Winter at Bond Falls

Posted on by farlane
Winter at Bond Falls

Winter at Bond Falls, photo by Aime Lucas Photography

The Bond Falls entry at GoWaterfalling.com says:

Bond Falls is in the western U.P. on Bond Falls Rd, east of Pauding MI. This is the most impressive waterfall in Michigan with the possible exception of Tahquamenon Falls. The main drop is 40 feet high and 100+ feet wide. Above the main falls are a series of cascades and rapids that must drop a total of 20 feet.

The water level is controlled by a dam, and a steady flow over the falls is maintained for scenic reasons. Of course during the spring melt the flow is much higher.

Bond Fall is a Michigan State Scenic Site. The site was renovated around 2003. The old parking area was upstream of the falls, and a steep concrete stairway led to the base of the falls. The new parking area is near the base of the falls, and a level boardwalk leads you to prime views of the falls.

Read on for more including directions to the falls.

Aime writes: The majestic Bond Falls. Normally a short, easy walk but in the winter a very hazardous one. The steep steps were covered with a few layers of ice and the path was extremely slippery. It was totally worth it.

View her photo bigger, follow her on Facebook, and purchase prints and see more work on her website!

Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures.

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Promise Fulfilled

Posted on by farlane

Promise Fulfilled

Promise Fulfilled, photo by Heather Higham

Although I just featured a sunset photo by Heather … Wow!

She took this last night and writes: A break at the horizon that spouted god rays all afternoon hinted a the potential for a lightshow at sundown. We were not disappointed, though we were very cold.

View the photo bigger, see more in her Sunsets slideshow, and follow Heather at Snap Happy Gal Photography on Facebook.

Click for more about the Frankfort Pier Lights and a super cool winter photo by Jason Lome.

 

Pistons Ringing the Bell for Big Ben Wallace tonight!

Posted on by farlane

Rasheed Wallace to Ben Wallace Alley Oop

Alley Oop, photo by Dave Hogg

In 2016, the Detroit Pistons are retiring the jerseys for Piston greats Ben Wallace (#3) and Chauncey Billups (#1). Big Ben Wallace kicks it off tonight with Rip Hamilton and Chauncey on hand.

Wallace, acquired by Detroit from the Orlando Magic in 2000, spent nine seasons with the Pistons collecting NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors four times (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and was named a NBA All-Star four times (2003-06). Wallace was an All-NBA Second Team selection three times (2003, 2004, 2006), All-NBA Third Team selection twice (2002 and 2005) and an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection five times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006). During his first stint with Detroit (2000-06), the Pistons made the playoffs in five of the seven years, winning Eastern Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005 and the NBA Championship in 2004. Wallace is the franchise’s all-time leader in regular-season and playoff blocks (1,486 and 215, respectively) and ranks first among Pistons’ all-time playoff leaders in rebounds (1,237). He holds franchise single-game records for blocks in a game (10 – twice), defensive rebounds in a quarter (10) and blocks in a quarter (6). In 655 games with the Pistons, Wallace averaged 6.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 1.4 steals and 1.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per game.

“We celebrated many great accomplishments during my years in Detroit and to be recognized for my contributions in this way, I’m honored,” said Wallace. “I look forward to sharing this experience with all the fans who supported me throughout my years as a Piston.”

Wallace, a 6’9″, 240-pound center went undrafted in the 1996 NBA Draft and spent time with Washington, Orlando, Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland. Wallace recorded 10,482 rebounds during his career, becoming one of only 37 players and the only undrafted player (Moses Malone was drafted in the 1974 American Basketball Association Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers in the ABA Dispersal Draft in 1976) in NBA history to record 10,000 rebounds. He is also one of only 10 players in NBA history to record 10,000 rebounds and 2,000 blocks and is the shortest player at 6’9″ to record 2,000 career blocks. Overall, in 1,088 career NBA games, Wallace averaged 5.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.3 assists in 29.5 minutes per game.

View Dave’s photo of a (Rasheed) Wallace to Wallace alley oop from Christmas Day, 2005 big as Big Ben and click for more of his Detroit Pistons photos.

More Detroit Pistons on Michigan in Pictures.

