There is so much to do along the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Marinas draw us like magnets and we like the backroads that take us to unmarked beaches, however, my favorites haunts remain drawbridges and lighthouses. Andrew enjoys climbing winding staircases and the breathtaking views from high up, but he had yet to watch a drawbridge open and close. We each have an Adventure School bucket list and drawbridge action was on mine.
Drawbridge Fascination
One of my goals during our summer vacation was to let Andrew experience a drawbridge up-close. On our way back to Rogers City, from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in the Upper Peninsula, the drawbridge light in Cheboygan turned red. I seized the moment and pulled off into a private condo area, where I blatantly trespassed and led Andrew down to the water’s edge. If we bothered the surprised residents, they didn’t say anything. I suspect our excitement watching and cheering the bridge as it opened, gave us free admission.
Watching a drawbridge is a full sensory homeschool experience. We could hear the tug boat captain talking to the operator and then there are the sounds…. The clunks and the squeal of heavy metal as the bridge slowly separates causes a vibration that makes you feel like your ankle bones are chattering. My video of the Cheboygan bridge closing doesn’t do the sounds justice, but we find it just as fascinating.
Lights and lighthouses
Lighthouses dot the shorelines of the Great Lakes – 129 to be exact – and many are still actively keeping the waterways safe. They are now automated, so the ‘keepers of the light’ have become ghosts of the past. Like so many tourists, our family enjoys visiting these landmarks and hearing maritime stories that shaped the history of the Great Lakes. There is something mysterious about these iconic buildings and their crystalline lights that guided ships in the dark or stormy waters of the Great Lakes. We rarely pass a lighthouse without stopping.
Cheboygan Crib Light
Not far from the drawbridge, Cheboygan, Michigan has a nice lakeside park where one will find a nature trail and lookout, a playground, picnic area, beach and pier. On this particular day, Andrew and I met a fellow detectorist and his family. We ended up swapping metal detecting stories and techniques for several hours. Because we were all interested in history, we did some internet research together to find out information on the squatty little lighthouse that stood guard over our conversation.
Homeschooling on the Pier
Adventure Schooling on the Pier
Historically engineers built the Cheboygan Crib Light on a floating crib – or a piece of artificial land. The Cheboygan Crib Light is not a lighthouse, because it lacks accommodations for the light keeper to stay. The keeper attended to the kerosene light daily, by rowing out to the crib. Navigating large swells and mooring against the rocking cement crib in stormy weather, made the job dangerous.
One of the methods I like to use when teaching history is to have Andrew help me research snippets of information from historic newspapers. The Northern Tribune, Cheboygan, Saturday, June 2, 1877 reads:
The captains of various crafts are all of opinion… that the main difficulty in gaining an entrance to the Cheboygan harbor is finding the mouth of the cut, and that this would be obviated by having a crib built at the mouth and a light placed up on it…. From listening to the reasons given by the different captains we are decidedly of the opinion that the interests of Cheboygan would be much better promoted by the erection of the crib and light….
From the news clipping we can tell that it took awhile for construction of the crib and light to occur. This news article was from 1877, but the crib and light wasn’t finished until 1884. About this time in history, the logging industry exploded in the Cheboygan area and the ship traffic tripled. The Cheboygan Crib Light played an important role in the history of the logging industry. Fortunately the new light safely guided the heavy traffic in and out of the mouth of the Cheboygan river.
40-Mile Point Lighthouse
South of Cheboygan and just a bit north of Roger’s City, is the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is situated 40 miles south of Mackinaw point and 40 miles north of Thunder Bay – hence the name. It is a good place to swim, picnic, enjoy the view and start a bike hike, as the 11 mile bike trail begins (or ends?) on this same property. The museum is free to visitors and volunteers will narrate the history of the area, and sheds light on some of the local shipwrecks.
The lighthouse society has a unique program for volunteers where you can stay in the campground and volunteer on the grounds for your keep. Andrew and I would both like to become a ‘Keeper of the Lighthouse’. Duties include giving visitors the history of the area, volunteering in the tower, the gift shop, or in the pilothouse. It is a uniquely interesting program that keeps the property free to guests and the costs of upkeep to a minimum. Sleeping in a tent is probably making me stall a bit on this idea.
Presque Isle ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Light Houses
If you speak French, then you know that Presque Isle is pronounced: presk-eel. The definition means, “almost an island”. There are two lighthouses, old and new, on this not-quite-an-island. We enjoy visiting both and the grounds keepers will make sure you are familiar with all you see.
The view from the New Lighthouse, built in 1870, is the tallest on the Great Lakes. Andrew and I made the hike up to enjoy the phenomenal view. The stairs were narrow and quite a feat. Andrew, who spent some time in a wheelchair after breaking a femur, is quick to think about others who cannot enjoy such activities. One doesn’t realize how inhibited others with disabilities are until they are in the same position. The stairs create an interesting pattern, which we posted further down.
The Old Lighthouse is smaller and built in 1840. It is the oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes. This lighthouse is no longer active, instead it is a museum and a living testament to the storms of the past. Guests can climb the tower to see the Lake Huron horizon, wander the property and check out the history in the museum.
The Black Fly Encounter
Experiencing black flies is part of the Great Lake Culture. When Andrew and I were in the Presque Isle Old Lighthouse, I noticed the wind changed to an easterly direction. It didn’t take long for the museum to become a refuge to all visitors trying to escape the dreaded black fly. These viscous little pests are more intense than a swarm of hungry mosquitoes and they storm the shoreline a few days out of the year during storms, or wind changes.
Black flies will only lay larvae in clean, well-oxygenated moving water. That is how you know you are vacationing in a land of clean flowing rivers and streams! While this sounds horrible, don’t let the black fly deter you from vacationing in the Great Lakes state, because it only lasts a short time.
Andrew and I laugh and tell our joke of how we perfected our black fly dance. We would drive out to a beach and one of us would jump out to see if the flies were around that particular area. The ‘black fly dance’ meant do not get out of the car! The very next day, the wind shifted and the nasty little pests went back to their wooded wetlands.
Lighthouse Passport Club
Like visiting lighthouses? A fun way to check ’em off your list, is to apply for a Lighthouse Passport. You get a stamp when you visit a light house, proving you have been there, and in turn, there is a suggested donation of $2 for the stamp. There are two positive gains to this endeavor. You have the fun of collecting memories and passport stamps, and your donation helps the lighthouse society preserve and restore these historic buildings.
For more information visit the United States Lighthouse Society.
Map of Michigan Lighthouses
Check out this map of lighthouses along the Great Lakes shoreline. Lighthouses of Michigan
Other posts from our adventures in Northeast Michigan:
Freighters and Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes
We Found the Caribbean of the North at Rogers City, Michigan
An interesting view of the Presque Isle New Lighthouse steps:
What goes up… 
must come down.
