(electric guitar music) (upbeat music) - On this awesome episode of "UTR", our destination is Downriver for a trail of a good time, a Big Bear Lodge, and a theater we think is swell.

Then, we get spicy with some salsa and even have our own garden party.

Get ready to explore the cool people, places and things that make Southern Wayne County a super place to be.

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(energetic music) - [Tom] I've been around the world, but there's one place I keep coming back to.

And the more I explore, the more I realize it's the place to be.

I'm Tom Daldin.

And this is "Under the Radar Michigan".

(energetic theme music) Now, if you haven't explored Southeast Michigan's Downriver area, you're in for a polite awakening because there's enough cool stuff to see, do, and consume down here to plan a month of Sundays, whatever that means.

And is it safe to say there's a cool collection of communities down here?

Well, you tell me 'cause there's Allen Park, Brownstown Township, Ecorse, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile Township, Huron Township, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, and then, there's the Rs, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Romulus, Southgate, Taylor, Trenton, Woodhaven and even Wyandotte.

What'd I tell you?

Or did you tell me?

Wait, I forgot what I said.

Oh, well, let's dig in.

So, once your head stops spinning, strap on your official adventure accessory belt and get ready to do Downriver "UTR" style.

(transition sound effect) Our first stop took us to beautiful Huroc Park in fantastic Flat Rock, but we didn't stop for long because before I knew it, I was getting ready to hop on my bike with a peloton of happy, healthy "UTR" fans and head down the trail.

That's right, it's the first ever Tour de Tom, a fun way for me and a bunch of my new best friends to raise money to keep these trails top notch.

And (chuckles) you guys are gonna let me win, right?

- [Riders] No.

- Darn it.

Yep, all the profits from this very first Tour de Tom 16-mile ride will go to the Downriver Linked Greenways trails and waterway development projects.

But before we start our righteous ride, I thought it best to fill my head full of fun facts with Mary Bohling.

I'm really excited about today, 'cause it's the first ever Tour de Tom.

It's happening on National Trails Day.

Coincidence?

- Nope.

- No, no.

We planned it that way, but I also plan to win by the way.

But first of all, tell me about this awesome park that we're in right now.

- We're here in Flat Rock, at Huroc Park, and it's the start of the Downriver Linked Greenways and the start of a 25-mile trail going all the way up through River Rouge and into the city of Detroit.

- I had no idea the trail system down here.

'Cause I live way north of here and I ride the same trail every day.

I ride the same trail.

Even the deers I go by are like, him again?

It's like, dude, there are other trails.

So, yeah, from what I understand, the system down here is huge, correct?

- We have over a hundred miles of trails, 25 miles of it is gonna be connected altogether.

And then, there's spurs here and there off into the different cities.

- Now, for the Tour de Tom, we're riding which trail?

- We're riding the East-West Connector of the Downriver Linked Greenways Trail.

- [Tom] Gotcha.

And we're riding all the way from here to lake... What is it?

- Lake Erie- - It's a Metropark.

- Yep, Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown.

- Now, you also, you have dry trails, you have wet there, you have water trails, correct?

- Right.

And actually the Huron River that we're standing near is part of our heritage river trail system.

- I'm not going over the waterfall.

(both laughing) So, it's a 16-mile ride out and back - [Mary B.]

Mm-hmm.

- on the Tour de Tom.

- Yes.

- And it raises money.

- Yeah, we're raising money to build some additional trails, fill in some gaps that we have in that 25-mile section.

And then, also, we're looking to put some signage in and increase our ability to get people from point A to point B.

- So, where do they get more information about the trails Downriver.

- Downrivertrails.org, they can go to.

And the good thing is we're adding new trails all the time and we're connecting with bigger trail systems like Iron Belle Trail that's going from Ironwood in Upper Peninsula to Belle Isle in Detroit.

And our trail's a piece of that.

