Take A Night Time Climb of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron

Photo by Dale Merrill

The Christmas Candlelight Tours of the Lighthouse at the Fort Gratiot Light Station have become a holiday tradition in the Blue Water Area in just a few short years.

Though tours of the site are available in the warmer months during the daylight hours, these Christmas season night tours give visitors to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse a unique, evening view from of the Blue Water Bridge, Lake Huron and the St. Clair River and everything else for as far as the eye can see

Your tour starts with the walkways leading up to Michigan's oldest lighthouse illuminated by many candles. The lighthouse itself is dressed up in twinkling finery with red lights wrapped around observation deck railings at the top and strings of white lights cascading down the sides of the tower. It's quite a sight.

As you climb the 94 cast iron steps of the 84 foot structure, a tour guide will give you bits of history and trivia about the lighthouse. They're well versed in their knowledge of the building and Great Lakes lore so don't hesitate to ask them any questions. Don't forget to bring your camera too because the view at the top is always something to behold and keep a memory of.

The Candlelight Tours of the Fort Gratiot Light Station will be held each Saturday evening from 5-8pm through December 16th. Find out more at the Port Huron Museum's website.

Ten Fun Facts For Michigan's 180th Birthday

Anybody have 180 candles handy? Michigan became the 26th state of the union on this day, January 26th, in 1837. To celebrate here's ten facts about the Mitten State.

• You can stand anywhere in Michigan and never be more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes.
• At 6 quadrillion gallons, Michigan's Great Lakes account for one-fifth of the freshwater surface on the entire planet.
• Because Michigan has so much fresh water it is destination for fishermen and watercraft enthusiasts from around the world and ranks first in state boat registrations in the country.
• Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world. 
• The only state that has more shoreline than Michigan is Alaska.
• The Blue Water Area, from Algonac and Harsens Island to the south to the tip of the Thumb in Port Austin in the north is over 140 miles of shoreline.

Fort Gratiot Light Station
photo by Dale Merrill

• Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights.  
• The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron is the oldest light still in active service on the Great Lakes. 

 

• Michigan's motto is the Latin phrase "Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice." It means "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."  
• The word Latin "Tuebor," in the shield means "I will defend" which refers to Michigan's frontier position and spirit. 
• The shield itself held by two animals of noble prominence: the elk on the left and the moose on the right.  

Happy Birthday Michigan!

Riding With The Lady

We recently took a voyage with the Lady. The Huron Lady II river cruise to be exact.  The 1.5 hour cruise takes place in the St. Clair River then goes under the two Blue Water Bridges into Lake Huron.  
Here's some of the sights we saw via our Instagram.
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We took a ride with a lady today. The #HuronLady2 to be exact. See more of our voyage throughout the week. #PortHuron #DiscoverTheBlue #puremichigan #boattour

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 8, 2016 at 12:02pm PDT

Once the captain is in the seat it's anchors aweigh. #HuronLady2 #PortHuron #DiscoverTheBlue #puremichigan #boattour

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 8, 2016 at 3:56pm PDT

While out on the #huronlady2 say hello to a movie star. The #uscgcbramble was featured in the recent film #batmanvsuperman. The vessel is open for daily tours. #PortHuron #DiscoverTheBlue

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 9, 2016 at 5:37am PDT

Aboard the #HuronLady2 we see what was once a ferry dock is now an observation deck. #PortHuron #DiscoverTheBlue #puremichigan #StClairRiver

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 9, 2016 at 12:18pm PDT

An excursion on the #HuronLady2 gets you a closer look of the ships that ply the #GreatLakes such as this #algomacentral frieghter Algorail docked for repairs by the #Sarnia harbor. #DiscoverTheBlue #PortHuron

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 10, 2016 at 7:02am PDT

Heading out on #lakehuron on the #huronlady2 and wave to the Fort Gratiot #Lighthouse on the shore. #PortHuron #discovertheblue

A video posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 10, 2016 at 11:53am PDT

