Mackinac Bridge Walk

I arrived back in Michigan just in time for Labor Day weekend. On that Sunday, my mom and I went to visit my grandmother in St. Ignace, my mom's hometown and the first city you reach in Michigan's Upper Peninsula after croossing the Mackinac Bridge.  The plan was to take part in the Mackinac Bridge Walk the following day, but led astray by a false weather report, Sunday night we changed plans and decided to just drive back early in the morning.  We went down to the bridge view for some photos that night and shivered, telling ourselves that walking across the bridge the next morning in "scattered t-storms" was a definitely a bad idea.  

Grandma and the bridge

I was a bit disappointed, but didn't want to brave both the crowds and the "scattered t-storms."  We got up early the next morning to drive back across - the walk takes up two out of four lanes and can cause quite a traffic hassle.  After some coffee and oatmeal with cranberries, we were off.

We quickly realized that the weather was perfect for the bridge walk (well, northern-Michigan-September-perfect).  And the crowds we had dreaded hadn't arrived either, perhaps also scared off by the possibility of rain.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too late to change our minds.  Our original plan had been to park the night before in Mackinac City (on the south side of the bridge) so we could drive off immediately after finishing the walk.  If we did that in the morning, the parking and lines would have taken a few hours.  But, luckily, we approached the south-bound toll booths with hardly any wait.  

A good number of northbound vehicles were filled with tourists and locals, ready to walk that bridge!

Some walkers were wearing humorous hats, pins or costumes, but most were just families in windbreakers or raincoats taking part in the 55th year of this Michigan tradition.

The sunrise over Lake Huron made for some beautiful photos.   Maybe next year...