- That blows my mind that you could be here in Flat Rock and get on your bike and ride to the UP and back.

- Mm-hmm.

- But that's wonderful.

- 2,000 miles.

Yeah.

(laughs) - Yeah.

Well, not me.

(Tom laughing) - Most people aren't gonna do it all in one trip.

They'll do it in little phases.

- Yeah, I need more than the assist bike.

(Mary laughing) Thank you so much for what you're doing because it means a lot to someone like me.

I live on my bike.

I love my bike.

So, what do you think this means to the community down here?

- We have seen a tremendous growth in the community as far as people getting outdoors, being able to enjoy it.

Even just this morning while we're waiting to take our ride, there's tens of hundreds of people going by us and they're walking, they're biking, they're out fishing and just getting outside and using the trails to get there.

- Yeah.

We're becoming healthier inspite of us.

We're gonna become he... (Mary laughing) Because it's true.

But now, we wanna know about where our food comes from.

We're eating healthier.

We're riding bikes again.

We're getting... See, we're becoming enlightened, like I said- - Reconnecting with our roots.

Yep.

- Exactly.

Exactly.

So, well, I'd like to talk to you more, but I got a race to win.

(Mary laughing) - We'll see you on the race track.

- Oh, yeah.

You'll see me go by.

(Mary laughing) Well, with all that being said, it was time to saddle up for our delightful Downriver ride.

And with Mary and me riding side by each, we were off.

Oh, yes, there's people.

Yay!

(bell ringing) That's my totally awesome bell.

You like it?

'Cause I'm winning right now.

I keep heading.

Look at this, finally.

Finally, I'm in the leads.

(chuckles) Eat my dust, suckers.

(riders faintly speaking) (Tom chuckles) Well, we were having one heck of a pleasant ride, but you know me, even though they explained about 11 billion times that this wasn't an actual race, I was in it to win it.

Oh, I'm the winner!

Oh, whoa, whoa.

What a great day we all had laughing, learning, and loving this picturesque pedal.

We had fun, made new friends, and raised a ton of money to help maintain this awesome trail system, bonus.

So, with the first Tour de Tom in the history books, I just got one thing to say, if you're looking to blaze some new trails, try the Downriver Linked Greenways.

They've got wet ones, dry ones, low ones, and high ones.

And the beautiful sites and stops you make along the way will make for some pure Michigan memories.

(transition sound effect) Well, after working of one heck of a pedal-powered appetite, we decided to drive all the way up north for some authentic woodfired fixins at the one and only, Big Bear Lodge.

Well, actually, we only drove about five miles because believe it or not, this place is Downriver's up north cabin.

You heard right.

Even though Big Bear Lodge is an authentic up north experience, it's right here on Telegraph Road in Brownstown Township.

But when you step inside, you're instantly transported far above the 45th parallel and deep into Michigan's north woods.

Dennis and Mary Camarata are the two inspired and passionate people who brought their love of all things up north, south, for all of us low plain flatlanders to enjoy.

I'll be honest with you, guys.

I've seen pictures of this restaurant online and they're very nice.

But when we walked in here today, it's mind-blowing the atmosphere that you've created.

I feel like apologizing 'cause I'm not wearing my flannel shirt.

'Cause I have (Dennis laughing) three flannel shirts.

But where did you guys get the call of the wild or something?

Because this is extraordinary.

- The real truth here?

- Yeah.

- Okay, so we were in Chicago and in Chicago, right in downtown, Cement City, high rises everywhere.

We went to a restaurant.

Inside the restaurant was this most beautiful log cabin I've ever seen.

As soon as you walked in, you were transported to out in the woods.

- Right.

- I said, if we ever get a chance to do a restaurant, this is it.

This is the way we're going.

- Well, because you started real young, - Yeah, yeah.

- [Tom] You still own the restaurant across the street or something?

- Yep, the Pipers Restaurant.

- Still own it.

- We still own that.

I was just 21.

