A Bridge and a Lighthouse and 3000 posts.

As I mentioned, at some point in the recent past I hit 3000 posts.  I would have preferred this to be my 3000th post but as a wise man once said, "You can't alway get what you want....".  Since the Mackinac Bridge figures so prominently on this blog, I figure I will make this the post to commemorate the fact that I've reached 3000.

 When I started this blog four years ago, I had no idea what I would do with it.  At first I had the idea to just have it highlight my photography but I do like to write, so I added some bits of history.  Since I live in Michigan and am fairly proud of my state, I figured I would highlight some aspects of the state and its history.  Surprisingly, there is a rich amount of history in this state.  For the most part, that is because of its location on the Great Lakes.

 A big part of that history is the shipping industry.  As a consequence, Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state in the Union.  I believe it also has the longest coastline of any of the continental United States.  The Old Mackinac Lighthouse is definately one of my favorites.  It is pretty unique amongst the others.

 Another angle of that lighthouse.

 It's also hard to believe that at one time Michigan was covered in trees.  Of course, the lumber industry took care of much of that and because of their shortsightedness at the time, the timber industry never quite recovered in this state but it was soon supplanted by agriculture.

 When the Mackinac Bridge was first proposed, it was fought about as much as the current bridge to supplant the Ambassador Bridge is now.  Many politicians saw it is as something that would only benefit the residents of Northern Michigan.  Given the amount of trade that passes over it, it is safe to say that it has been a benefit to the whole state.  Besides that, it is a beautiful bridge.

 One of Michigan's nicknames is "The Winter Wonderland" and at one point, the license plates would sport this phrase.  It hasn't been quite a winter wonderland in the past few years, but this year the northern part got a fair amount of snow.  Whether that is enough snow to restore lake levels is yet to be seen.

 This post seems a little disjointed because I have many thoughts.  As I said, when I started this blog, I wanted to highlight my photography.  One of the advantages of digital photography is that you can try stuff and you are only out a few electrons.  For this picture, I used a higher depth of field to try to get the bridge and trees in focus.  It sort of worked but that's the thing about trying things...you find out what does work.  I think if I had stood a little further back, it might have worked a little better.

 Back to the lighthouse.  One of these years I will have photographed every lighthouse in the state.  Of course that requires me to move further west in the Upper Peninsula and that is one of my plans.

 The ice is starting to break up but I hear that there might be more snow up North this weekend.

 A better shot of the lighthouse.

 I just loved the look of the serene tree against the backdrop of Lake Huron.

 One more shot of the Bridge behind some trees.  I think I used a higher f-stop for this one but the bridge is still a little fuzzy.

 Another stand of trees.  For the most part, this picture is a good symbol for Michigan.  I don't how many times I have passed tree stands that look like this.  Birch trees interspersed amongst the pines.

 Another shot of the lighthouse.

 It's hard to believe that this Bridge spans five miles.  At one point this represented a major engineering feat.  It still represents a major engineering feat but has since been supplanted by bridges over wider straits.

 On the way back from the Soo Locks, I took a picture of it from the St. Igace side.

 And a few more pictures from the Mackinaw side.  I love this bridge.

 And a picture that gives a hint to its length.

One more shot of the Bridge before moving on.

So there you have it...3,000 posts.  I never thought that this blog would be as strong as it is when I started it.  I have pretty decent viewing numbers each day.  Sometimes its hard to think of things to write about.  I'm going to try to keep this blog pretty diverse as I move forward.  So here's to the next 3,000 posts.