May I have the envelope for for Best Michigan Snowmobile Photo?
This is part of her great set of Winter photos from the Charlevoix, Petoskey & Mackinac area (slideshow).
Head over to Absolute Michigan for a ton more Mackinac Bridge info.
Photographers of West Michigan and a Grand Haven Sunset
Grand Haven 05, photo by jbatts.
jbatts says that on a whim she drove out Grand Haven and captured these photos from sunset at Grand Haven State Park (slideshow) on a January evening with 25+ mph winds and single-digit windchills.
It’s one of the photos in the new group she started on Flickr for Photographers of West Michigan. Speaking of the photographers of West Michigan, what do you want to bet that you can find the photo from the guy in the red jacket on Flickr too?
A Public Service Announcement from Michigan Beaches
Strolling in the sand., photo by photoshoparama.
We interrupt this wild winter weather for a special message from Michigan’s beaches who remind you that – despite all appearances to the contrary – winter is not forever and they will soon return with an all-new season of sun, sand and summer fun!
Thanks to Daniel (and Quentin) for the reminder from Grand Haven State Park in April of 2007. Be sure to click to the super-size for the full, glorious effect!
We now return to Winter, already in progress…
Winter Blues at the Ludington North Breakwater Light
Winter Blues, photo by simply, Diann.
Diann writes What I’m really wondering is whether or not its a good idea to edit out the blue shadows that often show up in winter shots when the sun is behind the camera. She offers this shot for comparison and discussion. She also has a bunch more photos of Ludington’s lighthouse, many in the crashing seas that are referred to below! (and usually uploads her photos at desktop wallpaper size!)
Terry Pepper’s page on the Ludington North Breakwater Light has a really fascinating history of this lighthouse at the mouth of the Pere Marquette river. A lighthouse was established here in 1870 to aid in the navigation of the lumber ships that served the mills of Ludington and Pepper’s article details the trials endured by the keeper after Congress appropriated funds for the light but none for his dwelling (sound familiar?). Pepper goes on to detail the unique structure of the current North Pier Light:
Over the summer of 1924, a unique structure took shape at the end of the North Breakwater. The main tower, fabricated of steel plates over an internal steel skeleton, took the form of a four-sided pyramidal tower with four round porthole windows on each of the three decks within. With plans calling for the installation of an air diaphragm fog signal operated by an electrically powered compressor, there was no need for a large fog signal building, and thus the signal building took the form of a relatively small structure integrated into the base of the landward side of the main tower. In order to help protect the structure from the force of waves crashing across the breakwater, the concrete foundation at the base of the structure was formed with angled surfaces designed to deflect the force of wave action up and away from the building. The white painted tower was capped by a square gallery and an octagonal iron lantern installed at its center.
There’s great historical photos at the link above and if you’re a lighthouse buff, I can’t recommend Terry Pepper’s site enough. His pages on lighthouses of Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes are the best there is.
Although Wikipedia’s entry on the Ludington Light is downright feeble, it does link to a nice set of videos of the Ludington lighthouse. There’s also this cool video of the lighthouse.
I’ve also added the Ludington Light to Absolute Michigan’s Map of Michigan.
breakwater
breakwater, photo by Latitude 45.
Martin has three photos of the ice-shrouded Petoskey breakwater. There’s also one photo of how his dog remembers where he left the salmon, but the less said about that, the better.
Lone tree on a winter beach
Lone tree on a winter beach, photo by norjam8.
This photo was taken and is part of Norm’s set of Winter photos, a very cool set that includes photos like this amazing shot of “Big Red” aka the Holland Harbor light.
Like pretty much all of Norm’s photos, this one is available in super-biggie wallpaper size. I think that’s a beautiful thing.
stacked
stacked, photo by The Real Ferg.
Ferg took this @ Deepwater Point Natural Area. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy says Deepwater Point is a 15 acres property is owned by Acme Township on East Bay, north of Traverse City. The plaque reads:
In memory of Clyde H. Reed
Who along with his neighbors fought to protect Acme Township’s Deepwater Point Area – a place precious and dear to him. May we follow his example by being good stewards of this beautiful land for the benefit of future generations.
