CHARLEVOIX PIER LIGHT

 

Sunday was a beautiful day, so a friend and I headed to Charlevoix to check out its lighthouse.  We discovered a lot more in this beautiful city on our afternoon.

 

 We found the Lake Michigan beach at the south end of Charlevoix and Boulder Park.  As its name implied, it was a rocky shoreline with many boulders in the area and even in people’s yards.

 

 We turned around and headed toward the city, our eyes searching for a lighthouse.  I expected it to be at the tip of this coastal point of land, where most lighthouses are located.  But it wasn’t.

 

 I finally sighted the bright red light near what appeared to be some kind of pier or breakwater.  I could see water on both sides.  From my perspective, it seemed like an odd place for a lighthouse.

 

 From a hill, I could see the light marked the entrance to another waterway.  I learned later that the lighthouse marked the Pine River entrance to the channel to Round Lake and then Lake Charlevoix.

 

 According to Terry Pepper in his Seeing the Light website, the “Pine River Channel is believed to be unique in the entire world inasmuch as it has a two-way current.  After severe westerly windstorms, waters pushed high into Lake Charlevoix will swiftly flow back out to meet other inbound currents.  Small whirlpools and eddies at the harbor mouth are not uncommon, and whitecaps can frequently be observed within the channel on the calmest days.”

 

 While this steel structure, installed in 1948, is unmanned, it is still a significant aid to navigation, especially benefiting the Beaver Island Ferry which makes its two hour plus journey to the island on a daily basis.

 

 While turning around to take one last picture of the lighthouse, I saw this unusual building known as a mushroom house.  Self-taught builder Earl Young built 26 of these unique homes, which are also known as Gnome Homes or Hobbit Houses.

 

 Taking one last picture of the lighthouse, we headed into town to visit another famous site, Kilwins Charlevoix, home to delicious ice cream, chocolates, and fudge.  A perfect ending to the afternoon.