Untitled, photo by Bill Schwab.
Check this out bigger in Bill’s Michigan slideshow.
Epiphany
Epiphany, photo by Matt Burrows.
Matt writes:
The simplicity of the photo and the “light” were the inspiration for this title, as some of the best epiphanies occur when we simplify our lives. However, this is often easier said than done. ;-)
Hope your weekend offers some simple pleasures.
Check it out bigger and in his iPhoneography set (slideshow).
Forester Park on Lake Huron
HuronFeb1-3, photo by richwyllis.
Looks like a cool campground in warmer times.
Check it out bigger or in Rich’s slideshow.
Michigan Travel Promotion … on the cheap
Picture Rocks, photo by David :0).
The state of Michigan offers some amazing travel options and has been trying to share them with the nation through the Pure Michigan campaign. Unfortunately, our budgetary death spiral is jeopardizing a campaign that reportedly brings in nearly $3 in taxes for every dollar spent.
Whatever Lansing does, it strikes me that all of us can share scenes like the one above from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with our family and friends and when the time comes for our own travels, make it a Michigan vacation when we can and act as a sort of virtual tourism bureau.
This photo is one of a number of gorgeous shots in David’s Pictured Rocks set (slideshow) and check out lots more from the Pictured Rocks on Michigan in Pictures.
80 years of ice on the Straits of Mackinaw
Winter Service, photo courtesy Mackinac Bridge Authority
The Michigan State Ferry Album says:
Winter service began in 1931 when the Highway Department arranged with the Mackinaw Transportation Company to carry cars across the Straits on a railroad icebreaker during the cold months. This arrangement turned out to be poor business for the State, so in 1936 the Highway Department leased the railroad icebreaker “Sainte Marie” for winter operations on a regular schedule.Winter service began in 1931 when the Highway Department arranged with the Mackinaw Transportation Company to carry cars across the Straits on a railroad icebreaker during the cold months. This arrangement turned out to be poor business for the State, so in 1936 the Highway Department leased the railroad icebreaker “Sainte Marie” for winter operations on a regular schedule.
In case you’re wondering, the ice on the Straits of Mackinaw hasn’t changed a whole lot in 80 years, as this photo from February of 2008 titled Triangles by Dominique shows. See it bigger in her Snow/Ice slideshow or check out the whole set.
Worlds (3rd) Largest Cherry Pie
Worlds (3rd) Largest Cherry Pie, photo by Allen Gathman.
February is National Cherry Month and there’s nothing more cherry than the cherry pie. The folks at Roadside America (who keep track of stuff like this) have this to say about the titanic battle for the World’s Largest Cherry Pie:
Charlevoix was the first into the mix. In 1976 a man named Dave Phillips, in a burst of bicentennial fervor, convinced local businesses in Charlevoix to bake the World’s Largest Cherry Pie as part of the town’s annual cherry festival. A giant pan was built, along with an equally titanic oven. Local farmers supplied the ingredients. The result: a cherry pie weighing 17,420 pounds. It was a world record.
Further south, the town of Traverse City had its own cherry festival. It had perhaps heard one too many boasts from Charlevoix, and in 1987 it decided to do something about it…
The Chef Pierre Bakeries went to work, and on July 25 it baked a cherry pie that put Charlevoix to shame: 28,350 pounds; 17 feet, 6 inches in diameter. As an added snub, the town had Guinness Book of World’s Records certify its pie as the largest ever. Charlevoix’s days in the spotlight were ended after only 11 years.
But time has a way of humbling the proud. The Chef Pierre Bakeries were bought out by Sara Lee. The cherry farms around Traverse City were turned into golf courses. Yuppies from downstate began invading the town, as they were invading Charlevoix. And in 1992, after only five years, Traverse City’s cherry pie crown was knocked clear into Canada when the tiny town of Oliver, British Columbia, baked a cherry pie for the ages — 39,683 pounds.
For some reason Oliver failed to save its pan, so you can still see the largest cherry pie pan in Traverse City here and get a sense of the scale right here.
Check Allen’s photo out bigger.
