We have been loving the clear waters of Lake Huron and have been told that it is so clear because of the Zebra Mussels that are an invasive species to the Great Lakes. We had our first viewing of the mussels at Presque Isle. While the clear water is incredible, the species is a concern for the area. The Zebra Mussels clog the underwater tunnels and pipes of city water works and power plants. They can be so bad that fire fighting tanker planes used in the Great Lakes area have to be completely drained and cleaned before being used in the Pacific Northwest. The threat of the tunnels of the Hydroelectric power dams on the Columbia River being clogged is too great.
Interesting day, the seas were around 3-feet when left the harbor but were forecast to become 1-2 feet which they did by the time we passed Rogers City. The weather was not bad, but there was enough fog that it made for an eerie day where we could not see land most of the day, it was only as we approached the island that it started to clear.
Tonight we are at Mackinac Island State Marina and are looking forward to exploring Mackinac Island tomorrow. So far we know that ferries come into the harbor every 15 minutes or so and set the boats in the marina to rocking…we have had to tie off on the piling next to us to hold Andiamo off of the dock.
The fact that we are both wearing long pants and have a jacket handy and the fact that the last four marinas we have stayed in were only about 20-25% full, I think, indicates that fall has arrived in Northern Michigan.
Local fishermen went out early this morning but returned reporting waves of three to four feet with white caps beginning to form on top. Their report, verified by the marine weather forecast, led us to sit tight and enjoy the island.
Presque which is French for a peninsula literally means “almost an island.” Only a narrow strip of land at the southern end of Presque Isle connects it to the mainland, we are close to the northern end at Presque Isle State Marina. We spent the day hiking and visiting two of Michigan’s 149 lighthouses. Michigan, with its 3,288 miles of shoreline, has more lighthouses than any other state and touring them seems to be a favorite past time in this area.
The Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, 38-feet tall, was built in 1840 to guide tall ships into Presque Isle Harbor. Although there are many man-made safe harbors on Lake Huron today, at that time, the only natural harbor between Detroit and Mackinac was Presque Isle Harbor. With the growth of the lumber industry on the peninsula it became necessary to have a lighthouse that not only provided guidance to Presque Isle Harbor but also to the lumber yards north of the harbor, hence in 1870, a 113-foot “New Presque Isle Lighthouse” was built a mile north of the “Old Presque Isle Lighthouse.”
We climbed the one-hundred-thirty wrought iron steps to the catwalk of the new lighthouse for a wonderful view of Lake Huron and Grand Lake. After descending, we visited the museum and hiked to the old light house for a quick tour. The hand-hewn stone steps ending with a ladder to the catwalk proved more challenging than the one-hundred-thirty steps at the new lighthouse. We ended our hike with a walk on the harbor seawall delighted to have spent the day here.
We climbed the one-hundred-thirty wrought iron steps to the catwalk of the new lighthouse for a wonderful view of Lake Huron and Grand Lake. After descending, we visited the museum and hiked to the old light house for a quick tour. The hand-hewn stone steps ending with a ladder to the catwalk proved more challenging than the one-hundred-thirty steps at the new lighthouse. We ended our hike with a walk on the harbor seawall delighted to have spent the day here.
New Presque Lighthouse
1905 House & Museum
3rd Order Fresnel Lens
Lake Huron
Grand Lake
New Fresnel Lens: Less beautiful but more powerful.
We always check several marine weather forecast before departing and reports were contradictory this morning. Some favorable to our location and one with small-craft warnings. Knowing that we had safe-harbors along the way, we took a chance and left at sunrise hoping to make it the Rogers City. As we approached Presque Island, 14 miles from Rogers City, the winds and waves were on the increase and we decided to spend the night at Presque Isle State Marina.
The west side of Michigan, from Port Huron to Mackinaw City, is often referred to as the “Sunrise Side” were some sunrises are an explosion of pastels, or yellows and gold, others bright red, while some are a combination of all. A combination of all was our experience as we left Harrisville Harbor this morning. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
As predicted, today was a perfect day to cross Saginaw Bay, forty-two miles across makes this the second longest crossing of our trip, the first was our Gulf Crossing at 182 miles. The lake also got deeper, the deepest point of the crossing was 229 feet, which is the deepest water we have seen on our Great Loop Journey, we have been in less than 50 feet of water since we left the Hudson River.
Up before sunrise, Rick checked a couple of weather reports and we made the decision to head north to Harbor Beach. Heading south, The Pride of Michigan pulled out just ahead of us with plans to do one last shipwreck dive before returning to home port. The seas were at one to two feet when we left the marina, however, by 9:00 we had large rolling seas that, although not dangerous, was a bit uncomfortable and we were happy to pull into the Harbor Beach Municipal Marina just after noon.