PS: Here’s a bonus photo by Dave that previously appeared on Michigan in Pictures because it’s so awesome.

Pistons_starting_5

Ice is Nice at the Menominee Light Lighthouse

Posted on by farlane

Ice is Nice Menominee Light Lighthouse

Ice is Nice, photo by cohodas208c

I’ll never miss a chance to tout Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light as one of the premier resources for information about Michigan’s lighthouses, as well as others on the Great Lakes. He packs them full of the history including the political maneuverings and economic reasons for lighthouse development and closure and peppers in (sorry – couldn’t resist) historical photos and pictures from his own visits.

The entry on the Menominee North Pier Light details the lumber boom that led to the construction of the first lighthouse in 1877 and the development of the iron ore rich Menominee Range. He continues:

The town of Menominee continued to reap the benefits of the Range, and as a result significant harbor improvements were undertaken in the 1920’s, At their completion in 1927, a prefabricated octagonal cast iron tower was delivered by vessel, and lowered onto the pier.

The thirty-four foot tower was painted white, and integrated with an attached fog signal building. An elevated wooden catwalk stretched along the wooden pier to provide the keepers with safe access to the light during periods when waves crashed across the surface of the pier. The octagonal cast iron lantern room was outfitted with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens of unknown manufacture.

At some point thereafter, the wooden pier was replaced by a concrete structure with a forty-foot diameter circular crib at its offshore end. At this time, the fog signal was eliminated with the inclusion of an automated electrically operated signal in the tower. With automation of the light in 1972, the need for daily maintenance of the light was also eliminated, and the iron catwalk was removed from the pier.

The tower was painted bright red, and relocated to a white painted concrete platform in the center of the crib. Its elevated position on the pier provided a focal plane of forty-six feet.

While the catwalk no longer snakes its way along the pier, the iron tower still stands guard over the harbor entrance, its jewel-like Fresnel lens replaced by a stark modern 300mm plastic lens.

Read on for more at Seeing the Light.

View the photo background bigilicious and see more in cohodas208c’s Big City Breakout – Dec 2015 slideshow.

Lots more Michigan lighthouses and more winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!

Help Keep Michigan in Pictures Rockin’

Posted on by farlane

Frankfort Rock Gallery 2008

Rain Comes (Frankfort Rock Gallery), photo by Andrew McFarlane

As you may know, 2016 is my 11th year of making Michigan in Pictures. I really love doing it and am certainly going to keep it up as long as I am able. It does take a bunch of my time that might otherwise be spent working or getting out to see some of Michigan’s beauty, so I’ve been looking for a way to subsidize it that doesn’t involve ads, paywalls, or other annoyances.

Yesterday, I was reading a blog and saw they had a button to support them using a web service called Patreon. I checked it out, and it basically allows readers to become patrons of blogs they enjoy. Seemed like a great idea to me so I have set it up. If you’d like to donate a buck or more a month, I would very much appreciate it! Click here for my Patreon donations.

OK, on to today’s photo. Back in August of 2007, I was out walking with my friend Ken Lake on Frankfort beach. About a mile north of town we rounded a point and came upon a wondrous site – hundreds of balanced rock sculptures comprised of thousands of rocks. It remains one of the coolest works of art I’ve ever seen, and also a total mystery. I’ve still never heard who built these or why.

You can view this photo background bigtacular and see more in my Rock Gallery slideshow.

PS: Here’s a video I shot of these scene. The audio on this is kind of loud and crappy – sorry. ;)

Put it all on red

Posted on by farlane

RED cardinal in fence

RED, photo by Sandy Hansen Photography

What an awesome capture. View Sandy’s photo bigger and see more in her Traverse City Area slideshow.

Michigan Castles: Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester

Posted on by farlane

Meadowbrook Castle by Anna Lysa

Meadow Brook Hall, photo by Anna Lysa

The Lansing State Journal had a recent feature about Five Michigan Castles that includes Michigan’s largest castle, Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester:

Meadow Brook Hall was built between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of early auto magnate John Dodge, and her second husband, lumber baron Alfred Wilson. The 110-room home features carved wood and stone details and plaster ceilings and is modeled after the great country estates of England, which they toured on their honeymoon. During construction of the home in 1927, they went on a second architectural tour of England with their architect in tow. The house cost $4 million to build (more than $54 million in today’s dollars), and the Wilsons hosted a gala housewarming party for 850 people in November 1929.

