Ross writes:
Theater marquee on the main street of Clare, Michigan.
I’m really falling in love with my Autocord TLR again.Too bad about that lens flare (as an old SLR guy, this always trips me up). Still, the amount of detail in the original 6×6 Provia transparency just tickles me to pieces. In the jumbo size note the sign-maker’s badge, “Artkraft Lima Ohio.”
That Autocord link is my addition (autocord slideshow).
State Fair, photo by s•stop.
Here’s a photo from the 2007 Michigan State Fair (Fair web site).
Sam also has a nice set of Michigan State Fair photos (slideshow)
The 2010 Mackinac Bridge Walk takes place on Monday, September 6, 2010!
2000 Mackinac Bridge Walk, photos courtesy Michigan Department of Transportation & Mackinac Bridge Authority
The annual Mackinac Bridge Walk has been held every year on Labor Day since the Bridge opened in 1957, so, like the Mackinac Bridge itself, The Bridge Walk is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Strangely enough, Wikipedia seems to have the most historical information on the walk (which is not much). They say that the first walk took place in the early morning hours of Labor Day, 1958. and that just 68 people took that first 5 mile walk across the Mighty Mac. In the early years, it seems that the walk was sparsely attended and viewed as an annoyance until the governor was brought in to lead the walk. The walk averages 50,000 to 65,000 attendees and the record is estimated to be 85,000 when George H. W. Bush led the walk in 1992. Will we break the record this year? Seems like we should, but I wonder.
The Governor’s party leads the way at 7 AM (I think) with registered and pre-qualified joggers (details from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness). Important things to note (according to the official site) are that traffic still moves across the bridge during the event, that it starts on the St. Ignace side, that they really recommend you figure your return transport out, that it’s FREE (my capitalization) and that there are NO RESTROOMS ON THE BRIDGE (their capitalization).
The Michigan Department of Transportation has a photo gallery from past Mackinac Bridge Walks. A photographer named Chuck contributed one of his photos from the bridge walk to Wikimedia, and he has a nice gallery of Mackinac Bridge Walk photos. A search of Flickr finds some bridge walk pics as well (hopefully more after this year’s walk!). Do you have more links? Post ’em in the comments and please share your story/photos if you walk this year!
I should add that on September 16 from 7:00 – 7:30 AM, there will be a “Bike Across the Mighty Mac” event sponsored by Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce. If you’re up in the area, there’s also a Truck Parade of Lights from 8-9 PM on September 15th.
I See Spots, photo by docksidepress.
As near as I can piece together, Matt was driving home from up North along Elk Lake Road, south of Elk Rapids. Since he was driving, they HAD to stop when they came upon this whole field of sunflowers, like endless smiles in the late afternoon sunlight.
…and yes, it’s available in wallpaper /background size.
Art Museum, photo by I am Jacques Strappe.
Over at the Ann Arbor Area Crappy Camera Club, Matt Callow posted an announcement from ArtServe Michigan. They are seeking:
…quality photographs that capture and document arts and culture in Michigan: the buildings where arts and culture takes place, artists at work in their studios or participating in festivals, community arts projects, arts and cultural activities indoors and out, arts educators in their classrooms, individuals of all ages engaged in arts and cultural activities, art festivals, audience moments, performance pieces, etc.
They hope to gather photographs from every county of the state to be included in a photo montage during the ceremony of the 2007 Governor’s Awards for Arts and Culture and for use in the event program. Photographs are due by September 14, 2007. Please click through for details on format and where to send the photos!
Marjorie says that this photo (which I think you should check out big) of the University of Michigan Museum of Art was taken during the Ann Arbor (likely in 2004) and that the kids of Ann Arbor are missing a slide as the sculpture has been dismantled. It was taken with a Holga, one of the many fine toy cameras, trash cams, cheap plastic point-and-shoots, pinholes, dollar store disposables, and junk store cameras wielded by the Crappy Camerians. Heck, they even discussed the merits of a Pop Tart Camera!
ArtServe Michigan is a statewide organization that builds support for the arts, artists, arts education, and cultural activities. They champion the arts across the state through advocacy and education programming and services to individual artists and cultural organizations and seek to support artists and arts organizations by increasing cultural audiences, linking businesses and the arts, and standing up for arts in education and state arts funding.
up_hunter_point_026_m1_screen, photo by pntphoto.
This photo is part of a set of photos from Hunter’s Point Park near Copper Harbor, Michigan that I think is best viewed as a slideshow (you can also see where it is on a map).
The web site for Hunter’s Point has a neat aerial photo in which you can see the Isle Royale Queen ferry which was captured along with fireworks & northern lights in this photo.
Tiger Stadium #1, found by m7k7k7
Many folks in Michigan have a piece of their heart stored at the Corner of Michigan & Trumbull. Wikipedia’s Tiger Stadium entry says the ballpark located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit hosted the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team from April 20, 1912 when it opened as Navin Field, through its expansion in 1938 when it was renamed Briggs Stadium (and began hosting the Detroit Lions as well) through 1961 when John Fetzer took control and renamed it Tiger Stadium. It saw two World Series championships, 1968 and 1984 and was the home of the Tigers until Comerica Park opened in 2000. It was declared a State of Michigan Historic Site in 1975 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
And it’s scheduled for demolition in October of 2007.