A paved walking trail runs for about a mile from the Harbor Beach Marina to the downtown parks with plaques all along the way sharing the history of the area. Several of the plaques addressed many of the shipwrecks on Lake Huron, which of course, was extremely attention-grabbing to us. “The Great Storm of 1913,” referred to as a “White Hurricane,” a storm on fresh water with winds of hurricane intensity, is known as the deadliest and most destructive storm to ever occur on the Great Lakes. The 1913 storm left in its wake 19 vessels lost, 19 vessels grounded, and an estimated 248 sailors killed, of course, no one will ever know the true number of those lost at sea during that storm.
Typically storms of this magnitude on the Great Lakes last four or five hours, the Great Storm of 1913 lasted for over three days, one can only imagine the havoc the storm caused. Lakeside communities in both Michigan and Ontario were paralyzed with several feet of snow, the high winds caused huge drifts, docks, homes, and boats along the shore were damaged or destroyed. As I write this, I cannot help wonder about the destruction that is being caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana.
The Friday Farmers Market is held in the park next to the Frank Murphy Memorial Museum. Frank Murphy, a member of the Supreme Court, was a strong defender of civil rights and wrote the dissenting vote in Korematsu vs. the United States. Murphy criticized the majority vote, in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, as “legalization of racism.”
We have spent the last three days in Port Sanilac waiting for a good sea state in order to cross Saginaw Bay to the western side of Lake Huron, we think that day will be tomorrow. The wind has been from the north creating waves of three to nine feet, not what we want to travel in. The forecast for tomorrow is for light winds with one to two feet waves which sounds good. Our plan is to leave for Harbor Beach in the morning and cross Saginaw Bay on Saturday. Saginaw Bay is the portion of Lake Huron between the thumb and mitt of the Lower Peninsula.
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the shape of a mitten and the region that Rick and I are currently cruising is called ‘The Thumb;’ Huron, Sanilac, and Tuscola counties. These are small, sparsely populated areas with tourism being the largest industry for the lakeside communities. With a population of just under six hundred, Port Sanilac has three marinas, several hotels, a grocery store, post office and bank.
We enjoyed our walks around town and on the sea wall, stories about what it is like here in the winter, and our visit to the Sanilac County Historic Village & Museum, which is located at the historic home of Dr. Joseph Miller Loop and his wife Jane. Among the first white settlers in this area, Dr. Loop practiced medicine in Port Sanilac from 1855 till his death in 1903. The Village is a collection of more than a dozen historic Sanilac buildings and the museum contains an interesting collection of Native American artifacts, military memorabilia, and Lake Huron shipwreck items. The village houses an 1880’s era barn were the local theatrical group performs during the summer weekends.
On Wednesday evening the Pride of Michigan, a retired navy minesweeper, pulled into the marina. This vessel is part of the Great Lakes Division of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a non-profit youth organization for young Americans, male and female, ages 13 through 17. This week it has 18 crew members, 9 volunteers, and 9 male cadets, who were honing their advanced dive training skills. The cadets ran the ship and the volunteers provide the guidance, it was inspiring to observe the cadet’s skills at handling the boat and the volunteer’s commitment to the cadets.
As we cruised down the St. Clare River we saw traces of the Port Huron Float Down, signs welcoming the floaters and clean-up crews cleaning up after them. About noon we left the beautiful, blue, crystal clear water of St. Clair River and entered Lake Huron, it is just as clear but emerald green, we love being off of the muddy rivers.
When we entered the St. Clair River from the Pine River the current was about two knots against us, from the locals we knew to expect stronger currents as we moved north and the advice was to hug the Canadian side at the Blue Water Bridge, by then the current would be four knots. As we closed in on the bridge the freighter Michigan was in the shipping channel, it took a while to cross but once there all went well.
At 2:25 pm we watched the solar eclipse, it was not a total eclipse in our area but fascinating none-the-less.
Tonight we are in Port Sanilac, originally named Bark Shanty Point in reference to the lumberman who came here to peel bark from the Hemlock trees to use for tanning. The lighthouse here was opened in 1886 and was electrified in 1924, today it is privately owned.
Tonight we are keeping close track of the weather, we want to move in the morning but it is not looking good.
St. Clair is at the junction of the St. Clair and Pine rivers where the British built a fort in 1764 to protect their shipping route from Fort Michilimackinac to Detroit. In the early 1800’s it became known for its early shipbuilding and lumbering. St. Clair’s present day industries are led by the Diamond Crystal Salt Company, headquarters of the nation’ third largest salt producer.
Salt might be their largest industry but on a beautiful Sunday afternoon their biggest activities seem to be playing in the crystal clear water of St. Clair River, enjoying the day at Palmer Park, and/or listening to live music at St. Clair Riverview Plaza. We enjoyed both the park and the live music but the real activity of the day was happening a few miles upstream, the 40th Annual Port Huron Float Down.
