Roaming around Carson City, I came across this old building, which I guess is some sort of grain elevator or something. I am a city kid, and not sure exactly how grain is processed, I just know I can buy stuff at the store. Anyways, I saw this old place, lonely and forgotten, missing the days the farmers would stop by for a visit.
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Standing tall in Detroit’s Corktown district, Michigan Central Station was the main intercity passenger rail depot for Detroit.. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detroit, which was shuttered after a major fire on December 26, 1913, forcing the still unfinished station into early service. Formally dedicated on January 4, 1914, At the time of its construction, it was the tallest rail station in the world.
At the beginning of World War I, the peak of rail travel in the United States, more than 200 trains left the station each day and lines would stretch from the boarding gates to the main entrance. In the 1940s, more than 4,000 passengers a day used the station and more than 3,000 people worked in its office tower. Among notable passengers arriving at MCS were Presidents Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt, actor Charlie Chaplin and inventor Thomas Edison.
During the rise of the automobile and the decline of passenger rail service after WWII the train station slowly became obsolete and by 1988 the last passenger train pulled out of the station. The station has been featured in several films Including Transformers , The Island and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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In the northwest corner of Saginaw county, north of Hemlock, there is an urban legend of a girl that haunts Dice Road Cemetery, like many urban legends, I think there is some truth that started the story.
As the story goes, 5 year old Anna Rhodes Fazio was living in Italy in 1816 with her family, when her father went insane, and set their house on fire, killing himself and her mother. Young Anna survived the fire, and sailed to America, and lived with her aunt in the area north of Hemlock. They became friends with the local Indians. Anna and a young Indian boy named Dark Hawk grew up together.
As Anna grew older she fell in love with Jonathan Millerton, and they were married, by the time Anna was 17. shortly after they two wed, Anna’s aunt died, and Jonathan had to sail the Great Lakes for his lumbering pursuits, leaving Anna alone. Dark Hawk became jealous of Jonathan, and began to sexually assault Anna, driving her into insanity. That summer a large storm swept across the state, and when Jonathan’s ship did not return she, feared him dead and committed suicide. Even more tragic, Jonathan returned home after she died, his ship sailed to a few other ports and delayed his return.
If you visit this cemetery please be respectful and follow posted rules.
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An old barn near Lupton
Autumn in Michigan is one of the most magical places on earth, and there are lots of ways to enjoy the fall color, but this is what I have learned on my leaf peeping trips.
Seven Bridges Recreation Area near Kalkaska
The fall color map that the tourist and news website use is more of a guideline ( as captain jack sparrow would say), I find that they are a rough estimate, but never seem to be that accurate as to when the leaves peek. I think the temperature and weather controls when the leaves peak, if its a hot dry autumn, the leaves will change different, than if it’s a cold wet fall. I find that looking at current photos on Instagram is a good guide as to how the colors are coming along, you can look at hashtags ( or as us old school people call it, the pound sign) and see what photographers are posting, just makes sure they are current photos and not ones from previous years.
One thing we know is the color starts from the north, and works its way down to the southern part of the state last. So obviously head north at the beginning of the fall and then work your way down the state to maximize your leaf peeping potential. I am not fortunate enough to live in northern Michigan and my budget is a little tight, but I find that if I stay in less popular cities, I can find a good deal on a hotel room. Like Munising instead of Marquette, Cheboygan instead of Mackinac City or Acme instead of Traverse City. I find I am gonna be traveling around to find color anyways, so where I stay is not that important. Another option is camping in one of Michigan beautiful state parks, and yes I have roughed it like Matt Foley, living in a van down by the river, but it was a beautiful river in Michigan, so it was priceless.
an old church in Mt Hope
I know a lot of Michiganders like to go wine tasting, and play golf, but I that ain’t my thing, so while I am up north, I like to go exploring. You could just drive around with no particular place to go and see what you can find, but I think it’s a little more enjoyable to have a few places to visit on your trip. My favorite places to visit are Lighthouses, most are usually open to the public, and some of them for a small donation, will allow you to climb the tower. If you are in da U.P. there are plenty of waterfalls to find. Michigan historical markers can be found in every county in Michigan, and you can do a little research and find some interesting places to see, I suggest checking out www.michmarkers.com for a list and location of all of Michigan’s historical markers.
Now that you have a few places to check out on your trip the secret is how you get there, sure you could take the most direct and popular route using the interstate highway system, but I suggest taking a less direct route on back roads, and going thru some small towns along the way. One benefit of back roads is there are usually little traffic, and its not a problem if you want to stop and take a pic. Yeah I know M22 is a nice drive, but there is a lot of traffic and it’s hard to stop or ever slow down to see the sights without someone breathing down your tailgate trying to pass you.
McGulpin Point Lighthouse near Mackinaw City
Going out and finding peak fall color is kinda like going out on the lake and finding fish, I have never been fortunate enough to go up north, and had peak color in a large area like is shown on the color maps. It’s more like small patches of color and some places may still be a little green and others may be past peek, but if you keep driving around and exploring, you will find some spectacular color in places, and that is when it’s time to stop and take a photo. I have learned if the color ain’t to good then don’t try to make something that ain’t there, just keep moving on and see what is down the road.
