The Skyline Trail

Yesterday, Dave mentioned that one of his charges from a boys club wanted to take a hike at Ludington State Park and the tral that I might suggest to that youngster would be the Skyline Trail. Here you see it in winter but it is far more fun to hike it in nicer weather.

For one you can walk it in bare feet as shoes somehow takes away from this pathway.  You need to feel the sand under your feet to really comprehend this trail.  As you walk upon the literal top of dunes the view is fantastic.  In one direction all you can observe is Lake Michigan while in the opposite direction miles of sand and trees. 

In the winter I want to take a sled or saucer with me and ride the dunes.  Yes, the weather really gets into your face but so what?  Of all the trails in this park the Skyline is my favorite.  I only wish it were longer but maybe a longer route can be established in time.   

What do you think of this winter view?  After all in the winter we have had this year you have to take the snow when you can get it.

Keith, Mark, and Shaun at Hamlin Lake

What a dilemma. Keith Hansel wanted to take a dip at Hamlin Lake in the Ludington State Park while Mark Coleman opted to take a sunbath. And Shaun Reasoner requested to take a hike. So, what’s a leader to do? Well, I suggested that we could do two of the three and two of the two at the same time. As to the latter, Keith and Shaun could swim while Mark sun bathed. Then after lunch all three of us could take a hike along the Skyline Trail which Mike Reynolds will have more about tomorrow.

Yet kids do say the darndest things. Keith suggested that Shaun should go take a hike while Mark thought Keith should go jump in the lake. Shaun suggested that Mark should sun himself to death. Perhaps I should have said that kids say the “nicest” things about each other.

But, for the moment all three opted to just argue about their options while sitting upon the sand. As they did they began to realize that their biscuits were burning and soon thereafter all three jumped into the lake to cool off. I’m sure glad that the sand gave them that option!

A Good Down Hill Run

On the eastern side of the Hamlin Dam Bridge in the Ludington State Park, there is a great hill for hiking up and then running down in the summer.  In fact, I wouldn’t want to pass up trying to either snow board or ski this particular hill in the winter.  However, the hill continues to your right near the bottom for another sixty yards or so still downhill. 

If you are bent on skiing or snow boarding this hill, you might want to consider going just straight when you reach that curve.  I have seen grown men hurdle young kids as they hit that blind spot on the hill at the curve, not being able to see around it when they are at full tilt.

If you’re thinking of skiing this hill, you and Lake Michigan will not be joining up as the hill would take you closer to the Big Sable River than the former.  And, with all our recent chatter regarding the Ward Hill Ski Area, why not try this run in the winter instead?  In that way you won’t have to “Watch out for that tree” which you would have to do at Ward Hills.

Sand dunes!  They just aren’t for summer anymore!  Now where did I put my saucer?

Very Late Autumn Hike

Yes, the snow flies from mid to late Autumn here in Michigan and it is only a few short days until the official start of winter begins. So this weekend was my last official hike until spring.  Now, I do venture out with my snowmobile in Winter but as for hoofing it, well, I don’t like to walk in deep snow. 

I enjoy the Ludington State Park because of its varied trail systems.  I can go from an easy hike to a hard one in a heartbeat.  My dog Scout often comes with me as he enjoys the exercise even more than I do.  I must have hiked about seven miles or so today.  Later today I’ll be watching my beloved Detroit Lions with a cold brew and some chips.

Yes, today my hibernation period begins as bears sure don’t have a royalty on that luxury.  From this point until spring my boots aren’t meant for hiking anymore but only for stepping down on the gas of my snowmobile and, yes, eventually the brakes as well.  Yet here in Michigan this is the wrong time of the year to talk about “bears”.  Or even “Cheeseheads” for that matter.  Have a good day!

Big Sauble Pointe Lighthouse

On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 for a new lighthouse at Big Sable Point. Approximately 933 acres  was deeded from the State of Michigan to the US at no cost and early 1867 construction began, making it the first light station in the area.

Built in 1867, the 112-foot  tower was originally a yellow cream brick conical cast iron boiler plate tower painted white with the middle third black. It has a focal plane of 106 feet . The building was made of so-called Cream City Brick.

Construction materials were brought up by ships. The first road to the site was not completed until 1933.

Because the brick deteriorated from exposure to the elements, a steel plate encasement was installed in 1900 for the cost of $3,225.  The yellow brick now encased in steel plate was difficult to see and a daymark was needed. Several changes to the daymark over the years were made, currently the tower is painted white with a black watch tower and a black band around the middle of the tower.  

It was the last Great Lakes Lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing which came in the late 1940s.  Until then, ouhouses had to suffice.  Gasp!

