Since Grace asked for winter lighthouse images and buoyhunter is thinking about a trip to the east side of the lake, I thought I would share some images. These are from early March 2006. South Haven is especially nice to visit because you can get images from the breakwater itself, from the beach parking lot just to the south, or from the bluff above the parking lot.

One of the great things about the lights along Lake Michigan is the wonderful cat walk structures that exist. The one leading to South Haven is perhaps the most beautiful of them, perhaps one of the reasons HL chose to depict it covered in ice.

The ice was pretty well cleared from the breakwater when these pictures were taken, but I still treasure the first winter visit we made to the SW Michigan lights in mid-January many years ago. The breakwaters were covered with ice and it was an exciting walk out to the light - sure didn't want to lose your footing! Those images were all pre-digital and I would have to try to find them somewhere in the stacks of old pictures.







This image gives you an idea of how the ice builds up on the lights over time:



After you are done at the lighthouse, you really need to stop for lunch at Clementines in downtown South Haven. Especially if you like onion rings..... you order either 6" or 12" of rings and this is what you get:

Another great place for images is Saint Joe where there are great spots to shoot from the north or south sides of the breakwater, or from the breakwater itself:







The buildup of ice on the ever present blue railings always seems to fascinate me:



To give you a comparison of how different the weather can be just a few miles apart, here is an image of the MC light just two hours after the above images:

Dave - Great photos. I love the one of the waves crashing into the lighthouse.

Personally, I like the looks of the onion rings, and the lighthouse pics look good too. Those "rings" look like they were dredged through beer batter before being fried. Too many restaurants use the frozen breaded rings to fry. There okay but I bet the ones at Clementines are much better.

Bob

Great pictures Dave.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Those icy ones are brilliant. Especially since Stan got "St. Joe" LLOM for Christmas

Great winter photos, Dave! Amazing with all that ice coating the blue railing...the blue still shows through. Very intriguing!
Thanks for sharing them with us!

Fantastic shots, Dave! Lighthouses are just gorgeous in the ice and snow. I think it's great that those of you in the general area are able to take such wonderful pictures. The onion rings look pretty good, too! Thanks for posting these for us.

Thanks for the wonderful pictures Dave.

Great pics, Dave!

Love the ice, the waves, and the onion rings!!!

All those lighthouse photos with the ice and snow,
almost, make me wish I was still back in Maine so I could take icy cold pictures of lights with all the "frosting".