Come on with the rain, photo by hardyc
Looks like Chris finally got that job as VP of Umbrella Safety at the Detroit Bumbershoot Co.
Check it out bigger and see lots more of Chris’s creative genius in his slideshow.
Back To the Bricks in Flint!
Back To the Bricks: Flint Michigan, photo by maryn0503.
The annual Back to the Bricks Cruise Weekend takes place August 16-20 in Flint. Vehicle City goes back to its roots as around 25,000 show car owners and hundreds of thousands of car fans celebrate classic cars and car culture with a rolling cruise, car show and many more events.
One of the coolest things is that the showing and cruising are free, so if you have a car that meets their criteria, you can just head over! Check backtothebricks.org for all the details.
Check this out big as the 70s and in Mary’s Back to the Bricks slideshow.
For even more, see Back to the Bricks 2010 slideshow from Flint Foto Factory.
Into the Big Sky in the Huron National Forest
Into the Big Sky, photo by Neil Weaver
The Huron-Manistee National Forest is actually two separate and non-contiguous national forests, the Huron National Forest (established in 1909) and the Manistee National Forest (established 1938). They were combined in 1945 for administrative purposes. Wikipedia says:
The Huron National Forest portion is in northeast lower Michigan. Its southern boundary is approximately at the latitude of Manistee’s northern boundary. It has a total area of 438,538 acres (685.22 sq mi, or 1,774.70 km²). It lies in parts of Oscoda, Alcona, Iosco, Crawford, and Ogemaw counties. There are local ranger district offices in Mio and Oscoda.
The threatened Kirtland’s Warbler nests in the area, and tours are available, subject to time restrictions.
Check this out bigger and see more in Neil’s Huron National Forest slideshow. You can purchase Neil’s photos from his website and also keep up with his travels around Michigan on Facebook!
Michigan in Pictures has more about Kirtland’s Warbler.
Fort Wilkins State Park on Lake Fanny Hooe
Fort Wilkins, photo by Neil Harri Aerial Photography
A number of years ago, I camped at Fort Wilkins State Park on Lake Fanny Hooe on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Hunts Guide to the UP says that Fort Wilkins was a typical 19th-century frontier garrison, the most northern in the U.S.:
The 1843 Keweenaw copper rush in this distant area, way beyond the frontier of settlement, led to building this small fort. From 1844 to 1846 the fort was the area’s only source of law and order. The government’s greatest concern was friction between native Indians and unruly miners. But little hostility actually broke out. By 1846 most of the small-time prospectors had left. Large mining companies had stabilized the region, so the fort was abandoned. It reopened after the Civil War, from 1867 to 1870, due to inadequate barracks facilities elsewhere in Michigan.
The army abandoned Fort Wilkins for good in the 1870s. Within two decades it had become a favorite picnic and camping destination. Local people appreciated its beautiful, forested location on Lake Fanny Hooe.
Today you can camp on the shores of the lake, which is still beautiful and forested and offers great fishing. They do some interpretive demonstrations at the park as well.
I couldn’t find a photo that I liked for the fort until I found these aerial shots in the photo gallery at the Fort Wilkins Natural History Association, a nonprofit that raises money to support and sponsor programs and special events at the park. They have some cool videos about the history of Fort Wilkins that are worth your time.
Neil Harri is a professional aerial photographer who also has some great Upper Peninsula photos, books and DVDs for sale through his website. The DVD aerial tours look especially cool and there are several from the Keweenaw including a historical aerial tour of Keweenaw’s Copper Ridge!
More Michigan aerial photography on Michigan in Pictures!
Fancy a stay at the Grand Hotel?
Privileged, photo by cmu chem prof.
Mackinac Island’s grande dame of lodging, recently named among the top 50 hotels in North America, is hosting its fourth wildly popular Celebrate Michigan promotion, during which residents of the state can stay for half the hotel’s usual rate.
The package costs $95 per person, per night (taxes and fees are extra), and is offered Sept. 11, Sept. 20-22, Oct. 3 and Oct 23. It includes one night’s lodging, a full breakfast and five-course dinner, Michigan-themed reception and complimentary golf green fees.
I feel like I have to mention a particular movie that was shot here so let me say that if you’re interested, you probably better act fast so you can be somewhere in time for this offer which usually sells out. ;)
Seriously, while there’s no doubt that the Grand Hotel can be a little hoity, but the Mackinac Island landmark is also one of the coolest properties in Michigan. This morning I sorted through photos of the Grand Hotel from the water, the Grand Hotel’s signature front porch (including a very interesting composition on the porch), a panorama of the Grand Hotel and even a sight I’d never seen in quite this way, the Grand Hotel at night. Next year the hotel turns 125, so I’ll return then for some of the history and such.
