Tag Archives: Michigan: Crisp Point Lighthouse

Lighthouse Bound!

Year 5, ,

In the very near future, Molly and I will start our fifth season as lighthouse keepers at Crisp Point on the eastern end of Lake Superior. This job does not provide a cushy residence for the keepers; instead we will be camped 20 yards from Lake Superior and 38 miles from the nearest town (the final 19 miles by dirt logging road). In shore, we consider this location Heaven on earth. When the last guest leaves in the late afternoon, we have the big lake to ourselves with the nearest human being well over ten miles distant. As we will be off the grid, do not expect posts.

Given the recent days have been involved with both visiting relatives and getting ready for Crisp Point, my birding has been local. However, it is good to focus upon the old faithfuls! These birds provide me enjoyment. Maybe even one of these days I will find my Great Horned Owls which hoot back and forth in the middle of most nights near my house.

An “uncommon” Common Crow

A Juvenile Cedar Waxwing

A Juvenile Green Heron catches a minnow

A Blink in Time: Crisp Point Lighthouse

Year 4

Last week Molly and I served as lighthouse keepers at Crisp Point Lighthouse. Our five day stint as keepers on this remote Lake Superior shore was but a “blink in time” for Crisp Point and lighthouses in general. Ever since man constructed ports, lighthouses have existed to aide navigation. The oldest standing lighthouse today is the Tower of Hercules in Spain which was built by the Romans in the 2nd Century. Crisp Point light is a Johnny come lately to the world of beacons, built in 1904.

I hope you enjoy this photo journalistic essay of a day in the life of Crisp Point Lighthouse from the lighthouse’s perspective. This first image was taken 20 minutes before sunrise.  The perspective is from out on the catwalk looking through the glass.

Our stay was our fourth visit as keepers, and we are already signed up for 2018. Molly and I feel privileged to have been a very small part of this history. The images are combined from our five day stay. Finally, I invite you to visit my wife’s blog, Superior Footprints. Molly, who is a published writer for many magazines including Lake Superior Magazine, gives her impressions of Crisp Point including our duties as keepers.

100 minutes before sunrise: Crisp Point near the finish of another night’s work. The first light of dawn may be seen in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

60 minutes before sunrise: Getting ready for a new day in the official lighthouse keepers residence, a small tent!

30 minutes before sunrise: Morning calm descends over Lake Superior

15 minutes before sunrise: Reflections on a new day!

Sunrise!

20 minutes after sunrise: Time for a morning walk on the beach before starting keeper’s duties for the day.

Daytime – morning

Daytime – afternoon

20 minutes prior to sunset: Quite the view for dinner!

Sunset: The sun starts to dip below the Lake Superior horizon. The lighthouse photograph was taken with three minutes left of direct sunlight.

15 minutes after sunset

25 minutes after sunset

120 minutes after sunset: Nothing like a good bonfire to relax and enjoy a great day. After the last guest leaves, Molly and I enjoy our very private campsite. Reaching Crisp Point requires a 50 minute (19 mile drive) along a dirt road. The closest town of any size is an 80 minute drive … truly heaven on earth!

Crisp Point Lighthouse Map

Crisp Point Lighthouse Teaser!

Year 4

Molly and I are back on the grid for a few hours. We just spent a heavenly week at Crisp Point Lighthouse serving as lighthouse keepers. This light is very remote and may only be reached by a 19 mile long dirt road which is in poor condition. The nearest small town to Crisp Point is Newberry, Michigan which is a 70 minute drive one way.

We had fantastic weather, a true Indian Summer, on our remote Lake Superior shoreline. Our official keeper’s residence is our small pup tent which was pitched only 30 yards from the beach. The white noise sound of crashing waves helped us fall asleep every night. Expect an extensive post of the many moods of Crisp Point a few days hence, but in the meantime here is an image I took of our final sunset, and a ring-billed gull who paid our campsite a visit. Now it’s on to Northstar Lake near the Minnesota Canadian border … time to shut down the water system at our cabin and winterize the place. Once again, we will be off the grid! Kind of nice, isn’t it?!