Shining Big-Sea-Water - The Wonder of the Great Lakes

We knew early on that our trip across country had to include a visit to the Great Lakes. The largest freshwater lakes in the world have long been a source of wonder and inspiration, providing sustenance and recreation, and been a means of commerce and connection to the wider world. The Chippewa, Iroquois and other Indian tribes gave tribute to the lakes with names portraying their tremendous size and beauty. Gitchee Gumee for Lake Superior meaning "Big Water" or "Great Sea". Lake Michigan was named Michigami for "Large Lake or "Great Water" and Lake Ontario was known as Ontari:io - the "Lake of Shining Waters".

Lake Huron was called Karegnondi - "Freshwater Sea" and Lake Erie, named Erielhonan for its shape - "Long Tail", which was later called Lac du Chat, "Lake of the Cat", by the French. All had monikers that spoke to the amazing size and captivating beauty of the lakes.

We were determined to see at least a part of all of the lakes - but where to start? Since we wanted to visit with close friends in Grand Ledge, it seemed that Lake Michigan was a good place to begin exploring, with its network of lighthouses. There are over 200 lighthouses on the Great Lakes, and half of those (102) are located in Michigan!

Our introduction to Lake Michigan was in St. Joseph which has two lighthouses - the Inner and Outer Lights located on the North Pier. The original lighthouse was built in 1832 on a bluff 50 feet above the shoreline. During the early 1840's, the harbor was dredged and the North and South Piers were built. These piers form breakwaters at the mouth of the St. Joseph River which flows through Michigan and Indiana. A beacon light was added on the South Pier in 1846. Additional improvements made during the 1880's included moving the pier light to the North Pier, and adding a steam-powered fog horn in a separate building. The lighthouses were built of wood at that time and were battered by the lake's brutal winter weather. Finally, in 1907 they were replaced with steel structures on the North Pier, including a much larger Inner lighthouse for the fog horn.

The catwalk was also built in 1907 so that the light keepers had a safer way to reach the second story of the lights above the waves in stormy weather. The catwalk is 12 feet above the pier, but taking this path must still have been very hazardous. During winter, the temperatures can drop below zero, and the waves can reach as high as 20 feet, icing over the pier and catwalk with huge icicles.

By 1924, the lighthouse on the bluff was decommissioned, as the use of radio waves replaced lighthouses for navigation. In 1939, the pier lights were transferred to the Coast Guard. Then later, in 2005, were decommissioned and their ownership transitioned to the city of St. Joseph in 2013. The lights underwent a significant restoration in 2015, in recognition of their important role in the development of the harbor and in navigation on Lake Michigan. The lights are still maintained and operated by the Coast Guard. The light beam has a reach of 15 nautical miles. Lake Michigan is considered the most treacherous of the lakes due to its strong currents and rapidly changing weather. Sudden storms can arise with rain, high winds and waves reaching 20 feet or more. The long shoreline and sand bars cause rip currents and underwater hazards such as rocks, reefs and sandbars make navigation challenging.

The South Pier at the southern edge of the channel has a range light tower, also built in 1907. Range lights are used by ships to visually align their bearings with the shore lights to ensure they are on course for safely navigating the channel entrance.

The piers are a great place to walk, ride a bike, do a little fishing, or admire the passing boats. In his usual fashion, Murphy found a friend in this young lady, who loved him up with hugs and belly rubs - he was a happy boy!

This cyclist glides along the South Pier enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Waders and seabirds venture into the cool waves as the surf rushes onto the sand.

As the sun dipped lower on the horizon, the colors of the sky softened to lovely pastels and the landscape took on a rosy glow.

The boats motor into the channel, towards the harbor, as the sunset deepens and a lone fisherman does a little night fishing.

At dusk, the piers are closed for safety reasons and a beach ranger stopped by the South Pier to close off access for the night.

With nightfall the harbor lights glimmer over the channel.

