We spent the better part of the weekend at Michigan's famous bridge underneath perfect weather. The temperature was a very tolerable 75 to 80 degrees! We traveled among the orange barrels, weaving, stopping, slowly moving through Michigan's troubled roadway construction. Let me tell you that for those with no patience, it is frustrating at best! For those with patience,which is the rest of the family, it is rewarded with beautiful scenery and great food.
Our main destination, Petosky, and the hotel 8 was a wonderful stay. The pool and hot tub were just what we were needing. The surrounding landscapes offered beautiful images. Of course I never leave home without the ever present digital camera. My hope was to return with at least 1000 images to process and post. I accomplished half this desire, although with more than acceptable results.
We traveled from Petosky to the bridge and spent the day in the past at Fort Michlimac and enjoyed a display of flintlock demonstrations amid much history. We learned that the fort had been eventually dismantled and moved over to Mackinaw Island, piece by piece and that what was left was burned and therefore somewhat preserved. Very interesting as they had some of the original timbers still intact in a display at the basement of one building. I was also witness to a canon demonstration that used less than a third of the gunpowder needed to send a six pound lead ball across the straits, back in the day. Five ounces we were told compared to a pound and one half. Still very loud and captured on video for us to look at on those rainy days.
For those of you who may visit the Fort, tickets are available that allow the viewing of at least three historic buildings at a discount. We opted for this as I love history and the possible invitation to preserve more images with a camera. The fort was the first building, with the second being the historic lighthouse. A very well preserved building that you can climb to the top, with a tour guide to view the bridge. I managed a panorama photograph from this vantage, and even without a tripod was pleased with the image that I was able to pull off. Click on the image for larger version, back button on browser to return.
From visiting the Fort we were told that wood plank ends were found at the location as well as in the walls of the lighthouse as it was being restored that had many cuts in them. It was not realised what these were about until in the mid '70's a sawmill was discovered that operated by water power from the local stream. This is the third building on the tour and was re-constructed and operational by 1984. An amazing discovery as it was explained why there were so many wood block ends that had many cuts. It seems that squared off logs were cut at the mill into planks. The mill operator would make his cut and stop short at the end, and not finish the plank cut, repeating this procedure many times. By doing this, transportation to Mackinaw Island would be easier as you could ferry one log ,cut several times, across the straits, and upon arrival, simply cut off the end to yield many planks. A big time saver indeed! This Mill is a must see as the demonstration of cutting large logs with only water as a power source is intriguing. The ingenuity of the Michigan settler from the 1790 time slot offers many insights as to how life was without the aid of electricity.
From the bridge we back pedaled to Traverse City for some wine tasting at Chateau Grand Traverse amid a kind of grey day. Traveling along the peninsula to "Old Mission" we find another lighthouse. This one not open to the public as it is privately owned now. The beach front is plays host to sand that gives way to large rocks as the water has receded quite a bit. I was able to pull off another panorama to show that the waterline is out there a bit. Testimonial to the depletion of one of our Great Lakes. We have visited this site over the last several years and have a documentation of how much of the water is gone from the beach head. This is of course disappointing as it points to what we are losing in so short of a span of time.
In town for a little shopping, we run into Michael Moore, director of many of the documentaries available, such as Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 911 and the latest "Sicko", I snap a few photos as he is conversing with a fellow shopper. There is a film festival in town and the opera is playing and so the town is bustling. I visit a photographer who runs an art oriented studio with breathtaking digital images for sale and display! After talking with him and grabbing his card, we end the conversation with a possible collaboration of talents to produce high quality art in the Grand Rapids area. A very exciting prospect indeed.
I'll end this blog for now, but check back for more images and additions to the daily entry.
RBass
Our main destination, Petosky, and the hotel 8 was a wonderful stay. The pool and hot tub were just what we were needing. The surrounding landscapes offered beautiful images. Of course I never leave home without the ever present digital camera. My hope was to return with at least 1000 images to process and post. I accomplished half this desire, although with more than acceptable results.
We traveled from Petosky to the bridge and spent the day in the past at Fort Michlimac and enjoyed a display of flintlock demonstrations amid much history. We learned that the fort had been eventually dismantled and moved over to Mackinaw Island, piece by piece and that what was left was burned and therefore somewhat preserved. Very interesting as they had some of the original timbers still intact in a display at the basement of one building. I was also witness to a canon demonstration that used less than a third of the gunpowder needed to send a six pound lead ball across the straits, back in the day. Five ounces we were told compared to a pound and one half. Still very loud and captured on video for us to look at on those rainy days.
For those of you who may visit the Fort, tickets are available that allow the viewing of at least three historic buildings at a discount. We opted for this as I love history and the possible invitation to preserve more images with a camera. The fort was the first building, with the second being the historic lighthouse. A very well preserved building that you can climb to the top, with a tour guide to view the bridge. I managed a panorama photograph from this vantage, and even without a tripod was pleased with the image that I was able to pull off. Click on the image for larger version, back button on browser to return.
From visiting the Fort we were told that wood plank ends were found at the location as well as in the walls of the lighthouse as it was being restored that had many cuts in them. It was not realised what these were about until in the mid '70's a sawmill was discovered that operated by water power from the local stream. This is the third building on the tour and was re-constructed and operational by 1984. An amazing discovery as it was explained why there were so many wood block ends that had many cuts. It seems that squared off logs were cut at the mill into planks. The mill operator would make his cut and stop short at the end, and not finish the plank cut, repeating this procedure many times. By doing this, transportation to Mackinaw Island would be easier as you could ferry one log ,cut several times, across the straits, and upon arrival, simply cut off the end to yield many planks. A big time saver indeed! This Mill is a must see as the demonstration of cutting large logs with only water as a power source is intriguing. The ingenuity of the Michigan settler from the 1790 time slot offers many insights as to how life was without the aid of electricity.
From the bridge we back pedaled to Traverse City for some wine tasting at Chateau Grand Traverse amid a kind of grey day. Traveling along the peninsula to "Old Mission" we find another lighthouse. This one not open to the public as it is privately owned now. The beach front is plays host to sand that gives way to large rocks as the water has receded quite a bit. I was able to pull off another panorama to show that the waterline is out there a bit. Testimonial to the depletion of one of our Great Lakes. We have visited this site over the last several years and have a documentation of how much of the water is gone from the beach head. This is of course disappointing as it points to what we are losing in so short of a span of time.
In town for a little shopping, we run into Michael Moore, director of many of the documentaries available, such as Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 911 and the latest "Sicko", I snap a few photos as he is conversing with a fellow shopper. There is a film festival in town and the opera is playing and so the town is bustling. I visit a photographer who runs an art oriented studio with breathtaking digital images for sale and display! After talking with him and grabbing his card, we end the conversation with a possible collaboration of talents to produce high quality art in the Grand Rapids area. A very exciting prospect indeed.I'll end this blog for now, but check back for more images and additions to the daily entry.
RBass
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