Points North: Discover Hidden Campgrounds, Natural Wonders, and Waterways of the Upper Peninsula
by Mikel B. Classen

Review by Tom Powers, Michigan in Books

Points North by MIkel B. Classen

Yes, yet another travel guide to the Upper Peninsula, and if you’re tempted to dismiss it and say enough already, you would be wrong. This is both a travel guide to 40 uniquely beautiful and scenic wonders or historically significant destinations north of Big Mac and it also doubles as a tribute to the indisputable beauty, splendor, and unique history of the U.P.

Unlike a typical travel guide, a two- to four-page essay is devoted to each site. The author’s love for the U.P. is obvious on every page. Whether a museum, a state park, or a 17,000-acre wilderness area Classen’s descriptions are vibrant, enticing, and thorough. Color photographs, most of which were taken by the author, complement the essays.

The book contains almost as many surprises as the “Secret Upper Peninsula.” The author credits the Au Train River as the best kayaking river in the U.P. In an essay on a state forest campground located on Lake Michigan near Naubinway he not only fully describes the little-used campground and the beautiful beach but also mentions that just offshore is the Lake Michigan Water Trail which I Googled because I had never heard of it. It seems the trail is still under development in the four states surrounding Lake Michigan and when completed it will be the longest freshwater water trail in the world.

I was particularly taken with the book’s scenic descriptions, history, and activities to be found at the 17,000-acre McCormick Wilderness Tract, the three square miles of the little-used Donnelley Wilderness Tract located in the foothills of the Huron Mtns, and the Grand Canyon of the U.P. the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness. It is another book that belongs in the car of any Troll (those of us living below the Mackinac Bridge) vacationing in the U.P. Better yet the book should be read by anyone planning a trip to the Upper Peninsula. It is sure to influence their itinerary.

Even if you are never going to the U.P. it is still well worth reading just to gain an appreciation of what this great state and the Upper Peninsula have to offer its citizens in the way of outdoor adventures and unique natural wonders. This sparkling collection of essays makes for great reading. There is no arguing with the author’s claim that the essays and the research that went into them were a”labor of love.”

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Lumberjack

Name: Lumberjack
Brand: Modern History Press
SKU: 978-0965057738
Price: 21.95 USD
Availability: InStock

SKU 978-0965057738

$21.95

Inside an Era in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - 70th Anniversary Edition

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Product Details

UPC: 978-0965057738

Brand: Modern History Press

Binding: Paperback

Edition: 70th Anniversary

Author: William S. Crowe

Winner--Best Biography/Memoir of 2002, Midwest Book Awards (St. Paul, MN)
A firsthand account of the lumbering era during the white pine boom years of the late 1800s - early 1900s in the northern U.S. Millions of board feet of logs were cut in deep woods camps, driven down the rivers to the sawmills, and shipped by schooner and barge to build a nation. This edition includes 78 historical photographs and illustrations, a glossary, editors' notes, maps, and much more.

“The lumber barons, the lumberjacks, and the town people who worked in the mills—as well as the happenings of that period… are recalled by one who lived among them. I hope it will be an inspiration to others to set down their memories of the days of falling pine and belt-driven sawmills. Already too much of this story has passed beyond recall... a valuable addition not only to the history of Manistique, but to the state as well.” --Ferris E. Lewis, Michigan History, Lansing

“An authentic first-hand account… which tells the whole story of big-scale lumbering during the 1890s and early 1900s. Chapter by enthralling chapter, Crowe recounts the times involved in the ‘big pine’ operations… it rivals anything so far written… rich in description and alive with thrilling episodes.” --Marquette Mining Journal

"First-hand accounts of the dramatic 'big cut' by participant-observers are always illuminating. William S. Crowe's reminiscence of his years in the woods and the early days of Manistique, at the north end of Lake Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, was a classic in the 1950s. His granddaughters Lynn McGlothlin Emerick and Ann McGlothlin Weller have done a real service by republishing his book with ample photos and notes." -- Mary Hoffman Hunt, Midwestern Guides

"Focusing on Manistique and meticulously researched, Lumberjack explores the early days of logging and the lifestyles of the countless loggers that filled the woods in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. William Crowe, the author, was a logger himself who collected and relates real stories from the men who were there. This is a mandatory book for anyone interested in the history of the Upper Peninsula. --Mikel B. Classen, author - Historian, True Tales: The Forgotten History of the U.P. and Faces Places & Days Gone By: A Pictorial HIstory of the U.P.

From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com

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Tom Powers reviews Points North

Review by Tom Powers, Michigan in Books

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