The following day we visited the Holland Harbor Light - also known as "Big Red Lighthouse" - in Holland, at Holland State Beach, also on Lake Michigan.

The sailboats were so pretty gliding along. At times I thought they might run into one another, but they maneuvered around each other with ease!

A unique feature of the beach around the lighthouse was this flexible walkway stretched out over the sand, complete with wheelchair, making the beach more accessible!

 We admired the architecture of this grand beach house. What a view they must have!

Later in the afternoon, we explored a third lighthouse, the South Haven Light. Built in 1903, the tower is 35 feet tall, and made of cast iron. It replaced the original wooden lighthouse that was built in 1872. The catwalk was added in 1925. South Haven Light is one of only four lighthouses on Lake Michigan that still have an elevated catwalk remaining. The catwalk itself is 75 feet long, extending from the shore to the second story of the tower.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset here, with the sky turning first to golden yellows, and then a dusty rose. The setting sun lit the beach with its long-reaching rays.

A motorboat sped over the water under the brilliant sun, followed by a graceful sailboat taking a lazy sunset sail.

Goodnight Sun!

Sailboats enjoying the last remnants of light and the rosy sky at day's end.

The last boat returning, guided home by the lights on the pier glowing in the dusk.

Night falls over the lake and the streetlights cast their halo over the beach.

After a relaxing time on Lake Michigan, we headed north, to visit Sault Ste. Marie and the locks. We crossed the Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac and connects Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. The two lakes are at the same sea level, and together they form the largest freshwater lake in the world. The "Mighty Mac" is one of the world's longest suspension bridges and extends for 5 miles, between St Ignace and Mackinaw City on the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. The bridge is 199 feet above the water, with a clearance of 155 feet for ships passing in the Straits below the bridge. The towers of the bridge rise to 552 feet above the water.

The bridge was opened in 1957. It replaced the ferry service established in 1923 which ran seasonally between the peninsulas. The ferry boats carried up to 9,000 vehicles daily but only had capacity to carry between 40 and 90 cars at a time. During busy times, especially during hunting season, the volume of traffic, and time required to cross, caused long delays and long lines of traffic, some extending over 15 miles. In addition, the Straits had to contend with ice floes in winter, sometimes freezing over completely, with ice up to several feet thick making the Straits impassable for ferries. In 1936, winter service was established, using railroad icecutter ships to cut through the ice floes, and enabling ferry service year-round. When the bridge opened, the ferries were no longer needed and were retired. However the Coast Guard still uses icebreaker ships to manage the ice floes in the straits and St. Mary's River. In winter, the bridge is occassionally closed for short periods due to falling ice that forms on the bridge.

Heading north on the bridge, the view of Lake Michigan to the west and Lake Huron to the east is quite spectacular!

The deep blue waters of Lake Huron sparkle in the sun.

Mackinac Bridge, from Bridgeview Park on the north side of Lake Michigan, reminded me reminded me of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. By comparison, the Golden Gate is taller by 200 feet, but the Mighty Mac is over 3 miles longer. Over 4 million vehicles cross the Mackinac Bridge each year.

We continued north, to visit Soo Locks. Soo Locks connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron at Sault Ste. Marie on the St. Marys River, which forms the border between Michigan and Canada. The locks are needed because Lake Superior is 21 feet higher than Lake Huron. The locks bypass the rapids on the river and use a series of gates and chambers to adjust the water level up or down. This enables freighters to navigate between the two lakes, into the St. Lawrence Seaway, and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean. The locks move nearly 86 million tons of cargo annually including 95% of the iron ore in the United States.

Today Soo Locks is 1,200 feet long, 50 feet deep, and 110 feet wide. Since their inception in 1855, the locks have been enlarged several times to accommodate very large freighter ships. The largest freighter using the locks measures 1,013 feet long and 105 feet wide. It takes about 9 hours for a ship to traverse the locks. An average of 10,000 ships pass through the locks annually, even though they are closed from January to March when severe weather and ice closes down shipping on the Great Lakes.

