Summer Travel

[sparker1]

This summer, my wife and I will be traveling through a number of states and provinces, concentrating on Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Washington and Idaho. This will include visits to Glacier, Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, as well as Red River Gorge, Hocking Hills, Cuyahoga Valley, the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, north shore of Lake Superior, Arrowhead region of MN, Kananaskis region of Alberta, the Palouse region of Washington and the Hell's Canyon area in Idaho. I've done a lot of research but would still appreciate tips from locals regarding good spots for wildlife, birds and great scenery.

This will be posted in other talk forums, too. Thanks a lot for any advice you can offer.

[res]

I can help you some in Michigan. We have a WIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE diversity of subjects to shoot. First, you need to know we have over 100 lighthouses in Michigan. I have not shot the east side but there are quite a few over there. Here is a link to help you get started.

http://www.northernmichigan.com/public/lighthouses/

Just click on the Lake Huron or Lake Superior and it will list all the houses.

We have a lot of wildlife. I am attaching this link from the DNR for a nice search engine.
http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/
You may feel free to research that but I would like to call out one specific site that I just became aware about two weeks ago. It is right in the path of your travel.

http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/nlp/index.htm

Research points 70, 71, 72. They just had a very big birding festival of some kind in that area.
You also need to be aware that much of the upper part of Michigan has large portions of state and federal forest. This equates to hundreds of thousands of acres that are open to public use. Many of the roads are nothing but small tracks through the woods that are also snowmobile trails in the winter. I have a Garmin 60csx gps and I have rarely if ever lost a signal even deep in the woods. I use their topo map and for the most part, it shows many of the small little roads. You can drive slowly down these roads and be quite surprised at what you will see if you just take your time.
North and east of Gaylord Michigan there is a fairly large elk herd that lives wild. NOTHING like out west but depending on the time of year, it could be a very nice thing to try.

http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/nlp/56Pigeon/index.htm

Just google Michigan elk viewing.
Of course, as you are about to go from the lower to the upper peninsulas, do not miss taking shots of the Mighty Mackinaw bridge. It is an awesome sight from the east side at sunset. On the UP side, there are several very nice viewing areas and a park set up that give nice results for nighttime shooting.
There are no real natural waterfalls in the lower peninsula (well, maybe one but I believe that is private) but when you are in the upper, you have a boat load of options. The first link is the grand daddy of them all in Michigan.

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html

Here is a second link to let you get a feel for others
http://gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/maps/statemichigan.shtml
While in the U.P. DO NOT MISS the Pictured rocks. That is heaven on earth. The boat tour is worth every penny.

http://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/scenicsites.htm

http://www.picturedrocks.com/Home.php

Try to get a nice sunny day!! (LOL) Mid afternoon will give you some color that is fabulous. I am going back up this summer. Last time we toured them was in 2006 and I was shooting p&s. 6 months later I switched to DSLR and I want to go back.

An awesome place to view wildlife and birds in the UP would be the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Well laid out and designed around viewing though much is a bit distant.

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/seney/

Further west in the UP is The Porcupine mountains and Lake of the Clouds. Gorgeous viewing.

http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=426&type=SPRK
http://porcupinemountains.com/activities/lake-of-the-clouds/
You can also check out the Copper Harbor area. This is in the Keweenaw peninsula and there are a wide variety of opportunities available.

http://www.copperharbor.org/ (http://www.copperharbor.org/)

I suppose I need to stop since I think I have already filled up a couple of months of travel for you. Hope you have a great summer and let us see some pictures.

[sparker1]

Thanks so much, res, for all that info and for going to the trouble to supply links. I will check them all out ASAP. It has been a long time since I visited MI, so I'm looking forward to it.

[res]

Thanks so much, res, for all that info and for going to the trouble to supply links. I will check them all out ASAP. It has been a long time since I visited MI, so I'm looking forward to it.
If you have other questions, do not be afraid to post and them PM me. I will answer as soon as I can.