Jumping into summertime

Camping – P.J. Hoffmaster State Park, photo by plounsbury.

Summer is here – jump off!

Memorial Day, Michigan Style on Absolute Michigan has lots of Memorial weekend fun.

Check it out bigger and on the P. J. Hoffmaster State Park entry on the Absolute Michigan map.

Grand Sable Dunes In Winter

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.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Must. Reach. Water., photo by J.E.T.

This photo is part of Jesse’s Northern Expedition II set (slideshow) and – for me at least -  does the best job of all the 400+ Sleeping Bear photos that I’ve looked through today in capturing the wonder and wide-open fun of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

I’ve been doing that because today on Absolute Michigan I just finished Dig Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes. It’s a map, link and photo filled exploration of the national park in my backyard … I hope you like it.

verve

verve, photo by yodraws.

Wallpapery wonderfulness from Saugatuck Dunes State Park, part of Yolanda’s the Lakeshore set (slideshow).

More about the park (including a map) at Bracing Against The Wind at Saugatuck Dunes State Park from Michigan in Pictures.

Ski Jump

Ski Jump, photo by boeke.

Jonathan writes that the title of this photo is better understood if you know that Paul is also known as Ski. It was taken at the Sleeping Bear Dunes and yes, it makes awesome wallpaper!

I will add that this post is better understood if you understand that I spent an hour working on a post about skiing that’s gonna take two hours – happy weekend everyone!

A Letter from Downstream

In the Michigan Immense Public Park, photo by Andy McFarlane

Welcome to a “Soapbox Saturday” on Michigan in Pictures, where your host takes you a little ways past “ain’t it cool” towards “ain’t it a shame.” Don’t worry though – it’s still cool. If it doesn’t seem cool – please click the photo above. I figured that since I was going to be sharing some personal feelings, I probably should use one of my own photos. This photo of my daughter exploring something on the Lake Michigan beach was taken a few years ago at the base of Pyramid Point in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I had posted it in gratitude to the Michigan Supreme Court for upholding our right to walk the Great Lakes shore.

Flash forward to the present day when Michigan’s regulators appear poised to permit the first metallic sulfide mine in Michigan. Several years ago, my friend Dick Huey and a few others started a group called Save the Wild UP when Kennecott Minerals, a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto (one of the world’s largest polluters), began the process of securing a permit for a sulfide mine north of Marquette. The proposed mine is located directly under the Salmon-Trout River on the wild and beautiful Yellow Dog Plains. This is state land, our land, and the Salmon-Trout flows just a few miles through it and then empties into Lake Superior. Over that time I’ve been working for them to maintain their web site and have learned a thing or two about “acid mining”.

Iron and copper mining are things that helped forge the character of the Upper Peninsula. You can think of traditional mining as picking the chocolate chips out of a cookie. Sulfide mining is like getting the sugar out of a cookie – a chemical rather than mechanical process that yields a dust as a by-product. If this dust mixes with water and air, it forms sulfuric acid aka battery acid. There has never been a sulfide mine with the potential to pollute ground or surface water that failed to do so. Sulfide mining has polluted 40% of the watersheds in the West, and you can read more of the facts about metallic sulfide mining at Save the Wild UP (has a nice video if you prefer).

A process with 100% failure rate of protecting water located directly under a pristine river that flows into the largest body of freshwater in the world seems like a bad idea. When you realize that they also plan to blow the sulfide dust into the air and that there are hundreds of other prospected sites waiting in the wings, it becomes terrifying. Michigan and the UP have a lot of challenges right now, but something we do have going for us is our water and wild places and the tourism dollars and jobs they generate. The picture to the right is a result of sulfide mining from Sudbury, Ontario. Multiply that across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and consider how many thousands of tourism jobs and millions of tourism and tax dollars might be lost.

One of the people who has considered this is a wonderful musician named Daisy May. She has donated a song called A Letter from Downstream to Save the Wild UP and I hope you take the time to listen to it and see the photos that folks have shared about what Michigan’s water means to them.

If you’re a Flickr member, consider adding a photo to the Downstream group.

Fall Color Tours: Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort

Leelanau fall, photo by Jeff Lamb

Our next stop (as designed by Travel Michigan) is the region of Northwest Lower Michigan containing Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort. I know this is the second day in a row with a photo from the Leelanau Peninsula … I guess sometimes I feel like hanging around my home. Jeff Lamb likes hanging around here too, especially in the fall, and I think he’s one of the best at capturing the roll of the hill and sweep of the sky that characterizes fall in this part of Michigan. See more in his Leelanau set (slideshow).