It was 1974.

- I still had a paper out when I was 21.

- Yeah.

There you go.

- You owned a restaurant?

- Well, mom and dad helped out.

- Okay.

- And yeah, I knew that this is the direction I wanted to go and we just took off.

- I can see people from up north who actually own cabins up there, walking in here, going, oh, so that's what I was supposed to make it look like.

Darn it.

(Dennis laughing) It's just exploring.

- People from up north say, why don't you build one of these up north?

And we say, oh, one's good.

We're good.

- [Tom] Yeah, so I think, it's so funny that I have to drive an hour and 20 minutes south of my house to get to this - Yeah.

- There we go.

- place.

But like you said, - Exactly.

- this is like an instant vacation.

- Well, we say, it's a little piece of up north down in Brownstown Township.

- How would you describe the food?

Is it just like eclectic, Amer... A world... What?

(Dennis sighs) - [Dennis] Oh, it's a mishmash.

We're a steak, potato, meat kind of a place down here.

We do a lot of just different chicken dishes, a lot of seafood.

And then, because we wanted to do a woodfired grill and a woodfired rotisserie that would go with this whole theme that we have going.

- Yeah, look at all the wood.

(group laughing) - And so, we try and take as much off of that live fire as we possibly can.

We do a park loin and a prime rib.

Nobody else does a prime rib on a woodfired rotisserie.

And it makes a difference.

- [Mary C.] It tastes real smokey.

It's very unusual.

- It's gotta be a labor of love.

You must love what you do.

- We love what we do.

And we're also very grateful for the people who support us.

We have great staff.

Our customers are so loyal.

During this whole pandemic that we've lived through- - Oh, without them during the pandemic- - Without our loyal customers, - Yes.

- we would not be here today.

We are very blessed.

We are very thankful for them.

- Very appreciative.

- [Mary C.] Many people come in four or five times a week.

So, we're very, very lucky.

- Food brings people together.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

And when you can bring people together in an atmosphere like this, I can see why people come two, three, four times a week.

- It's just very relaxing.

It's enjoyable.

And today's Winey Wednesday, so you can have your wine for half off.

- Wait, instead of having my wine for half off, can I have twice as much wine for the same price?

- We could probably (Dennis airy laughs) work something else.

(laughs) - I guess, we can do the math on that.

- We could probably work something off.

- Don't think about it too hard.

(Mary C. laughing) I got an Abacus in the car if you need it.

- Okay.

(group laughing) - [Tom] Well, flannel shirt or no flannel shirt, I decided to dig in and try some of the amazing comfort food they serve.

And I got so comfortable that I probably consumed more than my fair share, but what else would you expect?

After all, this is "UTR" and I got a job to do.

So, next time you wanna feel like you're on vacation in pure Michigan's great up north, surround yourself with friendly people, awesome food, and warm, welcoming wood at Big Bear Lodge.

But just be careful, the up north feel is so real here, you just might head the wrong direction home.

(transition sound effect) A lot of cities have great arts and culture.

Ah, but if you want some truly inspirational theater, in Trenton, it's an open book.

And that's because the Open Book theater has become one of the thriving, cultural cornerstones of this community.

It's real theater that's tied into the folks who make it as well as the folks who enjoy it.

And they produce unique performances that reflect the concerns, curiosity, passion, humor, and creativity of all the proud people who live here.

Krista Schafer is the founding artistic director.

And she totally and passionately personifies the positive power of live theater.

I tell people all the time, if you have not experienced live theater, there's nothing in the world like it.

- I agree.

- [Tom] They've done research.

Apparently, people will start to breathe together and their heartbeat - Mm-hmm.

- will start to synchronize.

- [Krista] Yep.

- [Tom] There's just nothing else like it.

It's not like you're looking at an image of something.

That's real people that you can connect with.

- [Krista] Yes.

Yeah, which is exactly what I love about it because there's nothing like being in a room with other people and you're all experiencing the same thing.

