MDOT road construction and traffic website updated

MDOT has updated the MI Drive website to help drivers "visually locate lane closures and major construction projects on state highways (M, I, and U.S. routes) in addition to reading about them." The interactive map can also be customized by saving some of your views. Say you drive in Detroit often - you can set up to focus on Detroit roads and the myriad of construction and lane closures. This is a great resource for commuters or those planning trips and wanting to avoid delays.

www.michigan.gov/drive

The U.P. was named one of the top 50 vacation getaways

Shoot! The secret is out. Our wonderful and unique U.P. was named in the top 50 vacation getaways by Disney Family Travel. The title for the U.P. description at www.family.com/travel is - "Wilderness and Waterfalls Are the Ultimate Escape." You can sort out a travel itinerary by age such as babies, toddlers, school-age, and pre-teens/teens. They have information on a ton of great U.P. destinations with the idea that you spread out your vacation over three days (what!? only three days).

Anyway, it's great to see Michigan's U.P. get the recognition it deserves. I love vacationing up there so much that I try to head up there at least once a year.

Also receiving a mention - Mackinac Island (ranked #27 on the list), and Traverse City (#41).

See the entire Top 50

News about Indoor Water Park Hotels in Michigan

Did you know that Michigan is currently home to six indoor water park hotels with two more scheduled to open later this year? So far only the lower peninsula of Michigan has indoor water parks attached to hotels. Although, they are getting closer to the U.P. with one opening in Mackinaw City later this year. Hopefully one will sprout up there sometime soon.

Anyway, I created a page over at Squidoo about all of the Indoor Water Park Hotels in Michigan.

You will be able to see video of some of the indoor water parks in Michigan, get lodging deals through Orbitz, and learn more about the size of the water park and types of attractions.

Anxious for fall colors? Go north and enjoy!

The wonderful myriad of color will be reaching its peak on trees in portions of the U.P. in the next couple of weeks. The Mining Journal is reporting that an early hard frost is beneficial to fall color. So those of us waiting on the color to begin can always head up north for some beautiful scenery.

Bill Cook, district forester with the Michigan State University Extension forestry research station in Escanaba, said a hard frost about a week ago will likely result in brilliant colors.

“The earlier the frost comes the more sugars are trapped in the leaves and that’s what causes the brilliance and intensity of the colors,” Cook said.

For weekly updates on the fall color situation in Michigan be sure to check out the update put together at Michigan's Travel site - Michigan.org.

Hey, we're back - so long summer

We visited Michigan's beautiful U.P. over the weekend and I have to say that just like summer - it went by far too fast. I've been busy today getting out everyone's orders from the weekend (don't worry, they all went out today just like I promised :) ) so I haven't had time to post much today. I plan on downloading a ton of pictures that I took and hope to share some of them with you tomorrow. The U.P. received some much needed rain yesterday as we were driving home from Escanaba. I have to say, that was some of the heaviest rain I have driven through in quite some time.

The Mining Journal reports that most of the U.P. received at least .75 inches with the Newberry area (just south of the area affected by the Sleeper Lake Forest Fire) getting over 4 inches of much needed precipitation. That rain will definitely help those still fighting the blaze.

I had wanted to get some pictures of the Sleeper Lake Forest Fire damage yesterday, but the weather (thankfully for those in the U.P.) did not cooperate. We had a great time and enjoyed the scenery as well as the cool nights (natural air conditioning).

The Top 10 Michigan Wonders

I put together a list of the Top 10 Michigan Wonders. The criteria were simply that they needed to be places and/or thing in Michigan that are unique and interesting. I figure the list will expand beyond 10 because I feel that there are way more than just 10 things about Michigan that deserve distinction. You can view the list at the Top 10 Michigan Wonders page I created. The list includes pictures and descriptions of the individual items plus some videos that complement the wonders.

Some of the things that made the list -

• Sleeping Bear Dunes
• The salt city beneath Detroit
• Soo Locks

Visit the Top 10 Michigan Wonders