Up North, MI

For my mom's visit, we planed a road trip "up north". In Michigan that means near the top of the mitten. Let me explain... the state of Michigan is shaped like a mitten, and when someone is describing a place they will raise their hand and to show where in the state that is.

We drove from Ann Arbor (in Southeast Michigan) to the web of the thumb and stayed in Twas. Twas is on the edge of Lake Huron and has a huge state park with beaches and lighthouses.

There are 129 lighthouses around the state of Michigan. Here is a map: http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4189482518.PDF

The lighthouse at Twas Point State Park was built in 1853 to mark the northern entrance to Saginaw Bay. It is still active today with a range of 16 miles.

This is the Forty Mile Point Light, it was built in 1897 and has a range of 16 miles.  (Photo courtesy of  lighthousefriends.com)

This is the Fresnel Lens that is the light. It is a 4th order lens and it is imported from France.

The view of Lake Huron from the top of the light

The Mackinac Point Light was built in 1890 as a fog-signal station. By late 1892,  a fourth-order lens was added and it became a light. This light is no longer active but serves as part of the historical park. 

The view of the Mackinac Bridge from the state park that houses the Mackinac Point Light.  This bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world, and the longest in the western hemisphere. This bridge goes over the straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet, and it connects the upper and lower peninsulas.