Where The Heck Is Bad Axe

I recently spent a week in Bad Axe, Michigan, a place that you are unlikely to visit unintentionally, unless you are lost.  It is situated due North of Detroit, near the top of the "thumb" of Michigan, a little North of Ubly and East of Pigeon, so not a place that you would pass through going somewhere else.

Bad Axe is home to about 3,000 people, situated in a largely agricultural area, but the nearby beaches are a popular summer destination.  It is one of the most difficult places to get to from where I live on the west coast - leave home at 4 AM for a 6 AM flight, and arrive in Bad Axe at 11 PM, after an hour and a half drive from Saginaw airport.

I have visited Bad Axe on business several times over the past 5 years, and this visit was likely my last.  The town has changed a little in 5 years - Walmart has opened a large store on the north side of town, and today there are a lot of empty business buildings along North Van Dyke.  I am not suggesting that Walmart is to blame, but it does not seem to have much competition.  Electricity generating wind turbines are springing up like mushrooms outside of town, and the resulting increase in visiting labour, has stretched available accommodation in the area.

After "where the heck is Bad Axe?" the next question that I am asked when I tell people that I have been to Bad Axe, is "why is it called Bad Axe?".  It seems that early surveyors camped in the area and found a broken axe near their campsite, and so Bad Axe was born.