Rain Forest, Michigan style

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Deep Woods Magic

Deep Woods Magic, photo by CreateWithKim.

Hey everyone – very sorry for not updating Michigan in Pictures yesterday and Monday. I was in the El Yunque rain forest* and the Internet wasn’t!! I’m back in the arms of Mama Michigan and ready for spring!

Since we were on the subject of rain forests, I figured this photo from an Eastern Hemlock Forest on the Little Union Gorge Trail in the Porcupine Mountains would be nice. You have to check it out large on black and in her Porcupine Mountains Autumn 2009 set (view the slideshow).

*If you want to see my pics, they’re right here.

A Belated Happy Birthday to Michigan Governor William G. Milliken

Posted on by farlane

Untitled, photo by BryantDIGITAL

Yesterday (March 26th), former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken turned 88. I bumped into him a few weeks ago and he seemed in great health, so hopefully he has many more coming.

Several years ago, in The Very Best People in the Northern Express, Robert Downes wrote:

Raised on Washington Street in Traverse City, Bill Milliken was the longest-serving governor in the state’s history, occupying the office from 1969 to 1983.

Gov. Milliken is an honest-to-gosh war hero: He flew 50 combat missions in WWII as a waist-gunner in a B-24. He survived two crash landings; received a flak stomach wound on one mission; and once had to bail out in Italy when his plane ran out of fuel 50 miles from its base. He received seven medals for his service, according to “The Milliken Years” by Joyce Braithwaite and George Weeks.

Still considered one of the leaders of the moderate wing of the Republican Party, Governor Milliken’s administration saw many advancements in civil rights and environmental protections. The governor signed Michigan’s landmark bottle deposit law into effect in 1976 and it was during his tenure that the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore was created by an act of Congress in 1970. Although he hailed from Northern Michigan, Gov. Milliken recognized the importance of preserving the viability of the City of Detroit and refused to play into the “us vs. them” mentality of outstate politicians. As governor, he lobbied against members of his own party in the late ’70s for the Detroit People Mover, which was ultimately approved in a drastically limited form.

…Little known fact: The governor’s middle initial stands for Grawn, the family namesake of the crossroads between TC and Interlochen.

More in the William G. Milliken entry from Wikipedia.

Check this out bigger in Bryant’s slideshow.

Watch your step atop Castle Rock

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Watch your step!

Watch your step!, photo by robizphoto.

In their entry about Castle Rock, Hunt’s Guide to the UP says that Castle Rock is a limestone stack, eroded by water and wind to form a “castle” nearly 200 feet above Lake Huron:

Clarence Eby, a St. Ignace photographer and pioneer of area tourism, acquired Castle Rock and, in 1928, opened it as a destination, just as somewhat better area roads enabled motorists to go sightseeing in outlying areas. He made postcards of sights in Mackinac County, the island, and the Straits, created a guidebook with ads from resorts and cabins, and worked to create a Chamber of Commerce information center in town. Today Eby’s grandson Mark runs Castle Rock

Click the link above to see one of Eby’s colorized postcards and get more info including a panoramic photo from Wikipedia.

Check this out bigger and in robizphoto’s Landscapes slideshow.

Hipstamatic at Aman Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

aman park

aman park, photo by abigail burch.

The city of Grand Rapids says that the 331-acre Aman Park is located on Lake Michigan Drive, about 6 miles west of the city and has six self-guided trails. They take you from the succession of plants to a mature, climax forest.

Regarding the photo, Abigail took it with her favorite app, Hipstamatic, which is also my favorite cameraphone app. You may remember the Hipstamatic camera.

Check this out in her Nature set (slideshow).

Sweet 16, 2010 with the Michigan State Spartans

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Gotcha!

Gotcha!, photo by m.villavicencio.

Wikipedia says that the Michigan State Spartans Men’s Basketball Team has been in the Sweet Sixteen 9 of the last 13 years. In all, Michigan State has won two NCAA Championships, appeared in seven Final Fours and made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances.

On Friday, the MSU Spartans take a 26-8 record into a game with the 2010 Cinderella, the Northern Iowa Panthers.

Be sure to check this out background bigilicious or in Miguel’s slideshow.

Be sure to also check out more posts about the MSU Spartans from Michigan in Pictures!

Ann Arbor’s Annual Festifools

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Cellist

The Cellist, photo by beautyredefined.

Every year in April, the good people of Ann Arbor hold a street festival called FestiFools. The event takes place on April 11, 2010 from 4-5 PM and features “huge puppets and random acts of foolishness”. The event began when UM art teacher Mark Tucker, then Art Director for the Michigan Thanksgiving Parade, traveled to Viareggio, Italy to learn the fine art of carta pesta (papier-mâché) from their amazing float builders (must-click!).

Click through to festifools.org for much, much more including how you can help them build puppets!

Check this out bigger or in Kristin’s Ann Arbor slideshow.

If that’s not enough, how about the FestiFools YouTube channel, the FestiFools Flickr group or everyone’s Festifools photos.

Choosing The Path Less Traveled

Posted on by farlane

Choosing The Path Less Traveled

Since I’m on a path less traveled, I thought it would be a good time for this photo.

From Stoney Creek Metropark See it bigger in his My Faves slideshow.

Deer at Ludington State Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Deer at Ludington State Park

Deer at Ludington State Park, photo by R.J.E..

Taken at Ludington State Park.

See this bigger or in the slideshow from the Lovely Ludington group.

Many more park photos from Michigan in Pictures.

Detroit Metro Airport: start to finish

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

start to finish

start to finish, photo by paulhitz.

I started my day (and vacation*) today at the Detroit Metro Airport. Originally known as the Wayne County Airport, it was opened in September of 1929 with the first official landing taking pace on February 22, 1930 by theThompson Aeronautical Corporation, a predecessor company of American Airlines.

Today it has 6 runways, 145 gates, generates around 70,000 jobs and with 3,187,249 passengers in 2008, was ranked as the 13th busiest airport in North America, 24th in the world.

Check this photo out bigger or in Paul’s massive My Detroit set (slideshow).

For more shots, how about the Detroit Airport slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

* I am planning to update as usual but there may be mornings or days when that doesn’t work!

Hooded Merganser Party

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Hooded Merganser Party

Hooded Merganser Party, photo by Adore707.

While these birds are partying*, you probably won’t have to shout at them to keep it down. The All About Birds entry for Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) says that they are silent except in courtship when male gives a deep rolling frog-like sound. Their wings do produce a loud whistling in flight which you can hear under “Sounds” at the link above.

This small fish-eating duck frequents wooded ponds and nests in holes in trees. More fun facts:

The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America.

Although up to 44 Hooded Merganser eggs have been found in one nest, one female probably does not lay more than about 13. Larger clutches result when more than one female lays eggs in a nest.

The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight. The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision. In addition, the nictitating membrane (third eyelid) is very transparent and probably acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.

For more, including photos, see the UM Animal Diversity Web entry for Lophodytes cucullatus (hooded merganser) and Wikipedia’s Hooded Merganser page. If you haven’t had your fill of ducks, there’s always the ever-growing Michigan in Pictures Duckie Gallery.

See this bigger in Eli’s Birds slideshow (view the set).

* Three boys and one girl? I’ve been to parties like that…