Watch this incredible photo slideshow of the Escanaba area

Bud Lemire of Escanaba put together this great photo montage of the Escanaba area set to music. There are incredible photos of breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, huge Great Lakes freighters in Little Bay de Noc, fog rolling in off of Lake Michigan, and much more. It is hard to capture the beauty of the Upper Peninsula in pictures, but I think that Bud did a great job. He has pictures of the Escanaba area in all four seasons (yes there are more than just Winter and construction seasons in Michigan).

If the player does not work, you can view the video here.

Low Lake Superior levels means lighter loads for Great Lakes freighters

Folks along Lake Superior are seeing land where there used to be water. "Islands" are popping up as water levels continue to drop among all of the Great Lakes. This creates problems in harbors where the freighters plying the Great Lakes with loads of iron ore, grain, and coal must lighten their loads for safe passage. The Mining Journal reports that "For every inch the lakes recede, ships must reduce their loads between 50 and 270 tons." Last shipping season those lighter loads meant that "ships lost about 8,000 tons per trip."

Visit www.boatnerd.com for more information on the freighters that run the Great Lakes. My favorite feature is the "Vessel Passage" that has a map of the Great Lakes with data points showing the locations of ships.