We watched this freighter come up the channel of the St. Marys River, towards the locks. Based on the info listed on the hull, I did a little research on the ship. I was amazed to find detailed data published online and updated every 2 hours about this ship - the Captain Henry Jackman - including its history, specifications, cargo, last port, current location, course, destination and speed!

It is an Equinox class freighter owned by Algoma Central Corporation, a leading Canadian marine shipping company. It hauls bulk cargo, such as liquid petroleum, iron ore or grain and operates throughout the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, Atlantic Canadian regions and the east coast of the United States. It was built in China in 2021 and traveled from China across the Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal, on its maiden voyage to reach its home port of Toronto, Canada.

With a length of 740 feet and a width of 78 feet, it will fit comfortably through the locks :)

On the river was an abandoned house that must've seen many ships passing through.

Beyond the locks is the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge from Michigan to Canada.

From Sault Ste. Marie, we headed west to see the Point Iroquois Light Station, located at the eastern end of Whitefish Bay, in Lake Superior. The first lighthouse here was built in 1855, of wood and then later replaced with the current brick building in 1870.

The charming lighthouse is surrounded by lovely grounds that include a long pathway to the beach at the shoreline of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. This lighthouse guided navigation for 107 years, until 1962 when it was replaced by the Gros Cap Reefs Light, an automated light located in the channel off Gros Cap, Ontario operated by Canada.

The day we visited it had begun to rain, and fog settled over the water. We could look out over Whitefish Bay and see the big freighters waiting out the weather.

We chose to visit this area, inspired in part by the music of Gordon Lightfoot and his song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" memorializing that ship's sinking in November of 1975. At 730 feet long and 75 feet wide, it is still one of the largest freighters to have sailed on the lakes, and the largest to have sunk in Lake Superior. It sank in a severe storm, losing all 29 crew members. The wreck still lies 17 miles from Whitefish Bay.

The Great Lakes are known for treacherous storms and many ships have been lost over the years. The lakes are particularly dangerous due to volatile weather causing fierce storms, frigid temperatures, and underwater hazards such as reefs and sandbars. It has been estimated that there are over 6,000 shipwrecks across the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is estimated to have over 550 shipwrecks, with more than 200 ships lost along the "Shipwreck Coast", an 80-mile stretch of shoreline between Munising and Whitefish Point at the southern edge of Lake Superior. Lake Michigan is thought to have even more, from 1,500 to 2,000. Lake Huron, too has its share, with an area of Thunder Bay designated as a sanctuary for approximately 100 shipwrecks. As a group these ships represent the range of vessels that make up the evolution of shipping on the Great Lakes. Interestingly, some are in shallow enough water that they are destinations for divers, who can visit the wrecks if they have appropriate gear and certification. The research and recovery of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes is difficult due to very deep and cold water, the diving expertise required, environmental concerns from mussels and other marine life causing ship structures to disintegrate, and the technical resources and equipment needed.

From Whitefish Bay, we turned back towards the RV park, stopping briefly in Gaylord, Michigan, which is about 100 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. There we visited the Gaylord City Elk Park. The park is 108 acres with a herd of about 60 elk. The herd included Sika or Fallow Deer which I'd never seen before.

Fallow Deer are a smaller deer, originally native to Eurasia, Persia and Europe. They are widespread in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but are not common in the United States. They looked to me like deer you might see in a fairytale or in Robin Hood!

They have beautiful coloring - all white or lighter chestnut brown with white spots. They have antlers, like a moose or elk, that are flat and branch out, becoming more elaborate over time.

Seeing different wildlife was one of the pleasures of our trip. The park where we stayed had a large pond that attracted swans. They looked so serene gliding over the water.

Lastly, we wandered through the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. We admired the architecture and bustling students returning to classes in early September.

We truly enjoyed our time in this area and hope to visit again - still so many areas we would like to explore - not only was it Pure Michigan - it was pure magic!