Rising Stars: Meet Scott Krasnik of Roseville Michigan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Krasnik

Hi Scott, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It all started around 2014. I was living in Detroit just outside of the Eastern Market area and I wanted to go on a road trip to see where Van Dyke Road ended one day when I had a few days off from my job at the time. I had no maps or Idea how long of a trip it was or where Van Dyke Road really ended. I got in my truck at the time and just went. I got on to Van Dyke Rd where it starts at Jefferson Ave near the Detroit River and headed North. I passed through several small and charming towns along the way taking pictures of different buildings. I went by Utica but didn’t realize at the time that a lot of these small town main streets are of the main roads so, I had missed that one. I went through Washington, Romeo, Almont. I did pass up quite a few but eventually I ended up in Port Austin. Along the way I saw may cool things and places. I believe I came back down the thumbs coast to Port Huron (M25) where I ended up just taking the I94 freeway back home to Detroit.
From then on I was hooked. I started traveling around seeing where the main spoke roads of Detroit ended up. (For those of you that don’t know Detroit is shaped like a wagon wheel. all roads lead to the downtown area.)

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Traveling around the state hasn’t always been the easiest at times. I like to take pictures of the towns and buildings. Sometimes when the streets are full of people and you start taking pictures of buildings some people think your taking pictures of them which is not the case. Sometimes people come and fuss with you thinking you are taking their picture.
I used to work at a Casino downtown. A few of my coworkers used to love to hear my stories about my adventures each week whether they were good or bad. They also like to hear about the different restaurants I tried out along the way. Also they loved to hear about my camping experiences since they were the ones who were talking me through camping at first. I had never camped at a State Park or DNR Campsite before I started this adventure. The first time camping was at Ocqueoc Falls State Park. I literally had nothing but a blanket and pillow. I believe my dinner that night came from a gas station. I didn’t even have a chair to sit on or firewood to burn. Each time I went out I acquired more and more camping supplies and stuff needed to make it more comfortable. At first I would take m y cat out camping with me, but as she got older it was hard to do because she was getting arthritis. She ended up passing away last October at the age of 16.
Here are a few stories from some of my adventures. Some are positive and some are not so pleasant. I’ll share a few of both with you.
I had a guy in Rose City threaten to beat me up once because I took a picture of his building. He came out of his building demanding to know what I was doing and that I had to delete the picture. I’m over 6′ tall and this guy was 5’2 at best. This guy kept jumping in front of me threatening me. I finally side step him a few times and was able to walk away.
Then at the beginning of Covid-19 in the first summer of it travel was restricted and they closed all the state parks down. So in mid summer when they reopened them I went out exploring Northern Michigan again. I ended up at ESS Lake State Forest. It was around 4 pm and I was tired and I decided to camp early that day. I set up camp and lit a fire and was just starting to relax. (I usually call one of my friends who like to hunt and fish and tell him about the spot I picked out for the night.) I was on the phone with him when this happens. A guy comes up and starts yelling at me. (I had my back to the road) So I turned around and told him not to come near me I am immune compromised and I wanted to stay safe. This guy is holding a gas can and he’s demanding that I take him to the gas station to fill up his gas can. I told him I just set up and that I didn’t feel comfortable with him in the truck with me. Things got real stupid from there. He told me he would watch my stuff and to take his can. I said sorry but no. he then threatened to come back at night and burn me up while I was sleeping. oh man! my friend was still on the phone and was like what the heck man?? This went on for a few more minutes then the guy walked away. I waited about 1/2 hour and packed up the truck and put out the fire and took off. I passed him on the road leading to the campsite and kicked up some dust as I went by!
There also have been a lot of positive experiences. At a lot of the campsite you go to people start talking with you and I would tell them about my adventures. Then they want to take pictures with me holding my Map with the highlighted towns that I have been to up until that point in time. I met a guy in Pewamo Michigan who asked me what I was doing. I told him and he invited me into the bar to have a drink with him. I don’t drink so I had a few Cokes to drink. we talked about all the town that I had been to and he told me stories of him as a kid traveling around the state fishing and the different towns he lived in. It was a fun afternoon of conversation.
I like to talk to a lot of the locals and hear stories of what these towns were once like. Also what people do for a living. I also talk to the farmers when I see them near the edge of the roads. They are some great people with stories about the areas.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am proud to be one of the few people who have set foot in a lot of these Michigan towns. This was a huge undertaking that took me about 8 years to complete. Sometimes there’s really nothing to take pictures of except the towns sign. I specialize in taking pictures of architecture of old buildings. I love pre 1900 buildings but will take pictures of newer ones if they are cool looking.
I am proud that I was able to finish this whole project with my 2000 ford ranger. I had well over 300k on it. The last spring/Summer with that truck was kind of sketchy because of a last minute road trip I had taken turned out very bad. It was winter time and the freeway had turned to a sheet of Ice and I hit the wall with it. I tore up the front end pretty good and I suspected the frame had gotten bent. I did manage to finish up all of the places to where you could drive to in Michigan with that truck. I still miss that truck!
What sets me apart from others is that I do my own thing and I don’t copycat anyone. I take pictures of towns, building, parades, fairs, car shows and stuff like that. I enjoy interacting with the people of my home state. I take great pride in saying that I have been almost everywhere in Michigan.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
There is always something to do in Michigan and new things to see. As long as my health holds out I am going to keep on traveling the state in my free time. I am trying to put together a book about Michigan. The details of the book are under wraps right now.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057473867174
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIk6ZKc5waIqQzDdytIj_Ow