Splish Splash at Frankfort by SueFi Photography
Gorgeous shot from the pier in Frankfort. See more on Sue’s Flickr & follow her on Facebook!
Looking Over Charlevoix
Charlevoix, Michigan by Laurent Fady
Visit Charlevoix says that the Charlevoix area was part of what was called Michilimackinac formed in the Treaty of Washington in 1836:
French explorer Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix is said to have stayed on nearby Fisherman Island and the area was named after him in 1836.
…Exclusive hotels, the Inn and the Beach, were the summer destination for people from around the Midwest. Two depots served summer guests, one at Belvedere and the Pere Marquette Railway depot. Guests also arrived in the late 1800s on steamships including the Manitou, Alabama, North American, South American, Milwaukee Clipper, and Illinois.
During the Prohibition, Chicago area gang members moved their operations to Charlevoix. The Colonial Club became a gambling joint for some of the Midwest’s most powerful. A barge-turned-speakeasy traveled from Charlevoix to Boyne City carrying passengers in style during the summer months.
Lots more at Visit Charlevoix. Laurent took this sweet aerial photo of Charlevoix back in June. See many more views from above in his Aerial Photos of Northern MI gallery!
More Michigan aerial photos & more from Charlevoix on Michigan in Pictures.
Beautiful Day at Saugatuck Dunes State Park
Saugatuck Dunes State Park by Terry Zweering
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says that Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers:
…2.5 miles of secluded Lake Michigan shoreline and 1,000 acres of steep slopes, rolling hills and fresh water coastal dunes more than 200 feet tall. The beach is a two-thirds mile hike from the picnic parking area.
The park’s major attraction are the long sandy beach and the 300-acre natural area, which contains a coastal dune system containing three endangered plant species. Nature enthusiasts, birdwatchers and hikers are the predominant day users.
The park, located in Allegan County, is relatively undeveloped. The land was acquired in 1971 from the Augustinian Order, who used the buildings as a seminary. When the state took ownership, the structures were used as a prison and state police offices.
More from the DNR & also check out the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance for more on the natural & human history as well as species found here.
Terry says that this is one of her favorite places to hike and hang out. See lots more pics in her Saugatuck Dunes album on Flickr.
Ride the Wave
Julie writes:
Sunday evening the winds picked up and we rode down to the pier and I watched this boat come from the harbor out the channel and head towards Petoskey north. He hit some huge waves coming in and I don’t know how he ever made it.
Here’s hoping he did and that you’re able to overcome the waves of 2020 as well!! See more in Julie’s Coronavirus Times 2020 album on Flickr.
Leaving Ludington
Badger Departing Ludington by Mark Zacks
Mark got this photo of the SS Badger leaving Ludington last fall. See his latest on his Flickr & enjoy your weekend!
Miracle Dog makes it home
not too late for an evening swim by ctaylor1987
The Benzie Record-Patriot has a story about a dog that went overboard in Lake Michigan in heavy swells & miraculously made it to shore:
“We are so happy. It’s just a miracle. We can’t believe it. We are calling her ‘The Miracle Dog,'” said Kim Oberman, who has been on a boating vacation with her husband Nick, their children and Roxy.
…According to Oberman, their boat was about two-miles from shore when they figure Roxy must have gone overboard. Thankfully, Roxy had several things in her favor to make it back to shore alive.
“She’s young, and she was wearing a life jacket. She’s a good swimmer, and she’s smart. The current was pushing her to the north and west into the shore,” Oberman said. “Usually when we are cruising we take the life jacket off of her, because we stay down below or by the helm, but this day I hadn’t taken it off, and thank God.”
Read on for the full story at the Record-Patriot & for sure make sure your pups are protected when on the water!
The dog in this pic (and much safer waters) is named Hobie. See more in ctaylor’s On the Lake album.
Dune Days at Sleeping Bear
Mark took this beautiful photo a couple of summers ago on the Treat Farm Trail in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Guessing it looks much the same today, but you should check it out just to be sure! 😉
Head over to Mark’s Flickr for more & here’s the Park’s writeup on the trail:
The trail that leads from the corner of Norconk Road into the woods is about ½ mile long through the maple-beech forest and will take you to the Treat Farm. As you reach the top of the hill, the canopy of trees opens up to a view of the farmstead. A portion of the original barn has been rebuilt on the original foundation.
Visitors are drawn to this intriguing farmstead for several reasons. The trail leading up the slight incline from Norconk Road holds an allure of its own… it seems to beckon passers-by. It piques the curiosity by conjuring visions of what might be at its terminus. It is also one of the most beautiful areas for spring wildflowers in all of Michigan!
Click for trail map & check out more great Michigan trails on Michigan in Pictures.
Comet Neowise gets better & better!
