Pleasant Peninsula with O.W. Root

<p>When was the last time you used a power tool or a kitchen gadget that was older than you are? How about older than your parents? O.W.’s mother has an electric juicer that predates them both, and says volumes about...

<p>As the sunshine and warm temperatures finally start hitting up north, so do the floods. That enormous amount of snow this winter has melted, overwhelming riverbanks and dams in Northern Michigan. Of the many...

<p>Springtime up north can sometimes feel like having Stockholm Syndrome. It conditions you into accepting anything that is "not winter" is therefore, beautiful. That's why mud can become a welcoming sight after months...

<p>If you're wondering when the off season is Up North, this is it. No, it's not warm enough for the beaches or about half of the activities that people come up north for, but there are places, like The Perry, where you...

<p>While many things in this world continue to decline, there is one bright spot you can see with your own two eyes. The world is a little more beautiful than it used to be, and that's in large part to our efforts in...

<p>Spring shows up, gets cocky, and then gets absolutely buried—two feet of snow later, O.W. is reminded that Michigan isn’t one state, but two, divided somewhere between grass and survival. Plus, a ranking of...

<p>It’s a blizzard out there - for real. And O.W.’s just getting over a nasty bug. It gave him some time to reflect on how the mainstream media thinks Pete Buttigeig residing in Traverse City means he’s living like a...

<p>Some people are obsessed with their lawns in the summer. For O.W., he’s got a different compulsion: the ice in his driveway. It stares at him every day as snow elsewhere else melts effortlessly. Plus, have you ever...

<p>Last week, O.W. defined the term "Ugly Winter." Now the debate, which Ugly Winter is worse, the brown, grassy, muddy South or the bone-chilling, snowy North? Plus, if you've ever looked at modern cars and longed for...

<p>We’re past the “Winter Wonderland” stage of the season. That was during the holidays. What’s leftover is the snowy, sloppy mess that is Ugly Winter. But it, too, has its own bright spot. Plus, O.W. marvels at one of...

<p>Where do you think the fastest roads in Michigan are located? You'd probably assume they're in the bigger cities like Detroit or Grand Rapids. But population is what slows everyone down, actually. The roads where you...

<p>What begins with family movie nights and half-remembered Disney scenes turns into a reflection on how memory actually works—how we forget the big, planned moments and cling instead to couches, carpets, and a single...

<p>A one-degree morning, a neighbor with a snowblower, and the quiet satisfaction of shoveling anyway set the stage for a meditation on effort, discomfort, and why doing things the hard way sometimes matters. What...

<p>The summer heat and the winter chill. We complain equally about both, but only one really has the potential to kill you every year, at least if you don’t live in the South. But even they’re now feeling the wrath of...

<p>What do you really gain by speeding in a snowstorm? Is the risk really worth saving that measly five minutes on your drive? Patience will save you much more in the long run. Plus, O.W. breaks the stigma on tanning...