I would be completely remiss in my features of 2026 Michigan photo calendars if I left out one of Michigan in Pictures’ most enduring supporters, John McCormick of Michigan Nut Photography! His 2026 Michigan Wall Calendar is made right here in Michigan and features some dynamite photos from all over the Great Lakes State. He’s got all kinds of other photo-based gifts so head over to michigannutphotography.com today & make the Michigan lover on your list happy!
I realize that I should add that although you can book tickets to ride the North Pole Express from Owosso, they sell out very early so I will try and shout this out earlier next year!!
The steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 was first used by the Pere Marquette Railway to transport products between Detroit, Toledo, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Chicago for a decade before being retired in 1951 when the Railway merged with Chesapeake and Ohio Railway who favored diesel locomotives. It was then given to a reluctant Michigan State University where it sat for 25 years. Spartan Newsroom explains how Pere Marquette 1225 returned to service & became the inspiration for beloved children’s book The Polar Express:
The Pere Marquette 1225 sat untouched on MSU’s campus just south of Spartan Stadium until 1969, when a group of students took interest in the steam locomotive. Randy Paqueete, a Michigan State alum and then-member of the MSU Railroad Club, suggested that the group try to restore the engine instead of it just being on display.
The club’s first goal was to get the steam locomotive up and running to transport students to and from football games. “These students had some crazy ideas. We’re going to go to away football games. We’re going to go to Florida. We’re going to go to Aspen. We’re going to run charters,” Struck said. In 1975, after five years of work, the students were successful in firing up the boiler long enough to sound the whistle. This victory did not come easy, as they needed to put 245 pounds of steam pressure into a 400-ton boiler, which the university was nervous about.
“Ultimately, we got permission,” Paqueet recalled. “We jumped through a lot of hoops but we got licensed. We had to do it on a Sunday when there weren’t very many people on campus.”
The students started the fire for the boiler at 4 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the steam engine had enough pressure to sound the whistle. For the first time in two decades, the whistle of the Pere Marquette 1225 was heard, proving the restoration process on the locomotive to be a success.
The legacy of the Pere Marquette 1225 is not limited to MSU’s campus. Author Chris Van Allsburg, who wrote “The Polar Express” children’s book the animated movie was based on, was inspired by this same steam engine during his childhood. Growing up in Grand Rapids, Allsburg frequently visited MSU on the weekends for football games and would see the locomotive on display. When writing the book he remembered the steam engine he played on as a child, and the model number 1225, which also coincidentally represented Christmas Day. During production of the film, animators were given blueprints of the Pere Marquette 1225, allowing them to accurately recreate the train. They also made frequent visits to Owosso, Michigan, where the locomotive was eventually relocated, to record its authentic sound to use in the movie.
Here’s a few more shots by Charles of Pere Marquette 1225 from this year along with one of a photographer getting the shot that I shared back in 2018. For sure head over to Flickr to check out more in his Steam Engine, Railroad Photos gallery.
This holiday season I’m encouraging folks to consider Michigan photo calendars from many of the photographers I feature on Michigan in Pictures as the perfect gift to share your love of the Great Lakes State.
“This Arctic air outbreak can be attributed to a displacement of the polar vortex,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. “The outbreak this week will be the first of probably three such rounds with it. Another cold blast is likely next week and a third the week after that,” Pastelok explained. “The waves of Arctic air will lead to significant surges in energy demands.”
I originally shared this photo way back on April 1, 2010 along with a pretty funny spoof, and I am very happy to bring it back along with several more that Jill shared from The Heidelberg Project in Detroit, a truly astonishing work of activist art. See many more in her excellent Detroit gallery on Flickr & stay warm people!!
Longtime readers know that “Back Into the Woods Day” is one of the invented Michigan holidays we celebrate on Michigan in Pictures. It’s an annual December 1st holiday that celebrates the end of firearm deer hunting season & the return of (mostly) gun free hiking trails.
Today’s photo is from Leelanau photographer Ken Scott, and I’d like to be sure to highlight his 2026 “Best of the Back Pages” Calendar that features some of his great photos from the back page of the weekly Leelanau Enterprise. See a few more below including these amazing snowy owl tracks and many in Ken’s massive snow gallery on Flickr.
I am thinking that a good way to help support the photographers who make Michigan in Pictures so cool is to feature their calendars & photos as potential holiday gifts. In a way, you are also supporting the protection of the beautiful places featured in these calendars by sharing that beauty with the people you love!
Neil has been a favorite photographer for a long time now for his excellent work as well as for his photography workshops like the upcoming Munising Winter Workshop that make great gifts as well! He says that you can get his 2026 Michigan Calendar while they last & is also offering 25% off all prints orders through this week with the code: HOLIDAY25 at NeilWeaverPhoto.com.
Today is one of those days when I see the photo first and go looking for the post because honestly WOW! So here are some updates:
Last week Gov Whitmer met with President Trump & officially requested a Presidential Emergency Declaration for 12 counties and the Little Traverse Bands of Odawa. The request has nothing to do with FEMA actions or the ongoing process to pursue a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration, which is required to access longer-term recovery programs.
From Friday night through Sunday morning, Northern Lower Michigan was hit with a massive ice storm that left tens of thousands without power, closed the Mackinac Bridge with “the worst ice we’ve every seen on the Bridge”, and led Gov Whitmer to declare a state of emergency in Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac and Alpena counties. Great Lakes Energy shared the status as of yesterday morning
Since the storm began, power has been restored to over 56,000 members.
Just over 45,000 Great Lakes Energy (GLE) members remain without power this morning across 15 of our 26 counties.
Unfortunately, a new storm system hit our southern territory late yesterday, causing additional damage and compounding restoration challenges.
The organization is now working to replace about 600,000 pounds of meat, cheeses and milk that would have come from these USDA shipments. “We’re looking at our current food suppliers, and donors, but we’re also looking at the fact that we’re going to have to purchase food in order to fill in some of the gaps,” Estelle explained.
A USDA grant allowing the food bank to purchase from Michigan farms was also initially suspended but has since been reinstated through October following meetings with elected officials. “We’re just getting into the Michigan growing season and we have made commitments to a lot of these smaller farms of what we would be able to purchase from them. So they were… the farms were also depending on us to be able to be one of their customers for their products,” said Estelle.
No word yet on if hungry folks in West Michigan will be able to “pause” their hunger, so consider a donation to Feeding America West Michigan or your local food bank. Big fan of Forgotten Harvest in Metro Detroit.
Mark took this photo back in March of 2017 when the Popp farmstand on the Leelanau Peninsula was closed as it normally is. See lots more from Northern Leelanau County in his East of Leland gallery on Flickr.
Although winter “officially” ended yesterday, the snowy pictures I’m seeing from around Michigan this morning make me feel OK sharing these pics Marty got of blue ice on the Straits of Mackinac last weekend. Click to follow Marty on Facebook & for sure check out some of his past photos on Michigan in Pictures!
As with water, this color is caused by the absorption of both red and yellow light (leaving light at the blue end of the visible light spectrum) … In simplest of terms, think of the ice or snow layer as a filter. If it is only a centimeter thick, all the light makes it through; if it is a meter thick, mostly blue light makes it through. This is similar to the way coffee often appears light when poured, but much darker when it is in a cup.
Since the storm began, power has been restored to over 56,000 members.
Just over 45,000 Great Lakes Energy (GLE) members remain without power this morning across 15 of our 26 counties.
Unfortunately, a new storm system hit our southern territory late yesterday, causing additional damage and compounding restoration challenges.
Michigan in Pictures 