ride over to Silver Lake on May 29th to see the beach at Lake Michigan and also Little Sable Lighthouse. Built in 1874 after only 2 years of seasonal construction it has only been open to the public for climbing for the past couple of years. So...not wanting to miss a challenge/adventure, I paid my $2 to ascend to the top. Sometimes challenges turn into adventures and
I have often found that adventures
LEAD to challenges. Anyway after all is said and done....its ALWAYS worth it at the end of the day! I think this is my 5th climb to the top of a lighthouse...I've conquered the Key West Lighthouse (Florida), St. Simon's Island Lighthouse (Georgia), Tybee Island Lighthouse (Georgia), & Campobello Island Light (New Brunswick). So this was my FIRST lighthouse climb in Michigan :-)
Now...a piece of advice..while you MAY think hiking boots are the best footwear for ascending those little steps and protecting your feet & ankles (true) they are NOT the first choice for struggling up and over a giant sand dune to actually GET to the lighthouse! I think this was one of those times in nature I would have preferred a sidewalk...or even some wood planks! Compared to this..the
130 steps to the top of the 119 foot beacon
of safety was easy!
About halfway up I paused to hear the story of this lighthouse but was slightly distracted by the view out of this unique window! I wondered if the keepers were ever distracted...but with the daily cleaning of the lens, polishing of the brass workings and most of all the carrying up of the 2 quarts of oil EVERY 4 HOURS....no...I doubt they got distracted. Thankfully...the light is now automated and has been since 1954.
The 3rd order Fresnel lens shines out 19 miles onto the waters of Lake Michigan .
Finally, I made it to the top! Quite breezy but comfortable on this sunny day..you can see the dune I had to traverse....
...and many happy sun, sand andwater worshipping families enjoying Lake Michigan on this splendid day.
Time to go down down down those narrow curvy steps.....they didn't seem that narrow and steep on ascent! I made sure I held onto the handrail all the way down!
On the way back...we passed a mute swan sitting on a nest near Silver Lake! She was quite watchful and many cars stopped /swerved to get a closer look as it was right next to a very curvy section of road.
As I tried to move to a different spot to get closer I nearly slid down a very slippery bank! YIKES! I didn't want to get THAT close!
