Michigan Lights - Charlevoix

A foggy day in Charlevoix, Michigan
5/19/2018  dwm photo

When we drove along Michigan's west coast last fall there were two days with a lot of lighthouse stops.

There were so many, however, I didn't get all of them.  In fact, I drove past one.

Thankfully, it only took eight months to get back.

It was a cold, wet, and foggy day when we pulled into Charlevoix, Michigan to take care of that one.

It's a fairly short, a dramatic reddish orange stub of a candle on the water.

That's an outdoor wedding on the
lake side of the light.  It was
maybe 45 degrees.  5/19/18  dwm

The deep hue of red was the original color, but along the way it sported white for years.  It returned to its red roots in 2009.

The color creates a dramatic effect on sunny days against deep blue water and eggshell blue skies.

While the light is automated to direct boats into the channel that connects Lake Michigan to Round Lake and the larger Lake Charlevoix further inland, it continues to draw people from land too.

My visit coincided with a wedding underway on the pier in front of the light.  The bride looked chilly and happy.  I bet their crowd was thrilled to get inside.

Just like the original light, which survived 63 years after built in 1884, in its size and shape the present day edition landed on the pier in 1948.

The house wasn't attached.  It was sold after the light was automated and the buyers demolished it.  A plaque is in it place.

The next morning put the house in a whole new light.
5/20/18  dwm photo

We spent the night not far from Charlevoix with more lighthouses on the agenda the next day.  That trip brought us back through town when it was much nicer.

I stood on a drawbridge to take the shot at right.  One rule about taking pictures from a drawbridge is you can't press the shutter until the traffic passes.  Otherwise it is nothing but shakes.

My last look at the Charlevoix light was nice.

Just a brilliant candle against a two-tone blue canvas.