Touring Michigan - Manistee Part 2

Most people don't consider winter a good time to visit the beach, but they would be wrong.

Visiting in the winter means solitude, just you, the lake, the sand and the sky.

The is the Manistee North Pierhead Light - the first lighthouse to mark the entrance to the Manistee River was a two-story gabled dwelling with a light tower protruding from one end of the roof. The lighthouse was in operation for a year, when it was destroyed by the fire of 1871. A nearly identical light was built the following year and served until 1875. The present cylindrical tower and attached elevated catwalk were placed on the pier in 1927, note the ice buildup on the catwalk.

Visiting in winter also means the opportunity to enjoy Nature's ability to create sculpture, using no more than sand, wind and water:

Water, pooled and frozen in sand, revealed only when the excess sand is scoured away by the ever present wind - so delicate and fated to disappear, leaving no trace.


Water and wind again, but with such differing results, but equally ephemeral:

And, yes, I was in the water to take these - there are advantages to living the rural lifestyle, like owning and wearing really warm and waterproof boots!