We can't think of a better way to spend a sunny Monday than on a sand dune overlooking Lake Huron at Tawas Point State Park building a new boardwalk with a few of our tourism professional friends. We did just that a few days ago, and it was totally awesome. We bring you the story of Michigan Cares for Tourism on this episode of Behind the Mitten. 

Who better to kick off this show than with the founder of Michigan Cares for Tourism herself, Ms. Patty Click Janes. She shares her inspiriation for MCT, which has been working on projects around Michigan since 2013. The first "unified" effort for the tourism industry to give back, MCT has completed 68 different projects, involving almost 6,000 volunteers, saving the state $2 million dollars, and impacting over 9 million visitors to our state parks.

Tawas State Park is one of Michigan's most unique state parks, residing on an ever shifting spit of sand fingered out into Lake Huron on the sunrise side of the state. Born and raised in Tawas, our next guest Micah Jordan now has his dream job as park supervisor. He shares what makes this park so special, and why he never wants to leave Tawas, and is beyond blessed to get to work here.

Kelly Wolgamott, Vice President of Pure Michigan always has awesome recommendations on things to do and see, and she stops by to share a few suggestions for fall, focusing on the sunrise side of Michigan. From incredible fall colors, winding drives, and unexpected towns to explore, plan your next adventure at Michigan.org.

Earlier this year we got to attend the unveiling of a beautiful new art exhibition that our friends in the Houghton Lake Area have been working on this summer. Located just next door to the Tawas region, Houghton Lake, St. Helen, Roscommon and the Higgins Lake are have tons of outdoor recreation to enjoy, from birding to boating. Vicky Barnes from the visitor's bureau, and a long time local, stops by to share her love of this community.

We had the best time volunteering this year, and we recorded this show right in the middle of our busy day, you might even hear the hard work in our voices. Huge shout-out to Patty and her incredible team of volunteers, not only was this event incredibly well-organized, it was amazing to see the real time transformation of Tawas State Park before our eyes. Michigan Cares for Tourism is an amazing organization doing great works for our state.