Tanda Gmiter directs MLive’s travel and destination coverage, a topic that is consistently a reader favorite.
She and a team of reporters stay abreast of developments in the travel industry, check out new destinations, update information on old favorites and provide ideas on how to love Michigan’s best spots.
Let’s just say, Gmiter is MLive’s travel concierge, a job you can see her do exceptionally well in our weekly newsletter, Lovable Michigan. But more on that later.
The reason we say she’s a concierge is that she is willing to go to extremes to help a reader – even to the point of providing turn-by-turn travel directions through a remote Upper Peninsula forest, in real time.
“I often get asked forhelpful hints and comments from people, but this was the first time I was asked to be a GPS,” said Gmiter, referencing an email that popped into her the inbox afternoon of Monday, Aug. 5:
Hey! I'm trying to find Gabbro Falls from Emily's tour guide and can't. Can you help please? We're right here and can't find it!! Thank you – Jan Roberts Gmiter had to get her bearings because she wasn’t sure what “tour guide” was being referenced and “Gabbro Falls” didn’t ring a bell. “I wanted to help them out of any lost wandering in the UP.” Gmiter searched MLive archives and found a 2016 article headlined, “A beginners guide to exploring waterfalls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.” Gabbro Falls isn’t actually mentioned in the story – it’s shown on a map that accompanies the post. It’s in a remote area near Ironwood, in the far west end of the UP.
To get precise directions, Gmiter scoured the Ironwood area travel page online, and came up with instructions that sound like they came from a local over a cup of coffee:
Take Blackjack Rd north from US Hwy 2 between Bessemer and Wakefield. Follow the road until you reach Blackjack Ski Resort. The road will turn 180 degrees and start up a steep hill. Once you reach the top of the hill, you will find parking across from some old run-down buildings. You can hike to either the top of the falls or the base of the falls from this point.
About 30 minutes later Gmiter received a photo of Roberts standing at the trailhead to the falls, and after that, photos of the falls themselves.
“We found it and it was beautiful!” wrote Roberts. “Thank you so much! We did (the) entire route from (the) 2016 post … directions and tips and side trips and places to stop were all still awesome.”
Gmiter was happy to help.
“I was just tickled when Jan was able to send back confirmation that they had found it, that they weren't lost, that they weren't going to encounter bears on a deserted two-track.”
You probably aren’t going to need that kind of on-the-spot help from Gmiter, but you can benefit from her expertise on a regular basis by signing up for Lovable Michigan, a newsletter only available to MLive subscribers.
Each week she hand-curates Lovable Michigan to include the best of the stories relevant to the season and ways to enjoy some of your old favorites throughout Michigan. Gmiter also writes an intro each week that combines her own experiences and gives advice to help you make the best of your travel adventures.
If you’re a subscriber who’s not getting Lovable Michigan, sign up here. Not a subscriber? That's OK. You can receive a few weeks of Lovable Michigan as a free trial. Click here to sign up.
And if you’re looking for free useful travel advice in your inbox, follow this link to sign up for Michigan’s Best Weekend, which is delivered every Friday morning and includes stories relevant to the weekend at hand.
Whatever your level of interest in travel options and ideas, MLive has you covered. We’ve added more staff resources into travel, the environment, and outdoor activities and events because readers are eating it up.
“The things we write lead people to having a great day, finding joy, making memories,” Gmiter said. “I am always happy to get people to the spots where they can have so much fun traveling.
“And yes, if I can be a human GPS on occasion, I'm happy to do that.”
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