From honorary bat boys spending a few moments with a player to huge and cheering crowds, this ballpark has made millions of memories.
Now it waits for the wrecking ball, slowly falling to pieces. I don’t think that too many want to remove the Tigers from their palatial new home, but it would (in my opinion at least) be a wonderful thing if Ernie Harwell and his group could succeed in preserving a scaled-down park at the Corner so none of us have to say goodbye to an old friend (and maybe The Last Strike at Tiger Stadium wouldn’t actually be the last).
Here’s a whole lot more photos in the Tiger Stadium group on Flickr. If you have any photos (or memories) to add, post a comment below!
Read Ernie Harwell’s plan for Tiger Stadium on Absolute Michigan.
2007_0703July40155, photo by JJ Murletti.
I don’t know the name of this lake but was struck by just how peaceful it looks.
There’s a campground in the Pigeon River State Forest and lots and lots of trails. The DNR says that the Pigeon River Pine area has over 100 acres of white pine (most about 100 years old) and that the Dog Lake area is considered to be one of the most remote and wild areas in the region. Nesting loons, bald eagles, and osprey are a few of the many animals using the lakes.
The International Mountain Biking Association is quite taken with:
An awesome ribbon of trail looping through the heart of elk country, the High Country Pathway (HCP) embodies the classic definition of an IMBA Epic Ride. The first IMBA Epic Ride in Michigan will take you far into the backcountry with beautiful lowlands and panoramas in the highlands.
Be sure to outfit for self-support, as you may not see another human on this 80-mile soul searcher. The trail passes through a variety of woodlands and wetlands containing massive groves of silver beech, tamarack swamp and leather leaf bogs. The area is home to beaver, black bear, bobcat, pine martin, snowshoe hare, wood ducks, bald eagles, deer, wild turkey and the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi River.
2009 Update: The best time to watch the Persied meteor shower in Michigan is TONIGHT (August 11-12, 2009).
The peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower was last night. Postpurchase says he had intended to catch the peak of the perseid meteor shower last night but (alas) the clouds decided not to cooperate. Although last night was the peak, you can see them tonight and I saw a bunch early this morning! (in fact, there was a recent report of Northern Lights at our Northern Lights Log on Absolute Michigan)
SPACE.com has this (and more) to say about the Perseid meteor shower:
Every August, when many people are vacationing in the country where skies are dark, the best-known meteor shower makes its appearance…
The event is also known as “The Tears of St. Lawrence.”
Laurentius, a Christian deacon, is said to have been martyred by the Romans in 258 AD on an iron outdoor stove. It was in the midst of this torture that Laurentius cried out: “I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other.”
The saint’s death was commemorated on his feast day, Aug. 10. King Phillip II of Spain built his monastery place the “Escorial,” on the plan of the holy gridiron. And the abundance of shooting stars seen annually between approximately Aug. 8 and 14 have come to be known as St. Lawrence’s “fiery tears.”
Wikipedia’s Persied entry adds viewing tips:
The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14, peaking about August 12. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle’s orbit, Perseids are mostly visible on the northern hemisphere.
To experience the shower in its full, one should observe in the dark of a clear moonless night, from a point far outside any large cities, where stars are not dimmed by light pollution. The Perseids have a broad peak, so the shower is visible for several nights. On any given night, activity starts slowly in the evening but picks up by 11 p.m., when the radiant gets reasonably high in the sky. The meteor rate increases steadily through the night as the radiant rises higher, peaking just before the sky starts to get light, roughly 1½ to 2 hours before sunrise.
Thanksgiving Sunset, photo by wizardkitten.
It’s been 2 weeks since the last Michigan shoreline tour stop at Holland (feels like 2 weeks since I last got on the Michigan shoreline myself!).
While I didn’t find much about the history of Kirk Park at the page Google thinks is best, I did stumble onto this review of the Dune Ridge Trail at Kirk Park from Jim DuFresne’s Best Hikes with Children in Michigan Guide Book (there’s 80 hikes on that page – check it out):
There is a tendency at Kirk Park for children to head straight to the beach. They jump out of the car and hightail it down a paved path to Lake Michigan where they jump into the surf, roll in the sand, or get scorched by the sun. Then their parents take them home, usually waterlogged, sunburnt, and with half a dune in their bathing suits. Should have taken them hiking. At 66 acres and with 2000 feet of lakefront, this Ottawa County park is not large. In fact, it’s basically one dune. But it’s a large dune, and major renovations in the mid-1990s resulted in an intriguing 2-mile trail system over and around this towering hill of sand. The heart of the system is Dune Ridge Trail, a mile-long loop that climbs the hill and then circles the top to reward hikers with excellent views of Lake Michigan.
Cathleen says she likes this park and goes there quite a lot. After seeing her pictures and those from Thomas, Craig (who apparently heeded that “take the trails” advice), Katie, Holly and others, I can see why.
Here’s a Flickr map and also the entry for Kirk Park on our Absolute Michigan map of Michigan.
Michigan in Pictures 