Michigan Travel Promotion … on the cheap
February 4, 2010
Picture Rocks, photo by David :0).
The state of Michigan offers some amazing travel options and has been trying to share them with the nation through the Pure Michigan campaign. Unfortunately, our budgetary death spiral is jeopardizing a campaign that reportedly brings in nearly $3 in taxes for every dollar spent.
Whatever Lansing does, it strikes me that all of us can share scenes like the one above from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with our family and friends and when the time comes for our own travels, make it a Michigan vacation when we can and act as a sort of virtual tourism bureau.
This photo is one of a number of gorgeous shots in David’s Pictured Rocks set (slideshow) and check out lots more from the Pictured Rocks on Michigan in Pictures.
Chapel Rock in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
December 3, 2009
Chapel Rock (8-15-09), photo by Brevort.
Yesterday we featured a very interesting article about Smart Archaeology in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Absolute Michigan. It explains a very innovative 3-year archaeology project by Northern Michigan University geography department researchers, and you should definitely give it a read. Today I came across this view of Chapel Rock and was surprised to see that I didn’t have a feature of Chapel Rock on Michigan in Pictures. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Scenic Sites page says that Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach are:
Located about 15 miles east of Munising off Alger County Road H-58, then about 5 miles north to the end of Chapel Road (drive), then 2.5 miles (hike) to Lake Superior.
Trails to the beach overlook Chapel Lake with views of the beautiful Chapel Falls on the west side.
The Chapel area was named by early European explorers and is found on early maps as La Chappelle. Chapel Rock is a remnant of Cambrian age sandstone. The archway between the rock and the mainland collapsed in the 1940’s. It and the remaining arch were carved by Lake Nipissing high waters some 3800 years ago.
You can read the Geology field notes from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for detailed information about the different layers of sandstone in the park that form these incredible structures. Chapel Rock is representative of the 40 to 60 foot thick Chapel Rock Member.
See it bigger and view more in Doug’s Brevort Lake (2009) set (slideshow).
As a person who spent some time trying to capture to totality of this unique formation, I have to say that hiking to it is the only way to fully appreciate Chapel Rock. I can offer the next best thing: the Chapel Rock slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.
Explore many more Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore features on Michigan in Pictures.
Kayaking at the Pictured Rocks
September 18, 2009
pictured rocks 09-044, photo by northern_latitudes.
Check out Tim’s awesomely amazing pictured rocks kayaking 2009 set (slideshow). He does a better job than anyone I’ve yet seen of conveying these massive rock formations.
Kayaking buffs will definitely want to check out the Hiawatha Water Trail web site – it’s a kayaker’s dream!!
Michigan in Pictures has much more about Pictured Rocks and you can also visit the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore web site.
Calm Before The Storm
August 4, 2009
Calm Before The Storm, photo by Anapko.
Check this photo out bigger. It’s part of Anapko’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore set (slideshow).
Check Michigan in Pictures for many more photos from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and also see this Pictured Rocks slideshow Absolute Michigan pool.
A Celebration of Lake Superior
March 30, 2009
Heaven’s Light, photo by n.weaver.
This weekend (Apr 3-5, 2009), the Superior Water Festival takes place in Marquette. It’s a celebration of Lake Superior and the rest of our water in Michigan and the world that unites organizations and thinkers about water with musicians, artists, students and citizens.
Water is what makes Michigan, Michigan, and the Water Festival is a great and ongoing celebration and dialogue on how we care for our liquid legacy.
You can see other photos of the UP and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Neil’s U.P. set (slideshow). You can also drill down to Twelve Mile Beach or go get some of your own at Twelve Mile Beach.
Grand Sable Dunes In Winter
February 13, 2009
Grand Sable Dunes In Winter, photo by mandj98.
James says they rode his brother’s snowmobiles back along H58 to this overlook of Grand Sable Dunes in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore last weekend.
He has more photos from Pictured Rocks in winter & all seasons in his tremendous Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore set (slideshow) with tons of photos including the pic to the right of the same scene in August.
I was a little surprised to find that I hadn’t written anything about Grand Sable Dunes on Michigan in Pictures. In my opinion, it’s one of the most amazing vistas in Michigan, a broad sweeping dune that arcs along the shore of Lake Superior. It’s a great hike, either from the drive-up overlook (where you can view or visit the Au Sable Light Station) or by walking along the base on the Superior shore just a mile west from Grand Marais. Michigan Tech has a nice writeup on the history, geology and natural character of the Grand Sable Dunes. They’re a perched dune like the Sleeping Bear Dunes in lower Michigan that were formed when:
Glacial ice that melted within the Superior Basin produced many large rivers after the last major readvance, The Marquette readvance, in North America. These rivers deposited millions of tons of debris into many different configurations south of the Superior Basin. The Grand Sable Banks may have originated as a glaciofluvial kame terrace along one of these glacial rivers during deglaciation.
