100_2066, photo by tomthebomb.
tomthebomb says that this is a photo of Fisher getting EXTREME.
Michigan in Pictures regular Matt Callow tipped me off to the annual Bigfoot Snowshoe Race in Traverse City. The race takes place January 26, 2008 and while it probably won’t be this extreme, it is the Midwest qualifier for the National Championship Snowshoe race and looks like a lot of fun from the photos.
The River In January, photo by CaptPiper.
Julie writes Yes, this is Narnia. I found a door.
I think this is a fitting antidote to 2 days of record or near record high temps and rains.
It’s biggee-sized for your desktop wallpaper enjoyment too!
Eric took this last February and wrote Michigan, it is said, has two seasons: winter and construction barrel. This is definitely winter. (Protect your mailboxes…)
As we move from winter to January Thaw, we should probably take a moment to give thanks to the hard working men and women who keep our roads passable.
If you’d like to see how far the technology has come, drift back to this snowplow from the old days on Michigan in Pictures.
New Years Day, photo by hampsters.
The Detroit News reported that the 16″ snowfall on January was the biggest ever for a New Year’s Day and the fourth-biggest snowfall in southern Michigan history. The biggest southern Michigan snowfall ever was 24.5 inches on April 6, 1886*. Many folks managed to avoid the downsides of power outages and poor driving conditions and got out and enjoyed the conditions.
You can view a slideshow of photos from the storm or just view the thumbnails.
* I searched and searched for the state record – if anyone knows, please post in the comments!
Holga: The Road Ahead, photo by Matt Callow.
In addition to being the perfect time to pull a pillow over one’s head and sleep in, the first morning of the New Year is also a great time to look forward, to hope, dream and lay plans.
I could probably write a small novel on my hopes, dreams and plans for Michigan in Pictures. I could plan in 2008 to finish the Michigan Shoreline Tour that is currently stalled at Kirk Park south of Grand Haven. I could say that I hope to do more profiles of photographers or that I’d like to hold some sort of event, but an alert reader might point out that I said that a year ago. I could even dream that somehow the feelings of love and confidence for Michigan and its people that I see expressed every day by the photos and visitors to Michigan in Pictures would replace the cloud of gloom that seems to hang over our state.
In the end, however, I think it may be enough to say that my sincerest wish is that I get to keep working with all of you because I really, really love it.
When he took this photo last March, Matt wrote that he had recently learned he would be an Artists in Residence for the Glen Arbor Art Association in summer of 2007. Here is a slideshow of Matt’s 2007 Artist in Residency in the Sleeping Bear Dunes (thumbnails).
Happy New Year everyone!
Norrie Park Road, photo by siskokid.
With what a mess yesterday’s snow made of the lower parts of the state, I thought maybe an appropriate antidote would be a shot from near Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula, where heaping mountains of snow are simply expected.
Jim says that in many ways, winter is his favorite part of year. He has more photos of the season in his Winter photos set (slideshow).
I hope you get a chance to have a little fun in the snow this weekend!
Wonderland, photo by SpringChick.
SpringChick (Deb) says that she works at Camp Miniwanca, located on Lake Michigan and also on Stony Lake near Shelby, MI. She has a great set of photos from Miniwanca (slideshow) and you can learn more about the camp at the American Youth Foundation’s Miniwanca pages.
Into the Sun, photo by J.E.T.
If you’re looking to capture a little of the magic and fun of being young and outside in Michigan, I can’t think of a better place to start than with Jessie’s photos of snow (slideshow).
Here’s hoping you get to spend a little quality time this week with the ones you love and several billion snowflakes.
Abbot Park, photo by jstealth03.
Abbot Road Park is one of the City of East Lansing’s 24 neighborhood parks. It’s located north of Lake Lansing Road and designated as a hiking and cross-country ski trails natural area with access to the Northern Tier Trail.
The city can’t seem to settle on a name for the park. Their web page calls it “Abbot Park” but the road is “Abbott Rd”. The city’s park & facilities map (pdf) lists it as “Abbot Road Park” so that’s probably correct. However, there’s the matter of Abbot Hall, about which Kevin Forsyth’s fabulous History of East Lansing says:
The hall was named for Theophilus Capen Abbot (1826-1892). Dr. Abbot joined M.A.C. as Professor of English from 1858 to 1866. He then became acting Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, a position he effectively held until 1871. Concurrently — and most importantly — he was third President of the College from 1862 until 1884. During his long and distinguished tenure, he guided the growth of the school through difficult times, and “showed an eye single to the grand object for which the College was established. Nothing could swerve him from a course which should ever keep in view the aid and promotion of agriculture.”
In any case, I’ve added a marker for Abbott Road Park to our Absolute Michigan map of Michigan and requested some sort of clarification from Mr. Forsyth – if you have anything to add to my confusion or the discussion, please post it in the comments!
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