The nearly full moon illuminates the Lakeshore Bike Trail in Muskegon early on the morning of August 18, 2008.
Author: Nick Kroes
As is normal for our weekend mornings, Chris once again decided that life is far too short to spend too much time getting too much sleep – especially if there is a possibility that someone might be irritated and irrigated into taking her out for a hike.
With the (very) early start, we made it to the big lake in time to catch the setting of last night’s beautiful full moon.
Don’t let those small speckles in the photo trick you into cleaning either your glasses or your monitor. They are the navigation lights of just a few of the many boats fishing off the channel this morning. So many, in fact, that it seemed as if the stars were testing the startling new concept of shining both above and below the horizon.
And not all of the fishing action was off-shore. While the boaters were out chasing their salmon, both the north and south walls of the channel were filled with anglers hoping to add perch onto tonight’s menu.
If you walk the beach even occasionally, you realize that this size of crowd isn’t normal, but then neither are the number of perch. The schools are so inordinately large that most of the fishermen are simply doing a quick visual reconnaissance over the wall before dropping their lines right into the middle of a lot of fish. Not quite as easy as dragging them from a barrel, but it could be worse!
Lest anyone think that this sums up the pre-dawn (!) action, at this same time, on the eastern end of the wall, the crew of the dredging ship, Carol Ann, was heading out. Their work is the reason for the large black pipe that you will find stretched across the south wall. It will be moving sand from the bottom of the waterway onto the beach.
Chris was surprisingly unimpressed by all the early AM activity and insisted on heading home for breakfast. Said insistence being equivalent to a wave insisting on going ashore, we departed. Shortly after leaving the channel, the sun finally showed up and seemed no more moved than Chris by all of the action.
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Water Tower, August 8, 2008
Sunrise casts an interesting light on the Muskegon water tower at Forest and Superior early on the morning of August 8, 2008
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Sailboat on Mooring, August 1, 2008
A sailboat tied to its mooring can early on the morning of August 1, 2008.
While the sailors are still out in force, the gas prices have really cut into the powerboat traffic. Even on the prettiest summer days the decline from last year is dramatic.
Given how many powerboats are in the local marinas, you wonder if we aren’t seeing the same phenomenon that the New York Times recently addressed. That no matter what the cost of fuel may be, boats are a very low-cost alternative to a summer home…
… Diana Dayrit and Jon Magel of Brooklyn have found a relatively low-cost getaway, a boat at a marina in Montauk, N.Y. If you think about the price of waterfront property, and then think about boat prices and marina fees, a boat can make a lot of sense for people who don’t mind bumping into each other in close quarters.
“We’ve always loved Montauk,” Ms. Dayrit said. “But because property is so expensive out there, we could never afford to buy a house. With a boat, we’re able to have not only a home but a portable hotel that we can travel with as well.”
The couple keep their boat — a 31-foot Chaparral that can sleep four in two double berths — at a small, friendly marina with full services, including utilities and winter storage, for about $6,500 a year. “Our slip neighbors have been in their spots for over 30 years,” said Ms. Dayrit, who is spending her third summer at Montauk, on the eastern end of Long Island. “It’s a blast listening to their stories, meeting their families and just sharing in the pleasantries that marina living brings.”
From the Heritage Landing boat launch, a stunning silhouette of the Muskegon skyline was part of yesterday’s lovely sunrise.
Dew drops cling to the tall grass between the Lakeshore Bike trail and Muskegon’s northern railroad yards on June 24, 2008
All of the moisture that we have seen this summer is having an impact on so many things in our area – both small and large. From the perceived increase in the number of mosquitoes to the quickly rising water level of Lake Michigan.
This latter has been most welcome and almost shocking in its speed. The big lake is up over eight inches over the last year. For those unfortunates who are not familiar with our “inland ocean” that may be unimpressive, but those who are lucky enough to live around here know better.
To better put those inches in perspective, The Chicago Tribune figures that it means we are now enjoying the view of an additional 3.12 trillion gallons of water during our beach walks.
The view across the Amity Street bridge heading back into downtown Muskegon. This picture was taken shortly after a light rain, which contributed to the really nice reflections off of the street and railings.
The White Lake Jump and Click Your Heels Tournament proved to be a huge success this past Saturday. The contest is a longstanding tradition in the area, which has played host to the event for many years.
To those unfamiliar with the “click-off”, as it is called among competition veterans, the rules are no more (and no less) complicated than those for stone-skipping or leap-frogging, both of which are often played in conjunction with the Jump/Click.
In Jump and Click Your Heels participants leap to a height sufficient to allow the clicking together of their heels before the gravity of the situation ends each round of play. Points are then self-awarded for any number of factors, including vertical lift, volume of “click”, and, especially, aesthetic form.
It is understood that some area residents missed this weekend’s tournament. Understandable in that it was (as always) both unscheduled and spontaneous. For those wishing to attend or contend the next bout, another lovely Michigan weekend is only a few days away.
After receiving a tip from Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, we had our first lunch at Mia and Grace on Third Street in downtown Muskegon. It was wonderful – not “quaint small town” wonderful – but unqualified excellent eating. Please stop by and give it a try as soon as you can.