- Yes.

- And it's different every time.

And the audience is so important that the actors feel what's going on with the audience.

And the audience, it affects what happens and how they're reacting.

Actors love it.

There's nothing better than when an audience is like, (gasps) when you hear them gasp or you hear them let out sigh or they... Because you know that they're just right there with you.

- And what I also love about you, guys, is you don't just do classic, the plays that a lot of people do, don't you do original pieces that are written by people in the community?

- So, our driveway theater is all written by people in the community.

Most of what we do here in this space as our main stage is - Yeah.

- almost everything we do here has been previously published.

- Well, explain your driveway theater thing though, that I love the concept.

- Well, so we started that in the summer of 2020 when we had been closed.

And when I heard that we're going to be allowed to gather in small groups outdoors, I thought, well, how can we do theater?

And so, I invented, I'd never heard of anything like it before.

I call it driveway theater - Yeah.

- where two performers show up in your driveway or your church parking lot or your neighborhood park, and they put on a 30-minute play.

And those are all written by local playwrights.

We did it that first summer in 2020.

And it was a hit.

People loved it.

And talk about going out into your community.

And we were literally going to where people live, work, and play.

- [Tom] Well, I always tell people, don't just go to the theater that's in your neighborhood.

'Cause a lot of communities have their local theater group, - Yeah.

- which is wonderful.

- You should support them, help them.

- 100%.

- But shake it up a little bit and go to places like this.

- Oh, yeah.

- If people wanna find out - Yeah.

- more about your theater, where do they go?

- Well, they go to our website.

- Okay.

- Openbooktc.com.

- Okay.

- TC like theater company.

Or you can call us.

I'm always happy to talk.

But all of the information, you can buy tickets online.

You can see about our history, all of that's on our website.

Yeah.

- And maybe I'll come down.

You got a part for me?

I'll be Geppetto.

(laughs) - Sure.

Come on- - Hey, Pinocchio!

- Come on down.

The publicity and that would be great.

Yeah.

I've got a part for you, for sure.

- Seriously?

- Seriously.

- I just might take you up on that.

- Come on down.

- I'll be an actor.

- Be an actor.

- Instead of a TV show host.

- Yes.

- Actors brains are big.

TV show host brains are like small.

- But TV host pay, I'm guessing, is a little bigger than actor pay, unfortunately.

- I don't know about that.

We work for food.

- That's true.

- You're PBS, so maybe that.

- Yeah.

(both laughing) - I understand you are also a not-for-profit.

- Yeah.

(Krista laughing) - Welcome.

Welcome to the world.

But you're a little bit more, a little bit more funding than we have than we're working on.

- Are you you a non-profit?

- We are a non-profit.

- Well, continued luck in the future.

- [Krista] Thank you.

- Even inspite of the fact that I'm gonna show up here and I'm gonna be in one of your plays.

- Wow.

I think, that would be fantastic.

- Okay.

Let's face it, when was the last time you saw live theater?

And when was the last time you did it at a new venue because life is full of experiences and adventures.

And this curtain is calling you.

So, venture out of your area and entertain an evening of creative, original offerings at the Open Book Theater in Trenton.

I guarantee, you'll go back for an encore performance.

(transition sound effect) So, what do you get when you combine two really young guys with a really old recipe?

You get the Detroit Salsa Company, that's what.

Yep, Finn Gomez and his twin brother Reilly are budding entrepreneurs who are helping put Lincoln Park on the map for foodie finders with their premium craft salsas.

Now, if you've never heard of Detroit Salsa Company before, trust me, you will, because these motivated young men have one heck of a tasty plan.

Okay, you guys, I've been doing this show 12 years.

I've never asked anybody how old they are until now.

I'm gonna ask you, how old are you, guys?

- 19.

- 19.

He's the older one though.

- By an hour.

- [Tom] Oh, so you're twins?

