Ready to run at Michigan Sled Dog Camp!

Posted on by farlane
Sled Dog Camp by Monika Kross

Sled Dog Camp by Monika Kross

I was today years old when I learned that Michigan has summer sled dog center where you can hang with huskies!! MI Dog Summer Sled Dog Center is located near Tahquamenon Falls in the eastern UP. They share that while you can’t take sled dog rides (too hot!) it’s a pretty cool & affordable experience:

Start your tour with puppy cuddles and an informational area, complete with hands-on activities like packing a dog sled for a race and dressing up as a musher. After you get your puppy fill, take a short walk down to the kennel and dog play pen where you will meet Laura Neese and her adult sled dog team. Relax in the shade while you watch the dogs during their play time and listen while Laura introduces you to the dogs and tells stories from her time on race trails, including the only two 1,000 mile long dogsled races in the world. Each tour includes a Q&A session with Laura and time to pet and love on some of dogs.

Monika says (in part) I can’t stop raving about not only the snuggling puppies factor but the quality build of the building and fencing system. At only two years old, this local business is still brand new and I’m here to blog about it to get you to go and make them feel welcome … I imagined it would be loud, stinky, and that I’d be jumped on which never happened. The center is pristine and these are well mannered, trained dogs used to being handled – even the puppies were calm!

She too a bunch more great shots – head over to her Facebook to see them & follow her on Instagram @Michiganunsaltedgirl!

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Splash-in at Grand Marais!

Posted on by farlane
Splash-in 2016 by Footsore Photography

Splash-in 2016 by Footsore Photography

The 25th annual Grand Marais Splash-in on the Bay happens June 13-16th at the Lake Superior village that’s the eastern gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In 2024 they will debut a Seaplane Poker Run on Friday, and Saturday competitions include a Balloon Target Drop and Take-off & Landing contests. Add a potluck, cookout & the natural beauty of Grand Marais & the Superior Coast and it’s a recipe for a great weekend!!

Gary is our unofficial Splash-in reporter, and you can follow Footsore Fotography on Facebook for all kinds of UP magic! View & purchase his work on his website.

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Ontonogan is Waterfall Country!

Posted on by farlane

Behind O-Kun-de-kun Falls by Neil Weaver Photography

Ontonogon County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is full of waterfalls. Pasty.com shared: The name “Ontonagon” is derived from the Ojibway word “nontounagon,” which means “I lost my bowl.” Local legend surrounding the name stems from the story that a member of Chief O-Kun-De-Kun’s band was washing bowls near the mouth of the river when she was startled by an unkempt stranger in a canoe. The woman inadvertently dropped one of the bowls into the river and exclaimed “nontounagon”. The white man took her declaration to be a reply to his question about the name of the area.

I have also heard that it refers to the bowl shaped harbor – maybe a reader will have the answer, and if you want to explore Waterfalls of the Keweenaw has a whole list – collect them all!! ;)

Get lots more photos from Neil on his Facebook and at neilweaverphotography.com!

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This could be your front porch!!

Posted on by farlane
Mouth of the Hurricane River

“Lonely Goose” Mouth of the Hurricane river by Michigan Nut Photography

The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore asks if you’ve ever thought about being a campground host?

If the answer is “Yes!” they are seeking a volunteer campground host for the month of June at Hurricane River Lower Campground. Volunteer campground hosts work 5 days a week and stay in a designated campsite, assisting fellow campers with information and registration, but they do not handle any money, and do not clean restrooms. Campground hosts are welcome to bring their own RVs and campers, though there are no electric or sewer hookups (vault toilets are available) and cell reception is limited.

Hurricane River Campground is on the eastern side of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, about 12 miles outside of Grand Marais. The campground sits above a sand and pebble beach on Lake Superior, which is dotted with shipwrecks as it stretches east towards the Au Sable Light Station.

It’s an awesome spot – learn more & apply on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore website!

John took this photo of a lonely goose at the mouth of the Hurricane River way back in 2012! For sure view & purchase prints from Pictured Rocks & elsewhere on his website!!

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All clear beneath Copper Harbor

Posted on by farlane
Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, MI by Michigan Nut Photography

Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, MI by Michigan Nut Photography

Let’s stay up on the Keweenaw Peninsula today with a look at the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior as seen from under the surface of Copper Harbor! For almost all my life, Lake Superior has been the cleanest & clearest of the five Great Lakes. Imagine my surprise to learn that in 2017, Lake Michigan & Lake Huron were found to be more clear than Lake Superior:

While Lake Superior has not gotten any dirtier, lakes Huron and Michigan have gotten significantly clearer in the past 20 years or so, a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Great Lakes Research found.

Anecdotally, scientists knew water clarity was improving in those lakes. But it hadn’t been quantified.

“What surprised us was the magnitude of the change,” said Robert Shuchman, a study co-author and co-director of the Michigan Tech Research Institute. “We had no idea the data was going to tell us that Huron and Michigan have surpassed the water clarity in Lake Superior. That was the startling piece.”

Scientists analyzed satellite images of the lakes captured between 1998 and 2012. Over that period, they found, the depth that light could penetrate down into the water — known as the photic zone — increased by about 20 percent in lakes Michigan and Huron.

