Michigan is a gem of the upper Midwest. It has everything from big city life to complete wilderness. Michigan is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, and home to more than 11,000 inland lakes. The state boasts more miles of freshwater shoreline than any other state. You will find serenity and untouched natural splendor.
When you look at the map, you will see that Michigan is a state with two separate parts – upper and lower. Upper Michigan looks like a little rabbit running. In the middle of the rabbit’s “back” see if you can find Marquette, which is the largest city of the Upper Peninsula (also known as the “UP”). If you drive about 20 miles or so to the west of Marquette, there is a tiny town called Big Bay. It is around this area where my husband and I bought some wooded property on Lake Superior. We hope to build a cabin on the property someday, but for now, my husband and his cousin, Benny, enjoy camping and fishing on the land. If you have never seen Lake Superior, it’s like an ocean. It has crashing waves and even small glaciers that float by in the winter. Big Bay and the surrounding area has bald eagles, bears, grey wolves, deer, and other abundant wildlife – and the occasional moose crossing the road. To learn more about Big Bay, go to http://www.bigbayonline.com/ I’ll be writing a whole blog about this great little town later this summer.
Along with the abundant wildlife, there are also a lot of berries for the picking. The wild blueberries are like nothing you have ever tasted. There is also a rare little berry called a thimbleberry, that is so tiny, it takes a massive amount for just one jar of jam. When picking berries in the UP, just make sure mama bear and her cubs are not around!
The Michigan cookbook is filled with recipes from all over the state using blueberries, rhubarb, cranberries, cherries, honey, all kinds of fresh vegetables, cheese, wine, and wonderful breads. If you are ever in the UP, stop by and see us. But watch out for the bears.
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