The timing of my M-18 drive was due to my proximity to the area, on a wintry early Spring day. I also had to make the undesired decision to go solo. We've got a lot of ground to cover . . . so it was "Make it so!" when the opportunity presented itself.
This 77-mile highway begins, on the southern end, in the orbit of the rural area surrounding Midland and Mount Pleasant. It goes the entire north-south length of two counties. The southern half is dominated by farms and farming communities. By the time you get to the northern end, the farms are gone and it's all national forest. The weather mostly cooperated, with the occasional squall that severely limited visibility.
I had hoped to make a couple of lengthy stops, perhaps have lunch in Roscommon. But the three or four towns along the way seemed mostly "closed for the season." With the weather being uncertain, I opted to focus on completing the drive, and spending a little more time when I come back through here on the east-west highways.
The first town, and the only one that I spent any kind of time in, was Beaverton. As you enter the southern end of town, there's a plant for the Saint-Gobain corporation. I noticed that they are hiring . . . so for those of you out there that may be interested, and would like to get away from sprawling area, I would urge you to check out career opportunities that may be . . . due to its location . . . more favorable for you here, than other places in the state. I'm not being sarcastic. A mid-Michigan small town with it's long winters sounds great, if there's not a sprawl problem.
Saint-Gobain is "the world's largest building materials company," with North American headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I had never heard of them . . . but they seem to be the real deal.
As you go through these small towns and cities, it does seem that they all have at least one manufacturing plant of some sort. I don't know how economically healthy these communities were five years ago . . . but anytime an industrial business is hiring, that's a good thing.
I parked the car when I got to downtown Beaverton. I hoped to find a shop, or restaurant, where I could get out and talk to some people. The downtown area has a few vacant storefronts, and at 1:30PM the place was pretty quiet. The True Value Hardware seemed to be the busiest place. And indeed, one you got inside, they were. The staff were all busy with customers, but I did get to chat with the owner, whose name I never got. It looked like he was repairing a doorknob. I was impressed that, rather than just get a new doorknob, he would actually fix it.
I was sending live videos of my stops, to Facebook, and while I was in Beaverton, a friend asked me to get a Beaverton coffee mug. I made that my mission, and tried the True Value, the pharmacy, a Family Dollar, and a Dollar General. Nobody had a true coffee mug . . . just those cheap plastic ones with a cardboard graphic inserted between the clear outer covering and the inner canister. Beaverton High School's mascot is . . . natch . . . the Beaver.
My drive through Gladwin was dominated by barely-visible heavy snowfall. It was making me less likely to take any lengthy stops. But if there was a divey hot dog stand, or something (not a chain) where I could get something to eat . . . quickly . . . I was going to do it. But such was not the case. I added Gladwin to the "Next Time" list.
Things brightened up for Roscommon . . . it was my first time there, and ever since we took Michigan history in Dexter schools, I always thought it was a cool-sounding name of a town. Finally . . . here I was was, in Roscommon, Michigan. I ran some live commentary as I drove through the town. But I was getting more and more concerned about what the weather might do north of there. I was not interested in being "McCandless of the Mitten," so it became a quick drive-through and another town on the "Next Time" list.
I did notice the name of the local Farm Bureau agent . . . Barbara Costello. I will boost Farm Bureau agents. It is one company that, statewide, counts as a "Buy Local" opportunity for us.
About this time, I was in the "Houghton Lake Area," according to the local signs. And we were clearly in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
The area north of Roscommon is heavily forested, mostly pines and a few birches. A lot of it looked either clear-cut or recently burned. They call them "wild fires," these days. But I like the sound of "Forest Fires" better, even if "wild" makes it more generic. It doesn't sound right when Smokey the Bear says "Only you can prevent wild fires."
At the northern terminus of M-18, the weather was beautiful. There was about a four-inch depth of snow, and I was wishing I had a full day here, with some cross country skis, to explore.
Here's the best way I came up with, to define M-18: At the south end, you're still in the "Not Up North" part of the state. But by the time you get to the north end, you truly have reached "Up North."
