Saint Ignace, Michigan

Railroad carferry Chief Wawatam at St. Ignace in either 1977 or 1978. The Chief was the last and greatest of the Mackinac Straits railroad ferries. By 1978, cross-strait rail traffic had been reduced to a trickle, and this ship's crossings were relatively rare. She'd retire in 1984, be cut down a few years later, and is now in service as a barge. Since I didn't know our family had ever photographed her, discovering this snapshot was a bit of a shock. I scanned a carousel of slides this afternoon. Except for this picture and a couple fine Marquette photographs, the set is pretty much a generic northern Michigan set. The box believes the photographs were taken by my brother , but there's some internal evidence that at least half, including this one, were likely taken by my sister . Regardless, this photograph was developed and made into a slide in May of 1978. Debbie, Dick: Do either of you remember taking this? My best guess is that Debbie took the shot, from Sandy Kimbrough's car , just days before the set was developed.

Joan took this lovely photo of the Mackinac Bridge a few years back from the lighthouse grounds in Mackinaw City. If you compare this pic with mine from a few weeks ago , you'll see they were taken from opposite ends of the span. This photo looks toward St. Ignace. Camera: Minolta point-and-shoot Photo by Joan Bennett in June, I think in 2000

Joan and I spend a couple weekends each year in St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinac. This is why.

Horseshoe Bay trail, Foley Creek campground, near St. Ignace, Michigan.

We're back! And here's where we were. On Sunday, we parked the car at Foley Creek campground and hiked to Horseshoe Bay, on Lake Huron, where we spent the afternoon sitting on the beach and reading. Unfortunately my photograph just hints at the riot of colors in the water--shades from near-black, through redish-brown and turquoise, on toward indigo. A beautiful, relaxing, wonderful day. That's Mackinac Island off toward the right, and Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo) behind it.

My Valentine. At Horseshoe Bay, just north of St. Ignace, in June of 2000.

Me, reflected in a window at our hotel in St. Ignace.... Believe it or not, I was actually trying to shoot something else. Din't turn out as expected, but it's certainly interesting....

Schooner Roseway and a couple Mackinac Island ferries, shot from St. Ignace. Mackinac Island's in the background. Roseway's doing tours from St. Ignace this year....

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005

St. Ignace, Michigan, car show.

St. Ignace (Michigan) Car Show, 2005. I've been digging through some old pix. More will likely show up.

Michigan State Police Troopers patrolling the parade at the St. Ignace car show; June 2005.

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005 So says the vanity plate....

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005. See Well Oiled Machine's comment for better identification.

We're in St. Ignace, and surrounded by neat cars . Gorgeous! I want one.

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005

St. Ignace Auto Show, 2005