If you drive from Leland to Northport on M-22, part of your way is along the west shore of North Lake Leelanau. Along the north lake, you are only a few miles from the 45th parallel, which in our county runs from south of Leland over to north of Suttons Bay. Now that the lake is frozen over, ice shanties are beginning to appear.
The Narrows between north and south Lake Leelanau is the only place to get from one side to the other, M-204 crossing from one arm of M-22 to the other, from the Lake Michigan side to the Grand Traverse Bay side, and going right through the little unincorporated village of Lake Leelanau, formerly known as Provemont.
"Unincorporated" doesn't mean nothing's happening in Lake Leelanau. This winter a new building is rising on the Narrows, to house a new wine tasting room come summer. See more of the view looking north on my other blog. The other side of the Narrows, looking south, was quieter. Even the ducks weren't doing much more than napping.
How different all of these same scenes will be when summer returns! Fishing will be from boats and docks rather than on ice. Here is a man fishing last summer behind St. Mary's School. (He doesn't seem at all nervous about the presence of swans.) Back in the very old days, when M-204 crossed the Narrows south of the present bridge, a high iron bridge reached from the site of this dock to the other side. Different times, different seasons, but the Narrows remembers.
15 comments:
Sigh. So lovely, at any time of year.
Funny, I was thinking about posting about ice fishing...might still...if I can get a photo of one of them. I think they're crazy...but whom am I to judge the beauty of sitting on a bucket on the ice in the winter staring at a hole.
I've never ice fished and never been in an ice fishing shanty, but the simplicity of these little sheds out on the ice appeals to me. It looks so peaceful and so timeless.
One Jordan River Arts Council show featured, among other things, an ice shanty. Step in, let the flap fall behind you, and watch the video. Mesmerizing. Not for everyone, but definitely a fine thing to try.
Have you seen pictures of the fancy ones they have in Minnesota? Cooking and sleeping facilities and all? You gotta know they're confident the ice is thick and will last a good, long time!
I was going to post ice fishing photos, too...but the shacks seem too far away out in the bay. Loved looking at these pictures. thank you! (I am in a library in Lake Linden in the Keweenaw Peninsula right now while Barry is taking pics at a basketball game.)
Lake Linden! What a coincidence! We were speaking of it only last night, telling friends about the wonderful place we'd stopped for ice cream. But is it true that place has closed? You know the one I mean--a little Victorian ice cream parlor with beautiful dark woodwork and antique jukeboxes in every booth. What was its name, and what happened to it?
oooohhh I've been to that ice cream spot...with the beautiful woodwork...completely forgot about it...what was it called...was it Lindell's? ( I googled Lake Linden Ice Cream Shop)
http://lindellchocolateshoppe.net/history.html
Yes, yes, yes, Lindell’s—that’s it! Thank you, Dawn! And I was remembering the woodwork wrong: of course it was golden oak. I was mixing the place up with a similar one in Port Huron. Now my question is, what's the current story on Lindell's?
Diana's in Port Huron closed a few years back, and very recently I was told that the entire interior had been bought and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. "So you can still go to Diana's," my informant told me. "You just have to go to Nashville."
One of the great things about the U.P. is that so many architectural treasures remain. Bad economic times (lumbering finished, mines closed) had a positive side, in that beautiful old buildings were not torn down. There's another I remember and want to visit, a meat market on the northeast corner of an intersection in a very small crossroads town. I'd know it instantly.
But what's the scoop on Lindell's???
Still hoping to hear more from Kathy about LIndell's, I sent her an e-mail. Is it open? Closed? Empty? Still furnished? For sale? What????
Here I am! Oh please--always email me if I don't get back to read comments. Thank you! I am always asking people questions on my blog and 75% of the people never come back to answer them.
OK, here's the Lindell scoop. (pun intended.) It has re-opened under new ownership! Still furnished. A friend and I went there this fall for lunch. It was quite enjoyable.
I have a memory of Diana's in Port Huron from age 12 which is not so enjoyable. My girlfriend and I got the bright idea to mix our leftover soda with mustard, ketchup and other condiments. The older waitress came by--furious--and told us we needed to drink it if we wanted to leave. (I can't remember if we took a sip...but we skeddadled out of their faster than you can imagine. lol!)
Oh, Kathy, I am so, so happy to hear that Lindell's is still (or again) open! You've got David and me so excited about visiting there again that we're ready to go as soon as black fly season arrives! Is that excitement, or what? The next time you're there, please tell the people how eager we are to get there again, from the Leelanau to the Keewanaw.
I can just see you and your friend, two 12-year-old girls, making a brilliantly silly mess in your booth and laughing your heads off until you were CAUGHT! I remember those days, too.
You be sure you let me know when you come by! Maybe I'll go to Lindell's with you. :)
Kathy, that is an excellent idea! Yes, I'll be sure to let you know when we'll be that far north. Not for a few months, sadly. :( But then! :)
Sounds good... (too cold and snowy to make the trip now, methinks.)
Hi PJ,
My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Lake Leelanau to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jane
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