They attribute part of that change to less phosphorous runoff. Climate change also likely plays a role. But the dominant factor is the explosion of invasive zebra and quagga mussels in the lakes since the late 1990s, researchers concluded.

Some of the highest abundances of quagga mussels in the world are found in Lake Michigan, said Gary Fahnenstiel, a senior research scientist at Michigan Tech and study co-author.

So in the end, not great that Michigan & Huron passed Superior in this. I looked to see if anything had changed in that regard, but it appears not.

You can view & purchase a bunch more photos of this wild place including some more underwater shots in the Porcupine Mountains & Keweenaw Peninsula gallery on MichiganNutPhotography.com!

Lots more Lake Superior on Michigan in Pictures!

Waterfall Wednesday: Black Slate Falls

Posted on by farlane

Black Slate Falls

Black Slate River Falls by Amie Lucas

Go Waterfalling’s page on the Slate River Falls shares that:

Slate River Falls is, unsurprisingly, on the Slate River. This is the largest of many drops over a three mile stretch of the river. This is a wild waterfall, with no fences, and the only trail is one left behind by the curious feet of others.

The falls are located along Skanee Road between L’Anse and Skanee, about 10 miles east of L’Anse. There is a sign marking the Slate River, so the falls are easier to find than some. 

If you continue upstream past the falls a few hundred yards you can find two smaller falls, Slide Falls and Ecstasy Falls (so named by kayakers). About 3 miles upstream you can find Quartzite Falls, Black Slate Falls and more unnamed drops.

Amie took this way back in October of 2015. View the photo background bigilicious and see more in her Michigan Waterfalls gallery on Flickr.

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Purple for June: Dwarf Lake Iris

Posted on by farlane

Iris lacustris by Bradford Slaughter

Iris lacustris by Bradford Slaughter

Some of you know that my mother Jill suffered for years from the terrifying effects of Alzheimers disease, ultimately passing last winter. June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, and the Alzheimer’s Association encourages us to wear purple (and of course donate) to raise awareness about a disease that afflicts tens of millions of Americans. 

June is also when you can see Michigan’s official State Wildflower, the Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris lacustris), in bloom:

The official wildflower of the Great Lakes State is right at home anywhere it can get its feet wet along the rocky coast of Northern Lake Huron, but those places are getting harder to come by.

This pint-sized perennial is known for its deep blue flowers that emerge mere inches above the ground for a fleeting few weeks in May and June—individual blossoms last just days. The rest of the time, its yellow-green leaves cling close to the ground, hiding in plain sight until springtime comes around again.

It’s a bit of a miracle this fragile flower exists at all: They grow in the thin, nutrient-poor soil that overlays limestone gravel and bedrock. The Northeast Michigan coast, rich with sand dunes and limestone deposits, creates the perfect habitat for the iris, found nowhere else outside the northern Great Lakes.

Along with a limited range that’s shrinking due to lakeshore development, the plant has been sought out by collectors who replant or sell it elsewhere. For these reasons, the dwarf lake iris was added in 1988 to the list of federally threatened species.

Read on for more at Huron Pines & for sure check out their Dwarf Lake Iris Best Practice Guide for tips on how to protect this flower!

Coincidentally, Bradford took this photo at Beavertail Point Nature Sanctuary on the northern coast of Lake Huron eight years ago on June 2nd, 2014 so I guess it’s a #TBT to boot! See more in his Iridaceae (Iris Family) gallery on Flickr 

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Waterfall Wednesday at Wagner Falls

Posted on by farlane

Wagner Falls and Marsh Marigolds by Footsore Photography

Wagner Falls and Marsh Marigolds by Footsore Photography

Pure Michigan shares that the Wagner Falls Scenic Site near Munising:

…is nestled amongst virgin pine and hemlock trees. There is a small parking area and a half-mile trail with an observation deck overlooking the falls. Wagner Creek falls over a stratum of erosion-resistant dolomite into order to flow into a shallow gorge containing the Anna River. The Anna, soon afterwards, flows northward into Lake Superior.

Gary shared this last week in the Michigan in Pictures Facebook group where you can see photos from Michpics readers & share your own!!

You can follow Gary at Footsore Fotography on Facebook and view & purchase his work on his website! 

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Sand Point Lighthouse

Posted on by farlane

Tip of Sand Point by Mike Sherman

Tip of Sand Point by Mike Sherman

WHOOPS! This is Sand Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior! 

Head over to Mike’s Flickr and his Facebook page for his latest.

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Sunrise at Gabbro Falls

Posted on by farlane

Sunrise at Gabbro Falls by Neil Weaver

Sunrise at Gabbro Falls by Neil Weaver

GoWaterfalling’s page on Gabbro Falls has directions to this western Upper Peninsula waterfall and begins:

Gabbro Falls is on the Black River and is as impressive, if not more impressive, than its more celebrated neighbors downstream along the Black River Scenic Byway. This is a largely wild waterfall with no fences or barriers of any kind. It consists of three separate drops. When the water is high there is a fourth drop that is the height of the other three combined. The main drop falls into a narrow crevice between two large rock formations.

Follow Neil on Facebook and for sure head over to his website to view & purchase prints. This pic is on his Michigan Waterfalls page!

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