Greetings! We are in Coloma, Michigan, at a very rustic RV Park (and that is being kind). No sewer hook-ups, no cable, no satellite and no Wi-Fi! Jim and I have had quality time together (maybe just a little too much .........Just kidding.) We traveled from Otisville. Michigan to this location yesterday and arrived in the early afternoon so we had time to view three lighthouses
St. Joseph Lighthouses
The original St. Joseph Lighthouse sat on a bluff overlooking the harbor. In 1955 it was razed to make room for a parking lot. The current lights belong to the City of St.Joseph who acquired them in 2013. They are used to guide ships into the St. Joseph River which can be navigated for 60 miles up river. The original lighthouse was built in 1832 just months after the first lighthouse was commissioned at Chicago.
The third lighthouse we saw yesterday was the South Haven South Pier Lighthouse. It was built in 1872 to mark the entrance to the Black River so that pine, hemlock and oak could be harvested and shipped to various ports. As the lumber was cleared, it was replaced with peach and apple trees and blueberries. The Historical Association of South Haven acquired the lighthouse in 2012. The keepers house belongs to the Maritime Museum.
South Haven Pier Lighthouse
Back to "camp" to spend more quality time together, we planned our lighthouse visits for today. July 10- We started out with breakfast at McDonalds where this beautiful Corvette was showcased. Jim thinks it was a 1954. It sure was a beautiful car!
What's for Breakfast at Mc D's today!
Our first lighthouse after eating breakfast was the Holland Harbor "Big Red". Due to religious oppression, Rev. Albertus Van Raalte led a group of 60 Dutch Calvinist separatist in 1846 from the Netherlands to America. After a stop in New York, they set out for Wisconsin, but a early winter caused a layover in Detroit. There they heard about available lands in Western Michigan on the banks of Black Lake, now know as Lake Macatawa. Holland today is know for its' lovely setting on Lake Michigan and - you guessed it - its' annual tulip festival featuring over 6 million tulips. In 1847,the area was a swamp, but despite hardships and insects a settlement was established. The government refused appropriations so the locals built, by hand with picks and shovels a canal to link Black Lake with Lake Michigan. In 1859 the Steamboat "Huron" was able to dock at Holland. This is a very popular Summer vacation spot and the traffic was tricky to say the least!
Holland Harbor
"Big Red"
We then headed to Grand Haven to see the Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance and the Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner. We did see the lighthouses multiple times as we circled around the beach area for a parking spot so we could get out and take pictures, but it was not meant to be. We tried for well over an hour and there wasn't even space to park a smart car! Very disappointing as we were going to visit a sister of one of our friends back home who lives here, but the traffic put us way behind schedule. If it wasn't traffic, it was draw bridges :( Here is a picture from Lighthouse Friends.com to show you what they look like):
Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner
Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance
That's Not Sand
The first settlers (Religious) arrived in Grand Haven in 1834 from Macinac. In 1835, the settlement was platted and named Grand Haven in recognition of its' safe and spacious harbor. The outer light was built in 1873, and marked the entrance to the harbor. The Inner Light was built in 1907 to act as the Rear Range Light.
We next ventured to Muskegon, Michigan to see the two lighthouses there. As with the others it was crowded at the beach and there was a Volleyball Tournament going on, but we did manage to find a parking spot and walked a short distance to take the pictures.
The Muskegon South Pierhead
The Muskegon South Breakwater
The South Pierhead was built in 1903 and was painted white. In 1917 it was repainted red. It is used to mark the entrance to the harbor. It in conjunction with the outer breakwater light, make up a set of range lights.
The name Muskegon comes from the Ottawa Indian term "masquigon" meaning marshy river. Muskegon Township was nicknamed "The Lumber Queen of the World".
Muskegon was home to more millionaires than any other town in America during the late 1800's when its' lumber helped rebuild Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871.
Here are a few miscellaneous pictures of the day:
Beautiful House overlooking the water
Anchor on bluff overlooking the town of Grand Haven
Another drawbridge!
Til next time......................
No comments:
Post a Comment