Welcome to Off the Grid.

Here you will discover the interesting, fascinating and the unusual.

We also are very pleased to introduce you to regional wilderness and natural areas untouched (or lightly touched) by the hand of mankind.

Please remember when visiting us, leave no trace of your visit behind.

Near the little town of Arcadia Michigan, just south of Upper Herring Lake, near the Benzie County & Manistee County line, there is a mysterious place called Gravity Hill. Believe me when I say, it is bizarre.

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To get there, turn east from M-22, or west from US-31, onto Joyfield Road. As you approach the Gravity Hill you will see the remains of a ghost town as well as an old church at the intersection.

At the intersection of Joyfield and Putney, turn North. About 1/4-mile from the intersection (you will now be at the bottom of a hill), put your vehicle in neutral and take your foot off the brake. You will accelerate up the hill at speeds approaching 15 miles per hour defying the laws of gravity as we know them.

Is Gravity Hill a vortex caused by a variation in the earths magnetic field, an optical illusion, or a supernatural place? We suggest that you visit and discover the answer for yourself . . . then explain it to us.

McGulpiin Rock

Did you know that Michigan has a rock with more historical significance than Plymouth Rock. The McGulpin Rock, on the shore of Lake Michigan west of Mackinaw City, is about five times the size of Plymouth Rock and has a recorded history dating five years before the Pilgrims landed in 1620.

In 1615, French explorers, including Etienne Brule, who is believed to be the first European to cross all the Great Lakes, took note of the enormous rock near the straits linking lakes Huron and Michigan. They wrote that native tribes used it as a navigational aide and to gauge the cyclical depths of the Great Lakes.

• From northbound I-75 in Mackinaw City, take Exit 339, Jamet Street, the last exit before the Mackinac Bridge. Turn west (right) on Central Avenue, then north (right) at the T-intersection of Headlands/Wilderness Park Drive. Follow the signs to McGulpin Point Lighthouse. Vehicles may travel all the way down the hill to the Lake Michigan shoreline. The McGulpin Rock is obvious on the right.

• From U.S.-131, travel north through Petoskey (where 131 becomes U.S.-31) to the I-75 on-ramp near Mackinaw City and proceed as above.

• From the Upper Peninsula, take I-75 south across the Mackinac Bridge to Exit 339 and proceed as above.