The tour starts at the end of the Old Mission Peninsula at the Mission Point Lighthouse. I’m not sure how you start there – airlift probably. I am sure that you’ll see great color along the winding roads of Old Mission like in this photo Old Mission, MI by Jerry Ting. In addition to being prime fruit growing regions packed with roadside stands and markets, both peninsulas feature great wine trails with about 20 wineries – learn more from the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula and the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association web sites.

Downtown Traverse City has a ton of restaurants and shops to choose from and if you like historic homes, consider wandering the tree-lined neighborhoods of the city and also the Village at the Grand Traverse Commons as there are some gorgeous trees and cool shops to be found there as well! If you want more options, check out the Traverse City CV’s color tours of the region (they also provide regular color reports). One tour they suggested is a northwest Michigan apple tour.

Assuming you’re still with us, lets head north to Leelanau County. M-22 winds along the outside of the county along Lake Michigan through the villages of Suttons Bay, Omena, Northport, Glen Arbor & Empire. From Northport, consider a short jaunt to the beautifully restored Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum at the tip of Leelanau. On the way back stop in at Kilcherman’s Antique Apple Farm (also see this article) for a huge selection of rare & tasty apples and cider. At the southern end of Leelanau County is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With historic farms and hiking trails & overlooks offering soaring views of fall’s glory, this could be a whole weekend in and of itself. Before we leave, I better put in a plug for my Leelanau.com web site as a travel & information resource and also point you at my favorite trail: the Empire Bluff Trail. One look at a collection of photos from Empire Bluff should be all the push you need to take this short but amazing trail!
Heading south on 22 we enter Benzie County. The photo to the right (Another Autumn at the Tweedle Barn by John Clement Howe) is from the Tweddle-Treat farmstead that’s just off 22 on Norconk Rd). If it’s not to cold, head down to Otter Creek Beach (aka Esch Rd). Further down 22 we pass Crystal Lake and also the 2nd most photographed lighthouse in the world, Point Betsie. A little further south are the towns of Frankfort & Elberta that boast beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and Frankfort pier and make a perfect place to catch the sunset (or some fish). A couple other highlights along the way back to Traverse City are Gwen Frostic Prints in Benzonia and the Homestead Sugar House in Beulah.

Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!

Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.

Lith Print: Ghost Forest

Lith Print: Ghost Forest, photo by Matt Callow.

Holga, Tri-X, lith print.

You can read more about the Sleeping Bear Dunes Ghost Forest, check out a slideshow of photos from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore taken during Matt’s time as Glen Arbor Art Association’s Artist-in-Residence and read the Michigan in Pictures photographer profile of Matt Callow.

There’s a ton of information about Lith printing at lithprint.com.

Kirk Park

Thanksgiving Sunset, photo by wizardkitten.

It’s been 2 weeks since the last Michigan shoreline tour stop at Holland (feels like 2 weeks since I last got on the Michigan shoreline myself!).

While I didn’t find much about the history of Kirk Park at the page Google thinks is best, I did stumble onto this review of the Dune Ridge Trail at Kirk Park from Jim DuFresne’s Best Hikes with Children in Michigan Guide Book (there’s 80 hikes on that page – check it out):

There is a tendency at Kirk Park for children to head straight to the beach. They jump out of the car and hightail it down a paved path to Lake Michigan where they jump into the surf, roll in the sand, or get scorched by the sun. Then their parents take them home, usually waterlogged, sunburnt, and with half a dune in their bathing suits. Should have taken them hiking. At 66 acres and with 2000 feet of lakefront, this Ottawa County park is not large. In fact, it’s basically one dune. But it’s a large dune, and major renovations in the mid-1990s resulted in an intriguing 2-mile trail system over and around this towering hill of sand. The heart of the system is Dune Ridge Trail, a mile-long loop that climbs the hill and then circles the top to reward hikers with excellent views of Lake Michigan.

Cathleen says she likes this park and goes there quite a lot. After seeing her pictures and those from Thomas, Craig (who apparently heeded that “take the trails” advice), Katie, Holly and others, I can see why.

Here’s a Flickr map and also the entry for Kirk Park on our Absolute Michigan map of Michigan.

Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Silver Lake Sand Dunes, photo by eyerisimaging.

Just this morning I was looking at videos of trucks, cycles and ORVs tearing over the Silver Lake Dunes.

I have to say that I much prefer this.

I also have to say that this photographer has some stunning photos … check them out.