Caseville Sunset, photo by StormchaserMike Photography.
Be sure to go bigger and to check out Mike’s 11th Annual Cheeseburger in Caseville set (slideshow).
What (you ask) is a Cheeseburger in Caseville?
…and apparently this is atmospheric illusions week on Michigan in Pictures.
“Waukasansan”, photo by yooper1949.
The Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of Arts aka the Hessel Boat Show takes place next Saturday (August 8) in Hessel:
Live music plays in Hessel harbor while visitors admire the 150 dinghies, rowboats, canoes, sailboats, runabouts, cruisers and other vintage wooden vessels. Browse the many food and nautical vendors stationed alongside the show, staged at one of Michigan’s most picturesque settings. The Hessel Marina affords a view of the harbor and a handful of islands. Spectators can also board a tour boat that cruises among the 36 Les Cheneaux Islands on Lake Huron, with 2 trips leaving from Hessel pier throughout the day. The Festival of Arts is also on the waterfront, next to the boat show, and 70 exhibitors sell their juried arts and crafts there.
You can see this photo bigger in Carl’s Boats slideshow (view the set)
Old USCG Mackinaw and New USCG Cutter Mackinaw, photos by Bass Dude
On an average day, the Coast Guard will conduct 109 search & rescue operations, saving 10 lives and assisting 192 people in distress. The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival is the nation’s largest festival that honors the men and women of the US Coast Guard. It takes place July 24 – August 2 in Grand Haven and features nightly entertainment at Waterfront Stadium, arts & crafts, downtown carnival, parades, ship tours and the world’s largest musical fountain with spectacular fireworks. This year is the 85th annual occurrence of the festival which unofficially began in 1924 as a Coast Guard personnel only picnic and has grown to attract over 350,000 people including the nation’s highest ranking Coast Guard dignitaries.
The Coast Guard Cutters Bristol Bay and Mackinaw will be in Grand Haven for the festival and offering tours. The 290 feet long old Mackinaw (WAGB 83) was built in Toledo, Ohio and commissioned in December 1944 and decommissioned June 10, 2006. It is now the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum in Mackinaw City (here’s a tour of the Mackinaw).
The new US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw (WLBB 30) is the only heavy icebreaker assigned to the Great Lakes. It was commissioned June 10, 2006 and is powered by 3 Caterpillar 3612 Turbocharged V-12 engines – 3360 KW each. Prolusion comes from 2 ABB azimuthing electric propulsion drives where the propulsion motor is installed inside a submerged azimuthing (unlimited 360 degrees) pod and coupled directly to an extremely short propeller shaft. In addition to heavy icebreaking, the Mackinaw has state of the art systems and multi-mission capabilities that include servicing buoys, search & rescue, law enforcement and the ability to deploy an oil skimming system to respond to oil spill situations.
Check out this 360° tour of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and these photos from the Mackinaw’s launch via Boatnerd.
Be sure to check these photos out bigger (old and new) or in Skip’s Boats set (slideshow).
Getting to Grandma’s May Be Tricky, photo by docksidepress.
Check out some Michigan kiteboarding links from kiteUS and also Great Lakes Kiteboarding (check out their sweet video of a session on Lake Huron at Tawas.
Be sure to check this out bigger.
Werwin15 sugests that you view it on black (or view it bigger).
The Sunrise Side Wine & Food Festival takes place next Saturday (July 18) at the Harrisville Harbor. It’s Northeast Michigan’s largest wine and food festival and features Michigan wines and culinary delights from area chefs.
I’ve never been but my vintner friends tell me it’s a really cool festival. Here’s a writeup from a few years ago:
Harrisville is the “almost” undiscovered jewel of the Sunrise Side. This friendly small town, halfway between Tawas and Alpena and be easily reached from both US-23 and M-72, offers a tree-lined Main Street filled with shops offering antiques, gifts, jewelry, fudge, ice cream and chocolates. Several restaurants provide everything from a casual outdoor lunch to fine dining.
In the past few years, the area has grown into a small artist colony, a favorite vacation spot for numerous artists and authors. Novelists Judith Guest’s and Fred Wolverton have each each used Harrisville as their book’s setting.
The best of Harrisville and its surrounding area, however, is absolutely free. A brief stroll through town will take you from the 100-year-old stone railroad depot past the mill pond with its working waterwheel , around the courthouse lawn lined with huge old maple trees, and – if your legs are up to it –through one of Michigan’s prettiest State Parks. Three historic bed and breakfasts are available, each with lake views, and a five-minute drive brings you to Sturgeon Point Lighthouse and the beautifully preserved 1800’s Bailey School House.
The Wine and Food Tasting weekend kicks off on Friday night, with a 50’s dance beneath the big tent. A real family event, the dance brings together everyone from small children to senior citizens, many in 1950’s costumes.
…As winter takes its sweet time shoving off, it’s nice to dream of relaxing with a glass of Michigan wine, a taste of London broil, brie or pate, and a relaxing view of Lake Huron. The Harrisville Wine and Food Tasting is one of those rare things that’s even better in reality.
Check out Harrisville Michigan in Wikipedia.
Great lake, photo by jpwbee.
Earlier this week mLive reported (thanks Michitwitter) that University of Michigan researchers found evidence of ancient hunters at the bottom of Lake Huron:
Using detailed government data on lake floor topography, a research vessel and a remote mini-rover equipped with a camera, scientists found what they believe are hunting pits, camps and rock structures called caribou “drive lines” on the bottom of Lake Huron.
Drive lines, also called drive lanes, are walls built of rocks that hunters used to lure caribou into ambush. A peculiarity of the deer species is that it readily follows linear cues, even though the rock walls are short enough to step over.
The structures were found on an underwater ridge that – about 9,000 years ago – was a land bridge above water. The 10-mile-wide Alpena-Amberley ridge stretches more than 100 miles from near Point Clark, Ontario, to Presque Isle.
The 1,148-foot “drive line” structure found by U-M researchers closely resembles one previously discovered on Victoria Island in the Canadian subarctic.
Click the link above for an underwater photo and be sure to check it out bigger.
watch out for the wee ones, photo by 1ManWithACamera.
Larry writes on the shores of Lake Huron, in the faraway village of Caseville, some of the little people ventured out among us.
He has more fun photos that you might enjoy!
“TUNNEL DISASTER”, photo by uthomie7264.
I got all excited that the 60,000th photo had been added to the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr, but when I researched it, I found that there’s a terrible tragedy associated with it. The Detroit News relates that the events of December 11th, 1971 that resulted in the deaths of 22 workers.
Construction of the tunnel had begun in the spring of 1968 and was plagued by controversy, mishaps and plan changes from the start. The tunnel was to go five miles under the lake off Port Huron through bedrock to access fresh water for metropolitan Detroit. It was to be capable from the beginning of pumping 400 million gallons of pure drinking water per day to a thirsty Detroit, later expanding to 1.2 billion gallons to meet the demands of a rapidly growing area. The $120-million project was only three weeks from completion at the time of the blast.
“I don’t remember much about the explosion,” said one of the survivors, Richard Green, then 27. “I thought an air line broke, but it pushed the hell out of me. It seemed like a bomb. I was on top of the form (for concrete pouring) and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air.”
You can read more about the Memorial for the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and more about the sculpture from sculptor Paula Slater’s web site.
Be sure to check this photo out bigger too!
Mackinac Bridge, photo by Ross Nave.
#737 on the list of Fun Things You Could Do in Michigan This Weekend is Boating with the Stempkis!
Be sure to check this photo out bigger and here’s Ross’s Michigan slideshow.
Hope your weekend is great!!
Michigan in Pictures 