Now lets talk about weather, my kids are still in school, and I am limited as to when I can get out and go leaf peeping. It seems like when I do get a chance to go its raining, but that’s ok, I have learned on overcast and even rainy days, that when you want to get into the woods and take photos, it the perfect time to get pics of waterfalls ( a tripod is helpful if you have one). If it’s a nice sunny day, that’s when it’s good to get some nice landscape photos with a lot of sky in the photo. It’s best if you can have the sun behind you instead of taking photos into the sun. one more tip, I find that if you bump up the saturation in your photos, it really brings out the colors in the pics.
Also remember, if you live in Michigan, you don’t have to go far from home to enjoy fall. You can always go to a nearby state park or county park or metropark. Take a nice Sunday afternoon drive to get some cider and doughnuts, and if you live in the big city like me, you can always take a drive out thru the country side, and see the barns and farm fields. I bet you will even find some nice places to get some pics not far from home.
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It’s been a while since I posted a dam photo, so here is dam number 3 on the Escanaba River. It is the 3rd, and final dam, as the river flows into Lake Michigan. I saw it while traveling down U.S. 2, on my drive into Escanaba, and I found a nice place to stop and get a pic. I can’t explain why, but I like stopping and visiting some of the old dams around Michigan. I especially like it when the spillway is open, and you can see hear and feel the power of the rushing water as it exits the spillway. I am no dam expert, but I would imagine it is still one of the best sources of generating electricity. I wonder if they knew we would have so many electronic devices to power when it was built.
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The Cheboygan Crib Light stands proudly at the mouth of the Cheboygan River, looking over the Straights of Mackinac, remembering the time it once stood out there in the open waters, guiding ships and sailors safely thru the straights.
The Light was originally built in Lake Huron in 1884 on a “crib”, (an artificial-island landfill) more than 2,000 feet from the Cheboygan shore. The Crib Light is called a “light” rather than a “lighthouse” because it did not contain a structure in which a keeper lived. The keeper lived in Cheboygan and he would take a boat daily to the crib, in all weather conditions, to maintain the kerosene-fired light. This was hazardous duty especially docking to the crib in heavy waves during a storm.
In 1903, the existing wooden structure was torn down to a depth of 12 inches (300 mm) into the water and a new sturdier concrete steel structure was erected. In 1906, the rebuilt light was severely damaged when a schooner hit it. In 1911 an automated fog bell was installed, sounding a characteristic single stroke every ten seconds.
The Cheboygan Crib Light before it was moved to it current location at the mouth of the Cheboygan River
In 1920, the Lighthouse Service oversaw the automation of the Crib Light. In the Crib Light’s new incarnation, kerosene was no longer necessary; instead, a traveling crew periodically delivered tanks of the flammable gas acetylene. A reliable pilot light burned day and night. When the sunset, the resulting drop in temperature would open a precision valve and release a flow of acetylene against the pilot light, causing the light to shine. When last Lighthouse keeper left in 1929, the old light quickly degraded.
In the second half of the 20th century, the invention of radar and other electronic aids to navigation began to render many Great Lakes navigational light towers redundant. The Crib Light was considered by the Coast Guard to be “surplus” property. In 1984, the Crib Light tower was removed from its crib and placed on its current base located on the Gordon Turner Park pier head.
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I found this little red school house while traveling along M55 south of Lake Cadillac. The sign out front said Hector School 1908, and it was the Clam Lake District No.5 School. Other than that, I could not find anything else about it, but I had to stop and get a pic of the little red school house.
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I was going thru some of my old photos, and I cam across this pic of this old house, or shack, or whatever it was, but I don’t remember even taking this photo. It was in with my photos from Cross Village and Levering, so it must be somewhere around there. I take a lot of photos, and I mean a lot, I can usually remember taking all the photos I have crated, but It’s rather strange that I don’t remember this one, maybe the aliens did it.
P.S. thank you for reading my posts and following me on my journeys around Michigan, even if I am loosing my mind.
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The Continental Fire Company organized in 1860 in Houghton built their new fire hall in 1883 and occupied the basement, which housed horses, and the main floor, which stored fire engines. Village offices were on the second floor. The Michigan Mining School, now Michigan Technological University, held its first classes on the second floor and in the basement from 1886 through May 1889. In the early 1900s, the building was extended to the north to store more oats and hay for the horses. In 1916, an addition was built on the western side to store two more fire engines.
The city moved its offices out of the fire hall in the 1930s. On August 5, 1966, a bronze plaque was unveiled commemorating the building as the original home of the university. In 1974, the fire department moved to a new, more centrally located fire hall along Sharon Avenue in order to accommodate larger modern equipment. The fire bell was removed in October 1975 and transferred to the new location.
The fire hall was listed as a Michigan State Historic Site on August 6, 1976.In 1978, the university purchased the building from the city to use as storage.It was sold in 2010 to a private group who renovated it into an entertainment venue, called the Continental Fire Co., which opened in February 2012.
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