Dan has posted more info and photos at Downtown Muskegon
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Duck Lake, July 5, 2008
We were allowed to sleep slightly longer on July 5 before being dragged right back to Chris’ favorite swimming hole. But, even this (all too) minimally later hour led to an remarkably different view at the lake.
On this trip, we arrived just as the sun appeared over the trees to the east – and began burning off of fog along the southern shore.
As you can see, Chris was surprisingly oblivious to all of these aesthetic nuances. Her far greater concern being whether or not someone was going to throw the damn stick.
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Duck Lake, July 4, 2008
In spite of that famous section of the Federalist Papers in which Madison declared that…
…on July 4, the People of these United States shall remain in bed until such time as it is deemed appropriate to devour numerous foodstuffs of indeterminate origin, especially those which shall be named as both hot dogs and hamburgs.
When consumption of any additional alleged foods shall no longer be physically possible, the sound of the citizens’ collective groans, stomach rumbles and burps shall signal the commencement of the celebration of our country’s founding. Said celebration shall be accomplished with the expenditure of much of our nation’s treasure on really cool Chinese fireworks…
…Chris still got up early for a hike over to Duck Lake. It was just as well that she did, as we are still hoping to get out of here soon for a day trip on the Little Manistee.
The walk into the park was awfully dark, but, luckily, Chris knows the trails very well, especially the one to her favorite swimming spot. We got to the lake just in time for the dawn to start to break over the eastern shore of the lake.
It took Chris only a few minutes of dragging me through some very tall and very wet weeds to get to her swimming spot. It was well worth the soaked jeans to enjoy the view.
Heading across the Muskegon High School campus this morning, the old chimney off of Sanford seemed even more imposing than usual.
Friday morning found us at White Lake sans dog. It offered an opportunity to skip the usual lovely walk and partake in a lovely paddle instead.
The lake couldn’t have seemed more different. It was probably a combination of the long shadows of the sunrise and total absence of other boats.
This was the view heading out towards the White Lake channel at about 6:30 of marker 7.
Chris decided that this morning would be a perfect time to explore the southwestern shore of Duck Lake. Her instincts couldn’t have been better.
As we turned the corner from Duck Lake Road onto Scenic, the sun finally made it’s first appearance of the day and made up for sleeping in by putting on quite a show for us.
When Chris finished her swim, we headed down some seemingly impassable trails that she insisted were otherwise, we came upon these Dwarf Irises (Iris lacustris Nitt).
We understand that these are endangered. This makes sense having never run across them before – and not finding many this morning either.
According to “Michigan wildflowers in color” by Harry C. Lund, these are found almost exclusively on the sandy or gravelly shores of Lake Michigan or Huron and the boggy areas adjacent. He list it as “a threatened species do not disturb”.
The Richard Hunt sculpture, Muskegon Together Rising, on the morning of June 24, 2008.
The boat docks at the Hartshorn launch frame the sunrise over Muskegon on June 23, 2008.
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Clouds over Duck Lake, June 22, 2008
Rain clouds and their reflections frame the eastern shore of Muskegon County’s Duck Lake on June 22, 2008.
This is one of our dog Chris’ favorite places to wander. If you are tempted to try it with your hound, remember to keep an eye (and leash) out for encounters with the resident skunks. Just this morning, we had two separate meetings that worked out fine, but could easily have gone otherwise.
If in spite of that, you are still tempted, here’s more info on the park from the DNR website.
Duck Lake State Park is a 728-acre day-use park, located in Muskegon County. Featuring a towering sand dune, the park stretches from the northern shore of Duck Lake to Lake Michigan. The terrain is a mixture of open brush land to mature hardwood forest, with some pockets of open meadows mixed in.
The land was purchased by the Nature Conservancy from two Boy Scout organizations, and acquired by the state in 1974. Remains of the old scout camps were removed and access roads were constructed.
The park was officially dedicated in the spring of 1988.
A new entrance off of Scenic Drive was completed in May 2005.
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Damp Daisy, June 21, 2008
Waking up during last night’s big storm, we found that the rocking chairs out front were quite moved by all of the wind and rain. Indeed, for a while it looked as if some sort of ghostly tea party was underway.
Rumor has it that the real origin of the margarita cocktail involved a woman named not Margarita, but Daisy. And yet, she is said to be the inspiration for the name. It just so happens that one of the species name of the flower is…margarita!
This morning’s sunrise over White Lake seemed more dramatic than usual. It was almost as if the sun couldn’t get any closer.
Happy Solstice!
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Banjo, June 16, 2008
The rebirth of downtown Muskegon made a major stride with the recent reopening of Carmen’s Cafe. In addition to having our old friends back cooking wonderful food for us, the new cafe means that Muskegon once again has a regular venue for local musicians.
The music nights at Carmen and Scott’s old restaurant were one of the real highlights of living downtown. They offered the opportunity to play and hear tunes, but, more importantly, to meet others from around town and to get a much richer appreciation for our community.
Oh, and to eat way too much of that really good apple pie.