Friday, June 23, 2006

What I Saw in Mackinaw

Photo of the Day: My girls, Amanda on the left and Bonnie on the right, in something of an extreme closeup. We've had an awful lot of fun up here in Mackinaw City the past four days. We rode on a ferry, rode on a horse, rode in a carriage, and walked until our legs were sore. Personally, I'm still recovering from that stupid horse.

I tried to upload some vacation photos to my website, but the Internet connections here are just not cooperating long enough to do anything. Watch for them to be there by Sunday evening.

Today we toured the Mackinaw Point Lighthouse, climbing 51 spiral stairs through four floors and 11 rungs on a ladder to reach the tower top. The lighthouse ran from 1892 until 1957 when Mackinac Bridge opened. The Bridge has flashing lights at the top of its towers, which rise 552 feet into the air, making the lighthouse obsolete. The Bridge also has its own foghorn. Five men were killed in its construction, though we were told the builders expected to lose a baker's dozen. It was built for $99 million and in three years, coming in under budget and on time. It is the country's longest suspension bridge. There will be a picture of it on my website by Monday.

Then we hiked over to Fort Michilimackinac, which was built by the French and occupied by the British until 1779, when they moved the whole thing over to Mackinac Island and a better defensive position. The fort was carefully reconstructed and today is the site of the longest ongoing archeological dig in Michigan. A dig that began in 1955 we took pictures of today.

Tomorrow we start for home, much to the chagrin of everyone. I only hope our builder finished the bathroom remodel....

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