Matilda died in 1967, bequeathing the estate and $2 million in seed money to create Oakland University. The house opened to the public in 1971.

Tours are available and you can get more info about those along with photos and info about four more castles in the LSJ. The Meadow Brook Hall history page has a lot more information, and adds that the castle:

…represents one of the finest examples of Tudor-revival architecture in America and is especially renowned for its superb craftsmanship, architectural detailing and grand scale of 88,000 square feet. Inspired by the country manor homes in England, it was designed and built by the Detroit architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls between 1926 and1929, at a cost of nearly $4 million.

The exterior combines various textures and patterns using American materials of brick, sandstone, wood timbers and a roof of clay shingle tile. The house also features 39 uniquely designed brick chimneys that distinguish the picturesque roofline.

….The exterior and most of the interior rooms at Meadow Brook Hall were designed in the Tudor-revival style. However, a few rooms were decorated in other period-revival styles: the dining room and Matilda’s study are 18th-century Neo-classical, Matilda’s room and the French bedroom are 18th-century French Rococo, and Frances’ bedroom is American Colonial.

View Anna Lysa’s photo bigger and see more in her Michigan slideshow.

PS: There’s features on Owosso’s Curwood Castle and Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle (now a B&B) as well as lots more Michigan architecture on Michigan in Pictures!

Check ignition, and may God’s love be with you

Posted on by farlane

photo date/id to order a print: click the pic to view on black
Good Harbor Bay starry night, photo by Ken Scott Photography

“If you’re ever sad, just remember the world is 4.543 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.”
~Dean Podestá

When I was a kid my parents had a kicking stereo, and the album we decided was the most rocking was Space Oddity. We would turn the title track up to 11, turning the windows of the old farmhouse into a crazy bass reverberator and dance around and sing. Probably because of the science fiction/fantasy feel of the album, Bowie was my first rock idol, and he’s always remained a favorite for giving voice to the struggle of fitting into a world that doesn’t always fit you and the need reinvent yourself again and again.

View Ken’s photo bigger, see more in his massive Skies Above slideshow and be sure to follow him on Facebook.

Now here’s a video of Space Oddity … I find I don’t care that he’s probably lip synching.

The Ghost Forest in Silver Lake Dunes

Posted on by farlane

Ghost Forest

Ghost Forest, photo by Charles Bohnam

The Silver Lake State Park page at Michigan Trail Maps says in part:

Not all of Michigan’s great hikes are trails. This trek is a journey through Silver Lake State Park’s trailless backcountry, a mile-wide strip of dunes between Silver Lake and Lake Michigan. There’s not another hike like this in Michigan or even the Midwest because no other stretch of dunes are so barren.

Perched on a plateau and rising more than 100 feet high above Silver Lake, the heart of these dunes are totally devoid of any vegetation, even dune grass. The only thing besides sand are the stumps and trunks of ghost forests, ancient trees that the migrating dunes had buried and killed. Almost half of the hike is in this Sahara Desert-like terrain, the other half is spent strolling a stretch of Lake Michigan that is free of cottages and frozen custard stands.

A rare hike indeed.

View Charles’ photo background bigilicious and see more in his slideshow.

More dunes and more summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

O Tree, Live Forever

Posted on by farlane

Kalamazoo Tree

O, tree, live forever, photo by Bill Dolak

Bill writes:

This tree in the Al Sabo Preserve in Kalamazoo County is a frequent subject and accessory for local photographers. I have images of it from the days I was still putting film into my SLR.

Regarding the Al Sabo Preserve, the Texas Charter Township Parks & Rec page says:

The Al Sabo Land Preserve was established in the early 1970’s in order to protect the groundwater supply of the Atwater wellfield. The 741 acres were purchased in the late 1960’s and a master plan was developed for its use as a passive recreation nature preserve. The City of Kalamazoo passed an ordinance that would ensure its protection as a water resource. The wetlands and sandy soils serve as a recharge area for the area’s groundwater.

View Bill’s photo background big and see more in his Al Sabo, Michigan slideshow.