Great photos of many of Michigan's 'oddities'

While I was uploading photos to the All Things Michigan photostream at flickr.com yesterday I came across some wonderful Michigan photo groups. One such group was the Michigan Oddities group. Here are some of the gems in this delightfully odd group:

• Domke's Dinosaur Gardens
• A number of giant Paul Bunyan statues
• The world's largest weather vane
• A giant chicken in front of the Cherry Bowl Drive-in
• The world's largest picnic table

See some of Michigan's Oddities for yourself.

Introducing the Thank You Gift Box

We've cooked up a new gift box that is so tasty you just might purchase one for you (and if you feel obligated) and your family to share and enjoy. The Thank You Gift Box is just the right size to send to someone you wish to thank, show you are thinking of them, or simply just because.

More information on the Thank You Gift Box.

"An Unquiet Grave" is an exciting read

One of the top 20 books in the 2008 Michigan Notable Books list, "An Unquiet Grave" turned out to be a very good read. I couldn't hardly put it down and spent a few late nights finishing it up. A few days later my wife got around to reading it and she plowed through it in two or three days. So what's this Unquiet Grave about and what made it so intriguing to me?

Set in the very real Irish Hills, but in a not so real insane asylum at Hidden Lake there is a cemetery for the former patients. The asylum has been closed and everything is being torn down along with the cemetery. The graves are being dug up and the remains are being moved.

One such grave is dug up, but instead of a former patient - it's filled with rocks. Where did the patient go, who is the serial killer on the grounds and why are the victims left at the deserted asylum?

Louis Kincaid must travel back to Michigan and get to the bottom of this mystery at the request of his adopted father. While searching for the killer and trying to solve a mystery that seems to unravel and create more questions than answers, Louis must face some old ghosts of his own.

I love a good book, especially a good mystery. Add to that the fact that the story takes place in Michigan (and an area I'm familiar with at that) and I give "An Unquiet Grave" 4 Stars on a scale of 1 to 4 with 4 being the highest.

Find out more about the author(s) - P.J. Parrish

U.P. State Fair begins Monday, August 11

For those that didn't know, the U.P. has their own State Fair due to its isolated nature. Held each year in Escanaba since its inception in 1928 the Upper Peninsula State Fair is more accessible to Upper Peninsula residents than the Michigan State Fair held in Detroit. The gates are open at 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and admission is only $8 for adults, $6 for ages 6-12, and kids under 5 are free. Monday, August 11th, is Preview Day and admission is discounted to $4 for adults, $2 for youth and kids under 5 are still free.

An even better deal than the admission price is the fact that you can attend all of the grandstand shows for free as they are included in the admission price. Down here there's a large fair in northern Indiana that charges around $14 for admission and includes grandstand shows. The U.P. State Fair looks like a pretty good deal.

We were up at the fairgrounds last Labor Day weekend and attended the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Show. I have to say the fairgrounds are lovely and there are numerous permanent exhibits of interest as well.

The fair runs Monday through Sunday and the weather looks great.

For more information: Escanaba Daily Press article Schedule of events for U.P. State Fair

National Register of Historic Places adds seven Michigan locations

I love history and since I am a lifelong Michigan resident I am always interested in Michigan history as well. Seven properties were added to the National Register of Historic Places in July. A nice segment of Michigan is represented with properties from the U.P. (Iron River) on down to Detroit.

• Central School, Iron River
• East Jordan Lumber, East Jordan
• The Votruba Block, East Jordan
• Marquette & Western Railroad Negaunee Freight Depot, Negaunee
• The Majestic Theater, Detroit
• Garden Bowl, Detroit
• Helen Newberry Nurses Home, Detroit

You can read more about these locations at Michigan.gov.

For a complete listing of Michigan locations in the National Register of Historic Places you can search their database.

(Another) New deadline for preservation of Tiger Stadium

While Tiger Stadium continues to fall, the possibility of preserving a portion of the stadium remains. November 1st is the new deadline for the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy to come up with a financial plan in order to proceed with fundraising for the March 1st deadline. The March 1st deadline will determine whether or not a portion of the stadium and the ball diamond can be saved. There is now a Plan B for preserving the ball field and erecting a building to showcase Ernie Harwell's massive baseball memorabilia collection. The initial plan was to save about 3,000 seats between the dugouts and the field. Plan B is about $10 million cheaper than the initial plan which should help the Conservancy preserve at least the field.

On a side note - my Tiger Stadium page at Squidoo is currently ranked #170 out of hundreds of thousands of other pages. If you have a moment, take a look at it. It's a history of Tiger Stadium with pictures from before there was even a ball field at The Corner.

There are videos of the last ballgame at Tiger Stadium, the demolition of Tiger Stadium, and great facts and stories of this historic ballpark.