Lake Michigan … trifecta! by Ken Scott Photography
Space.com says that those who have gotten up before sunrise to gaze into the twilight skies to see Comet Neowise have been greeted by the best comet performance for Northern Hemisphere observers since the 1997 appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp, emphatically ending nearly a quarter-century of lack of spectacular comets, and it’s only going to get better:
The first good opportunity for evening viewing begins on July 12, when the head of the comet will stand 5 degrees above the north-northwest horizon, 80 minutes after sunset (the end of nautical twilight). By July 14 its altitude will have already doubled to 10 degrees, and by July 19 it will have doubled yet again to 20 degrees up by the end of nautical twilight. By then it will have moved to above the northwest horizon.
So, we at Space.com feel that the best time to view the comet during the evening will come during the July 14-19 time frame.
We also strongly recommend that observers should seek the most favorable conditions possible. Even a bright comet, like this one, can be obliterated by thin horizon clouds, haze, humid air, smoke, twilight glow and especially city lights. We especially emphasize that last factor: the farther away you get from a metropolitan area, the darker your sky and the better your view of NEOWISE. Binoculars will enhance your view.
And more good news: No moonlight will brighten the sky, as the moon will be a waning crescent and visible only in the morning sky through July 20. On successive July evenings the comet will grow fainter, but it will be farther from the sun, setting later and visible in a darker sky. As we move into August, the comet will be very well placed for observers with small telescopes.
Read on for more tips & happy comet hunting to you all!
Ken was in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore looking towards the Manitou Islands & writes that he captured Comet Neowise, the Northern Lights and an Iridium Flare plus the bonus reflection on Lake Michigan!! The bright light to right of center horizon is the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. See it bigger on Facebook.
Be sure to follow Ken Scott Photography & view & purchase prints at kenscottphotography.com!
Hot Times in the Great Lakes
mLive reports that hot weather & light winds are driving Great Lakes surface water temperatures off the charts:
Lake Michigan’s average surface water temperature has gone nearly vertical … in the past week or so. Lake Michigan now averages 74 degrees on the surface, which is 11 degrees warmer than the historical average water temperature on this date.
Lake Huron is eight degrees warmer than average at 69 degrees.
Lake Erie now is only four degrees from averaging 80 degrees. The average water temperature now is 76 degrees, with the long-term average water temperature at 70 for this date.
Lake Superior might still sound cold with an average surface water temperature of 54 degrees. The long-term historical average water temperature is 48 degrees.
Click through to see the graphs – it’s pretty incredible how warm they are right now!
I featured Cameron’s photo from Grand Traverse Bay in July of 2015, but it’s just so perfect I had to show it again. Stay cool & check out lots more pics in Cameron’s Elk Rapids, MI album on Flickr.
Michigan’s Island King: James Jesse Strang
Flight from Beaver Island by Andy Farmer
On July 8th, 1850, James Jesse Strang was crowned king of Beaver Island. Michigan History Magazine shared this article with me years ago:
Despite claiming to be “the perfect atheist,” Strang became a follower of Mormon leader Joseph Smith. When Smith was murdered in March 1844, Strang claimed to be the new Mormon leader, although most Mormons followed Brigham Young to Utah.
Strang’s followers settled on an uninhabited island in northern Lake Michigan they called Big Beaver. The island had everything Strang and his followers needed: virgin timber, tillable land, a deep and sheltered bay and exceptional offshore fishing. It also was twenty-five miles off the mainland-a perfect place to protect Strang’s followers from outside influences and beliefs.
By the mid-1850s, the Mormon colony on Beaver Island boasted more than 2,500 followers. Beaver Island replaced Mackinac Island as the principal refueling stop for steamers, and the annual value of the kingdom’s exports (fish, wood and potatoes) was considerable.
The growth of Strang’s kingdom was not without controversy. Non-Mormons, called Gentiles, took exception with the Mormon settlement. Driven from the area’s fishing spots, angry over the establishment of a kingdom and Strang’s adoption of the practice of polygamy, the Gentiles vowed revenge. At the bequest of President Millard Fillmore, the U.S. district attorney prosecuted Strang for an assortment of unfounded offenses that included murder and treason. However, Strang was acquitted on all charges, and a year later he was overwhelmingly elected to the state legislature.
Strang ruled Beaver Island as an autocrat; he even had himself crowned king. But regulating every aspect of his followers’ lives led to his downfall. Describing women’s clothes as impractical and unhealthy, Strang decreed female subjects needed to dress in loose, knee-length smocks worn over modest pantaloons. Most Beaver Island women accepted the change, but a few refused to comply. When two women refused to wear pantaloons, Strang had their husbands whipped. The two men sought revenge and on June 16, 1856, they ambushed and shot their king.
On July 9, 1856, James Jesse Strang died from his wounds. He was buried in Wisconsin.
With Strang gone, enraged Gentiles charged onto Beaver Island and evicted the Mormons. After taking control of the Mormon printing office, the attackers printed a manifesto that boasted, “The dominion of King Strang is at an end.”
Andy took this back in 2016. See a lot more in his great Beaver Island, MI album on Flickr!
Michigan in Pictures 