Golden Dip, photo by Aver123
Our judges have selected the winner in the Celebrating Michigan’s Water Photo Contest. The winning photographer, Avery Sullenger-Wedder, will receive 2 nights at The Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor along with a Crystal River eco-tour!
View it bigger or in the Michigan Water slideshow and thanks to everyone who participated!
Slip and Slide 1, photo by JSmith Photo.
For the weekend of August 21th-22nd, Lyon St. will be shut down in heart of Grand Rapids, during which time the worlds largest inflatable water slide (500ft) will be constructed in the middle of the street in downtown Grand Rapids at NO COST to ride.
this is NOT a slip n slide! This is a fully inflatable, $30,000 WATER SLIDE, and is completely safe and approved by the City of Grand Rapids to be safe for public usage. Its all in…flatable vinyl and half a foot off the ground, it’ll be like riding on air. YOU MUST WEAR A BATHING SUIT.
Running Saturday and Sunday from 8AM-10PM on Aug 21st-22nd, this nearly two football field long, dual-laned, 10 ft. drop water slide will run COMPLETELY FREE and open to all. This slide was built in California and is professionally managed by ACP Entertainment. Whats most exciting is that by only being used once a year, this event will be able to be repeated for over 20 years to come, continuing to build in length each year!
Over 9000 people are already attending – head over to Facebook to be one of them!
Check this out bigger or in Jeffrey’s slideshow.
The University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web entry for Ondatra zibethicus, muskrat says:
Muskrats are found in wet environments, favoring locations with four to six feet of water. While muskrats are found in ponds, lakes, and swamps, their favorite locations are marshes, where the water level stays constant. Marshes provide the best vegetation for muskrats. They find shelter in bank burrows and their distinctive nests. Bank burrows are tunnels excavated in a bank. The nests of the muskrats are formed by piles of vegetation placed on top of a good base, for example a tree stump, generally in 15 to 40 inches of water.
…Muskrats have large, robust bodies, with a total body length of twelve and a half inches. The tail is flat and scaly and is nine and a half inches in length. Muskrats have dense fur that traps air underneath for insulation and buoyancy. Their heads are very large and their ears are almost invisible underneath the fur. The whiskers are mediun size. Muskrats have short legs and big feet; the back feet are slightly webbed for swimming. Adult muskrats have glossy upper parts that are dark brown, darker in winter and paler in the summer.
A Michigan muskrat recently made the news in these photos from the Kalamazoo River oil spill.
See this photo bigger in Eli’s Nature slideshow and check out more Michigan animals on Michigan in Pictures.
Black River Falls – Ishpeming, MI, photo by Odalaigh.
The awesomely awesome GoWaterfalling.com has this to say about Black River Falls which are located 8 miles south west of Ishpeming off of Country Road 581 in the Escanaba River State Forest:
The Black River surges through a narrow channel here. When viewed from the front, the falls looks like a plunge, but it actually slides down the rock at a relatively gentle angle. That is fairly typical of the type of waterfalls you find in this rocky country.
…The Black River flows into the Escanaba River, which flows into Lake Michigan, making this waterfall part of Lake Michigan’s watershed. However it is probably much easier to visit while circling Lake Superior than Lake Michigan. It is only about 10 miles off of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. It is over 60 miles off the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.
Check this out background bigalicious and in Charles’ slideshow.
Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures.
STreeFog-5, photo by richwyllis.
We’ve had a lot of lazy, hazy mornings lately. Hope you get some time to enjoy a nice breakfast this weekend!
Check this out bigger in Rich’s slideshow!
Chillin’, photo by docksidepress.
It’s been a long time since I added to the Michigan in Pictures Duckie Project. It’s been so hot that I think I want to join that little guy in the pool!
View this background bigtacular or in Matt’s August ’10 Grand Rapids slideshow.
Hope you’re finding ways to chill – share them in the comments below!
-55, photo by Emery Co Photo.
In the month of August, Absolute Michigan is featuring everything about Michigan’s booming wine industry.
Today there’s a feature on the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival that clues you into this great event and also offers you some chances to win tickets!
Stay tuned to absolutemichigan.com/Wine for much more information!
Jesamin has a great slideshow of photos from the inaugural Traverse City Wine & Art Festival and we also encourage you to add YOUR Michigan wine photos to the Absolute Michigan pool!
2009 Perseid meteor – Southeast Michigan, photo by ampangmarin
The post Star Trails, the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Tears of St. Lawrence on Michigan in Pictures and tells the story of one of the best meteor shows of the year. At its peak, this August meteor shower produces a meteor a minute and the peak is this Thursday night (August 12).
Observing the Perseids from Meteorshowersonline says:
This is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display and, due to its summertime appearance, it tends to provide the majority of meteors seen by non-astronomy enthusiasts.
This meteor shower gets the name “Perseids” because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as July 23, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. During the next three weeks, there is a slow build-up. It is possible to spot five Perseids per hour at the beginning of August and perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. The Perseids rapidly increase to a peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 and then rapidly decline to about 10 per hour by August 15. The last night meteors are likely to be seen from this meteor shower is August 22, when an observer might see a Perseid every hour or so.
Check this out bigger and in Iskandar’s Night Shots slideshow. Since meteors are basically a) global and b) really cool, check out the Perseid slideshow on Flickr.
Burt Lake Shoreline ~ Indian River, Michigan, photo by peterlfrench.
Wikipedia says that Burt Lake is a 17,120 acre lake in Cheboygan County. It was named after William Austin Burt, who, together with John Mullett, made a federal survey of the area from 1840 to 1843. I know that you want to know more about William Austin Burt, and Wikipedia has it covered again:
William Austin Burt (June 13, 1792 – August 18, 1858) was an American inventor, legislator, surveyor, and millwright.
Burt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and lived in Michigan from 1822 until his death in 1858. He was a member of the Michigan Territorial Legislature, 1826-1827. He served as Mount Vernon’s first postmaster from 1832 to 1856. He was a Macomb County Circuit Court judge in 1833, a state legislator in 1853, and a deputy U.S. surveyor from 1833 to 1853. While surveying, he won acclaim for his accurate work on public land surveys. In 1857, Burt moved to Detroit, where he died a year later.
Among Burt’s numerous inventions were the typographer in 1829, which was a predecessor to the typewriter. He also invented the solar compass, a surveying tool used in the Michigan Survey, employed in regions that had an abundance of minerals, which would interfere with accurate readings when using ordinary instruments. While out surveying on September 19, 1844, in what is today Marquette County, Michigan, Burt discovered one of the largest iron ore deposits in the United States. A historical plaque commemorates William Austin Burt at Stony Creek, near his home in Mt. Vernon, Michigan.
See this bigger and in Peter’s Northern Michigan slideshow and check out more Michigan lakes on Michigan in Pictures!
On a personal note, when I was a kid my family had a cottage not far from here.
I’m down at Lollapallooza, maybe looking for a Michigan angle but really just helping my daughter celebrate her 17th birthday.
This photo is from the Ottawa County Fair. Fair season is in full swing all across Michigan, and you can find out when and where they are using the fair locator at Michiganfairs.org!
Check this out background bigtacular and in Kevin’s Fun with Lights slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 