Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington State Park

Big Sable Point Lighthouse, photo by photoshoparama.

Dan has a number of photos from Big Sable Point Lighthouse and you can see them bigger by checking out the slideshow.

Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light is down (I fervently hope temporarily) so I can’t get the crunchy details on from his Big Sable Lighthouse page. Wikipedia’s Big Sable Point Lighthouse entry says that the historical marker reads:

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 that 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 measures 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 1968 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife, Laura, ended when the station was fully automated. Big Sable Point Light Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The light is located in Ludington State Park (Wikipedia) and is open for tours May – October (see bigsablelighthouse.org for details). The Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association maintains several lighthouses on the east coast of Lake Michigan: Big Sable, Ludington North Breakwater, and Little Sable.

For more views of the lighthouse and the area, check out Big Sable Point on Flickr, some Big Sable Point Lighthouse panoramas (go to full screen!) and these rocking aerial photos of Big Sable Lighthouse at marinas.com – be sure to use the zoom!

You can check out Big Sable Point Lighthouse on the Absolute Michigan map (satellite view).

The Badger – steaming out of summer

The Badger — Steaming out of the harbor, photo by Diann*.

Diann says that the SS Badger leaving its home port of Ludington en route to Manitowoc, Wisconsin was the grand finale of a great Labor Day weekend.

It’s one of a number of cool shots in her Trains, Tugs, and Ferries set (slideshow) and she has posted it in big, beautiful, background-class glory!

More about this Lake Michigan car ferry at the SS Badger web site and from Michigan in Pictures.

Turmoil

Turmoil, photo by rossmat5msu.

A long exposure of the remnants of a wooden breakwall. It’s part of Matt’s Ludington set (slideshow).

Winter Blues at the Ludington North Breakwater Light

Winter Blues, photo by simply, Diann.

Diann writes What I’m really wondering is whether or not its a good idea to edit out the blue shadows that often show up in winter shots when the sun is behind the camera. She offers this shot for comparison and discussion. She also has a bunch more photos of Ludington’s lighthouse, many in the crashing seas that are referred to below! (and usually uploads her photos at desktop wallpaper size!)

Terry Pepper’s page on the Ludington North Breakwater Light has a really fascinating history of this lighthouse at the mouth of the Pere Marquette river. A lighthouse was established here in 1870 to aid in the navigation of the lumber ships that served the mills of Ludington and Pepper’s article details the trials endured by the keeper after Congress appropriated funds for the light but none for his dwelling (sound familiar?). Pepper goes on to detail the unique structure of the current North Pier Light:

Over the summer of 1924, a unique structure took shape at the end of the North Breakwater. The main tower, fabricated of steel plates over an internal steel skeleton, took the form of a four-sided pyramidal tower with four round porthole windows on each of the three decks within. With plans calling for the installation of an air diaphragm fog signal operated by an electrically powered compressor, there was no need for a large fog signal building, and thus the signal building took the form of a relatively small structure integrated into the base of the landward side of the main tower. In order to help protect the structure from the force of waves crashing across the breakwater, the concrete foundation at the base of the structure was formed with angled surfaces designed to deflect the force of wave action up and away from the building. The white painted tower was capped by a square gallery and an octagonal iron lantern installed at its center.

There’s great historical photos at the link above and if you’re a lighthouse buff, I can’t recommend Terry Pepper’s site enough. His pages on lighthouses of Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes are the best there is.

Although Wikipedia’s entry on the Ludington Light is downright feeble, it does link to a nice set of videos of the Ludington lighthouse. There’s also this cool video of the lighthouse.

I’ve also added the Ludington Light to Absolute Michigan’s Map of Michigan.

Ludington from the SS Badger Car Ferry

Ludington, MI from the Bow of SS Badger, photo by Wigwam Jones.

Yesterday on Absolute Michigan we took a look at the S.S. City of Milwaukee, a permanently moored rail car ferry museum (website).

It seems only fitting that we give a nod to the S.S. Badger with a cool set of SS Badger photos from Wigwam Jones (slideshow).

The S.S. Badger web site gives the history of the ship which begins:

She is the largest car ferry ever to sail Lake Michigan, and has provided a safe, fun, and reliable shortcut across the huge inland sea for more than fifty years. The S.S. Badger is a national treasure, offering a cruise experience that links us to an earlier time when a sea voyage was the ultimate travel and vacation adventure.

The 410′ S.S. Badger entered service in 1953, designed specifically to handle the rough conditions that it would likely encounter during year ’round sailing on Lake Michigan. Built primarily to transport railroad freight cars, but with superior passenger accommodations, the Badger reigned as Queen of the Lakes during the car ferries’ Golden Era in the late Fifties, with Manitowoc, Milwaukee, and Kewaunee as her Wisconsin ports of call.

Unlike most of her fellow ferries, the Badger escaped the scrapyard and makes the daily journey from Ludington to Manitowoc, WI May – October. Be sure to take the tour of the Badger!

Ludington: Lifeguard not on duty

Ludington, photo by Hilarywho.

That’s probably OK as NOAA Station LDTM4 in Ludington reports that the current water temperature is just 44 degrees.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Data Buoy Center is a network of on and offshore weather stations that deliver real-time wind, wave and water data. The Great Lakes region is served by the Western Great Lakes Buoy Network (Lake Michigan & Superior and the Straits of Mackinac) and the Eastern Great Lakes Buoy Network (Lake Huron, Erie & Ontario).

Early Morning in Ludington

Early Morning in Ludington, photo by mandj98.

The car ferry Badger (left) gets ready to make a trip across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin. The other ship is the Spartan. The 420′ Badger is the largest car ferry ever to sail Lake Michigan. When I was young, there were people who’d just ride back and forth and play cribbage. At today’s rates, I’m guessing the recreational rider may be a thing of the past.

Visit the website to learn more about the S.S. Badger car ferry from Ludington to Manitowoc. (including a cool tour of the ship)