Downtown Baraga, photo by Rephotographing Michigan
Paul started Rephotographing Michigan a few months ago. It’s a project to take old postcards of Michigan and photograph what the scene looks like today.
This photo shows downtown Baraga – check it out bigger and see lots more on the Rephotographing Michigan Facebook page!
Yellow Dog Falls near Big Bay, photo by Michigan Nut Photography
Have I said lately how great Go Waterfalling is? It’s the best! There’s comprehensive and informative listing with solid advice for visiting waterfalls in Michigan, neighboring Ontario & Wisconsin and the rest of the nation from California to West Virginia.
The Go Waterfalling page on Yellow Dog Falls says (in part):
Yellow Dog Falls is the name given to the main drop on the Yellow Dog River east of Country Road 510. The river steadily descends on it way down to Lake Superior, and there are at least seven drops of varying sizes. Many are only a few feet in height. At Yellow Dog Falls the river drops over 20 feet in a short distance. This feature is distinctive because of the large boulder that splits the falls in two.
The falls is located off of County Road 510. Just south of the bridge over the Yellow Dog River there is a small parking area on the east side. There is a trail to the main falls, which are about 1 mile downstream. The trail continues, but becomes increasingly faint for another mile or so, taking you past half a dozen rapids and small falls.
More including directions, maps and photos at Go Waterfalling.
Full disclosure: I can’t talk about the without thinking about the Eagle Mine, a ticking time bomb that sits at the headwaters of this beautiful river. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on this mine, pro and con. I will say that acid sulfide mines have done this to rivers in the West and that acid mines from a hundred years ago in Colorado and two thousand years ago in the Roman Empire continue to seep pollution.
A decade ago I worked with a group of local citizens, business owners, and organizations on Save the Wild UP, an organization dedicated to keeping sulfide mining out of Michigan.The mine was ultimately established and more are planned, including uranium mines. Sulfide mines, and any project that carries a significant risk of pollution are not Pure Michigan in any way, and I will always call to reject threats like this to the water that is our economic and spiritual lifeblood.
John aka Michigan Nut writes: Yellow Dog Falls near Big Bay, Michigan. It was really quite remarkable what little snow and ice there was on Christmas Day. The road to this falls is normally part of a designated snowmobile trail this time of year.
View the photo bigger and see lots more on the Michigan Nut Photography Facebook page.
More mighty Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures.
Bonaparte’s Gull, photo by James Salinas
All About Birds has this to say about Bonaparte’s Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia):
A small, graceful gull with bright white patches in its wings, the Bonaparte’s Gull winters near people, but breeds in the isolated taiga and boreal forest.
- The Bonaparte’s Gull is the only gull that regularly nests in trees.
- The English name of the Bonaparte’s Gull honors Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who made important contributions to American ornithology while an active member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia during the 1820s. The scientific name philadelphia was given in 1815 by the describer of the species, George Ord of Philadelphia, presumably because he collected his specimen there.
- During the breeding season, the Bonaparte’s Gull feeds mainly on insects, often catching them on the wing.
- Breeds around lakes and marshes in boreal forest. Winters along lakes, rivers, marshes, bays, and beaches along coasts.
- Eats small fish and large invertebrates, including insects. Does not eat garbage or carrion.
Read on for more and some photos and the gull’s distinctive call.
James took this photo in Port Huron. View it bigger and see more in his slideshow.
Lots more Michigan birds on Michigan in Pictures!
Celebratory Sunset, photo by Heather Higham
For the tenth anniversary of Michigan in Pictures last week, I asked for the 200+ fans needed to take the Michigan in Pictures Facebook past the 10,000 fan milestone. With your help, it’s blown way past that mark – thank you all so much for your support!!!
View Heather’s photo from Empire Beach in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore bigger, see more in her Winter slideshow, and definitely follow her at Snap Happy Gal Photography on Facebook for much more.
More Michigan in Pictures milestones in the archives.
Pictured Rocks – Chapel Beach, photo by Todd
Crain’s Detroit Business reported that two of Michigan’s national parks saw record numbers of visitors in 2015:
The National Parks Service says Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula and River Raisin Battlefield Park in southeastern Michigan set visitation records in 2015. The two parks, along with Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan’s northeastern coast, had more visitors through November 2015 than in 2014 and saw double-digit increases in visitors.
…The increased popularity of national parks in Michigan mirrors a nationwide trend: Overall visits to national parks are expected to reach 300 million in 2015. Last year’s figure was a record 293 million.
The park system turns 100 next year, and the Obama administration and Republican lawmakers have different ideas about what to do. Both parties agree the country’s national parks and historic sites could use some sprucing up but the question is how much of a dent Congress will make in a system-wide maintenance backlog with an estimated $11.5 billion price tag. President Barack Obama has recommended spending an additional $1.5 billion on the parks over a three-year period. Republican leaders in Congress have a smaller birthday present in mind.
Here’s hoping that our elected officials can come together to keep our National Park system strong!
