Ginger Zee and Good Morning America Coming to Michigan
*Update: Pictured Rocks has won the contest and the live episode has been delayed due to flight issues for Ginger Zee. We will update when we have the rescheduled date*
Rockford High School graduate and Michigan native Ginger Zee is returning to Michigan to show the nation one of Michigan’s hidden gems. Three finalists are part of a Pure Michigan sponsored live broadcast by Zee and the Good Morning America team called Michigan Adventure Destination.
Fall color at Lake of the Clouds
The vote is between Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Porcupine Mountains – Lake of the Clouds Lookout, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. At the time of writing, the vote was as follows:
Pictured Rocks: 55% (1200 votes)
Sleeping Bear Dunes: 30% (651 votes)
Porcupine Mountains/Lake of the Clouds: 16% (343 votes)
You can vote through the following link. Voting ends Thursday at Noon.
Spray Falls Pictured Rocks
The voting so far has surprised me. I expected to see a closer race, but it appears Pictured Rocks is pulling away from the pack and will likely be the winner. I was also surprised to not see Sleeping Bear Dunes in the lead, as the destination was voted the “Most Beautiful Place in America” in a 2011 Good Morning America poll. Of course, Porcupine Mountains was just awarded second place in a USA Today poll for Best State Park in the nation.
Sleeping Bear Dunes – Dune Overlook on Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
You’ll find the three destinations listed above as prominent listings in our My 5 Favorite Places in Michigan series. My own picks included Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake of the Clouds. My brother Jon’s picks included Pictured Rocks and Porcupine Mountains. Author Loreen Niewenhuis selected Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes as two of her five picks. Endurance swimmer Jim Dreyer also included Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes as two of his picks.
The Porcupine Mountains and Pictured Rocks were also both featured in two of our favorite articles. The two natural wonders were part of the 10 Must Visit Lake Superior Circle Tour Destinations and 7 Natural Wonders in the Upper Peninsula.
Assuming Pictured Rocks is the winner, we’d like to highlight some of our coverage on the area, including this general photo gallery. The area has several waterfalls and natural wonders that you should check out.
On Monday June 1st, Zee will broadcast live from the winning location. Good Morning America airs from 7am to 11am. The airing will likely show off some of the natural beauty of the location and perhaps some nearby destinations.
For Zee, this trip back to Michigan may be good timing. It was around a year ago (June 7th) that Zee married her boyfriend at a ceremony in Petoskey. Zee was married at the Inn at Bay Harbor in Petoskey and brought the area some national attention and increased the destination wedding demand for the Michigan lakeshore.
Zee became the lead meteorologist at Good Morning America in 2013. She replaced Sam Champion, who left to take a position at The Weather Channel. Zee was a weekend Good Morning America meteorologist. Prior to her national roles, Zee worked at WOOD TV and WXMI in Grand Rapids and NBC 25 in Flint. She also spent time in Chicago at a local television station.
Along with being a meteorologist, Zee has also seen her national stardom get her roles on several reality television programs. Zee has been a guest on “Storm Chasers”, “Deadliest Catch”, and “Say Yes to the Dress”. She also recently competed on “Celebrity Jeopardy”.
Ginger Zee has become a local celebrity to the state of Michigan with her national role on television. It’s nice to see Zee come back to the state to highlight an area, even if she is getting paid for it.
In case you were wondering, my vote went to Porcupine Mountains – Lake of the Clouds.
