Michigan contained a lot of square-shaped counties within the Mitten. Surveyors laid them down neatly like that for settlers in the mid 19th Century. Gladwin County fit the same basic definition, with rolling farmland eventually replacing much of the forest (map). Not much differentiated it from surrounding counties although it had some nice lakes. We rented a house on one of them for a week. What better way to ride out a pandemic for awhile in a socially responsible manner?
Ordinarily, Twelve Mile Circle wouldn’t devote an entire article to such an obscure locale. However, we spent a lot of time there sheltering in place so I need to do what I can with the material I have.
Butman
I might as well get this out of the way. The lake we stayed at fell within — in fact pretty much dominated — the township of Butman (map). My younger son got considerable enjoyment out of the name. In fact, I’m pretty sure any kid of a certain age would do the same. Nonetheless, someone named a township for Saginaw businessman Myron Butman in 1883 and the rest of us just need to get over it.
Lake Lancer
Specifically, we spent our time along the shores of Lake Lancer, the centerpiece of the surrounding Sugar Springs community. I’m not exactly sure how we found it. We began by checking the usual vacation rental websites for something remote, yet accessible to East Lansing so we could drop our older son off at college on the way back. The plan didn’t exactly unfold as intended for reasons I explained previously. Nonetheless, online maps on those sites showed a cluster of available rentals at Lake Lancer. The area met our immediate needs so we ended up there. I’d never heard of it before then.
On the Water
Obviously we went to a lake, and did lake things. The rental home came with all sorts of water toys, including a canoe. My younger son and I enjoyed canoeing around the corner of the lake closest to the house. This included a little unnamed island about a half-mile away. A sign prohibited hunting or camping, but said nothing about coming ashore. So we pulled onto a sandy bank and went exploring. It didn’t take long to cover maybe an acre.
Evening Campfire
I couldn’t think of a better way to end each day than with a campfire by the lake. The yard included a fire pit so we put it to use. We picked up firewood at the local party store. Let it be known, that deep in the Mitten a “party store” seemed to have a unique definition. I kept seeing signage for party stores and figured them for something like Party City. People really needed balloons and glitter and costumes and birthday candles, I supposed.
Eventually I figured out. In that part of Michigan a party store resembled what one might call a convenience store elsewhere. A party store sold beer and ice and snacks and soda and such. You know, everything you’d ever need for a party.
Residential Airpark!
Twelve Mile Circle featured residential airparks several years ago. They truly fascinated me. Imagine landing an airplane in your backyard and taxiing to a hangar attached to your home. Well, one of those existed in the community surrounding Lake Lancer. Sugar Springs Airpark offered a 3,800 foot grass airstrip (notice the yellow markers in the background). It wasn’t restricted to residents either. The general public could also fly there. An adjacent golf course and restaurant provided an interesting twist on the $100 Hamburger concept. It almost made me wish I could fly.
Animal Mailboxes?
I did a lot of walking through that lakefront community. Along the way I’d stop and take a photo of anything remotely interesting. I don’t know why. Maybe I didn’t have anything better to do at the time. Anyway, it seemed to me that people there had a penchant for animal-themed mailboxes. Designs tended to skew towards fish and deer. Lots of people loved their fishing and hunting here. Yes, lots and lots of people.
Some Runtime
I can’t sit still for long. I just can’t. While I enjoyed the unusual amount of downtime, I had to get moving again. So, with plenty of time on my hands, I managed to complete a couple of 10 mile runs.
One Through Amish Country
My first ten-miler circumnavigated Lake Lancer on the shortest available route. The road layout conformed to very exact one mile segments, a throwback to the 19th Century design of original township grids. That made things really easy: a rectangle of 3 miles by 2 miles . I took a cut on the southeastern corner to minimize distance on the busiest road. Half of the miles went on pavement and the other half on gravel.
I began to notice something odd on the gravel surface during this early morning run. Strange indentations appeared. I began to sense they might be horseshoe prints. Then I began to notice homes without electrical wires running to them. Huge draft horses grazed in nearby paddocks. Sure enough, not long thereafter, I heard a telltale clomp-clomp-clomp, and an Amish gentleman on a horse-drawn cart passed by. We waved and he continued down the lane. A fairly significant Amish settlement seemed to exist south of the lake, away from the vacation homes and summer residences.
Another One Lakeside
The second run concentrated on the northeastern quadrant of Lake Lancer. It looks like a shorter route on the map. However, bear in mind I covered everything twice, out and back. Much of it crossed the “islands” neighborhood of the lake. I wouldn’t call this part of Michigan particularly hilly although the land had a definite roll to it. Thus, filling the lake created a number of islands that the designers then connected with causeways. Doing so, houses on both sides of the road got waterfront views! And so did I as I jogged through there. It was quite pleasant.
OK, I’ll venture farther afield in the next installments.
Articles in the Exploring the Mitten Series
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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