Our morning began in Norton Shores with a beautiful sunrise and blue sky with a few white clouds. After breakfast, we headed north on Route 31 up the western coast of Michigan towards the Little Sable lighthouse. Pronounced "Sah-bull", Sable is the French word for "sand"...and we soon discovered there is a LOT of sand on the Michigan coastlines! Little did we know that our first visit to a Michigan lighthouse would include one of the best restored and well-preserved lighthouses in the state. Completed in 1874, Little Sable lighthouse stands 115 feet tall.
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| Little Sable Lighthouse |
Believe it or not, there are 129 lighthouses in Michigan--more than any other state! There is a Michigan Lighthouse Guide (michiganlighthouseguide.com) that produces a very nice 38" x 26" free glossy paper map that is color-coded showing 5 catagories of public accessibility to all 129 lighthouses.
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| Stairs down the 115 ft Little Sable lighthouse |
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| Third Order Fresnel Lens intensified light to a distance of 19 miles! |
Back in the 1800's, three concentric wicks burned lard oil to produce the beam of light. Later kerosene, then oil vapor (think Coleman gas lantern!) until electricity became available in the 1950's. The typical lighthouse "flash" of the Little Sable light was produced by a rotation of the top portion of the Fresnel lens, powered by a weight-driven clockwork mechanism (see diagram below) that is actually quite unusual.
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| Diagram of the clockwork mechanism that rotates the lens |
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| Big Sable lighthouse |
We then headed further north to Ludington State Park and the Big Sable lighthouse. Upon parking at the lighthouse trailhead, we learned Big Sable lighthouse was a 3.4 mile r/t walk between the sand dunes. Our FitBit trackers "needed a walk" so off we went!
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| Certainly functional...but not as elegant as the Fresnel lens! |
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| Observation tower also houses the foghorn |
Continuing further north on the west coast highway, Rt. 31, we passed Arcadia Dunes on our way to Frankfort. We planned to stay two nights in Frankfort and explore the Leelanau Peninsula, which is the upper portion of the "little finger" of the Lower Michigan "mitten".
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| Charming waterfront town of Frankfort, Michigan |
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| Main Street of Frankfort |
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| Blessings on the Beach...our home away from home! |
"Blessings on the Beach" owner, Candace, greeted us at the door and gave us a quick tour of her beach home to get us settled in. The other couple also staying in the B&B were Hugo & Carolina from the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago. Being such a gracious host, Candace set out some wine & cheese and the five of us chatted until 7:30pm when we all decided to walk together for dinner at the Coho Cafe along the waterfront.
Posted by TBW Travel Today!
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