Peak wind speeds reached 68 mph in some areas, causing intense waves along Lake Michigan. Waves at the Ludington buoy peaked at 13.5 feet.
…According to the Consumer’s Energy power outage map, 27,704 were without power across the state as of 5:20 a.m. Monday.
Norton Shores was tops with gusts of 68 MPH, and it was blowing hard in Jackson (64), Grand Rapids (63) & Lansing (54). The Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus recorded a 61 MPH gust as well.
Visited by passing English geologists in 1771-1772, the nearby Miners River was named by employees of Alexander Henry during one of his exploratory trips on Lake Superior. At that time, indicators or “leaders” were used to locate mineral deposits. Discolored water oozing from bedrock was one such leader found in the Miners Basin, although no minerals were ever extracted from this area.
Charles took took this pic last week. See lots more on his Flickr!
Authorized by Congress in 1966 as the nation’s first national lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore today encompassed over 73,000 acres of multicolored sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, inland lakes, wildlife and the forest of the Lake Superior shoreline. Stretching from Munising to Grand Marais, the park is a four season destination attracting everyone from hikers to campers, hunters, and casual visitors. The park is managed by the National Park Service and welcomes over four hundred thousand visitors each year.
Conducted by spaceport consultants BRPH and Kimley-Horn, the site-selection process has been a yearlong effort. Sites were ranked based on several factors, including existing commercial and public infrastructure, geographic and terrestrial mapping, living standards and workforce development. Operations are expected to begin by early 2025.
…The announcement for the vertical space launch comes just months after MAMA identified the Oscoda/Wurtsmith Airport outside of Oscoda as the top candidate for a horizontal spaceport. Licensing through the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has begun for that site with operations projected to begin in late 2023 or early 2024. The two launch sites in Marquette and Oscoda, along with a yet-to-be-identified command and control center, will create more than 2,000 jobs. These sites will be instrumental in creating a space ecosystem in the state that is projected to top 40,000 new jobs by 2025.
“Michigan has a real opportunity to support a space-based ecosystem,” said Gavin Brown, executive director of MAMA. “The Marquette location will be a critical component, bringing low-earth orbit vertical launch capabilities to the state to meet the domestic and global demand. By integrating sophisticated infrastructure with first-rate human talent, Michigan can be one of the leaders in the space industry.
David took this two summers ago, looking over Lake Superior from Sugar Loaf Mountain towards the area of the proposed site. Head over to his Flickr for the latest!
Craig took this shot of someone staying cool in the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior up in the UP last weekend. Hope you’re finding ways to cool down as well!
John writes that he caught these paddle boarders taking a break beneath Lovers Leap in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. See it bigger on Facebook and be sure to head over to Michigan Nut Photography for more great pics from his day!
One of my favorite Facebook follows is Cory Genovese aka PhotoYoop. He took this photo a couple days ago in some wild Lake Superior surf and writes:
Wait, that’s not right…I mean Schetter Shreddin’! ;)
A few rounds in Superior yesterday. The Zoo was close to as heavy as I’ve been in. Thankfully, our little South break was not. 4′ – 6′ 8/10ft 7secs air -1c sea 1c
