The U.P. 200 & Midnight Run Sled Dog Races

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

P1010050c

P1010050c, photo by Dan & Mary.

The web site for the annual UP 200 / Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 sled dog races explains that 1988 a group of mushers and others began to discuss a dogsled race in the Upper Peninsula.

When the race finally began to take shape, the trail encompassed Marquette, Alger, and Delta counties, and ran from Marquette to Chatham, Rapid River, Escanaba, Gwinn, and back to Marquette…

…and on a snowy Friday evening in February of 1990, the dedication and perseverance finally paid off. To the cheers of 10,000 spectators, the mushers of the first UP 200 Sled Dog Championship ten dog race sped down Washington street in Marquette into the night. At midnight, in the community of Chatham the first Midnight Run racers departed on the long, cold journey towards Escanaba. These racers went on their way into history, with many “tails of the trails” for the years to come.

The UP200 and Midnight Run have remained successful events each year and they take place this weekend (Feb 15-17) and you can get all the details (including the trail map and Breakaway’s Blog at the link above!

Mary writes that this photo shows a team is approaching the crossing at Forest Highway 13, heading west to the next checkpoint at Munising/Wetmore, MI. It’s part of a set of UP 200 / Midnight Run dogsled races 2007 photos (slideshow)

Michigan Shoreline Tour: Grand Mere State Park (and a flying dog)

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

My dog can fly

My dog can fly, photo by J. Star.

J Star writes:

The boy, the dog and I went to Lake Michigan yesterday, planning to stay until tonight. The forecast called for clear skies and eighty degrees for today…last night at about midnight the storms started. By morning, the thunder was deafening, the tent was afloat in three inches of water, and hail was pounding down everywhere. Needless to say, we packed it in early and headed home.

We did have fun on the beach for about two hours yesterday. Steve seems to think it was worth the drive. You can tell by the sand being joyously flung everywhere, and by the huge gob of it he left stuck to my polarizer.

The DNR page on Grand Mere State Park near Stevensville says that the 985 acre park features magnificent sand dunes, deep blowouts, one mile of Lake Michigan shoreline and three inland lakes behind the dunes in the undeveloped natural area. Both the DNR page and Wikipedia entry for Grand Mere State Park are remarkably scant on information, leading me to believe that with a 1/2 mile hike to the beach, it’s a pretty good place to avoid the crowds. Here’s a Google map to Grand Mere State Park.

Been there? Done that? Tell us or show us what it was like in the comments!