Every year in August the St. Clair River is closed to boat traffic from Port Huron to Chrysler Beach in Marysville, about five miles, for the float down. According to the local news, this year sixty-five floats and thousands of floaters participated. The New Times Herald reported that “As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, officials had arrested two people at the Port Huron Float Down, saved three lives and assisted 86 others on the water.”
Last year the wind swept about 300 United States citizens onto the Canadian shores without a passport. The Canadians collected and processed the floaters and bused them back to the US. We actually first heard about the float over the radio, the announcement was that the float is dangerous and that people should not participate, but if they did, they better bring their passports.
Today we finished the Detroit River, crossed St. Clair Lake, and went a little over half-way up the St. Clair River to the town of St. Clair. The weather was really quite good but we did lots of Rock-and-Rollin’ as the big pleasure boats enjoyed their time on the water. Since tomorrow promises to be the same we have elected to hang out in St. Clair for another day.
The St. Clair Jazz Festival was in full swing when we arrived and we enjoyed sitting on the boat listening to the different bands. The bands were playing in Palmer Park along the St. Clair River, locals call this park, with its mile-long boardwalk, the crown jewel of St. Clair City.
Today we drove to Dearborn, MI for a factory tour of the Ford Rouge Plant and to visit the Edison Institute, better known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Henry Ford’s love of history and innovation created a desire in Ford to create a place that would preserve the legacy of America’s great innovations and he named that place The Edison Institute in honor of his friend Thomas Edison who had encouraged Ford in the development of his automobile. Opened to the public in 1933, the Institute is comprised of The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, displaying American inventions and artifacts, and Greenfield Village, the first outdoor living history museum. The village consists of historical buildings that were moved to the property from their original locations to create a setting that would allow visitors to go back in time to learn more about how these inventions have shaped their lives.
The village, 255 acres of grounds included Edison’s Menlo Park, working farms, craftworks, a steam train, a Henry Ford Model T District, a Herschell-Spillman Carousel and so much more and the Ford Museum contains 26 million artifacts, needless to say, we were not going to be able to tour the factory and see all that we wanted at the village and museum. However, we saw what time permitted and would recommend this visit to all. To get the complete information be sure to visit their web site at: https://www.thehenryford.org
To tour the Ford Rouge Factory we took a 20-minute bus ride from the museum, at the visitor center we viewed two films, one about the history of Ford and the Ford Rouge Factory that was excellent and one that was a multimedia experience focused on the manufacturing of the F150, the only vehicle currently being produced at this plant. Rick loved it but it was much too loud for me to appreciate, I was crawling out of my skin by the time it was over.
The actual tour of the factory was self-paced and we were only allowed to take pictures from a sixth-floor viewing room that viewed the outside, not pictures of the workings of the factory. However, by talking to docents that were located throughout the factory we learned tidbits of information such as:
The Dearborn Stamping Plant is so big that you could fit fifty football fields inside it.
The Verson press can manufacture up to 720 parts per hour.
Dearborn Assembly Plant was the birthplace of many famous Ford products, from WWI Eagle Boats to the hugely popular Ford Mustang.
A new 2018 Ford F-150 rolls off of the assembly line every 60 seconds, every 47 seconds a new Ford F-150 is sold (the factory is always behind).
Bill Ford Jr. the great-grandson of Henry Ford, is the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company
The plant is named for the Rouge River the runs through the property.
Since 2002, more than 1500 new trees have been planted at the Ford Rouge Center These trees, along with thousands of native plants, are transforming the area into a natural wildlife habitat.
If you work there and are not driving a Ford family vehicle you are required to park in the back 12 rows of the parking lots.
6,000 people work there and 80 substitutes stand by for people who don’t show up or have to leave the factory floor. The substitutes have to be skilled in many different jobs.
We walked all around the assembly line, one floor above, watching as each truck progressed from just body parts to a complete truck…fascinating! The assembly line workers were a snapshot of America, male, female, black, brown, white, younger and older. They all combined to form a well-oiled machine to build beautiful trucks.
So much to see, so little time! We had a wonderful day, it was well worth the time and effort to get there.
Ford Rouge Factory
Ford Rouge Factory
Ford Rouge Factory
New Environmental Effort
Ford Rouge Factory
Richart Wagon Shop: 1847 Macon, MI
Soybean Experimental Lab
Replic of Ford’s Boyhood Home
Ford Family Parlor Heater
Ford Family Kitchen Stove
Ford Family Water Supply
Vintage Ford
Vintage Ford
Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop: 1875 Dayton, OH
Building a Plane in the Back of the Shop
Street Lamp
Edison Lightbulb
Sarah Jordan Boarding House
Ackley Covered Bridge
Vintage Ford
Lovely
Herschell-Spillman Carousel
Herschell-Spillman Carousel
First Car Expressly Designed for a Presidential Car: FD Roosevelt
