Eben Ice Caves in the Rock River Wilderness

Posted on by farlane

A Healthy Green Glow

A Healthy Green Glow, photo by nasunto

I know it’s wintertime when I start seeing a lot of people asking about the Eben Ice Caves. Like many of the subjects on Michigan in Pictures, I don’t know much more than what I write on the blog. Recently, however, a good-hearted soul created the Eben Ice Caves Facebook page to serve as a hub for information about this wintertime wonder of Michigan.

Nina Asunto writes one of my favorite blogs, Black Coffee at Sunrise, a delightful wander through some of Michigan’s most fascinating places. Nina’s feature on the Eben Ice Caves explains that they are located in the Rock River Wilderness in the western section of Hiawatha National Forest.

Rock River Canyon is 150 feet deep and lined with sandstone outcrops, which have been eroded to form concave overhangs. During winter, ground water seeps over the edge and down through the sandstone where it freezes, creating huge curtains of ice and closing off the front of the outcrops to form caves.

In winter it is possible to access the ice caves from the south side of the wilderness area. A few miles north of Eben Junction, visitors can park their cars by the side of the road and cross an open field to the forest. The field is private property, but the owner allows for its use in winter to access the ice caves…

We had both seen a few photos of the ice caves, but none of them really captured the size of this phenomenon…

What we weren’t able to capture, however, was the amazing sound inside the cave. The drips of water falling from above created wonderful echoes and added to the cave atmosphere. There is much variation of color and texture to the ice in different parts of the cave. Some formations were smooth and clear, others were bumpy and hollow-sounding, and there were some columns that looked like dripping candle wax.

Read on for many more photos. You can also view this photo background bigtacular and see more in her fantastic Eben Ice Caves slideshow on Flickr!

More Eben Ice Caves on Michigan in Pictures.

Bald Eagle in Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Eagle turning

Eagle turning, photo by Deirdre Honner

I think this is one of the best bald eagle photos I’ve ever seen. The Michigan DNR’s bald eagle page explains that before European settlement, bald eagles probably nested in all regions of Michigan.

In the early 1900s they were described as being “generally distributed,” but “nowhere abundant.” A decline through the early and mid-1900s was probably related to slow but consistent loss of suitable habitat and available food, and predator control by humans. These eagles are so disturbed by the presence of humans near their nest that they may be induced to abandon the nest, or even chicks that have already hatched. By 1959, the species was considered, “largely restricted to the northern half of the state.”

…Nests are usually constructed near seacoasts, lakes or large rivers to be near their most common food supply: fish. Although they are quite capable of catching their own, sometimes even wading in shallow water to stalk fish like herons, they have often been seen stealing fish from other birds such as osprey. When fish are not available, such as in winter, eagles will also feed on waterfowl, small mammals (up to rabbit-size) and carrion (even road-kill).

During Michigan winters, bald eagles are seen throughout the state (almost all counties), while they nest mainly in the Upper Peninsula (especially the western portion) and the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula. These eagles don’t really migrate, they just move south enough to stay ahead of the ice and congregate near open water. Immature birds may move further south.

Lots more about bald eagles at All About Birds and you can also view recent Michigan bald eagle sightings.

Check this out background big and see more including a shot of the eagle in flight  in Deirdre’s slideshow.

More Michigan birds on Michigan in Pictures.

Winter Driving? There’s a school for that…

Posted on by farlane

Winter Driving

Winter Driving, photo by p912s (Scot)

On Absolute Michigan we just updated a feature on the Winter Driving School offered at Michigan Tech. It has some great tips and a very nice video that can help to make you a better winter driver today – click here to check it out!

Check this out background big and see more in Scot’s Winter slideshow.

The Ruins of the Cheboygan Point Lighthouse

Posted on by farlane

Cheyboygan Lighthouse

The Cheboygan Point Lighthouse Ruin, photo by joeldinda

Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light has information about the ruins of the Cheboygan Main Light Station, explaining:

Located directly across the three mile width of the Straits from the southernmost point of Bois Blanc Island, the eastern prominence of Duncan Bay marked a natural turning point for vessels entering the Straits, and the growing bounty of Lake Michigan beyond.

On December 21, 1850, Congress appropriated the sum of $4,000 for the purchase of a 41.13 acre reservation on what would become known as “Lighthouse Point” at the western end of Duncan Bay for the construction of the first Cheboygan light station … The tower was evidently poorly located, as high water was found to be undermining the stone foundation soon after construction. Fearing collapse was imminent, in 1859 the newly-formed Lighthouse Board decided to build a new station and demolish the original tower, only eight years after its construction.

The replacement station, was similar in design to that built at Port Washington the following year, consisting of a combined keeper’s dwelling and tower, with the tower located at the north apex of the hipped roof. The tower stood thirty-one feet above the foundation, and was capped with an octagonal iron lantern into which the Fresnel from the old tower was carefully relocated. The lights’ thirty-seven foot focal plane provided a twelve mile range of visibility, thereby providing coverage throughout the Straits.

