fall

Measuring Michigan’s Progress

Posted on January 26, 2026 by farlane

“We should not measure human progress solely on the basis of what we’ve built, but also on what we have preserved and protected.” – Michigan Governor William Milliken

Today is the 189th birthday of the great state of Michigan, and I thought it fitting to share the words of Michigan’s longest serving Governor on what he believed Michiganders were called to do. The Great Lakes State has definitely risen to his challenge with 103 state parks and recreation areas, 140 state forest campgrounds with almost 14,000 campsites & cabins, and 360,000 acres of land within state parks and recreation areas drawing nearly 40 million visitors every year!

Daniel took this back in October of 2017 in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Follow him on Instagram for his latest!

Waterfall Wednesday: The trips you don’t take…

Posted on November 5, 2025 by farlane

Canyon Falls – October 24 by Karl Wertanen

Karl shared this photo the other day saying “I always ask myself… Which trip is going to cost more..? The one I take or the one I don’t take. Then I know for sure.”

Pure Michigan says that Canyon Falls aka the “Grand Canyon of the UP” is an easy to visit falls with a gorge that is quite impressive, at least by Michigan standards. A scenic trail along the Sturgeon River leads to a series of rapids and small waterfalls before you reach Canyon Falls where the river slides nearly 30′ over a large chute of smooth black rock into a box canyon.

In addition to wisdom, Karl also shares a lot of awesome photos. See lots more at Michigan Film Photographer Karl Wertanen on Facebook!

Fall Color marching south in Michigan

Posted on October 17, 2025 by farlane

Soybeans and fall color. Pleasanton, Michigan by Mike Carey

The Pure Michigan Fall Color Report for October 14-21, 2025 says that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will be at or near peak color this weekend. As always, color moves slower along the water in the UP and the Lower Peninsula. In Northern Michigan they say color is at about 50%, but I am going to trust MyNorth & TV 9&10 who are saying inland areas in Northern Michigan are at peak & shoreline communities like Traverse City, Petoskey & Tawas are fast approaching optimal color (especially because the folks at Crystal Mountain who are very on the ball are reporting color at 80-100%. Southern Michigan is close to halfway in most areas, but as always, please share your observations & photos!!

Mike took these yesterday in Pleasanton, which is located slightly inland in Benzie County midway between Manistee & Frankfort so yo can see how the color is really close to peak! See more in his Fall Color MI 2025 gallery on Flickr & for sure get out there to see some of this beautiful color before it’s gone!!

So much more Michigan fall color on Michigan in Pictures!

Get all the Fall out of Pure Michigan!

Posted on October 9, 2025 by farlane

510 Bridge by smiles7

The Pure Michigan Fall Color Update says that parts of the Upper Peninsula including Marquette (60-80%) are nearing peak fall color while others like the Keweenaw Peninsula (40-60%) and Manistique (20-40%) are still a mix of fiery foliage and emerald green.

The Northern Lower Peninsula is flirting with 50% right now while southern Michigan is mostly just getting going, but they have estimates for peak color for Traverse City & Oscoda in the October 12-19th range and further south, Grand Rapids or Frankenmuth kicking off around October 20th with Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor & southern Michigan getting to peak around the 26th of this month.

Wherever you are, the cool weather has color coming on fast. As a bonus, Pure Michigan’s color report adds fun fall activities for every region – get out there & enjoy it!

Julie took this photo a few days ago near Marquette and writes “The old CR-510 bridge crosses the Dead River west of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula . It was erected in 1921 and carried traffic over the river until 2010 when a new bridge was built. The new bridge stands high above the river and has a spectacular view of the old one. One needs to Google this bridge and read its phenomenal history. (she’s right! I did and it looks like this bridge might have started its bridging in Pennsylvania!!)

You can see more from Julie’s travels in her U.P. of Michigan gallery on Flickr.

Here comes fall color!

Posted on September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 by farlane

M-22 Fall Color 2015 by Craig Sterken Photography

Sunday Drive in Autumn – M-22 – October 2010 by Craig Sterken Photography

Ten years ago I featured this photo from Craig of M-22 on the Leelanau Peninsula on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook. In addition to being a signature location for Pure Michigan fall color, the car happens to be next to the exact spot where I waited for the bus as a kid in the 1970s!

You can purchase this photo & see the awesome vistas this car is bound for as it drives south on M-22 in Craig’s Sleeping Bear Dunes gallery on his website. For sure follow him on Facebook or Instagram for his latest!

Fall Equinox is today … mostly

Posted on September 22, 2025 by farlane

Last sunset of summer 2020 by Scott Glenn

Astronomical fall starts at 2:19 pm today (September 22, 2025), but that doesn’t mean that day & night are exactly equal for us here in Michigan. The very useful timeanddate.com shares that in addition to latitude & the refracting effect of our atmosphere:

One of the reasons why most locations on Earth do not enjoy exactly 12 hours of daytime and 12 hours of nighttime on the equinoxes is how sunrise and sunset are defined. If sunrise and sunset were defined as the moment the geometric center of the Sun passes the horizon, then the day and night would be exactly 12 hours long. But that is not the case. Sunrise and Sunset are defined as the exact moment the upper edge of the Sun’s disk touches the eastern and the western horizon, respectively. The time it takes for the Sun to fully set, which can be several minutes, makes the day just a bit longer than the night on the equinoxes.

The day with the same sunrise & sunset time is September 25th. The sun still does rise directly in the east & set directly in the west, so don’t forget to pack your sunglasses – a lot of our roads are laid out east/west making the sunrise and sunset around the equinox sun a positively blinding proposition!

Scott took this photo of the St Joseph Lighthouse on September 21, 2020. See more in his awesome Lighthouses gallery on Flickr & enjoy a selfie he took of the last summer sunset of 2014 below!

Last Summer Sunset Selfie by Scott Glenn

Falling for Leelanau with Jeff Lamb

Posted on September 16, 2025 by farlane

via leelanau.com…

Cornfield near Northport by jeff lamb

On mornings like this when fall is touching the tips of the leaves, I like to remember photographer & friend Jeff Lamb who passed on fourteen years ago. Here is a collection of photos that he shared from the Leelanau Peninsula back in the day.

See more in his Leelanau gallery and view photos from elsewhere in Michigan & the world on his Flickr.

PS: The pup is Sonny Boy, pictured on his fourth birthday, and he loved Leelanau too ;)

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.

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!