snowshoes, I could have just parked on the side and walked the rest of the way. Regrets, I’ve had a few…

My morning plans shattered, I headed up to East Jordan to regroup. My options were a bit narrow because of said lack of snowshoes – the area had gotten around 18″ of snow over the past week. Snowshoes are now on my “Bellaire in the winter” packing list.

I settled on Brown’s Creek Pathway. I had hiked part of this trail before and hadn’t been terribly impressed, but I gave it another shot, treading on a new-to-me section of the trail. Luckily, someone had snowshoed earlier and made my walk a bit easier. The Red trail is actually a mountain biking trail which wove here and there, up and down, taking a long way to get not very far. And as I was halfway through the trail, my snowshoe hero had decided to stop and go back. I did the same. With so much snow, having never hiked this trail, I would have easily lost it.

I had expected to spend quite a while on the Jordan Valley Pathway, so I looked for another trail nearby over a Quarter Pounder meal and found the Rogers Family Homestead Nature Preserve. This was an out-and-back trail paralleled the Jordan River. It was not broken down as much as the day’s previous hike and the going was a bit harder. If you look closely at the image below, you’ll spot the deer that crossed in front of me.

I had enough gas in my tank for one more hike. Needing to return to Bellaire to get Andrea from her conference, I stopped at Glacier Hills. I should have skipped Rogers and gone right here. This is primarily a mountain / fat tire bike course, and the trails were packed down nicely. It made for the day’s easiest walk, so if you are looking for winter hiking around Bellaire and lack snowshoes, I definitely suggest Glacier Hills.

After picking Andrea up from her conference, we headed to Elk Rapids where we had drinks at Ethanology, one of those fancy-drink places. They distill their own spirits and we each did a tasting followed by an adult beverage. It had an interesting steampunk vibe inside – I didn’t expect that in Elk Rapids.

Just down the road in Pearl’s, the only Cajun restaurant in the area, and well worth the trip from TC. My first experience at Pearl’s didn’t go well – I was quickly sick after having a catfish po’boy. But that was in 2002 or so, and I have been a few times since and all has been well. Tonight’s meal was the corn fried catfish, which was excellent, as were the hush puppies and drinks. Service was spot-on and how can you not enjoy the hundreds of hot sauces lining the walls?

So just another dining, drink and hiking extravaganza weekend here Up North.

Hiking and Nachos

Those are a few of my favorite things, and I was able to do both on Tuesday. Despite a smokey evening because of the Canadian wildfires, it was time to get outside.

I visited the Lost Lake Pathway for the second time this year. From my house on the Leelanau Peninsula, there isn’t a straight and easy way to get there, having to come around Long Lake and passing through a neighborhood, but it’s worth it, especially this time of year. With the summer crowds having arrived in Traverse City, I spend more of my time heading north and west onto the peninsula than east into town or to the east bay.

Lost Lake Pathways map

Lost Lake has a very “Up North” feel. The trail is sandy and winds through a pine forest with plenty of ferns for ground cover. And it also felt like Up North because of the mosquitoes. They have been a mostly unfelt presence this year because of the lack of rain, but recent storms have apparently refilled the mosquito ponds, so they were out in force and looking for blood. Literally. So if you plan on spending time in the north woods, I recommend a head netting to keep the bugs away from your face.

Lost Lake trail

After the exercise portion of my night, it was time to replenish those burnt calories, so it was to Rico’s I went. This was my first time there and I was pleased with everything. The beef nachos were good and a nice amount of food. You can see my giant beer in the background, in this case a Summer Fling by Ludington Bay Brewing Co. I hadn’t tried this one before and it’s one I would have again. The people were nice and there were zero of the gaudy colorful flags you too often see around TC, especially in June, just a nice place for a meal.

Nachos at Rico's

My evening ended with a beer at Fresh Coast Beer Works to visit my mug – I have not spent enough time with it recently – and a walk along the way to see the waning summer light over Leelanau. Not a bad day.

Sunset over Leelanau

Loco Boys, Traverse City

Traverse City is not short on breweries, but there is always room for one more, and we have a great addition, Loco Boys on West Front Street. I like the location, away from the crowded area of East Front Street. As an added bonus to me (and this is my blog), it’s the closest brewery to my house! We were given a very friendly greeting by a gentleman with excellent taste in clothing (he was wearing an MSU Spartans shirt) and given our choice of tables. We chose one near the back with views of the brewing equipment.

