Talk about a once in a lifetime experience!
This past Monday started out just like any other Monday
during the summer. I was enjoying a cup of coffee and hanging out with one of
my best friends and her family. Then the phone rang informing us that a relative,
Steve, had arranged for us to have the opportunity to go to the top of the
Mackinac Bridge. We quickly kicked our rears in gear and literally ran out the
door. By ten-thirty in the morning we had crossed the Mackinac Bridge and pulled
over to the Mackinac Bridge authority parking lot where we met up with Steve.
Our first order of business was to sign a liability waiver.
Then we each donned a fashionable yellow vest and climbed aboard a Mackinac
Bridge Authority van. Once inside the van we crossed the bridge back to the
lower peninsula and then turned around and began to cross the bridge headed
towards the upper peninsula. The northbound lane of the bridge had been shut
down by the first main tower so that we could safely exit the van and enter the
main tower.
After we exited the van, we split into two groups. Ross and
I chose to be the first to head up with Steve, while Mamie and Wayne came up
second. It is certainly a good thing I went
up first with Ross and Steve because if I had stood on the bridge under the
tower very long and had the chance to truly contemplate how high we were about
to go, I most likely would have chickened out had I been given the time to
contemplate going 522 feet in the air. Did I mention I am afraid of heights?
We began our journey to the top by climbing through a small
door and several portals to arrive at an elevator. The elevator literally only
fit three people, squished back to front, so it was a rather cozy ride up. With
no windows in the elevator, it was a relatively quick and uneventful ascension.
Once the elevator went as high as it could go, we disembarked and awaited the
rest of our group.
The last leg of our ascension consisted of climbing about 40
feet of ladder. In order to do so, we had to literally stretch our bodies into
a vertical line – in other words, our arms were stretched high above our
heads—so that we could maneuver through the small openings and up through the
oval manhole at the top.
The view from the top of the Mackinac Bridge’s tower was
simply breathtaking! We could see both the upper and lower peninsulas of
Michigan as well as Mackinac Island. Thankfully the wind was minimal, so we
were able to enjoy the view and take advantage of magnificent photo ops while
we were at the top of the tower.
This was a phenomenal opportunity to travel 522 feet in the
air and take in the majestic Pure Michigan scenery. I learned some interesting
tid bits about the Mackinac Bridge. For example, the Mackinac Bridge spans 5
miles to connect Michigan’s lower and upper peninsula thus making it the fourth
longest suspension bridge in the world. The first time traffic flowed on the
bridge was November 1, 1957. At the most, vehicles can travel at 45 miles per
hour while crossing the bridge.
It was a beautiful day to take in the view from the
TOP of the Mackinac Bridge!
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