Corn mazes and apple picking time in Michigan

UPDATE: I created a new page with a rather comprehensive listing of Michigan Corn Mazes and Michigan Apple Orchards - Michigan Fall Colors. Cooler breezes are blowing as the seasons are shifting again. Today marks the first day of day of Autumn and we have the temperatures (and in someplaces frost) to go along with it. Where did the summer go?

My wife, son and I went apple picking a week ago at Corey Lake Orchards. We had a great time picking our own bushel of apples and it really didn't take that long. Even with our 2-year-old running up and down the rows of apple trees (he called them hallways) we were still done in about 15 minutes.

Use the Michigan U-Pick online search directory here to find a list of Cider Mills, Farmers' Markets, and U-Pick farms in Michigan.

Here is a list of Corn Mazes in Michigan that I have compiled through a lot of searching. If you know of any others feel free to leave the details in the comments section for this post.

Uncle John's Cider Mill 8614 North US 127 St. John's MI 48879

Talladay Farms 6270 Judd Rd Milan, Michigan 48160

Corn Fun Family Farm, LLC 9391 Lindsey Lane Casco. MI 48064

Amazing Acres Corn Maze & Pumpkin Farm 18430 U.S. 12 Edwardsburg, MI 49112

Benjamin Farms 3770 Noble Rd. Williamston, Michigan 48895

Crots Corn Maze 4800 W. Temperance Rd. Ottawa Lake, MI 49267

Farmer Charlie's Maze Adventure's 6421 N. Stony Creek Rd. Monroe, MI

Depner Farms Corn Maze 5945 Griggs Rd. Caseville, MI

Carpenter’s Dairy Farm 64015 M-43 Bangor, MI 49013

Ripley's Haunted Acres 9580 Carlisle Hwy. Vermontville, Michigan

Westview Orchards 65075 Van Dyke Rd Washington, MI, 48095

A-mazing Acres 18430 U.S. 12 East Edwardsburg, Michigan

Barbott Farms 7155 Cleveland Stevensville, MI 49127

Farmer J's Corn Maze 16405 Pherdun Rd. Dundee, Michigan 48131

Country Corn Maze 450 N. Vernon Rd Corunna, Michigan 48817

Heritage Gardens 7363 School Road Melvin, Michigan 48454

Crane Orchards U-Pick 6054 124th ave Fennville,Michigan 49408

Wick's Apple House 52281 Indian Lake Rd Dowagiac, MI 49047

Get your fall color fix in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Want to get a jump on the fall color season? Head on up to Michigan's U.P. and take in the explosion of color that has its peak around the first week of October in the central and western portions of the Upper Peninsula. An article in The Mining Journal today suggests the last week of September and the first couple weeks of October as the "prime viewing season" for fall foliage in our Upper Peninsula.

My wife and I went to the U.P. around the last week of September once and the colors were spectacular. We stayed at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast and were in awe of the wonderful fall colors and the deep blue backdrop of Lake Superior.

We took a day trip up in the Yellow Dog Falls area and up to a hill (I doubt it is considered a mountain) called, I believe, Gobblers' Nob or something of the sort. Just simply amazing blends of color contrasted with the deep green of the pine trees.

So, fill up on some of that cheaper gas, grab your camera and binoculars, bring some cash so you can stuff your face with pasties, and Go North.

Websites of interest: Official Directory of Michigan Fall Color Tours

Fall Color Tour information via www.NewsUpNorth.com

MDOT helps U of M and MSU fans get to the game on time

Via the Detroit News Fans of U of M and MSU have some good news before the football season even starts. MDOT has special websites dedicated to helping fans get to Spartan Stadium and the Big House.

U of M fans will want to check out the Wolverine dedicated website here.

Spartan fans should check out the website here.

Both sites list construction projects along known routes to the stadiums in East Lansing and Ann Arbor. In addition you might want to check out www.michigan.gov/laneclosures.

Just one more great service from our award winning State of Michigan website, Michigan.gov.

MDOT suspends most major construction projects this weekend

The majority of Michigan's road and bridge construction projects will be put on hold this Labor Day weekend due to the expected increase in road traffic. From September 1 at 3 p.m. until September 5 at 6 a.m. work will be suspended and lanes opened on 92 of the 155 active construction projects. For a list of the construction zones that will remain active or have limited lanes open head on over to www.michigan.gov/mdot. The list is too extensive to repeat here.

By the way, if you really want to avoid construction and traffic jams consider taking to Michigan's highways instead of the freeways. You remember highways don't you? You know, those two lane roads that pass through quaint little towns and beautiful scenery at a leisurely pace of 55 m.p.h.

Our family has taken to the so-called back roads in recent years and I must admit that the trip has been 200% more enjoyable. You don't have the stress of bumper to bumper traffic and lane changers constantly cutting you off. You can actually see Michigan's scenic views and pastoral farms since you aren't whizzing by at 75-80 m.p.h.

If you truly want to relax this weekend, take my advice. Hop on U.S. 23 along the Lake Huron coast. Cruise up M-66 and pick up U.S. 31 in Charlevoix on your way up to the Mackinac Bridge. There are a number of other main routes to choose from whether you are going north, south, east, or west.

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Get your free Michigan state map

Did you know that you don't have to stop at a rest area in Michigan to get a free state map? Yep, simply visit MDOT's (that's Michigan Department Of Transportation for any out-of-staters reading this) website and place your order right here for a map of Michigan. You don't even have to pay for postage (maybe Governor Granholm could plug some holes in the budget by charging $.37 for a stamp ;) ). Another crazy thing. You can order as many maps as you would like. Although, someone in Lansing might get suspicious if you place an order for 1,000 maps so you can use them to wallpaper your den.

Hmm, now there is an idea. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to make our basement a bit more cozy.

The theme for this year's map is "Michigan - A State for All Seasons." On the back of the map there are color photos of different Michigan locales during our four seasons. Yes, Michigan does actually have four seasons. I know this is contrary to the folks that think Michigan only has two seasons - Winter and Construction.

Oh, a couple more little known fact for you. Did you know that Michigan first began providing maps back in 1919? Today, MDOT prints up about two million maps each year for distribution.

Part 2 of U.S. 12 places of interest in Michigan

This is the continuation of some of the many places of interest along U.S. 12 in Michigan. Enjoy! See part one, here. White Pigeon Bup's Drive-In - The drive-in restaurant is still alive and well along U.S. 12. Bup's has excellent home made root beer. You can have a frosty mug of it while you are there and/or buy it by the gallon for $3. Yum!

Coldwater The Capri Drive-In - One of America's Top 10 drive-in theaters. Great prices and specials all summer long.

Northwoods Coffee Co. - In addition to their excellent coffee, Northwoods Coffee Co. has excellent food and lodge decor. Their website leaves a lot to be desired though.

Clinton The Clinton Inn - Officially opened for business on Thanksgiving Day in 1901. They are open for lunch and dinner as well as Sunday Brunch.

Saline An abundant number of Antique stores, Art Galleries, and Coffee Shops proliferate this little town. I like to refer to it as "Little Ann Arbor" due to its proximity to Ann Arbor and the fact that with all of the development between Saline and Ann Arbor you can not really tell when you leave one town and enter the other.

Well, that is as far as I am going with this review of places of interest along U.S. 12 in Michigan. Once you leave Saline, the quaintness of the "old Chicago Road" disappears into strip malls and fields of concrete. There are numerous other stops to make along U.S. 12 and I would like to list them sometime in the future.