TR: Inspiring walk on the Mighty Mac!!!

[SnowHot]

To begin this story, let me say, it was my baby sister Brandi who first said, "lets walk the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor day". It seemed impossible because Labor Day Weekend (Known to our family as Harvest Festival Weekend) has traditionally been a huge family time for us. My dad always has a trophy winning parade entry, for which he relies on us girls to inject some character. ( I have the pics of me in a burlap dress to prove it)

This year was THE year to ditch the traditions and walk the Mighty Mack.
When we began the trip we had to decide..........who's turn is it to be the evil one?

The Mackinaw Bridge holds a lot of good vibe for me as I recall family vacations from my childhood. More than anything, the Bridge is a treasure.

For those of you who don't know:
The Mackinaw Bridge connects the Upper Peninsula to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Construction began May 1954.
It was opened to traffic Nov 1, 1957.
Cost $99,880,000.00
There are two main cables which are 24.5 inches in diameter.:
I have many other facts in my shabby little brain that I'd love to share, but I'll spare you unless you really want to know. :D

There are many things that make me feel very small, one is the East Wall at Abasin, another is the Mackinaw Bridge.

When we arrived to make the walk(5 miles on the bridge, then another 3 to the busses that bring you back to your car) the vibe was sort of amazing. The southbound lanes of the bridge were turned into north and south bound for the duration of the walk time.
The Northbound lanes were filled with walkers!



This is the point where we were on the bridge and off of the approach



Part 2 following.............

 

[SnowHot]

Part 2

This is the point where you can see both towers in the view!


I was surprised to see so many small children on the walk, thinking that the trek may be a bit much, but they were doing it and having fun.
This little girl was fascinated with the expansion joint.


The Bridge has metal grating for the center lanes, as well as the shoulders, which was put in place to save weight and allow for drainage. You can see this in one of the pictures above.
If you're afraid of heights, it is a good idea to NOT look into the grate




I really loved doing this with my sisters, whom I love and adore!


Something that stands out about walking the Mac is that I had an opportunity to see stuff that you can't see when you are in a car, and I was able to embrace its majesty, and show it, its due respect.

Majestic, eh?


Part 3 to follow..........

 

[SnowHot]

Part 3 and the end of a beautiful journey!



It was truly an experience I embraced and am happy to share.


It took us 1 1/2 hrs to finish the 5 mile walk, much of which was spent taking pics
But as always, all good things must come to an end..........


Thanks for readin!

 

[ski diva]

Nice pictures! Looks like a great day. Glad you could share it with your sisters.

 

[SnowHot]

Nice pictures! Looks like a great day. Glad you could share it with your sisters.

They decided that I'm the evil one.

 

[ski diva]

What a shock!

 

[itri]

Hmm, that doesn't surprise me a bit either!

Love the pics, SH! Sounds like a great, great adventure!

 

[ski&bfree]

Very nice! Great pics too!

Every summer we sit on the river front (Blue Water Bridge) waiting for the boats to go through Sarnia and end up at the Mackinaw Bridge for their annual race! I've never actually seen the bridge, so it's great to put a pic to the name!

 

[SkiNurse]

Nice pics!

 

[volklgirl]

I know just how you felt......we do a ride once or twice a year with our whole family where you can ride your bike over the bridge at dawn. It's breathtaking, awe inspiring, and incredibly humbling all at once.

Glad you had a wonderful time!!!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Thanks for sharing, SnowHot! Beautiful pics, looks like it was a beautiful weather day as well.

I had friends back in Midwest (WI) who did this every year....WHY didn't we join them before we moved far, far away....???

There are some nice ones in northern New England (nice covered ones)....but oh what fun are the giant suspension bridges!

Here's a shot of a new bridge called the Penobscot Narrows (replaces an older one, visible in pic) in Bucksport, ME. Neat observation tower at top of one tower, 450 ft.

 

[SnowHot]

MSL, that is a cool bridge.
Have you noticed that the old bridges that had/have character are currently being replaced with less impressive bridges, both in durability and beauty?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I don't know, durability is ALL about maintenance.....per that "Dirty Jobs" segment on the Mac. Wow, lotsa painting.....(remembering him coating the cables with that green paint via painting "gloves?") In the case of the bridge here that was replaced, there are some great birds-eye views atop the new one showing how LACK of maintenance leads to rapid degradation. Check this out: looks like the towers practically had NEVER been painted!!

However, I do like the new "fan" construction that's being used. I think the current world record holder (in Japan??) uses this technology. Sunshine Skyway Bridge from Bradenton to St. Petersburg, FL is this type, replaced bridge that barge took down, very beautiful span.

 

[SnowHot]

Agreed on all accounts.
I love old bridges, and occasionally a new one with character makes me smile.

 

[Gloria]

So glad you got to do that I don't even think we drove over the bridge when we were there. :( Looks like a great day.

 

[num]

Looks like a perfect day out with your sisters. Great pics, too.

When I saw the title of your thread that corresponds to this on Epic, I didn't open it, thinking "I don't know anything about bikes". Then I saw it over here and realized it was my kind of trek

 

[SnowHot]

Looks like a perfect day out with your sisters. Great pics, too.

When I saw the title of your thread that corresponds to this on Epic, I didn't open it, thinking "I don't know anything about bikes". Then I saw it over here and realized it was my kind of trek

It was a beautiful day, num, you would have loved it.

 

[RachelV]

Thanks to this thread I spent like 2 hours reading about bridges on wikipedia yesterday:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_suspension_bridge_spans

The Mackinac (silent c!) is on the list at #12.

I didn't realize the Verrazano was the longest in the US, and 8th worldwide. The 5 Boro Bike Tour ends with ride over the Verrazano -- I'll have to make sure to ride it next year. That's also the bridge the NYC Marathon starts on.

The top 3 all have spans of over a mile. Pretty nuts.

 

[Jenny]

Take a look at the Millau Viaduct, in France. I'm not sure I could go on it with my eyes open!

 

[Sheena]

Looks like a fun day!

Reminds me of my summers in Michigan - my grandparents lived in Arcadia.

Spend a few weekends on Macinac Island too. Mmmm. fudge.