From Great Lakes to Rockies

EASTERN GREAT LAKES (American Automobile Assn., 60 minutes, 1991).

Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, bordering four of the Great Lakes, are the focus of this well-photographed and informative video. Major cities are highlighted, and scattered throughout are visits to some off-the-beaten-track attractions.

Beginning in Michigan’s pristine Isle Royal National Park, the video heads south through the resort area around historic Mackinac Island. En route to Detroit, there’s a stop in the Bavarian-like town of Frankenmuth to visit Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland of holiday ornaments and gifts.

In Detroit, tours visit Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum in nearby Dearborn; the offices of Motown Sound, and the huge Renaissance Center hotel and shopping complex, which includes one of the world’s tallest hotels, the 73-story Westin.

Other stops in Michigan include: Grand Rapids, a furniture center and home of the Gerald R. Ford Museum; Kalamazoo, with its aviation and classic car museums; the Dutch-flavored community of Holland, and Baldwin, with its Shrine of the Pines, a shop with beautiful hand-carved wood furniture and objets d’art.

Ohio offers scenes of its mysterious Indian mounds, scattered throughout the state. Near Akron, there’s the Hale Farm and Western Village outdoor museum, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. There’s also a stop at the restored Roscoe Village near Coshocton.

There are impressive views of the Cleveland skyline from Lake Erie, and a tour of the cultural attractions of the city plus a brief stop at Sea World in the suburb of Aurora.

Other cities visited include Canton, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Dover, with Warther’s Museum of intricate wood carvings; the state capital of Columbus and site of Ohio State University; Dayton, which has the U.S. Air Force Museum, and Cincinnati, home of the popular Kings Island theme park.

In Indiana, near the small town of Nashville, a few miles from the college town of Bloomington, viewers visit Brown County State Park, the Little Nashville Opry and the John Dillinger wax museum.

Tapes are available from AAA Video Service, 2000 Fillmore, Suite 106, Denver, Colo. 80206; tel. (800) 875-5000. Price: $19.95 for members, $24.95 for non-members.

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PIKES PEAK COUNTRY (Finley-Holiday Film Corp., 50 minutes, 1993) .

In the area around Pikes Peak in Colorado, there’s a lot for the tourist to see and do and a good deal of it is covered in this video.

Using a combination of excellent ground and aerial photography, old archival footage and a narration filled with history, viewers explore Pikes Peak from bottom to top. Scenes include a drive up the twisting roadway; the annual Fourth of July “Race to the Clouds,” a timed car race, and the cog-rail journey from Manitou Springs to the 14,110-foot peak, from which there are spectacular views of mountains and plains.

While in Manutou Springs, viewers also visit the mineral springs, mining museum and prehistoric Indian cliff dwellings. Nearby is Cripple Creek, a historic mining town with several restored gambling casinos, the restored Imperial Hotel, and an old brothel, plus several mining and railway exhibits, including a rail line that visits the ruins of Victor, an 1800s mining town.

In Colorado Springs, viewers visit the elegant Broadmoor Hotel and adjacent Cheyenne Mountain, with its exotic zoo, Will Rogers Monument and Seven Falls canyon and waterfall, which are spectacularly lit at night. North of Colorado Springs, there’s a visit to the Air Force Academy, and south of the city are side trips that include Buckskin Joe, a restored boom town, and tour the facilities at the 1,000-foot-high Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge over the Arkansas River.

Tapes are available from Finley-Holiday Film Corp., P.O. Box 619, Dept. CS, Whittier 90608; tel. (800) 345-6707. Price: $24.95.

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TERRITORIAL ODYSSEY (Miramar Productions, 46 minutes, 1993).

This is an unusual journey through some of the most spectacular scenery of the West--Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and California. It’s also a soothing ride--uncluttered by scenes of man or beast--that takes viewers through both well-known and little-known areas.

Filmed by producer-cinematographer Steven Lazur, the video gives viewers the sensation of “free-floating” to such landmarks as the Grand Canyon, Mt. Shasta, Death Valley, Bryce and Zion national parks, Yosemite, the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, Monument Valley and Mono Lake.

As the camera glides along, zooming in and out on unusual rock formations, ancient canyons, rushing streams, waterfalls, redwood forests and stunning sunsets, the electronically orchestrated mood music of Timothy Van Hofman’s score provides a relaxing accompaniment that enhances the journey, effectively replacing a vocal narration.

Tapes are available from Miramar Productions, 200 2nd Ave. West, Seattle, Wash. 98119-4204; tel. (800) 245-6472. Price: $19.95 (plus tax and postage).

Videos appears monthly.