Laurie Bashaw and her hubby Edward, recently had the pleasure of taking an evening cruise on the Isle Royale Queen IV, enjoying the beauty of the clouds and the sun in the evening sky, with a bonus of a faint rainbow slicing through some of the clouds (photo 4). The cruise also took them out to Manitou Island with a look at the Gull Rock Lighthouse that you can see off in the distance, when you’re at High Rock Bay on the tip of the Keweenaw. Laurie said the cruise was actually a fund raiser for the Gull Rock Lighthouse. The cruise continued to the other side of Manitou where they saw the Mantiou Island Light Station also. I’m thinking this cruise would be a good thing to add to my bucket list!

David Damitz shares an aerial video of Gull Rock Lighthouse from all angles. At the beginning and the end of the video, you can just see the tip of the Keweenaw off in the distance. Nice wave and bird sounds, so you may want to turn your speakers UP to get the feeling of being right there.

Laurium Manor Inn is in the running (again!) for Newsweek’s Best Historical B&B, and this time, they’re aiming for the top spot. If you’d like to help achieve that honor, you can cast your vote by clicking here: Newsweek’s Best Historical B&B, then click the black button that says: “Vote for the best historical B&B!”. That will take you to a pop-up window with the list... scroll down to “G. Laurium Manor Inn – Laurium, MI”, click on it, then scroll down and click the “Submit” button. The contest runs until August 14th at Noon ET, so we’ll have a reminder here each day if you’d like to vote. Thanks in advance.

Nice cruise-lite!
I was trying to figure
out what the object
is on the deck of the
fifth photo.
And a hauntingly,
beautiful video too.

Hi
I've gone on a number of lighthouse cruises,
mostly starting out in Mackinaw City. They were
great fun, and part of the fee went to benefit a
lighthouse preservation society. The cruise in
these photos looks wonderful. It also looks like
the Gull Rock Lighthouse could use a fresh coat of
paint at least and probably more. It probably
takes a lot of punishment from the weather.

Can you imagine being the lighthouse keeper in
such a lonely spot?

I clicked on the link on today's pasty page for Manitou Island light station, and near the end of the article it claims that it was automated in 1953. It was actually automated in 1978 and was manned by the Coast Guard until that time. How do I know? Was in the Guard, stationed at the old Portage station, from where the logistics runs out to the lighthouses originated (Manitou, Passage, Rock of Ages, Huron Island). The crews were brought out (and returned after their month of isolation) by either the buoy tender Woodrush out of Duluth, or the Naugatuck out of the Soo. And yes, they were a hardy lot for certain!

Hi
George L., the Poe Reef lighthouse in northern Lake
Huron, near Bois Blanc Island, was manned when I was
a kid. It was out in front of our vacation home that
was about 8 miles out of Cheboygan. I remember we
went out to visit them in our aluminum fishing boat
on a calm day. They were happy to have visitors &
invited us up. I forget when the light became
automated; late 70's/early 80's seems right.

So very beautiful. This is definitely
a must do thing. We've taken the
lighthouse cruise, but never this one.
Looks like fun.

Kathy, your vacation home was certainly in a choice spot! And yes, the lighthouse guys were always up for visitors (especially of the female persuasion!) Occasionally some of the crew on Manitou got visits from boats out of Copper Harbor.
I should have mentioned in my earlier post that the lighthouse crews were rotated monthly. A new crew replaced the one headed back ashore. Four weeks on a lighthouse was about the max that was tolerable. The worst duty was on desolate Rock of Ages.

Awesome pictures, thank you for sharing! Bob and I
did this cruise a few times. One of those times we
were able to freighter chase down the 1000ft,
Mesabi Miner in the shipping lanes of Superior.

Just imagine the lives and times of all the
lighthouse keepers! Wow...if the walls could talk.
And yes, that lighthouse needs some love.

Sounds like a lot of gulls out by the lighthouse!
Excellent Vid!

Very nice journey across the straits from High Rock Bay. I won't soon forget my 2016 opportunity to visit Manitou Island aboard an MTU Geology Tour.

But why do they always seem to place the boat dock on the far side of the island from the lighthouse?