The other day when we were at the
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, the keeper asked if I had been over to McGulpin's yet. Having no idea what he was talking about, he gave us directions to
McGulpin's Point Lighthouse, which is located just a few miles west of Mackinaw City.
Boy, am I glad we decided to stop. This little light went into service in 1869, with the express purpose of lighting the treacherous Straits of Mackinac. However, when the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was built in 1892 just two miles away, it rendered this light obsolete. The light was retired in 1906 after just 37 years of service. The lighthouse was then sold into private ownership and was closed to the public for over 100 years. Just a few years ago the lighthouse was sold to Emmett County and was officially opened to the public last summer (May 2009)!
The historical commission has been hard at work de-modernizing the structure, as they hope someday to have the building reflect life as it was when the light was in use. We toured through several rooms that have already undergone some restoration, and things were already starting to look beautiful!
And to top it all off, the tower was open to the public as well. I couldn't get over the spiral staircase, which had been in use since the creation of the building over 140 years ago.
And once we got to the top, talk about an interesting view! I'm so used to lighthouses being on the shore, that this light's placement was a bit of a surprise. (But if you look really hard, you can see the Straits of Mackinac in the distance.)
After we had checked out the view, it was time to appreciate the lantern. This octagonal iron structure was an exact replica of the original lantern, complete with a fixed 3 and a half order Fresnel lens.
(And yes, I know my brother's pose with the lens is way more entertaining than mine!)
I was so pleased that we got to visit such a beautiful feature that's been unavailable for so long- what a wonderful opportunity!
But our fun didn't end there- our next stop was
Mill Creek.
I hadn't been to Mill Creek since I was a kid. Back then it was a reconstructed sawmill built to replicate the mill that supplied lumber for Mackinac Island between 1790 and 1830. And while those attractions were still there, a Discovery Center had been added which included a zip line, canopy bridge and climbing tower. And while my brother and I didn't partake in the "discovery" aspect of the park, we were able to take the stairs to the top of the tower.
Of course, I couldn't help but look down from the top...
What a beautiful day, right? We spent some time hiking some of the trails around the site, including one we hiked when we were kids!
But no trip to Mill Creek would be complete without a sawmill demonstration.
We took time to view the sawmill from every angle...
Because while it's a functional mechanism...
It's also quite pretty!
I hope you're having a great day- thanks for stopping by!!