When I saw this photo, I realized that I had never shared on Michigan in Pictures something that I saw this summer. We called it the Amazing Frankfort Rock Gallery. I spend a ton of time on Michigan’s beaches, but this summer I seemed to see these rock structures everywhere. I wasn’t the only one either.
Anyone in the audience have any idea what’s behind this rock-stacking mania in Michigan?
A Letter from Downstream
In the Michigan Immense Public Park, photo by Andy McFarlane
Welcome to a “Soapbox Saturday” on Michigan in Pictures, where your host takes you a little ways past “ain’t it cool” towards “ain’t it a shame.” Don’t worry though – it’s still cool. If it doesn’t seem cool – please click the photo above. I figured that since I was going to be sharing some personal feelings, I probably should use one of my own photos. This photo of my daughter exploring something on the Lake Michigan beach was taken a few years ago at the base of Pyramid Point in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I had posted it in gratitude to the Michigan Supreme Court for upholding our right to walk the Great Lakes shore.
Flash forward to the present day when Michigan’s regulators appear poised to permit the first metallic sulfide mine in Michigan. Several years ago, my friend Dick Huey and a few others started a group called Save the Wild UP when Kennecott Minerals, a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto (one of the world’s largest polluters), began the process of securing a permit for a sulfide mine north of Marquette. The proposed mine is located directly under the Salmon-Trout River on the wild and beautiful Yellow Dog Plains. This is state land, our land, and the Salmon-Trout flows just a few miles through it and then empties into Lake Superior. Over that time I’ve been working for them to maintain their web site and have learned a thing or two about “acid mining”.
Iron and copper mining are things that helped forge the character of the Upper Peninsula. You can think of traditional mining as picking the chocolate chips out of a cookie. Sulfide mining is like getting the sugar out of a cookie – a chemical rather than mechanical process that yields a dust as a by-product. If this dust mixes with water and air, it forms sulfuric acid aka battery acid. There has never been a sulfide mine with the potential to pollute ground or surface water that failed to do so. Sulfide mining has polluted 40% of the watersheds in the West, and you can read more of the facts about metallic sulfide mining at Save the Wild UP (has a nice video if you prefer).
A process with 100% failure rate of protecting water located directly under a pristine river that flows into the largest body of freshwater in the world seems like a bad idea. When you realize that they also plan to blow the sulfide dust into the air and that there are hundreds of other prospected sites waiting in the wings, it becomes terrifying. Michigan and the UP have a lot of challenges right now, but something we do have going for us is our water and wild places and the tourism dollars and jobs they generate. The picture to the right is a result of sulfide mining from Sudbury, Ontario. Multiply that across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and consider how many thousands of tourism jobs and millions of tourism and tax dollars might be lost.
One of the people who has considered this is a wonderful musician named Daisy May. She has donated a song called A Letter from Downstream to Save the Wild UP and I hope you take the time to listen to it and see the photos that folks have shared about what Michigan’s water means to them.
If you’re a Flickr member, consider adding a photo to the Downstream group.
The Haunting of Seul Choix Point Lighthouse
Seul Choix Point Lighthouse; Schoolcraft County, photo courtesy Archives of Michigan
Dave Wobster has an excellent article on Seul Choix at boatnerd.com that begins:
Hundreds of years ago, moving the across this region was a different story. Native Americans and French explorers were traveling in canoes and later small ‘Mackinac’ boats. It was readily apparent that along the 75 mile stretch, from the Straits of Mackinac to today’s Manistique, there was only one place to seek refuge from the storms that often sweep up Lake Michigan. Realizing that the bay near the present day Port Inland was their only choice, the French named the place Seul Choix, the French name for ‘Only Choice’. The French pronunciation is “Sel-Shwa”, while locally the name is spoken as “Sis-Shwa”.