- Yes, identical mirror image twins.

- Okay, is this true that this company started as a seventh grade school project for you, Finn?

- Yeah, it was.

So, it was in Mrs.

Lab's class in middle school.

And she was amazing for doing different things other than just normal core classes.

And it was business operations.

She had to come up with a business, a logo, design, whatever you wanted to do, you could do it.

And I ended up doing Detroit Salsa Company.

I took in salsa and tamales.

Tamales are still the favorite, but salsa just took off.

It was like he would start getting asked questions.

Hey, can we get some salsa food?

Is there any salsa we can get?

Teachers started asking, friends started asking.

And it just snowball since then.

- This isn't just salsa you made up.

Isn't this a recipe that your great grandma?

- [Finn] Yeah, so it's if my great-grandmother from the 1930s in Corktown, our great-grandmother.

- Yeah.

- Oh, yours too?

- Yeah.

- I think so.

- Well, yeah, 'cause I read that she actually made this salsa for people that were moving here for the first time.

- Correct.

It was out of her business.

They had a party store in Corktown.

That's where she made it and sold it.

And then, from then, it's been in the family and we took it over.

- So, we're in Lincoln Park.

Why Detroit Salsa?

- So, yes, we're in Lincoln Park.

We're in Downriver.

We're from Wyandotte.

But we wanted to honor our family.

My great-grandmother had businesses in Corktown.

They had party stores, catering, and all those recipes had been in our family this whole time.

And we wanted to make sure that we honored them and Detroit Salsa Company was born from that.

We wanted to make sure we gave back to everything they've given us.

- Well, this is a family affair.

I saw your dad back there helping (laughs) and your mom too.

- Oh, yeah.

- Yeah.

So, it's a real family affair.

- Correct.

We're all (mumbles) every day.

- Absolutely.

Yeah.

- Well, so Reilly, what's your part in this?

(Reilly sighs) - I wake up every day and I do deliveries all day.

- Oh, that's- - Yep.

I make sure our salsa (Tom laughing) gets to where it needs to be.

- Yeah.

And where can people find your salsa?

Because from what I've heard, it's exploding.

- Well, we're in 23 different stores.

If they go to our website, we have a full list of our locations.

Really can't name 'em off the top of my head.

And this local area, we have a few close markets, Trentwood's, Eureka farm markets, et cetera.

There's a couple liquor stores in the area.

We try to get in all these different markets in the areas, so we can access as many people as we can.

- [Tom] And your salsa, I understand, it's organic 'cause there's no added sugars.

- [Reilly] Nothing is added besides the ingredients.

It's always fresh, always natural.

- And what flavor salsa do you guys have?

Because I'm a salsa freak.

- Oh, yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

So, we've got our traditional red salsa.

- Yeah.

- Which is tomatoes, the regular.

And then, we have our tomatillo avocado mix.

We call our green salsa.

- Yeah.

- [Reilly] And it's tomatillo, avocados, and everything else you need.

- Well, our motto on the TV show is work hard and have fun.

You guys working hard?

- That's the plan every day.

- We're having a lot of fun.

- They're doing it right.

Just don't try a TV show.

- Okay.

- That's my job.

Besides, you're too smart.

(laughs) - We we're a little bit better at making salsa.

- [Tom] Yeah.

Now, whoever said youth is wasted on the young, never met Finn and Reilly Gomez, because these two young guys and their salsas are heading into homes across America.

They're exceptional young men who are doing all the right things for all the right reasons.

So, check out Detroit Salsa Company.

Your taste buds and the entire Gomez family will thank you for it.

(transition sound effect) Now, here at our last Downriver destination, we're gonna do some nature bathing at one of the prettiest non-profit places you'll ever peruse.

I'm of course talking about the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in, well, the town of Taylor.

And if beautiful gardens are your happy place, get ready to smile from ear to ear because these grounds are blooming amazing.

