Rachel+Sakowski

Ideas with links for "Boom and Bust"
 * Automobile Industry- [|MI Auto Industry]
 * Lumber Industry-[|MI Lumber Industry]
 * Mining Industry-[|MI Mining Industry]
 * Fishing Industry-[|MI Fishing Industry]
 * Farming Industry-[|MI Farming Industry]
 * Touring Industry-[|MI Touring Industry]
 * Cereal Industry-[|MI Kellogg Industry]

Michigan's Easternmost Pointe On our way to Canada, my family and I made our way through southeast Michigan up towards the infamous thumb of Michigan into St. Claire county, where we would enter the town of Port Huron. This old town, established in the late 1700's is the easternmost point in the state of Michigan. In Port Huron, my family and I would cross the Blue Water Bridge that stretches over the St. Claire River, in order to proceed to Canada. I had never been to Port Huron before, and I had never seen the bridge, nor did I know the size of it and the construction of it. The Blue Water Bridge was first constructed in 1938 to create a way for automobiles to enter and exit the United States. Before the Blue Water Bridge was constructed, the only way to Canada at Port Huron was through the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Tunnel, which opened in 1891. This was an underwater passageway for submarines, and it's famously known for being the first international tunnel in the world. It was only many years later that automobiles were more efficient in shipping goods and transporting people in and out of Michigan, when an engineer named Ralph Modjeski gave birth to the plan of the Blue Water Bridge (Wikipedia).

As my family's SUV approached the bridge entrance, I noticed yet another bridge about 500 yards parallel to the bridge that we would be crossing. This section of the Blue Water Bridge was added in the 1960's in order to regulate the increasing traffic between the two nations (Wikipedia). The other bridge went eastbound only, and the one I was about to cross went only westbound, into Canada. As our car proceeded onto the bridge, I noticed the sparkling translucent water beneath us. The color was an aruba blue, like you would see on the shores of Mexico. There were smooth white beaches on both ends of the bridge, which were accompanied by fisherman, children, and people going for walks. Some people were even wading in the shallows of the river, some were fishing off of small fishing boats. Since traffic was hectic as expected, my family and I moved very slowly across the bridge, enjoying the scenery. After a while, I noticed the fishing boats had disappeared and people were gathered on the beaches, on the Canadian side and the Michigan side. Gradually, various numbered sailboats began to make their way down the river. The sailboats were going at a fast pace, and it was then that I realized I was witnessing an annual sailboat race that took place on the St. Claire river. Some people had large sailboats, and some had small ones that didn't seem like they would be able to even compete with the larger ones. I had never seen a boat race of any kind before, so I found this event unforgettable and entertaining.

When we reached the highest point of the bridge at a 155' clearance, the border marker on the side of the bridge appeared. This was my first time ever crossing a bridge to arrive at another nation, and I watched as our car slowly passed the plaque that had an engraved line separating the United States of America and Canada. I found it exciting and neat to be able to live in a state in which you could cross over into another nation, especially on such an interesting bridge overlooking beautiful recreational landscape. Once our vehicle eased off of the bridge, we drove about 100 yards down to the toll booths and official border entrance. There were about 12 lanes of various forms of transportation bumper to bumper waiting to pay the bridge toll and have their passports checked. We then proceeded to our destination in the greater Toronto area. I'll never forget my first time over the bridge, the scenery, the overlook and the experience. Port Huron, Michigan is truly a special and historical town, and I'm thankful for the opportunity of viewing and experiencing it. Michigan has the most beautiful water ways and geography, and the town of Port Huron and the Blue Water Bridge serve that proof.