Silver Lake Sunset

DSC_0387, photo by Jennifer Kleinheksel.

Like many lakes along the Lake Michigan shore, Silver Lake is a bay of the prehistoric Lake Nipissing that was closed in by coastal sand dunes. The Silver Lake Dunes Area’s fishing page says that Silver Lake is great fishing hole for Walleye, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill, and Black Crappie, while you enjoy the scenic beauty of the Sand Dunes. It’s part of Silver Lake State Park and you can see the view looking back at the lake from the air on Wikipedia.

Be sure to check this out bigger and also Jennifer’s Silver Lake set (slideshow).

Rain is Good … unless you’re a weekend event

Rain is Good, photo by photoshoparama.

This morning, for the first time in a long time, I had the chance to sit down for a few hours with coffee and my computer to wander around the Michigan photosphere and think about what to write on Michigan in Pictures today.

One of the first things I read was Sculpture city in ‘misunderestimated’ Michigan that looks at how Michigan is quietly growing as a destination for tourists of all kinds with landmarks like Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.

Bouncing around in my head was how rainy this summer has been, making things tough for outdoor events like this weekend’s*…

• Epicurean Classic in St. Joseph
• Chrysler Arts, Beats & Eats in Detroit
• Michigan State Fair in Detroit
• and (where I’m still going to go later today) the first-ever Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival in Traverse City
• I can’t even imagine what this afternoon’s Cherry Roubaix bike race will be like though!

I’ll keep singing “rain, rain, go away” for all these folks and if it doesn’t I’ll try and take comfort in the fact that it’s boosting lake levels and hope that people will remember that rain is good, hunt down their rain gear and still show up to support folks who are working to build more fun stuff in Michigan!

Check out Dan’s photo bigger in his slideshow and splash around in the Frederik Meijer Gardens slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

* Note: these events all came from the Absolute Michigan Event Calendar

Caseville Sunset (in Paradise)

Caseville Sunset, photo by StormchaserMike Photography.

Be sure to go bigger and to check out Mike’s 11th Annual Cheeseburger in Caseville set (slideshow).

What (you ask) is a Cheeseburger in Caseville?

…and apparently this is atmospheric illusions week on Michigan in Pictures.

Atmospheric Illusion – Fata Morgana

Atmospheric Illusion – Fata Morgana #1/3, photo by jimflix.

I’ll turn Michigan in Pictures over to Jim today to talk about a phenomenon that we see on the Great Lakes.

This strange visual / atmospheric effect was going on that early May evening above the Manitou Islands — like a double reflection at a certain height above the water. That’s the South Manitou Lighthouse.

It turns out this is a Fata Morgana — “an atmospheric mirage, commonly seen in frigid Polar regions, caused by complexly arranged thermal gradients, within a temperature inversion. The word, from Italian, means ‘Fairy Morgan’, and alludes to Morgan LeFay, King Arthur’s sorceress half sister, who legendarily had the power to create crystal palaces in the air.” See here for more details.

This was taken standing on the shore at Sleeping Bear Point. In this photo, noise was reduced and the color enhanced, but otherwise it’s unaltered. Here are two more photos taken the same night: one and two.

Be sure to check out the other photos Jim has linked above, see this bigger and explore his Manitou Islands set (slideshow)

Read more about the South Manitou Island Lighthouse from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and also about the South Manitou Island Lighthouse Project.

Asbestos and Mercury

Asbestos and Mercury, photo by gatsbyj.

Christian was chasing the light … check this out bigger in his urban decay slideshow.

Where is Home?

Crystal Lake, Michigan, photo by *ojoyous1*.

On Joy’s blog she has a post (with more photos) titled Where is Home? where she says:

I arrived here in Northern Michigan late yesterday afternoon.

I felt all the stress of the city just slip away, and I felt like I had come home. I think Maggie (her dog) sensed it, too!

And I realized this time, just how much of this place & my Michigan friends I carry with me everyday when I’m back in Ohio.

I thought I would take you with me on my morning walk with Maggie along beautiful Crystal Lake….

What spot makes your heart sing?

Where do you feel most at “home”?

Check this out bigger in her Up North slideshow.

…and yes, this too is part of the ever-expanding Michigan Duckie Photo Collection!

Hard at work

Untitled, photo by Brooke Pennington.

Sure it’s a tough job but the scenery is great. See it bigger in Brooke’s slideshow.

Theft of the Traverse City State Hospital Gate

Light of Day Falls on the Asylum, photo by sunliner500.

We’ve been working all week on the first ever Traverse City Wine & Art Festival which takes place tonight. In a normal world, I’d be posting today only about how excited I am at how amazing this event will be.

The festival takes place at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons and the Minervini Group who owns and manages the of the former Traverse City State Hospital was gracious enough to let us use an office in their main headquarters. Yesterday morning, I was shocked to learn that someone had stolen the iconic gate from the back of Building 50. It’s likely that this metal gate was packed on a truck for Chicago or elsewhere. Check out some of the photos linked below to see the details, and if you ever come across it on a walk, know that there are a lot of people who would appreciate you letting the Minervinis know by email or calling 231.941.1900!

Have a look at Nick’s photo bigger and also check out Traverse City State Hospital set (slideshow). There’s more photos at traverse city state hospital gate on Flickr.

There’s also great information about the Traverse City State Hospital from Kirkbride Buildings and some cool old photos on this Building 50 page that might contain some shots of the gate.

Evening at Harrisville Harbor

Purpley delicious!!

Check it out bigger and have a wonderful weekend!

Pier Beam – Cross Village, Michigan

Pier Beam – Cross Village, Michigan, photo by Bill Schwab.

Check it out larger in Bill’s Michigan slideshow and view more of his work at billschwab.com.