Read on the story of how the second lighthouse ultimately met its end and some great old photos of the lighthouse. It’s located in Cheboygan State Park.

Joel writes that they walked the park’s Yellow Trail to the long (2 miles in the park) beach and walked along Lake Huron’s Mackinac Strait. View his photo background bigtacular, see it on his map and check out more great shots in his Cheboygan slideshow.

Many more Michigan lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.

211 West Fort Street, Detroit

Posted on by farlane

211 Fort Detroit

211 Fort Detroit, photo by Mark Hall Aka Mark The kid

Wikipedia says that 211 West Fort Street is a 27 story skyscraper that was completed in 1963. Current tenants include the Detroit Economic Club, the Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States Attorney.  If you’re a measuring sort of person, it’s the 18th tallest building in Detroit, right after the David Broderick Tower.

Check this out big as a building and see more in Mark’s slideshow.

More architecture on Michigan in Pictures.

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus alias American red squirrel alias Pine Squirrel

Posted on by farlane

pine squirrel in winter coat

pine squirrel in winter coat, photo by jb goodwater

The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web is a massive online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification and conservation biology. Their entry for  Tamiasciurus hudsonicus red squirrel says (in part) that:

Red squirrels occupy northern boreal coniferous forests abundant with conifer seeds, fungi, and interlocking canopies … Populations of red squirrels occur in different habit conditions due to the vastness of their range. They occur in both temperate and polar environments and are considered to be primarily arboreal. They can be found in a mixed variety of forests including coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests and they are also able to thrive in suburban and urban settings, as long as cool, coniferous forests with dense, interlocking canopies and abundant fungal resources are present.

Red squirrels differ from other tree squirrels by their deep reddish color, territorial behavior, and their smaller body size. They are less than 30% the size of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). While size and pelage color can vary geographically, they generally have a reddish back and white underside that is demarcated by dark lateral lines, which are especially visible in summer. A white eye ring is present year-round and tufted ears are during the winter.

Read on for a whole lot more including photos, lifespan (5 years average), how they communicate and mark their territory, and what they eat (and what eats them).

Check this photo out background bigtacular and see more in Joshua’s slideshow.

More squirrels on Michigan in Pictures.

Low water exposes Grand Haven shipwreck graveyard

Posted on by farlane

Grand Haven Shipwrecks

Grand Haven Shipwrecks, photo by Kevin Ryan

mLive has a feature on how our historically low water levels have revealed a number of shipwrecks in Grand Haven:

Maritime archaeologist and director of the Tri-Cities Historical Museum Kenneth Pott said the area around Harbor Island was an apparent dumping zone for abandoned vessels and 1930s aerials held by the museum and the city of Grand Haven show that additional wrecks exist there. If the water line were to recede even more, then more vessels may be exposed.

“We’re quite sure that there are more in the area,” Pott said. “This is something akin to a graveyard for vessels. This is very unusual.”

The wooden sections of the 290-foot steamer Aurora, once the largest wooden steamer on the Great Lakes, and parts of at least four other shipwreck hulks were exposed recently by the low water levels and area residents alerted maritime historians to the find. The Aurora was identified by members of Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and local historians earlier this week.

Read on for more info including the publicly-accessible location. You can also read more about the Aurora right here and see a photo gallery.

Check this out background big and see a couple more views including a nice one of the rough outline of the wreck in Kevin’s slideshow.

More Michigan shipwrecks on Michigan in Pictures.

Dream on

Posted on by farlane

Dream On

Dream On, photo by Unified Photography

I can’t make sense of what happened yesterday at Sandy Hook Elementary School and have nothing to say other than that my thoughts and prayers are with these families and all of us.

Get this photo background big and view more in Kenneth’s Sleeping Bear Dunes slideshow.

Happy Hobbit Day

Posted on by farlane

Please come in... 3 Weeks Later

Please come in… 3 Weeks Later, photo by Craig – S

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Today The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens. It really has nothing at all to do with Michigan, but it’s arguably the most powerful fairy tale of the modern era and also my personal favorite tale, both Tolkein’s books and Peter Jackson’s masterful films. So Happy Hobbit Day everyone, and may you find what you’re looking for and the good things you are not!

Craig took this photo at Margaret McIntire’s Boardwalk Cottage on Mackinac Island. Check it out as big as Smaug and see more including another view of this door in his Mackinaw – Mackinac Island slideshow. If it catches your fancy, you can buy a print from Craig too!

If you want to see some real Michigan hobbit homes, check out Earl Young’s boulder houses in Charlevoix.

Lake Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan, photo by karstenphoto

Check this out background bigtacular and see more in Steve’s Film! slideshow.

More black & white photography and more Lake Michigan from Michigan in Pictures.