Pictured Rocks then became very dry about 9500 years before present due to the Lake Superior basin draining to the north. The outlets to the east were now the low spots. A north facing ice contact bluff and a platform to the south of it remained in place for 4500 years after deglaciation right around the area where Grand Marais is located today.
Isostatic rebound then occurred about 4000 to 6000 years before present. North Bay began to rise which caused water levels to rise rapidly. In fact, Lake Superior rose to about 40 feet higher than it is today! The rise in lake levels formed Lake Nipissing. Lake levels of Lake Nipissing also began to rise which caused the Grand Sable Banks to become unstable. From this point the formation of a perched dune can explain how the dunes formed from the Grand Sable Banks.
When Lake Nipissing water level rose it caused the Grand Sable Banks to become unstable. In turn, the high water eroded the bluffs which left them exposed to wind. A dominant northwesterly wind blew through the Grand Sable Banks which carried the wind from the bluff to the top of the flat upland. This sand was “perched” on top of the upland, hence the name, “perched dune system.”
You can check out Grand Sable Dunes on Absolute Michigan’s Map of Michigan and check out the Grand Sable Dunes slideshow on Flickr. I have written a fair amount on Pictured Rocks that you might enjoy.
Rock diving at Indian Town
August 13, 2008
Rock diving, photo by Church of One.
This photo was taken in September of 2006 in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. You can see it bigger in Carol’s Michigan, My Michigan slideshow (photo set).
Flickr says the picture was taken near Indian Town. Their new Places pages have a link to the photo map and also some photos, groups and featured photographers for any place.
Dive in!
Round Is. sunset, photo by yooper1949.
Carl took this photo at Herring Bay in Isle Royale National Park. It’s part of his super-cool Isle Royale National Park (slideshow) which, in addition to having many more kayak photos, has some incredible views of this amazing Michigan park including a sweet shot of the northern lights over Amygdaloid Island Ranger Station (plus he has them uploaded at “wallpaper size”).
This weekend, July 17-20, 2008, head up to Grand Marais for the 24th annual Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium. It’s the oldest kayaking symposium on the Great Lakes and offers paddlers of all ages and abilities for a weekend packed with fun and learning opportunities including on-the-water classes, classroom lectures, kayak demos and vendors, social events, a race and of course plenty of opportunities to paddle including guided tours of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Keynote speakers this year are adventure filmmaker and expedition sea-kayaker Justine Curgenven and Sam Crowley, who circumnavigated Ireland in 2007 in a sea kayak.
Mosquito Beach, photo by Terrapin Dawg.
“We had been told of the variety in the colour and form of these rocks, but were wholly unprepared to encounter the suprising groups of overhanging precipices, towering walls, caverns, waterfalls … mingled in the most wonderful disorder”
- Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Matt deemed that all that was required to preface his cool set of photos from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (slideshow), all of them background big & bold.
I can’t disagree at all, but I will add that you might enjoy more Pictured Rocks features from Michigan in Pictures, this slideshow of the pictured rocks from the Absolute Michigan pool and also Dig Michigan: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Absolute Michigan!
The Grand Marais Lifesaving Station
January 31, 2008
Captain Trudell and his Gallant Crew, courtesy Archives of Michigan
Something about the weather of the last few days has made me think about what an amazingly tough job members of the US Lifesaving Service must have had. This photo is of Captain Trudell and his Gallant Crew going to relief ship in distress, Grand Marais, Michigan (c. 1910). Anyone who has ever been to Grand Marais during inclement weather will know that those rollers they’re stroking through for a photo op are mere ripples compared to what they saw when they were really needed.
The Grand Marais Lighthouse page on Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light has a brief bit about the station:
With traffic exploding along the south shore, the frequency of maritime accidents increased proportionally. To help guard the safety of mariners, 1898 also saw the beginning of construction of a life-saving station at the foot of the west pier. On its completion the following year, the station was considered one of the finest in all of the Great Lakes, boasting 2 surf boats, a 34-foot self-righting life boat, and a full complement of beach apparatus.
There’s a nice photo of the entirety of the Grand Marais complex from 1910, and you can see a few more photos at the Archives including a view of the station and the track to launch the surfboats, a Captain Trudell & his crew at attention in front of the station and the Grand Marais Harbor Range with the station in the background. The awesome historic photo gallery from the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce has an aerial view of the complex, a photo of the station on July 4, 1927 and some other photos of maritime history.
The lifesaving station was replaced in 1938 by a US Coast Guard Station, which was deactivated in 1981 and transfered to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for use as a ranger station.
