Midland MI May 2022

We visited Midland Michigan while on vacation in May 2022 with three things on our schedule. 1) see The Tridge, 2) have BBQ for lunch and then 3) wander over to the Dow Gardens. From our first turn into town I was charmed.

The little Christmas house and the odd county building on the main street of town were surprises. I didn't find a reason behind the architecturally interesting courthouse at the time, so I headed to Google for some further enlightenment. Turns out it's technically a three-story Tudor Revival style courthouse. Mr. Dow (whom we'll hear more about in a bit) pledged money for it's construction in 1924 (when the world still made interesting buildings) and hired architect Bloodgood Tuttle of Cleveland and Detroit to design the building, and mural artist Paul Honore of Detroit to create interior artwork. Those of us from the Cleveland area would no doubt recognize the Tuttle name as a prolific architect in our area, specifically many homes in Shaker Heights. Now I wish we had taken time to actually visit inside the building to see the murals and the interiors. This would be reason #1 to return to Midland another time.

After some research, we found out the little holiday themed house next door to the courthouse is actually a Santa School! Not many Santa's were hanging around in May, in fact I didn't see a single one!

But apparently Santa hopefuls descend upon Midland by the hundreds each October. The Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School has been training Santa's since 1937. The mission statement of the school says it all: "To uphold the traditions and preserve the history of Santa Claus while providing students with the necessary resources to improve and further define their individual presentations of Santa and Mrs. Claus, allowing them to enter the hearts and spread the Christmas spirit to everyone they meet." The founder Mr. Howard said it plainly and accurately when he stated "He errs who thinks Santa enters through the chimney. Santa enters through the heart." Isn't that awesome!

After a quick stroll around the Christmas house, we walked over to The Tridge, the formal name of a three legged wooden footbridge spanning the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers in Chippewassee Park. The Tridge opened in 1981. It consists of one 31-foot (9.4 m) tall central pillar supporting three spokes. Each spoke is 180 feet long by 8 feet wide. The parks along the rivers were very lovely. You can bring a lunch and have a picnic in any of the little parks, or sit on one of the little benches at the intersection of the legs and enjoy the views from there. The Tridge also marks the starting point of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail, a Michigan Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame trail. Although being mainly a footbridge, bicycles, skateboards, and in-line skates are also allowed on the bridge. If you're curious about how and why it was built, check out this website: https://cityofmidlandmi.gov/1672/The-Tridge

Before we rolled into town for lunch, I had already scoped out a BBQ spot that I'd hoped would be good and it didn't disappoint. We bellied up to a table at Molasses Smokehouse and Bar. We shared a full portion of tri tip, rice and creamed corn. There was plenty for the two of us for lunch. The beef was tender and we had our choice of sauces. The rice was seasoned and paired well with the beef. I have to admit the corn was, for me, the most memorable part of this meal. We used to eat creamed corn when I was a child and I hadn't had it in ages. Theirs was prepared with real butter and some of their spice rub. This was delicious and I'm reminded to do this at home next time I BBQ.

After lunch we took a quick walk around the little downtown. Not much was open except the Aviator Cookie Company and we did not hesitate to pick up a box of cookies to munch on for the remainder of our day. I was curious as to the reason for the name and the actual airplane wing that acted as the counter, but the owners weren't there for a discussion. So I checked out their website and discovered the owner was an airline pilot for a major U.S. Airline who had been grounded for 9 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He and his kids decided to change up their lifestyle and nurture his love of baking. Hence the bakery. Good choice, the cookies were terrific.

If you're wondering what's up in Midland, the answer is Dow Chemical. The Dow name is prevalent in this little town of 20,000 residents. Dow, a Fortune 55 company, was founded in Midland in 1897 and continues to operate its global headquarters in the community. With its recent spin-off into three separate companies, Midland now hosts sites for DuPont and Corteva Agriscience as well. Our purpose in Midland was to visit

Dow Gardens and it wasn’t disappointing. The Gardens are a 110-acre display of annuals and perennials punctuated by distinctive bridges, towering pines, and delightful water features and is home to Michigan's longest canopy walk. We were a bit early for most of the flowers to be in bloom but the grounds themselves were lovely. I'd suggest a visit during the summer months for the full effect and I imagine it's stunning in the fall once the leaves begin to turn.

Be prepared to walk, the grounds are expansive but there are plenty of walkways and little bridges plus a separate area for kids. You'll find a small pond with a sculpture and benches to sit and take in the view. And then there is the canopy walk. There are rope bridges to test your foot dexterity, some little alcoves for the kids to peek out from, and a glass floored platform to test your sensibility for heights. Overall a fun time and terrific views. Once back on solid ground, we got lost once or twice so be sure to carry a map of the grounds with you for reference. Also be aware restrooms are only located in a couple of buildings that may be a mile apart. There is an interactive GIS map available for you to discover information on the various plants so this is a very educational experience, ask about it at the entrance.

We spent about 3 hours here. If you have young children they will want to play in the children's garden so allow time for that as well. You can even take a picnic onto the grounds, just not indoors.

There are two homes adjacent to the Gardens. The Herbert and Grace Dow family home, The Pines, is nearby and open for tours on certain days. In addition there is the stunning Alden B. Dow home that you can see from the Gardens. Alden was a son of Herbert and Grace and studied architecture. He was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and you can see that in the building that he designed and built as his home and studio. The studio is also open for tours on certain days.

Plan your visit to the estate and gardens by visiting their web home at https://dowgardens.org/ and Home & Studio Midland Michigan - Alden B. Dow (abdow.org)