upper peninsula

Bet on a Winter Storm

Posted on December 10, 2024 by farlane

Snow Storm at Tahquamenon Falls by Michigan Nut Photography

Yesterday afternoon mLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa shared that the National Weather Service is so confident about inbound heavy snow that they issued a winter storm watch with a possibility of up to a foot of snow from 7pm today to 7pm Thursday — more than 24 hours before any flakes fall!

In Lower Michigan the winter storm watch stretches from the Kalamazoo area northward through the Grand Rapids area and up the western shoreline through Muskegon, Grand Traverse area and Charlevoix. Cadillac is also in the winter storm watch. The western Lake Superior shoreline counties in the Upper Peninsula are also in the winter storm watch.

You can find this shot from Michigan’s largest waterfall & many others in the Winter in Michigan gallery on the Michigan Nut Photography website. John also shares much more on his Facebook!

Here’s a fall pic by John from the same spot and there is much more Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures!

Autumn morning at Tahquamenon Falls by Michigan Nut Photography

Adorned in Yellow

Posted on November 22, 2024 by farlane

Adorned in Yellow by Timothy Linn

Timothy took this photo in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore last month & shares:

The color yellow holds a special place in my heart. While my son was in Pre-K, he took a test that involved identifying colors. I happened to be there for it. He identified every color correctly…except yellow. He repeatedly got it wrong. I could see his teacher becoming increasingly confused as she graded his test. Before she could say anything, Lewis asked her, “Why didn’t I choose ‘yellow’?”

“Why?,” she responded. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I expected it to be good.

Lewis proceeded to inform her in the most matter-of-factly way possible, “It’s the only color God doesn’t like.”

I was pretty sure his position wasn’t scripturally defensible, but I couldn’t stop laughing. (His teacher was not amused by either of us.) So, Lewis, if you’re reading along, enjoy this forest scene full of blue leaves.

I hope you were as amused as I was by this delightful story! See more in Timothy’s MI: Michigan gallery on Flickr.

Waterfall Wednesday: Over Tahquamenon Falls Edition

Posted on November 6, 2024 by farlane

Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis

9 years ago I shared some photos of kayaking legend Marcelo Galizio plunging over Tahquamenon Falls. I was surprised to learn he had done it previously & even more surprised that he’d done it 19 times since 2012! The Newberry News shares in part:

Believe it or not, it’s legal. Water is in the public domain, and Galizio has a right to be there. What he does is highly unrecommended, however, even by Galizio.

Galizio is a professional kayaker, and he takes on these adventures for a living. He only performs a drop if the conditions prove themselves to be right, and only after his team is in place to assist. That includes a safety person waiting in a kayak downstream from the falls, a drone operator, and a camera person.

“I usually come back to the surface upside down,” he said. When that happens, he rights himself quickly, and no water gets inside his kayak.

…Eric Johnson, lead ranger for the park, has been with the park for 18 years and has concerns about activities like these. “I have the fear that it might get a copy cat attempt by somebody that’s not a professional waterfalls kayaker,” Johnson said.

Gary witnessed the team in action & wrote “Trust and team work! The work between these 2 is unreal… It was awesome to see how well – just amazing!” Click for more pics from the drop (use the right arrow to advance), and see more photos from Gary on his Facebook.

Fall Color: Rivers & Bridges Edition

Posted on October 22, 2024October 22, 2024 by farlane

Falls River Drone Shot by Monika Kross

Monika regularly shares photos in our Facebook group but in case you haven’t visited, I wanted to share a couple here. About the photo above she writes:

I saw this out of the corner of my eye last August and gasped! Since then, I’ve been determined to get the shot but being 3 hours from home, I chose to wait until my autumn color tour. I’m as pleased as punch about it as it was a sketchy, tree filled drone flight in but I HAD to get the waterfalls in back and in front of the train trestle.

See Monika’s latest on her Facebook & for sure follow her @Michiganunsaltedgirl on Instagram!

Sturgeon River near Canyon Falls by Monika Kross

Underneath Miner’s Castle

Posted on October 9, 2024April 13, 2026 by farlane

Pillars of Ancient Sandstone by Chris Roxburgh

Michigan in Pictures regular Chris Roxburgh is one of my absolute favorite follows on Facebook. It seems like every week all year round he’s under the water showing me something I’ve never seen or a new look at an old friend. Miner’s Castle in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is for sure one of those old friends. What I didn’t realize until today is that the millions of years old sandstone underneath the surface of Lake Superior may be even cooler than what’s above the water!!

Follow Chris on Facebook, YouTube and on his website for much more!

Underneath Miners Castle II by Chris Roxburgh

Here’s the photo “Pictured Blue” by Kiiraaan so you can see what it looks like above the water! More about the pic on this post.

2024’s Hurricanes are breaking our limits

Posted on October 8, 2024 by farlane

Sandy’s Frankenwaves by Cory Genovese

8PM EDT: This is nothing short of astronomical. I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storms small eye and intensity. 897mb pressure with 180 MPH max sustained winds and gusts 200+ MPH. This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on this side of the world. The eye is TINY at nearly 3.8 miles wide. This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce. -Orlando Meteorologist Noah Bergren

The phrase “nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce” is one of the most terrifying I have ever read, especially when it directly follows Hurricane Helene that killed over 200 people and wrought devastation even in the mountains. Could this be the hurricane cycle that wakes people up to the reality of a changed climate or will we keep acting like it’s normal for hurricanes to wipe mountain towns off the map? Time will certainly tell.

While it’s too early to forecast the impact of Milton on Michigan, Hurricane Sandy in 2012 produced the second highest wave height ever on Lake Michigan of 21.7 feet – click for all kinds of Lake Michigan Hurricane Sandy weather data from the NWS. Cory took this at Sugar Loaf just outside of Marquette way back in November of 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. See more in his Portfolio gallery on Flickr.

The Boys of Summer: Waterfall Edition

Posted on September 25, 2024January 11, 2025 by farlane

Bond Falls by Gowtham

Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air, the summer’s out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets, the sun goes down alone
I’m driving by your house, though I know you’re not home
-Don Henley

There’s still some summer left to squeeze, but these cool nights tell me it won’t be long before the summer out of reach!

Twelve falls ago, I featured this passage along with a different photo from Gowtham. He took this one at Bond Falls in the UP way back in 2009. While he doesn’t seem to be doing a whole lot these days on Flickr, you can for sure follow along in the journal on his website!

There’s more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

You belong somewhere you feel free

Posted on September 5, 2024 by farlane

Somewhere you feel free by JP

“You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free”
― Tom Petty

😍 We all belong in people & places where we feel free, and I truly hope you’re finding these places & spaces & faces.

JP took this in the UP back in August. See the latest on their Flickr.

Waterfall Wednesday: Yellow Dog Falls

Posted on September 4, 2024 by farlane

Yellow Dog Falls on the Yellow Dog River by Tom Clark

Travel Marquette shares that Yellow Dog Falls are a bit of a drive from Marquette, but well worth the drive time & not that difficult to reach with a trail along one of the wildest streams east of the Mississippi, with multiple waterfalls in just a two mile section of river.

The Yellow Dog River is one of the cleanest and least contaminated rivers in Michigan with water quality above and beyond drinking water standards that is considered a cold water fishery and a blue ribbon trout stream by the State of Michigan. Read much more from the Yellow Dog Watershed.

Tom took this photo last fall. See more in his UP October 2023 gallery and for sure view & purchase his work on his website.

Many (many) more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!