The Mighty Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge ( /ˈmækɨnɔː/ mak-in-aw) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western hemisphere. The Mackinac Bridge carries Interstate 75 and the Lakes Michigan and Huron components of the Great Lakes Circle Tours across the straits and connects the city of St. Ignace on the north end with the village of Mackinaw City on the south.

Envisioned since the 1880s, the bridge was designed by engineer David B. Steinman and completed in 1957 only after many decades of struggles to begin construction.

Stunning!

Cool Comerica Park - Detroit Tigers Home Field in Detroit Michigan!

Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000.

The park is named after a corporate sponsor, Comerica Bank, which was based in Detroit at the time the park opened, and which paid for the naming rights. Comerica's headquarters have since been moved to Dallas, Texas, but the bank still retains a large presence in Detroit. The stadium's seating capacity is 41,255.

Awesome place to see an MLB game!

The Detroit Murals of Diego Rivera

The images are iconic.

Assembly workers with tools raised in a frozen moment of manufacturing. Doctors and scientists stand near a child in a nativity scene that pays tribute to medicine. Secretaries and accountants, heads bowed, fingers on typewriters and adding machines. One panel even shows Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, seeming to watch a collection on unseen workers below him.

The meaning of these images is complex, a view of industry that challenges ideas about its role in society and raises issues of class and politics.

These murals were painted by Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Rivera was already well known as the leader of the Mexican muralist movement when he started the work, and he considered Detroit Industry the most successful piece of his career.

In 1932 Edsel Ford, the son of Henry Ford and president of the car company that bears the family name, and William Valentiner, the director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, commissioned Rivera to paint two murals for the museum's Garden Court. The only rule was the work must relate to the history of Detroit and the development of industry.

Soon thereafter Rivera and his wife, painter Frida Kahlo, arrived in Detroit and began studying and photographing the Ford automotive plant on the Rouge River. The factory so fascinated and inspired Rivera that he soon suggested painting all four walls of the Garden Court. Ford and Valentier agreed and soon Rivera's commission was expanded.

He spent about a month on the preliminary designs, and started painting in July 1932. The murals were completed in March 1933. Besides images of the assembly lines made famous by Ford, the murals also depict office workers and airplanes, boats and agriculture as well as Detroit's other industries at the time — medical, pharmaceutical, and chemical. They also show images of nudes representing fertility and a panel depicting vaccination.

The Petoskey Stone

A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized coral, Hexagonaria percarinata. The stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and the northwestern portion of Michigan's lower peninsula. In some areas of Michigan, complete fossilized coral colony heads can be found.

Petoskey stones are found in the Gravel Point Formation of the Traverse Group. They are fragments of a coral reef that was originally deposited during the Devonian period, about 350 million years ago. When dry, the stone resembles ordinary limestone but when wet or polished using lapidary techniques, the distinctive mottled pattern of the six-sided coral fossils emerges. It is sometimes made into decorative objects. Other forms of fossilized coral are also found in the same location.

In 1965, it was named the state stone of Michigan.

Silver Lake State Park, Michigan

Silver Lake State Park is a 2,936-acre (11.88 km2) state park in Michigan, located on Lake Michigan near Mears.

It is composed of mature forest land and over 2,000 acres (8 km2) of sand dunes. The park is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide and 3 miles (4.8 km) long and is divided into three segments: The northern area is an all-terrain vehicle park, and is the only dunes area east of Utah where a private motorized vehicle may be driven from April 1 through October 31.

The middle of the park is a non-vehicle area (The Walking Dunes), and the southernmost section is leased to the Mac Wood's Dune Rides for scenic dune cruising with spectacular views of Lake Michigan and Silver Lake.

The Little Sable Point Light is located just south of the park.

Joe's Gizzard City in Potterville Michigan!

The Legend of Joe's Gizzard City!

Welcome to Gizzard City! Many of you have heard of this town icon in the city of Potterville. Joe's has been owned by our family since 1960. The ownership has passed down through the generations of the Bristol family. Yes, we are known for our world famous deep fried chicken gizzards which are made with our famous batter mix. We guarantee these to be the best gizzards you've ever tasted. We also have excellent chicken dinners, hot sandwiches, hand battered onion rings and one of the best burgers around.

We are proud to say Joe's is the place where you truly feel at home. We may even ask you to do some dishes or wait on tables if you are lucky!

WARNING...If you see the help arguing with one another just consider it part of the local entertainment at no additional charge!! There are some things that we all agree on and that's giving you the best food and drink served with a wee bit of sarcasm! We may crack a few jokes once in a while, but it's all in good fun. Just like grandpa used to say, "If the heavenly father can't make people get along all the time, I'll be damned if we can do it!"

But seriously, if there is something that makes your experience less than enjoyable, please let us know! We may or may not agree with you, but we will do whatever we can to make things right.

Thanks for coming in. We hope to see you back real soon!

The Stunning Southfield Town Center

The Southfield Town Center is a cluster of five golden interconnected skyscrapers forming a contemporary 2,200,000 square feet (204,400 m2) office complex in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan. It includes the Westin Southfield Detroit Hotel, restaurants, a fitness center, and a major conference center for up to 1,000 attendees. This office-hotel complex is situated along Town Center Drive off the John C. Lodge Freeway, across from Lawrence Technological University in the Metro Detroit, with many of its tallest buildings named after their addresses along the road. Separately, there is a 33 story luxury residential high-rise at 5000 Town Center. The American Center, another 26 story golden office tower, near the confluence of I-696 and M-10, is not part of the complex.

The Town Center is across from the Civic Center, and is located between West 10 Mile Road and Interstate 696, John C. Lodge Freeway, and Evergreen Road, as well as being close to the Mixing Bowl.

