Back in May, we introduced you to Big Penny, Lansing’s Truck Munching Bridge & now she’s back to show the Mighty Mac it’s not the only bridge making news. This diminutive 12-foot tall bridge has taken some big bites over the years – so many that as of May 1, 2025 she had snacked on 87 semis since counting began in 2004. Despite the added exposure Penny has been on an absolute tear in 2025, and yesterday our friends at STUPID Lansing threw a party celebrating the 100th truck munched! WLNS Lansing was there to document this historic occasion, and you can head over to STUPID – Lansing for more on this important story & some great Big Penny merch!
One of Michigan’s annual traditions is the Mackinac Bridge Walk that takes place every year on Labor Day morning. The Mackinac Bridge Authority shares that there’s no fee or registration to participate, and you may start walking from either Mackinaw City or St. Ignace any time after the Governor’s party starts the walk at approximately 7am (from St Ignace). You can’t start after 11:30am, so arrive arrive early!
Margaret shared this photo back in 2016. See more in her Mackinac Bridge Walk 2016 gallery on Flickr & whatever you do, have an awesome holiday weekend!
mLive shares that the decision to start the school year before or after Labor Day has long been a point of debate in Michigan due to the need for student workers in the hospitality & agricultural sectors. Even though the law requiring schools to start post-Labor Day passed 20 years ago, most Michigan schools are still starting before summer’s end:
…The Michigan Department of Education only tracks districts that are granted Labor Day waivers, but not which districts use their waiver or their start dates, according to spokesman Ken Coleman. There are currently 185 waivers held in the state, covering more than 500 school districts and public academies.
Forty-eight of those are held by intermediate school districts (ISDs) or area educational agencies and their waivers almost entirely cover all districts within their regional boundaries. Additionally, 102 individual charter schools or public academies have their own waivers, as well as 30 school districts outside of ISDs. A few hundred more schools and districts, including several ISDs, are not waiver eligible that automatically start after Labor Day. Still, more Michigan schools than not are starting before Labor Day despite the mid-2000s law.
Steve passed on a couple years ago, but his photos and his love of history remain (click for his Michigan in Pictures features). He took these back in 2018 at Greenfield Village, Henry Ford’s outdoor living history museum in Dearborn. The Model AA school bus was acquired from Florida and visitors can use the historic bus for transportation around the Village (for a price). See lots more in his Classic Busses Old & New gallery on Flickr.
FRANK CARTER, local resident who had been in Chicago and Grand Rapids during the summer, returned Monday night being ill from the poisonous effects of a spider which walked over his arm, leaving a poisonous track at every step. Last week, while lying on the ground at Grand Rapids, an immense yellow spider jumped on his arm near his elbow and ran down to his wrist. Mr. Carter smashed his poisonous body on his arm and it immediately began to swell from the poison. The arm was inflamed and swollen with white spots. Under the advice of a physician, Mr. Carter went home to care for his arm.
It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a photo from Gowtham. He shares that while driving through the back roads of Huron Mountains from Houghton to Marquette, “I took a few wrong forks in succession and one of those forks had a plethora of Blue Vervains (the flower in the picture). Taking one wrong fork after another, driving slow and paying attention paid off – as one of those blue vervains had an uncommon yellow tinge. I stopped to look carefully and much to my surprise was this tiny little Golden Rod Spider.”
…These spiders may be yellow or white, depending on the flower in which they are hunting. Especially younger females, which may hunt on a variety of flowers such as daisies and sunflowers, may change color “at will”. Older females require large amounts of relatively large prey to produce the best possible clutch of eggs. They are therefore, in North America, most commonly found in goldenrod (Solidago sp.), a bright yellow flower which attracts large numbers of insects, especially in autumn. It is often very hard even for a searching human to recognize one of these spiders on a yellow flower.”
I want to be very clear that this spider is not venomous (and no spider has “venomous tracks”). Only the Northern Black Widow and the Brown Recluse have bites that endanger humans. The rest are out there happily dispatching harmful pests. My guess is that it was a Brown Recluse as their bites have sort of a bullseye pattern with a white center.
Stephen took this at Lac la Belle Marina WAAAAYYYY up north in Michigan on the Keweenaw Peninsula. You can click to see this on the Flickr photo map and see more in his Boats gallery on Flickr.
Hope you get to spend at least a little time hanging out before summer is gone!
The entry for Ludington North Breakwater Light at Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light details a ton of the history of this lighthouse including the reason for its interesting appearance:
Over the summer of 1924, a unique structure took shape at the end of the North Breakwater. The main tower, fabricated of steel plates over an internal steel skeleton, took the form of a four-sided pyramidal tower with four round porthole windows on each of the three decks within. With plans calling for the installation of an air diaphragm fog signal operated by an electrically powered compressor, there was no need for a large fog signal building, and thus the signal building took the form of a relatively small structure integrated into the base of the landward side of the main tower. In order to help protect the structure from the force of waves crashing across the breakwater, the concrete foundation at the base of the structure was formed with angled surfaces designed to deflect the force of wave action up and away from the building.
Click through for more about the North Breakwater Light including a number of old photos by the Great Lakes Lighthouse OG, Terry Pepper.
Todd and Brad Reed are a father and son outdoor photography duo who have teamed up with Rachel Gaudette. All three are based in Ludington, and you can view & purchase their work at their gallery in downtown Ludington, on Facebook, or on their website.
You can also tell us what you think some great Michigan fragrances are to inspire tourism. I’m gonna go with Leelanau Cherry Blossom!
Mark took the photo above in 2019 overlooking Lake Michigan near Northport and the one below from St. Wenceslaus Church in the middle of Leelanau County. Head over to Flickr for his latest and for sure visit Leelanau Landscapes to view & purchase his work!
There have been 97 armadillo occurrences in Indiana since 2013 with the northernmost sighting in Porter County about five miles from the Michigan border.
…Armadillos are considered established in 17 states including Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky. There have been occasional reports of armadillos in Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, and Virginia but no evidence of armadillo detections in Minnesota, Wisconsin or West Virginia.
The report says there is evidence to suggest that armadillos are likely about 56 miles away from reaching Ohio and that they are most likely to first reach the southwest corner of the state along either the Whitewater River or Ohio River. “It will be interesting to monitor when armadillos begin to regularly reach and establish in new states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Virginia,” the report said.
Michigan could be reached by armadillos coming north through Indiana or northeast from Illinois, experts say, but the state’s cold and harsh winters are the biggest deterrent to the species survival. The (armadillo) expansion will be slowed and eventually stopped as they encounter winters with extended periods of sub-freezing temperatures, according to the DNR.
The photographer shares that these are pictures of a southern three-banded armadillo, also known as the La Plata three-banded armadillo from South America. Like the 9-banded armadillo (link to Animal Diversity Web) its shell is made of keratin, the same protein that is in human fingernails. As seen here, the armadillo can roll itself into a ball, only exposing its shell, to protect itself from predators. This armadillo is named Dodge, as in “dodge ball.”
The Woodward Dream Cruise will be celebrating its 30th year tomorrow (August 16, 2025). It is the largest one-day automotive event in North America, drawing nearly one million people & 40,000 classic cars every year.
pk got this shot of a 1971 Superbird dressed in Sassy Grass at the 2023 Woodward Dream Cruise. Here’s a few they have shared – see more great shots in their Wheels gallery on Flickr!
Michigan in Pictures 