While I did not get to talk to many people on this drive . . . I kept thinking that at least here, you will not get a lot of complaints about weather. Where winter is a reality for eight or nine months out of the year, surely you have learned that complaining about it is not going to change it (important life lesson!). But maybe most residents of these parts are here because they want to be here. It's the most resource-rich region on the planet, population sprawl is not going to be a problem, and if you love winter activities, it's hard to beat!
We move on to M-19 next, which takes us up the middle of the Thumb. And I'm hoping to add a couple of traveling companions this time!
I had hoped to make a couple of lengthy stops, perhaps have lunch in Roscommon. But the three or four towns along the way seemed mostly "closed for the season." With the weather being uncertain, I opted to focus on completing the drive, and spending a little more time when I come back through here on the east-west highways.
Saint-Gobain is "the world's largest building materials company," with North American headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I had never heard of them . . . but they seem to be the real deal.
As you go through these small towns and cities, it does seem that they all have at least one manufacturing plant of some sort. I don't know how economically healthy these communities were five years ago . . . but anytime an industrial business is hiring, that's a good thing.
I parked the car when I got to downtown Beaverton. I hoped to find a shop, or restaurant, where I could get out and talk to some people. The downtown area has a few vacant storefronts, and at 1:30PM the place was pretty quiet. The True Value Hardware seemed to be the busiest place. And indeed, one you got inside, they were. The staff were all busy with customers, but I did get to chat with the owner, whose name I never got. It looked like he was repairing a doorknob. I was impressed that, rather than just get a new doorknob, he would actually fix it.
I was sending live videos of my stops, to Facebook, and while I was in Beaverton, a friend asked me to get a Beaverton coffee mug. I made that my mission, and tried the True Value, the pharmacy, a Family Dollar, and a Dollar General. Nobody had a true coffee mug . . . just those cheap plastic ones with a cardboard graphic inserted between the clear outer covering and the inner canister. Beaverton High School's mascot is . . . natch . . . the Beaver.
My drive through Gladwin was dominated by barely-visible heavy snowfall. It was making me less likely to take any lengthy stops. But if there was a divey hot dog stand, or something (not a chain) where I could get something to eat . . . quickly . . . I was going to do it. But such was not the case. I added Gladwin to the "Next Time" list.
Things brightened up for Roscommon . . . it was my first time there, and ever since we took Michigan history in Dexter schools, I always thought it was a cool-sounding name of a town. Finally . . . here I was was, in Roscommon, Michigan. I ran some live commentary as I drove through the town. But I was getting more and more concerned about what the weather might do north of there. I was not interested in being "McCandless of the Mitten," so it became a quick drive-through and another town on the "Next Time" list.
I did notice the name of the local Farm Bureau agent . . . Barbara Costello. I will boost Farm Bureau agents. It is one company that, statewide, counts as a "Buy Local" opportunity for us.
The area north of Roscommon is heavily forested, mostly pines and a few birches. A lot of it looked either clear-cut or recently burned. They call them "wild fires," these days. But I like the sound of "Forest Fires" better, even if "wild" makes it more generic. It doesn't sound right when Smokey the Bear says "Only you can prevent wild fires."
At the northern terminus of M-18, the weather was beautiful. There was about a four-inch depth of snow, and I was wishing I had a full day here, with some cross country skis, to explore.
Here's the best way I came up with, to define M-18: At the south end, you're still in the "Not Up North" part of the state. But by the time you get to the north end, you truly have reached "Up North."
While I did not get to talk to many people on this drive . . . I kept thinking that at least here, you will not get a lot of complaints about weather. Where winter is a reality for eight or nine months out of the year, surely you have learned that complaining about it is not going to change it (important life lesson!). But maybe most residents of these parts are here because they want to be here. It's the most resource-rich region on the planet, population sprawl is not going to be a problem, and if you love winter activities, it's hard to beat!
We move on to M-19 next, which takes us up the middle of the Thumb. And I'm hoping to add a couple of traveling companions this time!
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