Passed under the #BlueWaterBridge's and saw the @doubletreeporthuron while on our #HuronLady2 cruise. #DiscoverTheBlue #PortHuron #LakeHuron #puremichigan

A video posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 11, 2016 at 11:17am PDT

Our #HuronLady2 voyage took us by the Huron lightship too. #discovertheblue #porthuron #lakehuron #puremichigan

A photo posted by Discover The Blue (@discoverthebluewaterarea) on Aug 12, 2016 at 12:04pm PDT

The tour is narrated and focuses on the history of the area, local sights and the significance of shipping on the Great Lakes. The Huron Lady tour boat is ideal for summertime tours of the Blue Water Area in Port Huron.

Check out more of what you will see on the Huron Lady river cruise here as as well.

To find out more about the Huron Lady cruises visit their website here or call 810-984-1500 for more information.

Port Huron Is Awesome

Joel Heckaman of the Awesome Mitten was in Port Huron to check out the sights for one of their Mitten Trips this past weekend.

A full article of his adventures will be on their website soon but throughout the weekend both the Awesome Mitten and Joel's own Instagram page posted updates of where he was at. Let's take a look at some of the things he saw.

Friday

Two birds, one stone: @thumbcoastbrewing stop for Port Huron #MittenTrip, flight of ales and IPAs for #MIAwesomeList!

A photo posted by Joel Heckaman (@jheckaman) on Aug 5, 2016 at 8:31pm PDT

View of the beautiful Blue Water Bridge over St. Clair River from the hotel patio #MittenTrip #PortHuron . . . #PureMichigan #LakeHuron #StClairRiver #NightSky #BlueWaterBridge #Summer

A photo posted by Joel Heckaman (@jheckaman) on Aug 5, 2016 at 11:28pm PDT

Saturday

Beautiful day and a packed farmers market at the Great Lakes Maritime Center! 📷: @jheckaman. #Mittentrip #DiscoverTheBlue #PortHuron #mittenlove @discoverthebluewaterarea

A photo posted by Awesome Mitten (@awesomemitten) on Aug 6, 2016 at 9:30am PDT

Ahoy! Piloting the USCGC Bramble, a 70+ year-old buoy ship built to help with navigation during WWII. #MittenTrip #PortHuron . . . #PureMichigan #LakeHuron #StClairRiver #USCG #WWII #Buoy #BoatLife

A photo posted by Joel Heckaman (@jheckaman) on Aug 6, 2016 at 10:19am PDT

My family has a million pictures of Fort Gratiot Light, yet here I am taking more... #sopretty #MittenTrip #PortHuron . . . #PureMichigan #LakeHuron #FortGratiot #Lighthouse #Beach #UpNorth

A photo posted by Joel Heckaman (@jheckaman) on Aug 6, 2016 at 2:09pm PDT

Sunday

#PortHuron has been picture perfect the entire weekend - spectacular blue skies and waters! Photo by @jheckaman. #Mittentrip #DiscoverTheBlue #mittenlove #greatlakes #nofilter #nationallighthouseday

A photo posted by Awesome Mitten (@awesomemitten) on Aug 7, 2016 at 12:46pm PDT

Ultimate Hipster Thomas Edison: "I invented vinyl before it was cool" #MittenTrip #PortHuron #vinyl #history

A video posted by Joel Heckaman (@jheckaman) on Aug 7, 2016 at 9:27am PDT

We enjoyed some amazing BBQ at new restaurant in #PortHuron: Fuel Woodfire Grill. Everything comes with jalapeno mac and cheese and jalapeno cornbread. Baby back ribs, pulled chicken, brisket combo plate did NOT last long! 📷: @jheckaman. #Mittentrip #mittenlove #DiscoverTheBlue @discoverthebluewaterarea

A photo posted by Awesome Mitten (@awesomemitten) on Aug 7, 2016 at 6:01pm PDT

Be sure to follow Awesome Mitten on Facebook and Twitter too.  While out on an adventure in the Blue Water Area don't forget to hashtag #DiscoverTheBlue to share your experiences too.