Help Feed the Hungry This Saturday

The Detroit News has a reminder that this Saturday, May 13, 2006, is the 14th annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive. What a simple way to help feed the hungry. Go through your cupboards and fill up a bag (or more if you like) of nonperishable food items and set it next to your mailbox. Your letter carriers and other volunteers will pick it up for you. You don't have to drive anywhere to drop your food off. It doesn't take a lot of effort on your part at all. Will you help?

Video of DNR Planting Fish

WWMT Channel 3 out of Kalamazoo has a neat video (about 1.5 minutes long) showing fish being loaded into a tanker truck at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery near Mattawan. The fish were chinook salmon and they were headed for various streams and rivers to be "planted." It is a nice little video that provides a quick glimpse of the great work our Michigan DNR does to keep fishermen happy. You should plan a visit to the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery. Nature trails surround ponds of various sizes and the hatchery is one of the premiere spots in the state for birdwatching. Catch and release fishing is available every Saturday from June through August for kids ages 5-16. Call ahead to reserve your spot as they tend to fill up rather quickly.

The hours for the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery for June through August are - Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., closed Mondays.

They are closed from November to February and the hours for March - May and Sept. - Oct. are - Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday, noon - 4 p.m., closed Mondays.

Head on over to the Michigan DNR website for links to information about all six of our Michigan fish hatcheries.

Check out the Improved Michigan.gov Website

Michigan.gov has updated their site once again and added numerous new features. Podcasts, blogs, and the ability to view the website on your PDA or cell phone are just a few of the changes that were made. I have visited a lot of other state's websites when I was going to be passing through or visiting that state and I have to say that Michigan's website has always been the best. The "Alerts" page contains everything from weather to Amber alerts. I thought the page was seriously outdated when I saw there was a Winter Storm Warning for Ontonangon. I checked the link and the date is indeed for today, May 10. They could get up to half a foot of snow up there. Sheesh!

I have to say that the blogs and podcasts are quite limited. The only podcast updated with any regularity is the Governor's weekly radio address. I could only find one blog which makes me wonder why the link is entitled "Blogs."

The one blog they have appears to be for the Dept. of Environmental Quality. I have to admit, that is pretty boring. Oh well, less competition for All Things Michigan I guess.

One last cool thing I like about the new content is a Michigan Photo Gallery that allows anyone to submit a photo and have it appear in the gallery on the Michigan.gov website. Again, the amount of content is a bit lacking. There are three photos and one of them is of the Mackinac Bridge and was taken by the MDOT photo lab staff.

Lots of promise with the site and as always there is still a bevy of information there on a number of different topics.

Sleep in a Tipi at Wilson State Park

Want to stay someplace so unique that your kids will talk about it years later? Wilson State Park offers such a place. For $30 you can spend the night in an actual tribal replica tipi. The 20-foot tall tipi stands on a wooden platform and sleeps up to four people. Don't worry, the park staff will have your tipi set up for you in advance. Just call 1-800-44PARKS or on the web at www.midnrreservations.com to make your tipi reservation. Wilson State Park originally was the site of the Wilson Brothers Sawmill and Company Store, which was a big part of the lumber boom in the late 1800s. Located on Budd Lake just north of Harrison, Wilson State Park offers swimming, fishing, hiking, and even a metal detection area.

Apparently metal detecting is so big at Wilson State Park that they have a designated area. Those wishing to use metal detectors are limited to the beach area only. Evidently since there was a lumber mill and other buildings previously located at the park people have been using metal detectors in the campground and other areas and making a mess with their digging.

If you go:

From S. US 27 to Harrison Exit, right 3.5 miles to park; from N. US 27 to Harrison Exit, right 4 miles to park.

P.S. Don't forget to purchase your annual state park pass for $24. A daily state park pass will cost $6, but if you are staying a couple of nights you might as well spend a little extra and get the annual pass. That way you won't have an excuse to not check out Michigan's many other state parks this summer.

Looking at Gas Prices the Week of 5/9/06

This week, the average price of one gallon of unleaded gasoline in Michigan is $2.818. Our local stations here in southwest Michigan are all around the $2.77 range. That is down a bit from last week when prices were around $2.84 per gallon. Read my quick note from last week - about gas prices supposedly peaking this month.

Tell Free Press Writer Where to Travel in Michigan

Susan Ager, a writer for the Detroit Free Press, is asking her fellow Michiganians to suggest places in Michigan for her to visit. Head over to Susan's blog to check out all of the ideas people have suggested. Even if you can't think of anything to suggest, you might find some of Michigan's hidden gems that you will want to pay a visit. Actually, I thought I would go over there and make some suggestions, but I got caught up in reading all of the great ideas. I'll try to think up something really unique to add to the ever growing list.