However, I found this view much better:

Loco Boys tacos

We started with the garlic tostaditas which looked like deep-fried crackers. They were crispy with a hot green dipping sauce, and were tasty. Our main courses were tacos. Andrea went with the cochinta pibil and I decided on the barbacoa. You can’t go wrong with either one, but we both that the barbacoa was the way to go. So much flavor. And just these three tacos and the appetizer was enough to fill me up.

Of course, this being a brewery, we had beer. My first, a pineapple IPA, was decent, though a touch too tart for me. The “El Mexigander”, a dark Mexican lager, hit the spot. This is one of my new favorite TC beers. There are no strange ingredients, just a well-crafted beer. This is the one I’ll be drinking over and over again.

I was very happy to see how great Loco Boys beer and food was. Traverse City’s newest restaurant has instantly become one of my favorite.

There’s a bridge! Sort of…

Cass Street has a new bridge over the Boardman River. Well, kind of:

Cass Street Bridge

There are still months’ worth of work yet to be done, but there is something there. I would assume sneaking on the bridge is a no-no, as tempting as it is. 

Nearby, the Beadle Building which contains the currently closed Mackinac Brewing Company has been purchased by the owners of North Peaking Brewing Company (and others). I am very interested to see what will be happening on the corner of Cass and Front the next few months, but I have a feeling I will be pleased with the results.

And for you mug club members of Mackinac Brewing Company, you can head over to Fresh Coast Beer Works and purchase a reduced-price mug club membership there. The beer is fantastic and the bartenders are great. As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, do it! Do it now!

TC Beer Week is Here

Yes, it is that time of year again. We are in the middle of TC Beer Week where you drink beer for prizes! For me, it’s an excuse to visit a bunch of places with the goal of getting a T-shirt that tells everyone how much I drink. I have one from last year, as well as a TC Uncorked shirt, so my closet is well-represented with Northwest Michigan’s drinking establishments. If you haven’t started your exploration of Traverse City restaurants and breweries, now is the time.

Fresh Coast Beer Works

I do like my beer, and it loves me back with all the joy it brings. As of this writing, I have been to all the breweries within thirty minutes of Traverse City, and as new ones pop up, I’ll be there shortly taste their liquid happiness.

Of those in TC, Fresh Coast Beer Works is my favorite. It’s been around a while, but only since the summer of 2021 in its current location on Park Street. They have a great selection of styles, with usually 10 – 12 beers on tap as well as a few ciders. Collect them all! You should be able to find a beer you like (I find several), and if not, you should probably be at a winery. I hear there are a couple around here somewhere.

Fresh Coast

Live music, good staff, and Giuseppe’s Pizza food truck are also great reasons to go. Right now (in January), it’s the off-season, so getting a seat is not a problem. What can warm your heart like a cold beer? Nothing, that’s what. Oh, and if you are into home brewing (which I plan to this year), they also sell supplies for your adventures in beer.

I also love the policy of “no politics”. There are no flags celebrating the cause of the day, no T-shirts showing how much everyone cares about something than you do. Nope, just beer, the way it should be.

Go have beer. Now. Unless it’s before they’re open. In that case, wait. And then go.

More Fresh Coast

Goodbye again so soon?

It was only three weeks ago that we arrived at our Grand Traverse Resort condo as we moved to Traverse City. And now, it was time to leave it. So we bid adieu to the golf course that had been our home, and what a “so long” it was. My Garmin fitness tracker records 100 flights of stairs – that was some serious ups and downs getting those boxes loaded and unload. Some things I will miss about our first Up North home:

  • The “plink” of the golf balls as they left the tees
  • East Bay sunsets
  • Being within walking distance of two beaches
  • Early morning walks around the abandoned Tom’s and K-Mart across the street (hey, it was quiet)
  • Close proximity to trails like Yuba Creek and Sand Lakes

But now we are in NOBO – North Boardman Lake District –  a term I dislike (trendy acronyms are not my thing, IMHO (that’s irony right there, people ). What I like about this area (after only one day):

  • Close access to the TART 
  • Walking distance to three breweries
  • Central location
  • Library is just two blocks away

Our first meal at the condo was takeaway from Red Mesa Grill. No offense, but we stepped up our first meal game and went to The Filling Station, just a block from the new digs. The 1927 train depot had many roles after the heyday of train travel was completed, but now it’s a great spot to get pizza, and an even more greater (sorry English teachers) spot to grab a few beers. Both of the ones I ordered – the Great American Wheat and the Walla Walla IPA – were fantastic, and Andrea loved the Calais Biere de Garde. See, fans of German style and Belgian styles can still get along.

In the morning, I took a walk by the station for a nice shot of it in the morning light:

The Filling Station

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