The Mighty Mack: St. Ignace

Viewed from a park near the City of St. Ignace, the “Mighty Mack” suspension bridge is an engineering marvel that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of the State of Michigan, between Lake Huron on the left and Lake Michigan on the right, also known as the Straits of Mackinac (pronounced: Mack-in-naw). A Mackinaw (pronounced: Mack-in-naw) Island ferry boat makes its way under the bridge.

Its formal name is: Mackinac Bridge and the span is about five miles long. It opened on November 1, 1957, just over two years after I was born. When I was in grade school, my parents and I camped at the base of the bridge on the lower peninsula side, which is also known as the “mitten” — look at an areal map of Michigan to know why.

The Encylopaedia Britannica states, “It is considered to be one of the strongest suspension bridges in the world.” With this said, the official Michigan Department of Transportation bridge authority operates a transport service that allows vehicle owners to hire drivers to take their cars, trucks and trailers across for a small fee plus bridge tolls.

As a native of Michigan and bridge-crossing veteran, I didn’t need the service. And, I taught my flat-lander friends from Kansas how to take on the bridge during a day trip to St. Ignace from a camp site where we were staying east of Mackinaw City. It was on this day that we took the image I have showcased on this page.

A couple of days later, when my friend drove across the bridge for the first time and in the right lane, he was also pulling our 19-foot camper trailer. See the related video I have posted on this page; Ride along with us!

Viewing tip for greater detail: Click any of the images on this page for a larger view.

To purchase, contact me or email: DebbieWolfe@DebbieWolfeNatureArtPhotography.com