Todd took this shot at Chapel Beach in September of 2012. View it bigger and see more in his Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore slideshow.
Lots more on Michigan’s state & national parks on Michigan in Pictures!
The Sands of Time, photo by David Marvin
The Wheel of Time has rolled into another year. It might be my increasing age talking, but it seems as if the world has gotten harder over the last couple of decades. I hope that 2016 treats everyone more kindly, including you!
Apparently I can’t even post a simple metaphor without learning something new. David writes:
Scratch Circles or “Scharrkreise” form when plant matter is blown around by the wind, etching circular designs in the sand.
If you want to get all geeky on sand circles, scratch circles & Scharrkreise – a term coined by R. Richter in 1926 – those links are just the thing for you!
View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his slideshow.
Powerful Winds & Waves, photo by Julie
And please stay safe – the last way you want to start 2016 off is in jail or dead!
View Julie’s photo of the huge winds on December 24th exploding off the Petoskey breakwall bigger and see more in her Michigan slideshow.
Ludington Lighthouse, photo by RJE
10 years ago today, I posted “A Pond in Bald Mountain” as the very first photo on Michigan in Pictures. 3000+ posts later, I’m still at it. RJE has been sharing photos with me for almost all of those 10 years – thanks to him and everyone else who helps make Michigan in Pictures something that is fun and exciting for me and to all of you for staying with me for so long!
View the photo from November of 2005 background big and see more of RJE’s lighthouse shots on Flickr.
It’s that time of year when I look back and try to remember what happened, a task that is made a lot easier by the nifty analytics provided by the good folks at WordPress.com (and the questionable folks at Facebook).
One thing that happened was the re-design of Michigan in Pictures to feature bigger photos, something that pretty much everyone seems to appreciate.
Honorable Mention is the consistently popular post Know Your Michigan Turtles. It was originally published in 2013 and continued to be the most consistently visited post on Michigan in Pictures in 2015. This year I featured the Spiny Soft-shell Turtle on World Tortoise Day and was even re-tweeted by American Tortoise Rescue, the amazing organization behind the day and worldwide turtle preservation. As a turtle fan, I find this awesome.
December 7th ~ How Pere Marquette 1225 inspired the Polar Express by Bob Gudas
Subtitle the story of how this iconic engine provided inspiration for the iconic children’s book by Michigan Author Chris Van Allsburg “Why it’s important to preserve our history.”
November 10th ~ The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald via Wikimedia Commons
If there’s a Michigan folk song that everyone knows, it’s Gordon Lightfoot’s Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Read about how he wrote it, watch the best darn video on the internet featuring this song, and marvel at the fact I can’t tell the difference between Walter Cronkite and Harry Reasoner.
January 13th ~ Ice Caves Return to Lake Michigan by Heather Higham
Two years ago, Lake Michigan’s ice caves blew up, drawing tens of thousands of people to the shores of Lake Michigan, and when they formed this year, Heather was there!
August 3rd ~ Jellyfish Stormfront by Tom Parrent
The crazy storm of early August 2015 devastated areas of Northern Lower Michigan including leveling acres and acres of trees in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and rendering the village of Glen Arbor inaccessible for days.
April 20th ~ Coast Guard shares Manitou Passage shipwrecks from above by the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City
The top post of the year is this aerial photo of the 1917 wreck of the Rising Sun by a Traverse City based Coast Guard aircrew. Several more photos available at the link.
Thanks everyone for being a part of Michigan in Pictures in 2015!
Detroit Tornado, photo by Joe Gall
The National Weather Service reports on the first ever December tornado in Michigan:
A strong low pressure system tracking from the southern Plains into the Upper Great Lakes brought record December warmth to Southeast Michigan on Wednesday, December 23rd. Stronger winds associated with this system interacted with the unseasonably warm air to produce the first December tornado in Michigan history during the evening. This tornado occurred in Wayne County, just north-northeast of Canton. The tornado was rated EF-1 with peak winds of 90 mph. The tornado touched down at 643 pm EST, tracking 2 miles before lifting at 646 pm EST.
This brief tornado developed along a fast moving line of showers that shifted across Southeast Michigan during the evening (5 to 8 pm). A Significant Weather Statement (SPS) was issued at 620 pm, highlighting the potential for wind gusts up to 50 mph. The brief duration and weak intensity of this tornado made the issuance of a tornado warning nearly impossible, typical of brief spin-ups that are embedded along a fast moving line. In many cases, such as this one, the tornado touchdown occurs largely between radar scans, leaving little opportunity for advanced warning.
This is the first December tornado in Michigan history and only the third during the winter season. The other two tornadoes occurred on Jan 18, 1996 in Kalamazoo County and Feb 28, 1974 in Wayne County.
You can get a report on the tornado with images of the very minor damage from WDIV TV-4/Click on Detroit.
Joe photoshopped this picture back in 2011, so please don’t tell me it’s not real because I know that. View it on Flickr and see more in his Movement 2011 slideshow.
More weather fun on Michigan in Pictures.
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