Check it out big as the Grand and in Phil’s massive Northern Michigan slideshow.
2011 Perseid Meteor Shower
Aug 13 2010 Perseid Meteor ( 02:12 AM), photo by mizzachita.
There was so much interest in last weekend’s Northern Lights post that I figured I should probably feature August’s by astronomical event, the Perseid Meteor Shower. Unfortunately, this big moon thing has decided to get full at the wrong time. EarthSky gives some recommendations form making the best of a bad situation in their 2011 meteor shower guide:
We are getting very near the peak of August’s famous Perseid meteor shower. Meanwhile, the moon is waxing quite large and bright in the sky. In 2011, full moon will come on August 13, a peak morning for the Perseids. …EarthSky recommends watching before dawn until the morning of August 10 to have moonless skies. Before dawn is the best time of night for watching meteors, anyway, since that is when the radiant point for the Perseids is highest in the sky.
For much more information about the Perseids, be sure to check out Star Trails, the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Tears of St. Lawrence from Michigan in Pictures.
mizzachita took this photo last year during the Perseids. Check it out on black and in her night sky slideshow.
August Nights
August Nights, photo by False Verdict Photo.
Quincy, Michigan in Branch County. Such a classic Michigan scene. Here’s hoping the August evenings are treating you well.
Check this out background big and in Lauren’s Michigan slideshow.
More Michigan barns on Michigan in Pictures.
Make it a Michigan brew for International Beer Day!
The good folks at Drink Michigan alerted me that today is International Beer Day.
mLive notes that Michigan has over 80 craft breweries, ranking 5th in the US. Of these, the oldest and largest is Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, who opened in 1985, is also the oldest craft-brewer east of Boulder! They are also one of the biggest, weighing in at #8 on the Brewers Association list of the Top 50 US Breweries. Oberon (their most most popular beer) comes out at the beginning of summer every year and is a wheat ale fermented with Bell’s house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas.
Also check out Absolute Michigan’s Michigan beer listings for articles and tons of beer-related links including some of our favorites like the Michigan Brewer’s Guild and Rex Halfpenny’s Michigan Beer Guide!
See this photo bigger than a beer and in Ryan’s Alcohol slideshow.
It ain’t easy being a frog…
It ain’t easy…, photo by stevedontsurf.
Steven writes that: Actually, on this day, it seemed pretty easy being green. This guy was eating fly after fly as I snapped away. Must’ve had 5-6 flies in about as many minutes. He looked like lack of food was not an issue. Check it out background big and in his slideshow.
Coincidentally, I came across an article this morning about a nasty fungus called chytrid that has been the culprit of 94 out of 122 frog extinctions since 1980 and that can also affect some toads and salamanders. Brian Gratwicke of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo says:
“There’s frogs all around the world being affected. There’s amphibians that have gone extinct in Australia, in the Caribbean, in North America, in South America, in Central America.”
…There is also a real cost to humans from the frog extinctions. Frogs’ skins are anti-microbial factories. They’ve produced compounds that kill superbugs in hospitals.
“There’s a species of frog in Australia that produces a chemical called caerin, which blocks HIV transmission to T-cells,” Gratwicke says. “The untapped resources of our amphibian biodiversity are virtually unknown.”
Click through to read much more and also check out the Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) on Michigan in Pictures.
G1, X Flare … could it be an Aurora Borealis Bingo?
Northern Lights at Little Presque Isle, photo by Lake Superior Photo
This is a little technical, but you can boil it down to say “We might well see some northern lights in the next few days!”
Space Weather says that a category G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm is expected on August 5th due to the effects of a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) observed early on 02 August 2nd. In plain English, that means we might see the Northern Lights on the 5th! Don’t get too terribly excited though – according to NOAA Space Weather who puts out the email alerts that I subscribe to, G1 is the lowest level of a scale that goes up to 5. Don’t get depressed either though, as they say that during G1 activity, the Aurora Borealis is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)!
I posted the above on Facebook, and my friend Shawn Malone (who took the photo above) told me that it is also possible for an x flare this week producing an EARTHWARD directed flare that would hit earth probably some time next week which would produce a northern lights display to remember! There was a brief x flare on July 29 – read about it here and see a video from NASA here. The displays in February 2011 were produced by a powerful x flare…
You can see & purchase lots more of Shawn’s photos of northern lights through LakeSuperiorPhoto.com and also check out her cool Northern Lights – square format album!
Michigan in Pictures has LOTS more pictures and information about the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
Michigan in Pictures 