The original lens was a third order Fresnel lens,  inscribed “Sautter & Co., Constructeurs.” It was removed in 1985, and is now on display at the Rose Hawley Museum at White Pine Village.  The lighthouse follows a design first used at New Presque Isle Light, and which was also used on several other lights on the Great Lakes.

After the light was automated, the keeper’s house was severely vandalized.

In 1986, the lighthouse station was leased to the Foundation for Behavioral Research. The foundation has worked with the Big Sable Lighthouse Association to preserve the buildings.

In the middle of the 20th Century, 1949, Big Sable was electrified. It was the last Great Lakes light to give up wicks. This paved the way for automation and the elimination of the Lighthouse keeper’s job.

Buildings at the lightstation included the tower and dwelling, fog signal building, boat house, barn, three oil houses, two privy’s and a Diaphone fog signal.  The fog signal building fell into the lake due to erosion in 1943.

The site is the subject of constant erosion, so that keeping the foundation in place and the water away from undermining it has been a recurrent and expensive battle.

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as reference #83004296. Called Grande Pointe au Sable by French explorers and traders, Big Sable Point was an important landmark for mariners traveling a treacherous stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between Big Sable Point and present-day Ludington. In 1855 twelve ships wrecked in that area. Commerce linked to the burgeoning lumber industry required Big Sable Point be suitably lighted. State Senator Charles Mears pressed the legislature to ask the federal government for a light station at Big Sable. In 1866 the U.S. Congress appropriated $35,000 for a lighthouse, which was built the following year. As the lumbering era waned, steamers carrying coal foodstuffs and tourists continued to rely on the lighthouse for navigation.

The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the few Michigan lights with a tower reaching 100 feet .  Completed in 1867 Big Sable’s tower measured 112 feet  high. In 1902 the deteriorating brick tower was encased in steel. The keeper’s dwelling, which once housed a single family, has been enlarged over the years, resulting in the present three-family residence. Indoor plumbing and heating and a diesel electric generator were added in 1949. In 1953 power lines were extended to the Point. In 1966 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife Laura ended when the station was fully automated.

The lighthouse was transferred to state ownership on November 1, 2002.   The site manager is the Sable Points Light Keepers Association.  Take state highway M-116 north from Ludington to Lakeshore Drive. Proceed north for 6.5-mile  to Ludington State Park. A vehicle permit is required and a fee collected. It is under the care of the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association, which was formed in 1986. The organization has been instrumental in restoring the light and associated buildings.   A volunteer keeper program makes is possible for volunteers to live and work in the lighthouse for two week periods.   Check it out if you are vacationing in Ludington.

Skyline Trail

The Skyline Trail in the Ludingon State Park offers a half mile vista overlooking Lake Michigan and offering one an excellent photography session without over exerting yourself.  Of the many trail systems in this park this is by far my favorite.

The Skyline Trail runs along a tall sand dune ridge, close to the river and the Great Lakes Visitor Center. The trail loops around, beginning and ending at the Visitor Center’s parking lot. This trail is completely elevated, made even higher by an extensive wooden boardwalk system. Several vistas let you look out over miles of sand dunes and Lake Michigan. On a clear day, you can see 20 miles to the Silver Lake State Park Sand Dunes. On the back side is an area where you can leave the boardwalk and run up and down the steep slope of this sand dune.   Yes, just like when you were a kid!  Marvelous!

Easy Pickings!

This is almost like inviting fish directly into your frying pan!  It’s too easy!  One sure doesn’t have to wait long for a bite and I’m not referring to mosquitoes either!  What kind of challenge is this?  Where’s the art of fishing patience here?  Easy pickings are not what I call real (reel) fishing.  Its waiting for the big catch and then having a hard time hauling that beauty into your rowboat.

Now, I like fishing off shore as well as anyone but I don’t cotton to going into the fishes element.  In some rivers during salmon spawning you can literally stick your hand into the river and come home with supper!  Where’s the challenge to that?  fishing is an art and a work in patience.  Easy pickings fishing sure ain’t for me.  I like a patience challenge where it’s between me and the fish. 

I’ll leave this type of fishing to kids!  Bah!  Humbug!

The Serene Sauble River

Next to the Ludington Lighthouse, this has to be the second most photographed scene in the entire area. I like it because it showcases the warmer waters of the Sauble River about to merge with the much colder waters of Lake Michigan in such a peaceful setting. Some of the sunrises and sunsets here are spectacular even in the coldness o winter.

An artist could sit just past the Hamlin Bridge and sketch these kinds of scenes for the rest of their life. Now and then children frolic in the water or you can some bird or animal taking a quick drink here. For my husband this is the end location for many of his runs and where we can meet. I usually drop him off about two or three miles toward Ludington and then head back here just to gaze or sketch.

I just wonder what amazing artwork will come from this locale next?