He goes on to document the history, touching upon a ghost story that is fleshed out in The Keeper of Seul Choix Point by Ken Rudine:
Joseph Willie Townsend was the keeper there from 1902 to 1910 when he died in that upstairs bedroom. His body was drained and prepared for his wake which was held in the basement. He lay in state in the parlor until his relatives could assemble from other locations. He was buried nearby in a cedar coffin. Joseph was a cigar smoker in life, but his wife refused to let him smoke in the house. Now cigar smoke is often smelled in the house, as if Townsend now enjoys what his wife forbade.
The article tells other tales about the haunting, and you can get more information about this lighthouse (including an aerial view that shows the setting) at the Seul Choix Point Light web site. Beware! The site is “haunted” as well – by a song you cannot shut off … mu-hu-hahaha! There are a couple of children’s books based on these stories (well, probably minus the embalming part) called The Captain & Harry by Jan Langley.
You can also see more historical photos of Seul Choix Point Lighthouse at the Archives of Michigan and view modern-day photos of Seul Choix Light on Flickr (slideshow). Since I’m not sure that anything I linked to has good directions to the lighthouse (which is located near the ghost town of Fayette about 10 miles east of Manistique), here’s the Seul Choix page from Exploring the North.
Fall Color Tours: Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort
Leelanau fall, photo by Jeff Lamb
Our next stop (as designed by Travel Michigan) is the region of Northwest Lower Michigan containing Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort. I know this is the second day in a row with a photo from the Leelanau Peninsula … I guess sometimes I feel like hanging around my home. Jeff Lamb likes hanging around here too, especially in the fall, and I think he’s one of the best at capturing the roll of the hill and sweep of the sky that characterizes fall in this part of Michigan. See more in his Leelanau set (slideshow).
The tour starts at the end of the Old Mission Peninsula at the Mission Point Lighthouse. I’m not sure how you start there – airlift probably. I am sure that you’ll see great color along the winding roads of Old Mission like in this photo Old Mission, MI by Jerry Ting. In addition to being prime fruit growing regions packed with roadside stands and markets, both peninsulas feature great wine trails with about 20 wineries – learn more from the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula and the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association web sites.
Downtown Traverse City has a ton of restaurants and shops to choose from and if you like historic homes, consider wandering the tree-lined neighborhoods of the city and also the Village at the Grand Traverse Commons as there are some gorgeous trees and cool shops to be found there as well! If you want more options, check out the Traverse City CV’s color tours of the region (they also provide regular color reports). One tour they suggested is a northwest Michigan apple tour.
Assuming you’re still with us, lets head north to Leelanau County. M-22 winds along the outside of the county along Lake Michigan through the villages of Suttons Bay, Omena, Northport, Glen Arbor & Empire. From Northport, consider a short jaunt to the beautifully restored Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum at the tip of Leelanau. On the way back stop in at Kilcherman’s Antique Apple Farm (also see this article) for a huge selection of rare & tasty apples and cider. At the southern end of Leelanau County is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With historic farms and hiking trails & overlooks offering soaring views of fall’s glory, this could be a whole weekend in and of itself. Before we leave, I better put in a plug for my Leelanau.com web site as a travel & information resource and also point you at my favorite trail: the Empire Bluff Trail. One look at a collection of photos from Empire Bluff should be all the push you need to take this short but amazing trail!
Heading south on 22 we enter Benzie County. The photo to the right (Another Autumn at the Tweedle Barn by John Clement Howe) is from the Tweddle-Treat farmstead that’s just off 22 on Norconk Rd). If it’s not to cold, head down to Otter Creek Beach (aka Esch Rd). Further down 22 we pass Crystal Lake and also the 2nd most photographed lighthouse in the world, Point Betsie. A little further south are the towns of Frankfort & Elberta that boast beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and Frankfort pier and make a perfect place to catch the sunset (or some fish). A couple other highlights along the way back to Traverse City are Gwen Frostic Prints in Benzonia and the Homestead Sugar House in Beulah.
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
Michigan in Pictures 