See You Next Year, Winter!
Andrew Norton
As most of us know, winter is set to "officially" end on March 21 . However, the meteorological winter consists of the months of December, January, and February.
Read MoreAll Things Michigan
Michigan travels, events, photos, and more
Filtering by Category: Outdoors
Keep on Walking Michigan's Beaches
Andrew Norton
Good new for those of you who enjoy strolling along our beautiful Great Lakes. The U.S. Supreme Court let Michigan's Supreme Court ruling that allows people to walk the area between the water's edge and the point on the sand for the high water mark stand.
Read MoreKiteboarding Across the Snow
Andrew Norton
Have you ever seen people being pulled across a lake by hanging on to a giant kite? I have in the summer, but this is the first I have heard of doing the same thing with a snowboard. With the right winds and kite you can reach speeds of 30 mph or more. Check out the article from the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Is There a Cougar Lurking in Battle Creek?
Andrew Norton
Laura Hammer reported seeing "a large cat-like animal with a long, fat tail in Jacaranda Estates (suburb in Battle Creek)" on Sunday. This isn't the first report of cougar sightings in west Michigan. Lately, there have been a number of reported sightings, but those have come from rural areas. An officer with the Battle Creek Police Department's Animal Control unit found the prints left by the animal in question not to have been made by a deer or domestic cat. It is possible that this case will be forwarded to the DNR.
The odds are good that if indeed it was a cougar that Hammer spotted it most likely was an illegal pet that either escaped or someone just let loose. The DNR says that there are no wild cougars breeding in Michigan.
Recently, in Lawrence, MI there was a deer kill that was reported to have been made by a cougar that is currently being nvestigated. The number of cougar sightings has continually increased in west Michigan as of late. It makes one wonder if perhaps the DNR is wrong.
Maybe the DNR isn't totally wrong in their stance. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possiblity that there are actually cougars breeding in Michigan, but they came into the wild as pets turned loose. Therefore, they wouldn't technically be "wild", but I still wouldn't want to run into one.
Winter Enthusiasts Rejoice - Winter is Back!
Andrew Norton
Except for us in southern lower Michigan, it looks like winter is hitting Michigan once again. A foot of snow is predicted all across northern lower Michigan. Grab your skis, load up the snowmobile, and make sure you have 4-wheel drive if you are heading up for some outdoor winter fun. If you are heading up to the Upper Peninsula, you might want to check out the Mackinac Bridge webcam and current Bridge Conditions. They are currently experiencing such high winds that the Mackinac Bridge Authority is asking you to use caution and reduce your speed to a maximum of 20 miles per hour.
The current bridge cam images allow you to barely see the highway when on a normal day you can see the towers of the bridge. Looks like travelling will be interesting. This is good news for the winter tourism industry though.
Incredible Pictures of Northern Michigan Beach in the Winter
Andrew Norton
The Traverse City Record Eagle ran an interesting piece today on Michigan's beaches in winter. The story and photos concentrate on the Frankfort area just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The icy photo of Point Betsie Lighthouse is simply surreal. The Record Eagle was nice enough to include the story exactly as it appears in the newspaper as a PDF. This is great for those of us who do not have a subscription to this fine northern Michigan newspaper. Enjoy!
Link to the PDF that you can download - A Day at the Beach
Link to the online story - Photo Essay: A Day at the Beach