Kyle Wright is the development coordinator here and his dedication to this community and these gardens is manifested in countless colors.

No matter what's happening in your life, there's something about a garden like this that makes everything right with the world again.

We've only spent a few minutes wandering the grounds here and this place is beautiful.

- Oh, yeah.

It's immaculate, just the natural beauty of it too.

- Yeah.

- It's just... - And the fact that you've got a 1/3 scale model of the Scripps Conservatory on Belle Isle, tell me how that happened.

- Yeah, so actually, back in the day, DTE was on a road show and they made a model of the Belle Isle conservatory and it was featured.

And they were trying to decide what to do with it.

So, in partnership with the city, we got together and we submitted a proposal, was actually awarded the structure that you see behind us.

- Yeah.

- And so, back in 2002, that was, and then that's when the foundation was created.

We started to create the groundwork, the foundation for where to put it and then everything came together and this is where we are today.

- So, how big are the gardens?

- Yeah, so the actual land that we manage is about eight acres.

- Okay.

- So, it's everything from up at the structure all the way back here to the Goodwill Garden.

- That's awesome.

But what I really love about this place is you're right adjacent to Heritage Park.

- Yeah, so we have a great relationship with the city of Taylor and the parks and rec department.

And so, our property is actually located in Heritage Park, but we actually lease this land.

And so, it's a great partnership that we've created with them and being able to turn this land into that natural garden and that botanical gardens.

- [Tom] And you also have live concert series here?

- Yeah, so we have our Music and Art in the Gardens.

It's our summer series.

So, it goes from the beginning of June, all the way to the first week of August.

And so, every Wednesday from 5:30, until 10 o'clock at night, we're out here, we're listening to music.

And we have local food vendors, we have local bands, local artists.

It's a great event for the family.

- I should also mention, it's free to come in here, correct?

- Yeah.

Here and Heritage Park.

- Yeah, so, it's a complete 501(c)(3) non-profit that runs it and it's open to the public all day, all year.

So, obviously, not in the winter because of the snow, but throughout the summertime, it is a constant flow of people that are coming and checking out the gardens.

The Heritage Park historic walk, so you have the museum, - Yeah.

- [Kyle] you have a one room schoolhouse, a log cabin, covered bridge.

It's a beautiful backdrop, even the botanical gardens.

- Can you bring a picnic in here?

- Oh, yeah.

We have people that come with their baskets, blankets and they'll set up - Oh.

- in the fields and it's a beautiful backdrop too, just to have a picnic.

And we've seen wedding proposals happen.

- Yeah.

- We've seen it all happen here.

It's a beautiful sight to have anything.

- Yeah, there's so many things you could plan here.

Can you do special events here if you want?

- Yeah, so we have everything.

You get people that wanna do graduation parties.

It's open to really anything that you can create, that you wanna have an event here.

- Once again, nice office, dude.

- Oh, yeah.

It's a beautiful, beautiful place to work and also to live.

Like you said, in Taylor, you get this beautiful site to come to every day.

- [Tom] Well, after our conversation, I took a little time to slow down, unwind, and walk the gardens.

And within minutes, all was right with the world.

If you're looking for a new place to ponder, picnic, play, or just get away, the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens are pure pretty.

Oh, and if you're looking for a new part of Michigan to explore, there are so many great places to eat, stay, play, and explore here that you'll never know unless you go.

So, whether by land or by sea, check out the Downriver area, because like I always say, it's a great place to be.

(gentle guitar music) - [Advertiser 1] Pure is what you make of it.

It's taking it all in and never taken anything for granted.

The sunsets, (upbeat music) the moon rises, and you realize the end of one perfect summer day is the beginning of another.

Pursue your pure in pure Michigan.

- [Advertiser 2] A visit to the Stahls Auto Collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around, a fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines dating back 150 years, that must be seen and heard.

Info at stahlsauto.com.

(energetic music) (energetic music) (bright music)