Especially in Michigan
August 31, 2006
Especially in Michigan, photo by prakope.
Labor Day weekend is upon us and this photo is a great way to symbolize the end of the summer tourism season with the fog coming down on the bridge like a big white dividing curtain. What awaits on the otherside? Some things we know for sure. The start of school, the coming of fall, football season… What are your thoughts on pre and post Labor Day Michigan?
From the photographer:
The Mackinac Bridge covered in fog while I drive across taking pictures and trying desperately not to crash into someone.
You can see the color version here.
White clouds I’m in
A mitten full of fisherman
C’mon huckleberry finn
Show me how to make her grin
…well I’m in Michigan-Especially in Michigan, Red Hot Chili Peppers
2006 Mackinac Bridge Walk
The Mackinac Bridge Walk is an annual event held every Labor Day since 1958 in Michigan in which people may walk the length of the Mackinac Bridge. Walkers are traditionally led across by the governor of Michigan, currently Jennifer M. Granholm. In an average year, 50,000 to 65,000 people participate in the five-mile walk. This is more than the combined population of the two counties connected by the bridge.
2006 Michigan State Fair
August 30, 2006
photo by tEdGuY49.
The annual Michigan State Fair continues through September 4. The state fairgrounds are located in southeast Michigan at the corner of Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Detroit – two miles from I-75, three miles from I-696, and eight miles from I-94.
The motion and color in the photo above is incredible but this one really captures the overall vibe of the Fair.
Fulton Street Farmers Market
August 29, 2006
Fulton Street Farmers Market, photo by docksidepress.
This shot of colorful produce from the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market in Grand Rapids is typical of most farmers markets this time of year. The number of farmers markets nationwide more than doubled between 1994 and 2004 — from 1,755 to 3,700. If you haven’t been to your local farmers market here is a listing of markets throughout the state. Support your local farmers and remember that local food is fresh food.
Close Range Jousting at the Michigan Renaissance Festival
August 28, 2006
The Michigan Renaissance Festival is an annual affair held on weekends in Holly (between Detroit & Flint). It features full contact armored jousting, almost 200 artisans and tons of costumed entertainers of all kinds.
You can visit the Michigan Renaissance Festival web site for more information (click the photo above to jump straight to their photo gallery), click for a ton of photos from Flickr and check out Michigan Renaissance Faires and Festivals on Absolute Michigan.
Fishing at Sunrise
August 26, 2006
Fishing at Sunrise, photo by DetroitBikeBlog
Mac took this photo of a fisherman on the Detroit River. He maintains the very cool Detroit BikeBlog where more photos of the D can be found.
Fayette Historic State Park
August 25, 2006
This photo of the ghost town of Fayette by Paul Rose is one of many that appears in Absolute Michigan’s profile of Fayette Historic State Park. The Fayette Townsite is located on the UP’s Lake Michigan shore and is an excellent restoration of a historic village that features 20 historic buildings against the beautiful background of Big Bay De Noc.
Sailplanes on the Frankfort Beach
August 24, 2006
This photo shows a sailplane being winch-launched from the beach near Frankfort in the 1930s. It is one of many photos that appears in Soaring and Gliding: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area by Jeffery P. Sandman and Peter R. Sandman. The 127 page, oversized softcover uses archival photographs from the 1920s to the present day along with brief text passages to tell the story of the rise of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area in northwest Michigan as a soaring and gliding mecca.
Reprinted with permission from Soaring and Gliding: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area by Jeffery P. Sandman and Peter R. Sandman. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.
Pier, Donnell Lake, Mich.
August 23, 2006
Pier, Donnell Lake, Mich., photo by shsukatsfan.
Sunrise, summer of 1983. In case you were wondering, Donnell Lake lies in central Cass County in southwest Michigan, 1 mile southeast of the town of Vandalia. The 4,659-acre watershed drains to Christiana Creek which flows south to the St. Joseph River. (DNR Fishery Report on the Donnell Lake)
You might also want to see this photo of a family at Lake Michigan from several years before 1983…
Union Depot Michigan Historical Marker at Clara’s Restaurant
August 22, 2006
Union Depot Michigan Historical Marker at Clara’s Restaurant, photo by Kalamazoo Richard.
Today’s photo fits with Absolute Michigan’s latest Michigan Site of the Week: Michigan Historical Markers, a tremendous resource for Michigan history.
The marker reads:
The Union Depot began passenger service for the Michigan Central and Pere Marquette Railroads in 1902. The Detroit architectural firm of Spier and Rohns, which planned many Michigan Central stations, designed the building with Chateauesque conical towers and cut stone arches. The depot closed in 1972. Restauranteur Peter Jubeck bought the building in 1978 and transformed it into an eatery, retaining the quarter-sawn oak interior and installing locally crafted stained glass windows.
You may also want to check out Clara’s Restaurants web site (lots of history on the Lansing and Battle Creek train stations) and Flickr’s Historic Michigan group for lots more rail stations and other history.
T-Birds at the Woodward Dream Cruise
August 21, 2006
T-Birds, photo by Spencer Olinek.
Spencer Olinek took this and a bunch more photos of last weekend’s 2006 Woodward Dream Cruise (held every year on the 3rd Saturday of August). You can click above to see Spencer’s pics, check out videos, links & information about the annual Cruise from Absolute Michigan and click Dave Hogg’s photo of the General Lee below to view more photos in the Woodward Dream Cruise Pool on Flickr!
