The Mackinac Bridge At Dusk and Night

Since the Mackinac Bridge was only like 20 miles or so from Cross Village, we decided to head there. We arrived just in time to catch it at sunset.

This is just as the sun is setting. Notice the pinks.

The sun going down a little more.

A shot of the long view.

A little darker.

Almost night.

Still almost night.

Nighttime. I really love the look of the bridge at night. It is usually lit up and the colors are amazing.

Darker.

Looking out from near the Fort.

Oh yeah, photography hint...If you're going to take a night shot of a bridge or building, use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod, set the camera on something solid. For these shots, I used a picnic table. Sometimes it helps to use the timer function on the camera so there is no motion when the shot is being taken. If you are using an SLR and you have a mirror lock up function use that (In the case of my Canon there is live view which moves the mirror of the way). Do not use the flash, it will not help you. I don't know how many times I've seen people using their flash. And what saddened me is when I saw a guy with a nice camera using one.....I wonder if he is going to complain about spending a couple grand on a camera and he still can't get a good picture.

Sunset Over Lake Michigan

This is the sunset over Lake Michigan as you are looking from Wilderness State Park.

M-119

In Michigan, state highways are designated with an M followed by a number. So you would say M-1 if you were referring to Woodward Avenue. The only other state to designate their highways this way is Kansas.

M-119 is a highway that stretches from Petoskey to Cross Village and in my opinion is probably one of the more beautiful stretches of road in the state. It's very winding in spots and the trees almost come right to the edge. It used to be almost entirely wooded...but progress has changed that a little bit.

State Highway Signs in Michigan are a white diamond bordered by black (they used to be just white diamonds). This is part of the highway.

This is a better idea of what it looks like.

The yellow sign indicating the curves.

Some birch trees.

The Charlevoix Lighthouse

Sitting on the channel into Round Lake near Charlevoix is the lighthouse. The pier was originally built in 1884 and a life saving station in 1898. The original structure deterioated so it was replaced in 1947 and put in its current location. In the 1970's, the wooden pier was replaced with the current pier.

A nice shot of the lighthouse.

A boat coming in.

And one going out.

A closeup of the light.

A seagull.

A sailboat coming in.

It's not one of the nicer lights in the state but it's not bad.

Robin Statue - Kalkaska

Michigan's state bird is the robin. So there's a statue of a robin as well.

Wolverine Statue - Kalkaska

Near the Trout Statue is a statue of a wolverine (interestingly enough no Spartan anywhere to be found). Michigan is known as the Wolverine State because wolverine pelts were a big commodity in the trapping days. It is also alleged that people from Michigan were said to have the temprament of wolverines during the Michigan-Ohio War.

He looks shocked as he sees a Buckeye Fan that can actually read and count.

National Trout Memorial - Kalkaska

This is a giant Trout Fountain in Kalkaska Michigan. It is supposed to be a Brook Trout which happens to be Michigan's state fish. It was built in 1966.

It's a pretty neat looking statue up close.

Another angle.

The Giant Fish that ate Kalkasa.

This shot needs a Millenium Falcon coming out of the mouth.

This shot needs a scantily clad woman at the top.

Comerica Park

Comerica Park would have been my next stop on Woodward. It was a nice day, no people there. So....

The Tiger standing at the front of the stadium. On a game day it is impossible to get a picture like this.



One of the Tigers on the roof.

A closeup of his head.

Another shot of the Tiger.

One of the Tigers that line the building.

The Central United Methodist Church

Another building along Woodward is the Central United Methodist Church. The Church was originally founded in 1802. This Church was built in 1863 after the original Church was burnt down.





It is a really nice looking Church.

Russell Alger

Russell Alger served as Governor of Michigan from 1885 to 1887. He was also Secretary of War in the period of time of the Spanish American War and "algerism" became of epithet denoting the incompetence of the Army.

William Cotter Maybury

He was another mayor of Detroit that served from 1897 to 1905. He was also a Congressman and city attorney for Detroit. He tried to run for Governor but lost.

Hazen S. Pingree

Hazen S. Pingree was a 4 term mayor of Detroit from 1889-1896 and Governor of Michigan from 1896 to 1901. He fought in the Civil War and moved to Detroit after the war. He was a cobbler by trade and established a shoe company.

Compuware Headquarters

The Compuware Headquarters stands just north of Campus Martius. Construction was completed in 2003. It has both office space and some retail space. There is a Hard Rock Cafe downstairs and a few other things.

Campus Martius

Campus Martius is a nice spot in Detroit. It was renovated fairly recently.

This is the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument.

Another angle.

This is the fountain in the middle of the park. The spouts of water go off at various times.



One of the sculptures.