flying

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
grand haven lighthouses | Permalink

grand haven lighthouses
second photo of the Lake Michigan series

This pair of lighthouses on the concrete breakwater at Grand Haven Pier is connected by a set of range lights and a catwalk. (No, I didn't go on the catwalk.) The pierhead building is the original fog signal built in 1875. After being moved to the end of the pier, it was reinforced with concrete and iron to withstand lake storms. The conical steel plate tower in the foreground is 51 feet and was built in 1905, at which point the outer signal building was moved to the end of the pier.

Monday when I took this picture, the wind was howling, and it was difficult to keep my footing. The snow lumps you see on the breakwater are hard as rocks and glazed with ice. I walked a bit of the way under the range lights, holding onto the iron girding. But I gave up after deciding there wouldn't be anyone to come and help me if I broke a leg, and the orange lifesavers wouldn't help. To the left of the breakwater you can see ice floes in the water.

My god, I didn't used to be this foolhardy!

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Category: Places, Buildings, Nature, Color