An enclosed two-story garden atrium connects the hotel with the towers of the Southfield Town Center. The atrium area also contains 94,000 square feet (8,700 m2) of retail space. The atrium area is available for large conferences and weddings.

Fun Frankenmuth!

Frankenmuth is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,838 at the 2000 census. The 2009 census estimate places the population at 4,619. The city is located within Frankenmuth Township, but is politically independent. Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which bills itself as "the World's Largest Christmas Store", is located in Frankenmuth. The most popular nickname is "Muth", but the city is also nicknamed "Little Bavaria"

The city's name is a combination of two words. "Franken" represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria home of the Franks where the original settlers were from. The german word "Mut" means courage, thus the city name Frankenmuth means "courage of the Franconians". The area was settled and named in 1845 by conservative Lutheran immigrants from Roßtal area of Franconia (now part of Bavaria) in Germany.[5] The group of settlers left Germany on April 20, 1845 and arriving at Castle Garden seven weeks later. They traveled via canals and the Great Lakes from New York to Detroit and arrived in August 1845. Sailing on the Nelson Smith, the settlers made their way to Saginaw and travelled over land to the present location the city of Frankenmuth. Originally part of Bridgeport Township and later Frankenmuth Township, Frankenmuth became a village in 1904 and finally a city on October 1, 1959.

The nearby villages of Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf illustrate that the area remained a magnet for other Germans from the same region even after it lost its original purpose as a mission post for the spread of Christianity to the Chippewa tribe.

Must See: The Henry Ford—Dearborn, Michigan

The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, (also known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, and more formally as the Edison Institute), in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex. Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits, and Americana. The collection contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy's presidential limousine, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, and the Rosa Parks bus.

This is a must see if you visit Michigan!

The Zilwaukee Bridge

The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in Zilwaukee, Michigan, approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) north of Saginaw, Michigan, United States. The current eight-lane structure, completed in 1988, is the second such bridge at this location, replacing a four-lane bascule bridge constructed in 1960. The present structure was designed to relieve traffic congestion along the freeway crossing it,[3] resulting from repeated openings of the draw span for lake freighter traffic serving industrial sites along the river. The Zilwaukee Bridge is approximately 8,000 feet (2440 m) in length and rises 125 feet (38 m) at its highest point.

While the need for a replacement of the original structure became acute soon after it was completed, the construction of the current structure was also plagued with difficulties.

Construction began in 1979 with an expected completion date three years later; however the bridge would not be available for traffic for nine years. The initial budget of $79 million was exceeded by $48 million. In 1982, with the bridge two-thirds complete, a 150-foot (46 m) long, 6,700-ton (6,070 metric tonnes) segment was not properly counterbalanced and sank five feet (1.5 m) out of alignment while rising 3.5 feet (1.1 m) on the other end, cracking a pier footing in the process. Once repairs were made, a new contractor was hired to complete the bridge once the initial contractor and the state agreed to terminate their contract in exchange for both sides dropping their lawsuits over the accident. The new contractor developed a method of heating the concrete to allow construction during the winter. However, on some cold days these new sections could not be properly sealed against water infiltration, eventually leading to spalling as the water froze and expanded. Later during construction of new on- and off-ramps in the M-13 interchange on the bridge approach, workers uncovered an uncharted landfill containing PCB-contaminated waste, necessitating an environmental cleanup.

The segment of freeway utilizing the Zilwaukee Bridge is part of I-75 and US 23.

Incredible Isle Royale

Isle Royale /ˌaɪl ˈrɔɪ.əl/ is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park.

The island is 45 miles (72 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide, with an area of 206.73 square miles (535.43 km2), making it the largest natural island in Lake Superior, the second largest island in the Great Lakes (after Manitoulin Island), the third largest in the contiguous United States (after Long Island and Padre Island), and the 33rd largest island in the United States. It is defined by the United States Census Bureau as Census Tract 9603 of Keweenaw County, Michigan. As of the 2000 census there was no permanent population.

After the island was made a national park, some existing residents were allowed to stay, and a few leases are still in effect. Ferries from Michigan and Minnesota land at Rock Harbor on the eastern end of the island; this has a lodge, campground, and information center. Ferries from Minnesota also run to Windigo on the western end, which has a visitor center and campground.

Visit beautiful Isle Royale Michigan!

Z is for Zeeland!

Zeeland ( /ˈziːlɨnd/ zee-lənd) is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,805 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township which is politically independent. Its name is derived from the Dutch province of Zeeland. As of the 2009 census estimates, the population was 5,465.

In 1847, nearly 500 Dutch citizens sailed for America ostensibly to achieve religious freedom. However, an alternative explanation was their opposition to modern scientific and social advances, such contraception, vaccination, insurance, chemical fertilizers, and their failure to thrive in their home province of (Zeeland, Netherlands).

The emigrants were led by Jannes van de Luyster, a wealthy landowner who sold his holdings in the Netherlands to advance money for the members to pay their debts and buy passage to America.[5] Their settlement, some 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land once occupied by the Odawa people, was named after their home province of Zeeland.

Van de Luyster arranged for three ships to sail for the United States. He came on the first ship, arriving on June 27, 1847. He was followed by the Steketee group on July 4, and Reverend Van Der Meulen’s group on August 1. The total number who came was 457.

The first building was a church. The town of Zeeland was platted in 1849, and the school district was organized the following year. Close to twenty-five years later, Zeeland had already acquired a sawmill, a wagon factory, blacksmith shops, grocery stores, and a post office.

The village officially became a city in 1907 with a population of almost 3,000. There was a two-story brick kindergarten building, a two-story brick grade school, and a brick house building. The city also had four furniture factories, one large manufacturing plant, and several mills and smaller manufacturing industries.