Grand Traverse Light

ML is a barn hunter.  I enjoy a good barn, but I am a lighthouse crawler.  Granted, you know where the lighthouses are--there is no thrill of discovering a lighthouse just around the bend of the road, like there is with barns.  But having been raised on the shores of Lake Michigan, being lulled to sleep on foggy nights by the sound of the foghorn in our town's lighthouse, lighthouses are in my blood.  To me, they represent safety, refuge and security.  I can remember seeing the sweep of the light on stormy nights, signaling a safe haven to ships out on the water.  Other lights warn of dangerous shoals or shallow waters, and their beacons stand as guardians on the shores.

So, as we barn hunted, we also lighthouse crawled, which also gave me a good excuse to play in the water....

This is the Grand Traverse light.  It is at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula on Cat's Head Point, and was built in 1858.  It is no longer an operating light, but is open to the public for tours of the light and the keeper's home, which is part of the same building.

 I've seen photos of this light in its early days.  There are no trees around it--it stands proud and tall on the hill overlooking Grand Traverse Bay.  Over the years, the trees have grown up and blocked it somewhat.

                 The builders used all the wonderful beach rocks to build stairs, planting beds, and decorative planters.  Of course, I love all of them!

That was a lot of rocks to haul!

 But...the beaches this far north are rocky, so there is no scarcity of rocks.  I'm sure that the builders also found plenty of rocks as they excavated the foundation.

There were several rock cairns along the beach.  It seemed like people just couldn't resist building them---so much great material laying around, waiting to be used.