February Fun in Michigan
“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.”
~ John Boswell
Our Michigan February Event Calendar shows that from outdoor celebrations like Houghton’s Winter Carnival, the North American Snow Festival in Cadillac, the International 500 Snowmobile Race in the Soo, Detroit’s Winter Blast and the UP 200, Midnight Run Sled-Dog Championships in Marquette to indoor celebrations like the Taste the Passion wine tour in Leelanau, the Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids, the Detroit Boat Show and the Winter Wine Wonderland in Traverse City, February is the month where Michiganders throw a snowball in winter’s face and head out to enjoy Michigan!
Check this photo of one of those golden February moments along the Grand River out bigger and in Jon’s My World Set (slideshow).
i’ll be on the water
i’ll be on the water, photo by todd richter.
…at least in my mind.
Stay warm, have fun.
Check it out bigger and in Todd’s slideshow.
Previewing the Winter Olympics at Otsego Club
SNOWBOARD Training in Gaylord, Michigan, photo by MyWheelsareTurning.
If a trip to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics (February 12-28) isn’t in your budget, consider the shorter jaunt to Gaylord next week.
Many of the world’s finest snowboarders are training for the Winter Games at Otsego Club in Gaylord, Michigan. The New York Times reports:
The Otsego Club, a private ski/golf club and resort founded in 1939, has been a good destination for snowboarders, with a terrain park of 45 trails and jumps to complement its 31 downhill runs. This season, it decided to take a chance and spend more than $100,000 to build the halfpipe…
The grounds were reshaped and prepared over the fall, and the architects of Planet Snow built the 500-foot-long, 22-foot-high halfpipe of ice and snow.
The club hoped adding the halfpipe could attract interest, but the general manager, Kris Klay, said the experiment had far exceeded expectations.
“Every day I am getting calls from coaches and athletes asking if they can come here too — do we have room?” Klay said. “We’re going to make the room. This has been an incredible experience for us to host them and for the community to be able to have exposure to this. We feel like we’re so lucky, we’re getting to see a preview of the Vancouver Olympics every day in our own backyard.”
They also have a nice feature on one of the biggest stars you can see there, Gold Medal hopeful Torah Bright. I’ve been told that even more of the top boarders will be in early next week, and my own resident snowboarding expert returned beaming from ear to ear at how he’d been able to board with Olympians, a chance that few get. I believe that the resort is closed to the public on the weekend, so be sure to call ahead!
You can see this photo of Japanese rider Shiho Nakashima larger in Gary’s Gaylord: Olympic Snowboard slideshow and check out his blog about
Walking, Biking, Getting Around in Northern Michigan & Beyond.
It’s lonely at Big Sable Lighthouse in wintertime
On a bone-chilling morning like today, it’s not too hard to put yourself in the probably none-too-warm shoes of Keeper Hans Hansen of the Big Sable Lighthouse, located at the wrong end of a nine mile walk from Ludington. Here’s his letter to Capt. C.E. Clark, USN, Lighthouse Inspector on September 19, 1887:
Please Sir, I wish to apply to you in regards to a change in location or in other words, if there is any chance for me to be transferred to some small Light. I have now served faithfully at this same Station for five long years lacking eight days, keeping the Light going every night the year around, and in them five years have been absent only three weeks. And this last year has been very hard on me on account I have had so many new men and each one I have to teach to care for the Light, and makes me feel very uneasy all hours of the night. The last man appointed is very quick and wants to learn. He is the best man that has been here for some time. He is a stranger to me. My children I should like very much to get them in school. Here is no school for miles. I prefer a small place where I can be alone with my family. I do not mind loosing [sic] Sixty dollars from my present salary. Would like best a place south from here but prefer best the west shore on Green Bay or would be glad to take some small place north of here. You would make us feel very happy. Please be so kind and do what you can.
You can get more stories from Lighthouses Short & Tall, learn about Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington State Park and see tons more Michigan lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.
Check this out bigger in Tim’s Lake Michigan slideshow and stay warm people!
Michigan in Pictures 